Gadgetory

phones continue to get bigger and bigger but it seems like somebody finally figured it out why not just put phone bits in a tablet is this a phone on steroids or a tablet with an identity crisis well the answer is yes hey it's Joshua Carver manager authority what's going on everybody and this is the Asus fonepad if the phone pad looks familiar remember that Asus brought you the great Google Nexus 7 and the phone pad is actually very similar you get a 7-inch screen device with the sizable bezel around the display with the front facing camera and phone speaker grille up top the back sports a nice brushed aluminum finish which gives it a nice industrious look and feel up top you get the rear camera with a great addition of a small removable cover that allows access to the sim and SD card slots you get three buttons on the left for power and volume all in all it handles just like the Nexus 7 and is very similar to most other 7-inch offerings this does help for taking phone calls but the phone pad is otherwise supposed to be treated like any other tablet with both hands much of the phone pad will not blow you away with super high-end specs and this starts with the display despite being at 7 inches this IPS LCD screen is capable of a 1280 by 800 resolution at 216 PPI it definitely isn't as powerful as even most 5-inch devices these days but it is still a good performer you get a good color reproduction so that images and videos have a good level of vibrancy and though the pixel density may not be very high the experience is still quite good at an average distance away get any closer though and you will start to see the pixel separation now you do get settings to change some aspects of the display in an app called a soos splendid so there is a way to get it to just where you want it among the multitudes of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors out there you get something different with a single core Intel Atom zito 420 clocked in at 1.2 gigahertz now it isn't as powerful as high-end chips we see these days but it does get the job done and to to benchmark locks it in at around at the 7500 mark but you do get smoothness across the device there are occasional hiccups that occur from time to time and they seem to happen mostly in intensive games and apps speaking of games the power VR SGX 540 is the included graphics chip it did have a little bit of trouble with into the dead and even stuttered a bit during candy crush you may find more of these hiccups running too many apps at once as the foam pad comes with 1 gigabyte of RAM ultimately it is a very capable performer though it did not Wow and requires a little patience in those more intensive experiences as far as hardware goes you do get either 8 or 16 gigabytes of storage expandable by a SD card slot otherwise the usual bevy of connections are available GPS Wi-Fi bluetooth though NFC is absent now the speaker might be relegated to just the one grille on the lower back but the general quality is actually pretty good despite lacking in some volume an audio wizard AB does cater the sound to different types and does well to enhance the sound accordingly but the biggest story here obviously is the phone side underneath the cover you can pop in your GSM SIM card and use this tablet just like any of your phones mobile data is possible via HSDPA connectivity and all phone and SMS related apps are concluded the phone pad truly treats itself like an oversized phone but is very unassuming about it if you didn't know any better you think this is just another 7-inch tablet the call and texting capabilities are just like any phone and the phone speaker is adequately loud and clear otherwise it really wasn't anything overly special other than being an oversized phone holding the phone pad up to your face for the call definitely take some getting used to and even now I'm still not sure if I am but if there is one part of the phone pad that excels it is the battery life a hefty 40 to 70 milliamp hour battery powers the tablet for nine hours of talktime in my time with it regular usage stretched out over 10 hours which is really impressive and with the great standby time you might be able to go up to two whole days of regular use before actually needing a charged power saving options will help you get even more out of the phone pad it probably is the longest lasting phone I've ever used but of course the size of the tablet and the battery inside are obvious reasons why the camera is perhaps the most underwhelming part of the phone three megapixels or all you get in the rear camera and the picture quality definitely doesn't compare to most smartphone cameras even under indoor lighting white color still got washed out there was a fair level of grain throughout and details were definitely not captured adequately daylight shots fared better but are still below average quality like some cameras we have seen on tablets it is more of an add-on rather than a real selling point and finally we get to the software jellybean 4.1.2 powers this Asus modified you I escaped things looking mostly stock aside from additions like a pair of widgets and a suite of floating applications very similar to Sony small apps with these you can make a floating to-do list or even watch a video while multitasking Susa did add in apps for customization like studio a photo editor storybook which make small memory presentations using pictures and videos and a couple nice memo apps with some customization added in a soos keeps things simple and easy to use by not doing too much or even too little now though the phone side might be a nifty change in the tablet game it's become clear that the phone pad isn't really going to overthrow any of the top players in the game luckily it is priced accordingly at around 249 US dollars and just under 200 euros for the European market and so there you have it what I recommend the phone pad it's not for everyone that's for sure this is because most people probably already have a capable smartphone and unless you are okay with swapping the SIM card back and forth between it and a Seuss's hybrid tablet you'd have to shell out more for an extra off-contract plan I actually thought it was cool to use the phone pad like any other tablet and then when a call came in I could just answer it but I also knew that as their singular device most people might find it cumbersome and even maybe just a little bit weird if you aren't one of those people though the phone pad just might fulfill a need you've been waiting for and in the end the Asus fonepad is less of a great oversized phone and more like a very nice 3g tablet that happens to be capable of making and taking calls remember to stay tuned to Android authorities YouTube channel for all the action and then head over to Andrew because we are your source for all things Android