华硕Fonepad ME371MG平板测评

For the original German review, see here.

The times where cellphones were shrinking every year are apparently over. Now the motto is "think big", at least when it's up to the manufacturers. They are increasing the size of their smartphones with every new generation. The artificial term "phablet" will likely prevail as the category name. However, "smartlet" is also read occasionally in German-speaking countries. The pioneer of large phones was Samsung's Galaxy Note that has a diagonal of over 5-inches. The latest top-models from Sony and HTC as well as the eagerly awaited Samsung Galaxy S4 are either just below this 5-inch size or even surpass it. Compared with our current Asus Fonepad test device, they almost look puny. The Fonepad features a screen size of 7-inches. We categorize it as a tablet with phone functionality due to just this fact and its name. A headset is not required.

Asus fills a gap that perhaps doesn't even exist with the Fonepad, and it is something special with its Intel CPU beyond that. Until now only two smartphones based on Intel's Atom exist, namely Motorola's RAZR i and ZTE's Grand X IN. The Fonepad is thus the first Atom powered Android tablet. Further key specs are a 1 GB working memory and 16 GB of expandable internal storage, Android 4.1, a 1280x800 pixel IPS screen and a 3G module with HSPA+. All this is available in the colors Champagne Gold and our test device's Titanium Gray. The price is 229 Euros (~$300).

Accessories

Asus includes a USB cable and a small PSU that supplies the USB port with power. Besides that, there are only some printed documents.

Warranty

The manufacturer gives a 24 month warranty on its device.

Telephony

This chapter is normally omitted in tablet reviews. However, since the Fonepad also can be used for calls we naturally wanted to take a quick look at the corresponding app. It is quite slim and, apart from the compulsory key field, call and contact lists it does not really have anything interesting to offer. However, this also prevents confusion and can be used intuitively right away.

Asus has done an almost perfect job with the touchscreen and control buttons on the Fonepad. The phone-tablet's use is very smooth; the touchscreen accepts gestures with up to 10 fingers. This will rarely ever be the case. It is important that commands are implemented accurately and quickly. The power button and volume rocker are well-palpable and feature a decent pressure point. However, they are not always easy to access because of the beveled sides. It is difficult to press the buttons when the Fonepad is held in one hand without the device slipping out of the hand. The Android symbols are permanently faded in at the screen's lower edge. This facilitates use but also takes up a bit of the screen's surface. Rotating screen content only takes a second.

The screen in Asus' Fonepad has a diagonal of 7-inches, which is exactly the same size of many current tablets. However, in contrast to the Fonepad, they usually cannot be used to make calls. The resolution of 1280x800 pixels is on a par with Google's Nexus 7 and exceeds the 7.9-inch Apple iPad Mini that only displays 1024x768 pixels in a 4:3 aspect ratio. In contrast, Asus uses the 16:10 widescreen format. The pixel density is 215 ppi, which is enough for a sharp display of even fine details.

The screen does not achieve top rates in the lab. Particularly the measured maximum brightness of 300 cd/m² could be higher. Nevertheless, a very high contrast of 1020:1 results due to the comparatively good black value of 0.3 cd/m². The illumination of 85% is only middling. The brightness particularly decreases in the lower right corner, which is also vaguely perceptible on a white screen.

The graphics solution is the same one used in both Intel smartphones. However, their higher SoC clock leads to somewhat better scores in all graphics benchmarks. Overall, Asus' Fonepad is in the upper midfield in graphics performance anyway. 

The internet performance results were also quite good. The Fonepad placed itself before or on the same level as both Intel smartphones. Google's Nexus 7 was surpassed in most benchmarks. This is also in line with the subjective browsing speed that does not give reason for complaint.

Last but not least, we looked at the NAND memory performance. We used the AndroBench 3 benchmark app for this. Asus' Fonepad displayed a solid performance but did not stand out in any particular test. It has the low 4K block write score in common with most contenders.

Users who actually put the big 7-inch Asus Fonepad to their ear, or more likely to their head for making calls, will be treated to quite good audio quality. Voices are loud and clear. Of course, the sound is not absolutely natural but that is rarely the case in mobile networks. The integrated speaker also does a good job as a hands-free system. Nevertheless, a headset should be included in a telephone-tablet's scope of accessories.

Temperature

Heat development is a major issue particularly in very cheap tablets. Even the power supply often gets very hot. Asus' Fonepad is certainly not a cheap device though and the manufacturer apparently has the waste heat issue perfectly under control. The ascertained surface temperatures do not allow any other conclusions. The surface never surpassed a temperature of 31.5 °C at any of the 18 measuring points in routine use where the processor is mostly idle. The maximum temperature only increased by 1 °C during full load, which is very good. However, the temperature of the obviously too small power supply did not appeal to us. The infrared thermometer recorded a maximum rate of over 60 °C. That is much too high and it also feels hot when held in the hand.

The battery capacity of 16 Wh is quite high. It is exactly the same as in Google's Nexus 7. However, the battery runtimes were not always on the same good level. Asus' Fonepad lasts much longer than the contender from the American corporation in single tests. The shortest battery runtime that we ascertained during simulated full load via the Stability Test app and maximum brightness was a very good 4:15 hours. However, the Nexus 7 and Fonepad are almost equal in the Wi-Fi test, performed with 150 cd/m². Asus' Fonepad and Google's Nexus 7 good maximum runtimes of 18:54 hours were also very similar, which we ascertained using a read script.

We experienced a nasty surprise when it came to the recharging time using the series' power supply. It needed a whole eight hours to completely recharge the Fonepad.