The "Phablet" Craze Will Be Dictated by Headsets and Voice Control

If you're like me, you chuckle every time you see someone holding up a "phablet"--not quite a phone, not quite a tablet--to their ears, having a conversation. Pundits believe this is the future of telephony: we won't need Steve Jobs' 10" tablet any more and the 5" screens on phones wouldn't suffice. But let's be honest, trying to hold your phone with two hands is a pain in the rear end, even while surfing the web from your phone--let alone talking. But there is appeal to be able to keep your phone in your briefcase (a pocket won't suffice anymore), while you talk, check email, even get basic news info such as the current headlines. You can take your phone out--in tablet mode, if you will--to do the other things such as responding to emails, surfing the web.

The only way this can happen is if technology improves considerably:

1. Battery life on headsets has to get better by 5-10X. Having to charge yet another device with yet another connection is annoying. What's even more annoying is when your battery dies in the middle of a call. My MacBook Air's battery life (for laptops) is game changing. I literally don't even think about the charger since I can go all day working on my typical business needs without a charge. The same needs to happen for headsets
2. Voice recognition technology needs to improve. I don't know anyone who uses Siri or Googles voice recognition software routinely and efficiently. I need to be able to get, seamlessly, to my contacts, have my emails and texts read to me and compose small responses--all from my headset and without lags or inability to differentiate wife from John Smith.
3. Headsets need to look cooler. Let's be honest, nobody wants to walk around looking like they have a radioactive tumor on their ears. There's nobody on the market today trying to revolutionize headset style. Maybe Jonny Ive can take a crack at it. But they either don't fit comfortably, don't cancel any noise, have impractical buttons, or just plain look ridiculous. If this doesn't improve, no way we adopt these en masse with phablets.

Again, the value of a phablet can be appealing as a unifying device. But a lot of other things need to happen before you see mass adoption. Until then, I'll stick with my paltry iPhone 5s screen with iPad Air.