Asus launches 7-inch Fonepad for Rs 15,999

Aiming to tap the Indian tablet and smartphone market, notebook maker Asus on Wednesday launched a 7-inch phablet called Fonepad running on Android 4.1 platform with 3G connectivity and powered by an Intel processor.

Phablet are a class of smartphones with screen sizes ranging from 5-8 inches and designed to combine functions of a phone and tablet.

"By incorporating 3G mobile data connectivity with full telephony support, Asus Fonepad is the prefect combination of a tablet and phone in a single device," Asus India Regional Director South Asia and Country Manager System Business Group Peter Chang said.

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Powered by an Intel Atom processor Z2420, Fonepad comes in a sleek metallic design weighing 340 grams and has a slim 10.4 mm profile. Besides, it has 8 GB internal memory and comes with a microSD slot for up to 32 GB additional storage.

The phablet has up to nine hours of battery life, Chang claimed, adding that it has a 1.2 mega pixel front camera and a 3-mega pixel rear camera with 720p HD video recording.

Fonepad also sports ASUS SonicMaster audio technology with MaxxAudio 3 processing audio technology for clear sound quality, he said.

"Fonepad has been competitively priced at Rs 15,999 and it will be available from next week," Chang added.

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Speaking at the launch, Intel South Asia Managing Director (Sales and Marketing) Debjani Ghosh said Fonepad is a great example of bringing to the market an innovative product that addresses the emerging market with a large screen size in a mobile device that runs fast with responsive applications.

"We will significantly increase the urgency to introduce a range of innovative and differentiated offerings that will shape the future of this segment. India will be 50 per cent market for phablets in the APAC (Asia Pacific) region in the coming time," she added.

On being asked about Asus planning on launching smartphones, Chang said: "Asus cannot avoid smartphones and it is one point which we are contemplating."

On Intel's plans on android and windows devices, Ghosh said: "We are working with Microsoft and also on Android platform."