THE phablet (phone plus tablet) race is about to get tighter, with the entry of a new device from Taiwanese maker HTC.
A report on tech site Pocket-Lint.com cited sources that said HTC will unveil its "One Max" phablet on Oct. 15.
It said the device will sport a 5.9-inch display - huge by phone standards, but relatively small for a tablet.
Also, it is rumored to have a fingerprint scanner -- a first for a phablet -- and a microSD card slot for storage expansion.
It will likely launch with Google's Android 4.3 and Sense 5.5, along with Zoe capture from the UltraPixel camera and the BlinkFeed content service.
Under the hood, however, it may run on the same hardware, including the Snapdragon 600 processor, as the current HTC One.
Meanwhile, Pocket-Lint.com said the HTC phablet may feature HTC's BoomSound speakers, but it is unclear if the Beats logo will still be there as HTC and Beats are parting ways.
Current phablets going against each other in the market include Huawei Ascend Mate, Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3, Sony Xperia Z Ultra, LG Optimus G Pro, and Asus Fonepad Note FHD 6.
A day before HTC One Max launch, Google is also set to unveil its first Android KitKat smartphone called Google Nexus 5.(JK/Sunnex)