Langkawi Chronicles: New Gadget Review - Asus FonePad ME371MG

The absence of a smart-device finally pushed me off the edge. My Galaxy Note it seems requires a more uhm, stringent inspection and would need to be sent outside of Langkawi. I consented of course, despite at moments wanting to fling the damned thing into a wall for failing on me nary 2 years after buying it.

My previous phone lasted a good 3.5 years before I gave it away to significant other half when she needed one after she lost her phone (which was right after me buying the G Note).

I don't think I am particularly rough with my gadgets, I take precautions to sleeve it in some kind of protection or case - TPU or 'Jelly' types usually, or the occasional Hard case type. I do back-ups and memory updates as soon as they are released by the developers. But, my G Note decided to take the midnight train to anywhere just the same.

Shit.

So, after some soul searching (a long one! I didn't wanna spend so much cash on a new gadget in the event it dies again and I am ruined financially!), I decided to buy the new Asus FonePad, a tablet with 3 calls/telephony capabilities.

Le box and le FonePad.

Ordered it from Superbuy.my and about a week later it arrived. Never mind it took so long, no thanks to TNT, bloody slow couriers.

Simple enough packaging, a black box containing the tablet, micro usb cable, 3 pin fast charger and a manual/warranty booklet. I appreciate the fact that Asus decided not to include wired earphones as those that come supplied are often not good enough for me (that's looking at you Samsung!). Asus' rational was that many gadget owners would already have a few lying about and those who are serious about their music will always have their own personal choice of head vs earphones. Makes sense to me. However, it also did not include a Blue tooth headset (yeah, wishful thinking). I take it Asus wanted to keep the cost down. -1.

No fluff whatsoever.

Setting it up was easy enough with free Wi-Fi at work and as usual the standard gamut of Android (Jelly Bean 4.1.2) startup apps came into play. The screen started up and the soft shine of the 7 Inch IPS screen shone to life. As a person who is used to Super AMOLED, I felt a tad let down by the lack of 'Pop' for colours. It still is a full HD LCD screen with 1280 X 800 resolution, with a PPI hovering around 220.  However, IPS screen does have a few advantages - softer light being emitted results in less eye strain, greater viewing angle, and better power consumption, and these are only discovered after repeated use of the FonePad.+1.

Power button and volume rocker

Bottom ports - micro usb for data transfers & charging
and the 3.5mm head/earphone jack

I loved the fact that the physical buttons are all at the top left edge. Away from accidental presses while gaming or landscape-oriented gadget use (I am a rightie, so I hold my tablet in my left). The only other visible ports would be for the micro usb and the 3.5mm headphones and these are placed on the bottom of the device. Access for the Micro SIM and External micro SD card which is supported up to 32gb (and even an external HDD via OTG cable- mine is a Seagate 1Tb Backup Plus), is hidden behind a back panel which was a real bitch to remove. Looks easy enough in the many YouTube videos, but I wasted close to an hour trying to thumb the thing off. In the end I had to resort to using a blade to slip into the tiny gap and slowly lever the thing off. At least now I an sure it wont come off easily and lose the bloody thing somewhere. -1.

Bloody hard to remove SIM & SD card cover!

Using the device is a joy as the 7inch screen size is certainly upgrade from my 5inch G Note, the black bezel framing the screen quite well. The best part is of course the Intel Atom Z2420 chip. It is actually the latest chip from Intel designed for use specifically in mobile devices. Single-core yes, but this lean chip supports 'hyperthreading' which functions somewhat like what a dual-core chip would. It made my browsing and page flicking and swiping smooth and zippy. This is indeed a wonderful surprise from Intel and Asus. Heavy graphic games, especially with 3D rendering like Dungeon Hunter 4 and Temple Run 2, certainly show some lag and stuttering, but that is common even for a dual core device. However, the combination of Jellybean's low memory use and Intel's Atom chip works well. I am yet to experience a Force Closure of any apps. All JB operating devices have this annoying pop-up that comes on when a certain activity is not responding, but on the FonePad, as soon as I tick the 'wait for response' option, invariably the app resumes. To me this says the chip's capability does not let up. +1

Battery life is also outstanding (4270 ma/h) with Asus saying it would last about 9 hours on talk-time. I can be considered a heavy user - Sync On, Emails/Whatsapp/Messaging, Videos and Streaming as well as some gaming, so I was very impressed with the 6 hours and 39 minutes the device gave me despite my constant use of surfing, gaming and videos. On most days since I have had it, the battery meter only decreases and 1-5% after lunch (from 100%). I work using a lappie and free WiFi, so it reduces demand on my own data enabled FonePad. Activate the battery monitoring Asus App - Power Saver, and it places greater control on battery consumption. +1.

As far as Skins or Apps go, Asus has placed very little onto the FonePad so I get a near vanilla Android feel to it. The few Apps installed certainly do help me in my work - Asus' own Audio Wizard (nice sounds from this tablet), Studio (a wonderful tweak that allows Picture & Video file creation and cataloguing), WebStorage (5gb of cloud storage), Splendid (for managing the Screen and Colours) and of course my faves, floating Apps that function like mini pop-ups (12 in total, including a Note taking app which after using the G Note, is something I look for in any device). +1.

The front and back cameras are of course (1.2 & 3.1 MP respectively) working only with passing ability. It could have certainly been better. Pictures turn up washed out and grainy, and sometimes out of focus; no thanks to the auto-focus's problems. The lack of an LED flash is also a real issue. I have seen better performance on other 3MP snappers so it isn't about the 3MP resolution at all, perhaps the App itself or the hardware (lens mainly). I will have to try downloading a Camera App from Google Play and see if this situation improves. -1.

Dessert of Pandan Kaswi looking sandy!

Shrimp in Chili Tamarind also looking sandy!

One of the better shots, after the lens finally
managed to stop focusing/un-focusing.

The 7inch tablet with 3g calling and telephony works perfectly for me. And when I am making calls, I don't hear any distortion or is it any difficult to use. It functions and works exactly like it should on any other Android device (only this is a 7incher). I do feel a right twat with this slapped on my face while making/taking calls, so having a Blue tooth headset will greatly reduce my embarrassment (although, many seem to be perfectly okay with having a book sized phone across their faces). To each their own I guess. +1.

The best thing is the price! I bought mine from Superbuy at only RM709! A steal as it easily outdoes most other phones in the same price range (and then some). A beautifully designed sub-RM800 Tablet/Phone combo that has all the required bells & whistles, metal back panel, wonderful sloping edges and solid performer to boot. What else can one hope for?

Heheh, because of the savings (retail it is RRP RM849, which is still cheap, by the way), I have ordered myself a BT Keyboard Case (click here)  and a 16gb micro SD card. Lets see what I can get up to with the keyboard!

Still in the mail. Can't wait!

You can read more on the about the full specs of Asus FonePad, by clicking this.