We had already heard in recent rumors leading up to Mobile World Congress that ASUS was working on a new tablet called the FonePad. Today, ASUS announced it at their press conference in Barcelona. The FonePad also features built-in phone functionality, just like the Galaxy Note 8.0 which was announced on Saturday night. The rumors behind the specs were pretty much all true. Here’s what it’s running:
- 7-inch 1280×800 IPS display
- Intel Atom Z2420 1.2GHz processor
- PowerVR SGX540 GPU
- 1GB of RAM
- Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean
- HSPA+ connectivity
- 4270mAh battery
- 16GB internal storage; expandable via microSD card up to 32GB.
- 3MP shooter on the back, 1.2MP on the front
Now for the bad news. It doesn’t look like the Fonepad will be headed Stateside, but ASUS did confirm a US price of $249. Which kinda sucks, looks like we won’t be getting any new toys from ASUS this year, or at least at Mobile World Congress. The FonePad will be available in the UK for £179 VAT included. Of course, we have no idea when this tablet is actually going to launch. But ASUS has said that the confirmed launch date will be shared once they are closer to launch.
The ASUS FonePad, doesn’t look to bad. We already know ASUS can make some good looking 7-inch tablets, Nexus 7 anyone? But it will be interesting to see how this Intel Atom Z2420 processor stacks up in this 7-inch tablet compared to the others on the market right now. It’s also pretty cool that there is built-in 3G for mobile data and voice calls. So people could actually buy the FonePad and have it replace their phone and tablet with one device. But how well will that work? Samsung tried that before with the original Galaxy Tab, and now trying it again with the Galaxy Note 8.0. ASUS usually keeps their tablets on near stock Android, which usually means for quick updates. Which ASUS usually does provide. They are probably one of the fastest manufacturers to update to the next version of Android. Which is always a pro in their favor.
So the FonePad isn’t coming to the US, officially. How many of you are going to import it to the US? Let us know in the comments below.
