HP to launch low-cost phablets in India by year-end: Report

Hewlett-Packard (HP) hasn't officially revealed plans to re-enter the smartphone segment since its not-so-successful venture in the market. However, a new report reveals that the PC maker has plans to launch two new phablets, smartphone-tablet hybrids in 6-inch and 7-inch screen variants, by the end of 2013.

The Verge in a report cites The Information and claims that HP will be targeting emerging markets, including China, India and Philippines with the new yet-to-be-named phablets. Further, the report claims that the alleged HP phablets with 6-inch and 7-inch display size will be priced between $200 and $250 off-contract. As of now, there is no word whether the former top PC maker would be releasing the rumoured phablets running Android OS or would go with Microsoft's Windows Phone ecosystem.

In November, HP's alleged Slate 6 phablet was spotted in benchmarks alongside the rumoured Bowser 10 x2 convertible. The alleged Slate 6 phablet is thought to be dubbed "HP Slate 6 Voice Tab" in the GFXBench listing, and suggested that it would come with SIM support and would also boast voice-calling abilities. Further, the GFXBench listing revealed Slate 6 to be powered by a 1GHz Marvell PXA 1088 processor with Vivante GC1000 GPU. The alleged phablet from HP is seen sporting a HD display with a 240ppi pixel density.

Earlier, a report had claimed that technology giant HP has been looking at re-entering the smartphone race and has been working on launching a new device, which would offer a 'differentiated experience' to consumers.

It's worth pointing out that HP had bet big on the smartphone ecosystem when it purchased Palm for $1.2 billion in April 2010, but its ensuing webOS-based devices failed to take off.