14 DAY TRIAL // Some time ago, ASUS launched the Padfone, essentially a smartphone with a dock that turns it into a tablet. Now, the company is releasing the opposite, so to speak.
The company has posted a YouTube video in which is exposes the impending arrival of the Fonepad.
In it, a statue of Christopher Columbus is holding a tablet, which suddenly starts ringing. That causes the statue to answer the phone call.
Indeed, from what ASUS is hinting, the Fonepad is a normal tablet in all respects, except for the fact that it can actually pick up voice calls.
Normally, slates don't have that ability, even though they possess Wi-Fi and, often, 3G/4G.
Apparently, ASUS has figured that if such devices can handle video calls, voice calls should be easy enough to add.
The real cause behind the lack of voice on tablets is that customers aren't likely to make carrier contracts for them, only for smartphones. Tablets with data plans have been getting more common though, so it might be time to change things.