Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Release: ASUS & Intel Launch Fonepad in India

New Delhi, 24 April, 2013: ASUS India, a leader in the new digital era, together with Intel India, today announced the availability of the ASUS Fonepad™ in India. The Fonepad is a competitively priced Phablet with 3G connectivity & calling features of a smartphone, with the versatility of a 7-inch tablet. Powered by the latest Intel® Atom™ processor Z2420 with Android 4.1, ASUS Fonepad™ features a vibrant HD display with IPS technology for wide viewing angles and outstanding clarity.

“Users now want a better screen with entertainment, social media and other online activities and this is playing an increasingly important part in our mobile lifestyles,” said Mr. Peter Chang, Regional Director – South Asia & Country Manager, System Business Group, ASUS India. “By incorporating 3G mobile data connectivity with full telephony support, we have made the ASUS Fonepad™ the perfect combination of a tablet and phone in one single device at an affordable price” 

“Innovation is key to success in the mobility segment and that’s our biggest strength. The ASUS Fonepad is a great example of bringing to the market what consumers want; an innovative product that addresses the emerging market, with a large screen size in a mobile device that runs fast with responsive applications,” said Debjani Ghosh, Managing Director- Sales and Marketing Group, Intel South Asia. “This is just the beginning. We will significantly increase the urgency to introduce a range of innovative and differentiated offerings that will shape the future of this segment.” 

ASUS blurs the phone-tablet line by launching Fonepad in India

Can’t decide if you want to spend your money on a phone or a tablet? The ASUS Fonepad makes the point moot, because it’s both. 

The company has launched the 7 -inch Android tablet in India today and the Fonepad can also make phone calls over a cellular network. ASUS unveiled the Fonepad internationally at MWC 2013 in February and has now announced the availability in India for Rs. 15,999. 

The tablet features a 7 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel IPS display, a 1.2 GHz Intel Atom Z2420 processor, 1GB of RAM, and up to 16GB of storage. It has a 1.2MP front-facing camera and a 3MP rear camera, built-in GPS and Glonass support, and up to 10 hours of battery life. The Fonepad supports WiFi and HSPA+.

Apparently, this isn’t the only category-blurring device Asus has. The company’s Padfone, the Transformer convertibles and the Taichi 31 takes a different approach toward the same segment, the ‘HYBRIDs’. These let you dock, un-dock, convert a smartphone into a tablet, a tablet into a phone, smart to use, a larger screen and to get a much longer and unrivaled battery life.

Follow me at @vaimasters

Monday, April 22, 2013

Is Fonepad on the cards??

If you are wondering when you might be able to get your hands on a 7-inch Phoneblet or if you call it a FAB-let, there is Good news — ASUS India may get you interested with its Fonepad. The price tag should please those who are looking for a tablet but not looking to spend much as it cost £179.99 (about $275) in the international market. For that, you get to use Intel’s first processor for Tablets, the 1.2GHz Atom Z2420 chipset.

The tablet features a 7-inch, 1280×800 display, a 4,270 mAh battery, 16GB of internal storage, a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (could be upgradeable to Android 4.2 over time).

This is an oversized phone with an underpriced tag. Decide whether you want to view this as an oversized phone or a tablet with phone capabilities.

Credits: ASUS Blog
 
@vaimasters

Monday, April 15, 2013

Could Asus Fonepad be coming to India next month?? : Facebook

Just today, the ASUS India Facebook page was updated with a rather unusual photo of their device which looks like a large Smartphone or a Phablet. So I did some background check on the designs from the company’s global website. It seems to be the ASUS Fonepad which is based on Intel's Z2420 chipset, which also happens to be Intel’s first venture into the tablet segment.

If this is on the company’s mind, the 7-inch Tab-Phone is likely to bring some new competition for the Indian tablet market. There couldn’t be a better timing for this as Samsung, Apple, Blackberry along with Micromax, Acer, etc. are already inching and hinting towards the affordable segments.

