Asus has launched its large screened tablet cum phone – the FonePad in India. First unveiled at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year, the device is basically a 7 inch tablet that can also double up as a phone. The Padfone as mentioned earlier boasts of a 7 inch, 1280*800 pixel LED display and runs Android 4.1 JellyBean.
The device is powered by an Intel Atom Z2420 processor clocked at 1.2GHz. It is ably supported by a GB worth of RAM. There are two variants if the device in different memory configurations – 8 and 16 GB. Should you feel you are running out of the internal memory, you can always expand the memory using micro SD cards. As far as the imaging department is concerned, the 3 megapixel auto focus camera at the rear can take decent images along with offering you the capability to capture videos in 720p. There is a 1.2 megapixel front camera as well. The graphics bit is handled by a tried and tested PowerVR SGX540 chip. Powering this hardware is a 4270 Mah battery that claims a 9 hour talk time.
In India, the Fonepad has been priced at a decent Rs. 15,999. This puts it in competition with many large screened phablets from manufacturers like Micromax, Karbonn and Lava. Asus being an “international” brand has a good chance to usurp some market share from these local players should they promote the FonePad well.
We would reserve a final judgment on this product after we get to do a full-fledged OG review of the same. Watch this space!
