ASUS Fonepad is a Supersized Phablet

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ASUS Fonepad

I’m still kind of smitten with the Samsung GALAXY Note 8, but the ASUS Fonepad looks kind of tasty as well. The ASUS Fonepad is a 7″ Android tablet running Android 4.1.2. Like the GALAXY Note 8, the ASUS Fonepad can also function as a phone. (That functionality may not be available in all markets and all carriers. We will see how that plays out once the device begins shipping.)

ASUS Fonepad

Now let’s admit that Judie looks kind of silly holding this 7″ tablet to her head as a phone. She wouldn’t be seen dead doing so in real life and neither would I. That noted, there is a pretty good argument to be made for having voice capabilities built into a tablet like the ASUS Fonepad. After all, Bluetooth headsets and speakerphones like the Jabra Speak 510 and the Plantronics Calisto work incredibly well. Moreover, I can see using a device like this with my Martian watch. In each case the tablet would make the connection but the conversation would take place over the headset, speaker or watch. And while my iPad mini doesn’t have the built-in voice connectivity of the ASUS Fonepad, Thanks to Line2 i use the tablet as my speakerphone on a daily basis.

ASUS Fonepad

ASUS did some interesting things with the ASUS Fonepad. Like the Nexus 7 the Fonepad has a 1280 x 800 IPS display that is LED backlit. For some reason AUS decided to use an Intel Atom Z2420 processor in the device. The radios include 850/900/1900/2100MHz WCDMA and 850/900/1800/1900MHz EDGE/GSM bands with support for 802.11b/g/n and, strangely, BT 3.0 rather than BT 4.0.

Other specs include 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The ASUS Fonepad does include a microSD slot so you can add additional storage. And while the ASUS Fonepad isn’t the most powerful or highly-spec’ed device we’ve seen, it does come in with one number that impresses — the ASUS Fonepad will be just $249 when it ships later this spring.

 

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.

2 Comments on "ASUS Fonepad is a Supersized Phablet"

  1. Looking good Judie 🙂

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