Asus Announces 7-inch Android Tablet Fonepad; Will Have Phone Functionality

Asus has announced a 7-inch Android-powered tablet, the Fonepad, at this year's Mobile World Congress.

With built-in phone functionality, the device is powered by an Intel 1.2 GHz Atom Z2420 processor and 1 GB of RAM, as well as a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. It will run on the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

A 4,270 mAH battery delivers up to nine hours of power, accompanied by a micro-SIM slot and the microSD reader. The former supports 32 GB cards, with the device itself offering 16 GB of built-in storage. A 1.2-megapixel front camera is joined by a 7-inch, 1,280 x 800 IPS display.

"It is ideal to have a larger screen with entertainment, social media and other online activities now playing an increasingly important part in our mobile lifestyles. The incorporation of 3G mobile data with full telephony support makes the Fonepad a perfect combination of tablet and phone in one single device," said Asus chairman Jonney Shih.

The Fonepad will launch in Europe during March for €219, followed by a U.S. launch with a price of $249.

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5

zomow , February 26, 2013 7:02 AM

So... a 7 in phone?
1

ipwn3r456 , February 26, 2013 7:24 AM

7 inch phone? Damn phones are getting bigger and bigger now... When should we stop?
0

bak0n , February 26, 2013 7:25 AM

For $249 I'd do that over a renewal of a contract for the same price.
0

joytech22 , February 26, 2013 7:26 AM

Quote:
SGX540

IMMEDIATE turn-off. This was in the 2010 Galaxy S..
HELLO, WE LIVE IN THE YEAR 2013!

At least stick a Mali MP400 in there..
4

GabZDK , February 26, 2013 7:32 AM

I remember people doing this as a joke back when the original iPad was released.

What has happened to the world??
2

sixdegree , February 26, 2013 7:32 AM

It won't be long before some designer out there snapped and make a 13 inches tablet/phone with physical keyboard.
1

hoofhearted , February 26, 2013 7:35 AM

Is this going to be the unlocked no-contract price?
0

fkr , February 26, 2013 7:48 AM

joytech22IMMEDIATE turn-off. This was in the 2010 Galaxy S..HELLO, WE LIVE IN THE YEAR 2013!At least stick a Mali MP400 in there..

wiki says this chip came out in nov 2007. 65nm tech
-2

sonofliberty08 , February 26, 2013 7:57 AM

ASUS: why atom ? why ? give me ARM......
1

dimar , February 26, 2013 9:19 AM

Why can't Asus release a super slim 12" 16:10 screen x86 Windows/Android hybrid tablet??????? Why????????
4

InvalidError , February 26, 2013 12:47 PM

sonofliberty08ASUS: why atom ? why ? give me ARM......

There is nothing wrong with the newest Atoms. In pre-launch benchmarks, they delivered more than twice the performance per watt most ARM CPUs did so unless you do NDK development, there should be no reason to insist on ARM.
2

Non-Euclidean , February 26, 2013 7:57 PM

ipwn3r4567 inch phone? Damn phones are getting bigger and bigger now... When should we stop?

I think there are a few things going on here.

1) This is the year of 7" tablets heading down/settling in the $100-200 price range.
2) By adding the phone functionality, they are staking out a niche, and hoping to hold it.
3) Look at this as an iPad mini competitor. Not a phone with the wrong form factor.
4) I think this is aimed at the teenager/youth tablet market designed to fit any social media needs.
2

outlw6669 , February 26, 2013 8:01 PM

The Atom Z2420 is a single core dual thread chip, not a dual core chip as stated.

Not that I would use this as a phone but....
I look at the specs, look at the price and really wonder why the hell most mid to high end phones are priced so damn high
2

hoofhearted , February 26, 2013 10:29 PM

With the Samsung Note series and all of these other companies I am reading about producing big phones to satiate the 'bigger is better' crowd, this seriously undercuts their pricing. I mean, Note was 5.8 inches, the Note 2, 6" then the Note 3 is rumored to be 6.3" and all the while, they charge $500-$700 for an unlocked device. And now you get a the next bigger badder 7 incher for just $249
2

g00fysmiley , February 26, 2013 10:54 PM

at $250 it is tempting to buy this as a phone/tab and if it works on virgin mobile swap to it and finally ditch sprint assumign it has lte antenna
-1

Non-Euclidean , February 27, 2013 12:03 AM

Its gonna need 4G and LTE to seriously whack the smartphone pricing.
2

gwolfman , February 27, 2013 2:59 AM

outlw6669The Atom Z2420 is a single core dual thread chip, not a dual core chip as stated.Not that I would use this as a phone but....I look at the specs, look at the price and really wonder why the hell most mid to high end phones are priced so damn high
Well said, well said.