The ASUS Fonepad tablet was unveiled during the Mobile world Congress in Feb 2013 and was launched in the International market in the same month. If we convert the international price, the Indian variant should be priced at approximately Rs 20,000. Although the price is much more than what was being expected earlier but considering Asus's expertise in making such products, the price tag is also justified.

Check the company’s Facebook update and comment if you agree: https://www.facebook.com/AsusIndi

If you want them to get back to you, register on http://asusindia.co.in/InsearchOfIncredible 

Follow me @vaimasters

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Is it India VS China? Really?


2012 - The year of the tablets. Fine. But we need to move past it towards innovating more. For the general, what is in the market is acceptable and satisfying. But the real potential is still in the labs and would be out anytime. But as of now, with the success of Micromax Canvas HD, its new 3D variant, Karbonn's sundry phablets and mobiles, Huawei, etc. have made it more of a India versus China battle, with the Korean and Taiwanese giants hovering over them.

Since the start of the year, the Indian market has seen a slew of big-screen handset releases from both domestic and international companies. And surprisingly, the country's smartphone business is pre-dominantly ruled by local manufacturers thanks to the affordability of the devices. Now, Chinese smartphone makers known for their cheap feature-phones have joined the race to get a formidable market share in the lucrative low-cost phablet segment.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Gartner Says Worldwide PC, Tablet and Mobile Phone Combined Shipments to Reach 2.4 Billion Units in 2013

Driven by strong uptake of smartphones and tablet PCs, Gartner forecasts the global sales to grow 9% to total 2.4 billion units in 2013 from 2012. The proliferation of lower-priced tablets and their growing capability is accelerating the shift from PCs to tablets.

On the contrary, the traditional PC market of notebooks and desk-based units is expected to decline 7.6 % in 2013. According to Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner, "There will be some individuals who retain both a personal PC and a tablet, especially those who use either or both for work and play, most will be satisfied with the experience they get from a tablet as their main computing device." 

ASUS announces the Nexus 7 tablet in India

ASUS India, last week, has announced the much awaited and unrivaled ASUS Nexus 7 tablet, which sports stellar specifications and a portable design. Powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, and Jellybean OS, this stunning 7-inch tablet enjoys an all-day battery life and more storage. Moreover, there is mobile data for an uninterrupted connection, making the tablet the perfect outdoor companion. 



ASUS Nexus 7 comes with a textured tactile design for enhanced comfort measuring just 10.45mm thin and 340g light and featuring Android 4.2, which is the latest version of the world's most popular mobile platform. Its 7” display delivers an advanced multimedia experience. It also features the ASUS TruVivid technology with Corning® Fit Glass for improved color clarity, scratch resistance and a 178° wide-viewing angle IPS display ensures unrivaled visual acuity. 

Friday, April 5, 2013

ASUS unveils VivoBook S550CM Ultrabook in India


I have just recently got an update from ASUS India mentioning that they have launched their metal-styled touch VivoBook S550CM Ultrabook in India. This metal styled Ultrabook comes with an Optical Drive. It packs touch, discrete performance, SSD speed and hard drive storage capacity in a sleek design.

The ASUS VivoBook S550CM comes with glass panel touchscreen and optimized software. With its Ultrabook form-factor, the notebook packs exciting features in a slender build, matching the dynamic nature of the new, high-portable and intuitive computing.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Knowing your Smartphone Sensors

Hi Everyone. The gadgets are zooming past with classic features and paving way to their extinct. Just some time back, we were getting used to the word "Smartphone" and "Tablet" and now we don't seem to be getting over them. Lenovo, HP, Apple, Samsung and now even Google are pouncing in this industry to get more. Millions have it, Millions are waiting for it and Billions more are saving for it... So has the industry come to.
Keeping that aside, do we really understand the gadgets that we are so proud of buying?

Sensors are now not a luxury that they were sometime back. Gadgets literally are smart because of these sensors. You may soon find even a barometer, thermometer, and hygrometer (to measure humidity). The tremendous growth of sensor technology in Smartphone increases day by day and will experience fabulously over the next few years.