Word on the street has been for some time that mobile device manufacturer Asus is busy in their secret laboratories quietly concocting a competitor for large screen phablets like the Galaxy Note II. Reportedly nicknamed the Fonepad, the handset is predicted to arrive as a “tablet and smartphone in one.” Asus currently has only one smartphone, which is incorporated into their PadFone 2 hybrid device. That could change at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC).
The mobile marketplace would be a lot less fun if it were not for the persistent rumors that fly around the blogosphere. But usually, when the same thing is heard on multiple fronts and reported by usually reputable sources, some element of truth is present. And it is rumored that Asus will unveil a new phablet sized smartphone/tablet called the Fonepad at the MWC in Barcelona, Spain held this year from February 25 through February 28.
Asus has already scheduled a press conference for the first day of the MWC, and while they did debut their Transformer AIO and a few other cool devices at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), at least one spokesperson at the Las Vegas, Nevada CES said that “the best is yet to come.” That spokesperson went on to say that the Asus announcement at the upcoming MWC will “wow” industry analysts and show attendees.
When that announcement was made, there were little more than speculation and rumors revolving around a possible Asus-branded Nexus 7 challenger. And while Asus could certainly debut some type of tablet device, the MWC usually revolves centrally around smartphones. Digitimes has reported that, along the lines of the company’s reputation for adding some unique twist to its hardware, Asus will be revealing their Fonepad, which will primarily be a large smartphone/small tablet.
Digitimes even went as far as to lay down some device specifications, including the fact that the Fonepad will unsurprisingly be run by an Intel processor. The relationship between the two companies is strong, as Asus employs Intel chips to power devices like the Transformer Book, Taichi and VivoBook. Android’s 4.1 Jelly Bean and 16 GB of built-in data storage will be on board the Fonepad, which will also offer a 3 megapixel camera, 7.0 inch display and 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution. No word on pricing or availability, and as soon as we have that information, we will pass it right along.
