Is The Asus Fonepad Too Big?

Whoever said “less is more”, certainly didn’t know about the Asus Fonepad! Coming in at a whopping 7-inches, it definitely comes more under the tablet category than smartphone.

The company behind the Fonepad also produce the Nexus 7, so it’s not surprising to see some similarities. However with a price tag of £180, it is a more affordable purchase than most tablets. The size makes it a good portable device if you’re planning to use it mainly as a tablet but unless you have hands the size of a bunch of bananas (no offence if you do!), you may find it a bit cumbersome to use as a phone. Not to mention how it will ruin the tailored lines of your Armani suit!

If you will be using the Fonepad for voice calls, then you can leave it in your pocket and use a bluetooth headset.

With such a reasonable price tag, there are some features that you will have to do without. For example, you miss out on LTE and NFC, and so have to do without Android Beam and fast-pairing options. It also has an Intel Atom 1.2GHz single-core processor with 1GB of RAM, so although it may not beat the Nexus 7, it is fine for the average person who doesn’t take their gadgets to the limit.

Asus have used a 4.270mAh battery in the Fonepad, similar to the Nexus 7 but thanks to 3G connectivity, it probably won’t last as long. Asus claim that you get 32 hours of 3G talk time and they have provided a power-saving utility that can turn off wireless networks in standby or reduce the screen brightness depending on what you’re using it for.

So, is a 7-inch “phablet” practical? Well at such a competitve price and the fact that you only need one device rather than two, it does seem appealing. I’m still worried about the tailored suit issue though…what do you think?

[Image via 7mobile]

SOURCE: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/hands-on-asus-fonepad-7inch-phablet- 20130611-2o0yd.html