TWO and a half years ago, I bought my first smart phone - HTC Incredible S (bundled with Digi Smart Plan) from PC fair 2011 at the cost of RM1394. During that time, the smart phone industry still at its infancy. The cost of ownership was also very high.
Time has passed so quickly and in just 2 years almost everyone now carrying a smartphone in their pocket, some even carry two or more smartphones, plus a tablet in their hand carry bag.
I follow the tremendous growth of smart phone sale since early days. HTC was a more popular brand during that time while Samsung was rapidly catching up by introducing a series of smart phone line-ups before dominating the smartphones industry not long ago.
There are newer brands now, as many PC maker joining the fray for this lucrative business. Researches see continuous strong growth in smartphone business as people intended to replace their phone than replacing their outgoing PC.
Today we see many matured phone makers running the show; namely Samsung, HTC, LG, Nokia, Apple, Sony and Blackberry introducing new models each and every season. Some newly emerged brand (PC makers) have also jumping into this bandwagon to share the cake, like Lenovo, Acer, Sony, ASUS, ZTE, Huawei and more.
The mass productions of phone makers instantly creates a never before seen rapid worldwide smartphone adoptions. With the introduction of new brand and advancement of new technologies while minimizing the development cost, the actual cost of owning a smartphone has now becomes so affordable. Consequently, it stimulates the market demand and subsequently promotes the buying power of new innovations.
Never before I think there's a need for big screen smartphone. My current smartphone is a 4 inch Super LCD android phone made by HTC. An elegant all-rounder with decent hardware and specifications. It has a beautiful and super sensitive touch screen. It is also easy to be carried around because of its candy bar and small form factor. It has only 1Ghz single core processor, but it has a decent anti-shock 8 mega pixels camera. Most importantly, it still functions at its peak and mind you, the battery still last long and I have not even replace the original battery yet until now!
My first smartphone - HTC Incredible S
It was occasionally sometimes, I started to feel my phone getting lagged especially after repetitive app updates. It especially true when I try loading up some basic phone feature, such as the dial pad and low resource intensive game - Candy Crush Saga. I did tried removing a couple of apps and cleaned up my internal and external storage, but it never helped.
And then one day I saw this new giant phone from Superbuy.my, the ASUS FonePad 7 HD phablet, model number K00E and codenamed ME372CG.
This phone initially didn't catch my eyeballs by the design because it looks oversize at the first sight. It has a wider design and thick frames like an ordinary tablet. It looks too wide to be held under one man's palm. But the good is that it has an add-on voice call function and 3G mobile internet capability.
The price was RM749 during that time but were then reduced by Superbuy to RM699. It was really attractive offer so I bought it without further thought. Unfortunately Superbuy refunded my money due to short of stock. But thank goodness I found out that Lazada still selling at RM749 so I order it without further thinking.
Design and quality
I got my device in 2 days via GDex. That was pretty fast! The item was good condition. So kudos for you Lazada!There are so many videos and reviews on the Internet that comprehensively cover this phablet. I try not to go into more detail in terms of specs. What I really want is to comment this baby from laymen's perspective without digging too much into technical.
The phone (phablet) is so huge at 7 inches form factor, largely due to its wide frame/border. Comparing to the Galaxy Mega 6.3-inches it's at least a inch taller and wider, though in reality its just 0.7" more that the former in terms of screen size. It is also larger than the 6.4-inches Sony Xperia Z Ultra by 2cm tall and 3cm width. Check out this comparison page for more comparisons on the 3 phablets.
Packs at 1280x800 HD resolution at 216ppi, it lacks behind the Sony Xperia Z Ultra (Full HD Screen) but the screen still looks crisp and clear to the eyes. Its touch screen is also super smooth and responsive albeit a little bit of jerk sometimes when I repeatedly hit on the home button.
Comparing size: (From left) HTC Incredible S, ASUS FonePad 7, IPad 2
A phone that buries your face
The size of this phablet is phenomenal when it is a phone. It is impossible to be operated with one hand because of its width. But it can be hold for calling purpose. The difference that I notice for a tablet compared to smart phone is that it is normally designed with thick frame surrounding the screen. I think that is made for easy holding of the device from the edges because tablets are made in bigger size.
Many people would imagine how awkward snapping the phone to your face like me in the photo, but you know what, I started to love this style and position. It look super cool on my face. For that I feel distinguished to others with smaller phones. Yes it does looks a bit off-balance as it seems, but I don't think it is oversize and I like it very much!
I tried lay down the phone on a flat surface and grab it will my hand. Oh my it does requires a bit of a stretching, but I think this is normal because of the size factor and to the fact that we also haven't get used to it yet. Hence I am sure this wouldn't be an issue when I am accustomed to it someday...
Overall front and back view
Grasping on it
The phablet felt very solid to hold. The high glossy finish on the front and back cleverly protrude its premium feel. The surface seems like it has been coated with a layer of material to protect it from stretches. Hence it does not lose grip rashly. A friend of mine said it is anti-scratch to a certain degree, but you have to try to confirm.
Ergonomics
The ASUS FonePad 7 may be one BIG bulky phone, but surprisingly it can be fitted into my pant's pocket without much fuss. It might "eat up" your whole pocket space, but this simply means that you CAN carry it around in your pocket!
Top: Headphone jack port
Left: Micro SIM card slot
Right: (From top to bottom) ON/OFF power button, volume rocker, Micro SD card slot (max 32GB supported)
Bottom: Micro USB charging / data port
Back cover bottom: Serial numbers and device information
Front top. There's one 1.2 mega pixels front facing camera and 1 speaker
Front bottom: 2nd Speaker for stereo sound
After powering on
Performance
Performance of this tablet is decent for its price tag. It responses pretty fast and precise, fluidly I would say. There is no issue running some productivity apps like Quick Office and basic 2D games such Candy Crush Saga. For 3D games, I tried Speed Racing Ultimate and Fast Racing both gave extremely smooth graphics processing without any lag.
The hand-writing function is also responsive and stroking it over is smooth and the screen picks up strokes willingly.
Call quality
I made a simple call it turns out to be good. Probably due to its large dual front speakers. There is no background noise whatever.However, playing music doesn't give a boom sound as expected from front stereo speakers. The sound produced is too soft but turn raucous as I turn the volume to its maximum.
Battery
The FonePad's comes with 3950mAh capacity Lithium Polimer battery. The box package comes with a 1.35A charger. A full charge would last you one full day of average usage inclusive web surfing, listen to music and a little of gaming, so it is quite decent so to speak.Bluetooth function
So far I I've tested the bluetooth function and successfully connected to:- Jabra Easy GoHeadset
- My PROTON EXORA in-car bluetooth function
Antutu Benchmark Score
The ASUS FonePad 7 scores high on Antutu Benchmark version 4. It even scores higher than the quad-core Samsung Galaxy S3 and Google Nexus 4 while lacking only a tad behind by Sony Xperia Z and the popular Galaxy Note 2.
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