Sometimes, gadget manufacturers make brilliant products which become a benchmark for that particular product category. But apart from compelling rivals to try harder, the manufacturer sets a benchmark for itself to beat in the future and for the industry as a whole to measure up to. 

Case in point – the Asus Fonepad series. The first Fonepad, launched last year, caught our attention as we were quite impressed with the first Nexus 7, which was launched before the Fonepad. We thought that the first Fonepad was a decent tab, but lacked in several departments.

 A year later, there’s a new Nexus 7, and well, a new Fonepad 7. Needless to say, we checked out if this story has a slightly better ending.

 

What’s new? A lot on the outside has been changed. Instead of having a metal-plastic combo, two-tone matte finish back panel like the older one, the new Fonepad 7 has a glossy, all-plastic back panel. And truth be told, although it is plastic, the construction quality looks and feels way more refined than the predecessor. Also it is glossy, but it’s not as slippery as you’d think it would be.

 Despite the exterior refinement, there are a few problems with the new design. Although the microSIM slot is a push-out one, the microSD slot is uncovered. Whether using expandable storage or not, the exposed slot can lead to a lot of dust, moisture and whatnot seeping into the device. The volume rocker and the power button are nicely placed though.

 On the inside, there’s a new processor. The new Intel Atom Z2560 with Hyper-Threading clocks at 1.6 GHz, a step up from the older Fonepad’s 1.2 GHz chip. The RAM has been kept at 1GB only, but internal storage has been doubled from 8GB to 16GB. The Fonepad 7 runs on Android Jelly Bean v4.2 out of the box, but it will be better if the manufacturer pushes out updates fast.

 There’s also a new 3950mAh battery, but that’s just about where the newness of the Fonepad 7 stops. The 7-inch IPS screen is still 1280x800 pixels – we’re not saying that there’s a problem with this. In fact, we liked the screen on the previous Fonepad as well. But the fact remains that 1080p is the way to go when 5-inch plus screens are concerned.

 The camera lineup too, is pretty much the same. The rear shooter is a 5MP camera and there’s a 1.2MP camera on the front. The only differences are the front camera’s placement (now at the centre of top panel) and the rear shooter can take 1080p videos (used to shoot at 720p with the older version). We don’t expect much from tablet cameras anyway, but then not upgrading the camera is certainly not acceptable.

Is it better? In a word, yes. The Fonepad 7 is definitely way better than its predecessor on many fronts. Although the screen is still 1200x800 pixels, the IPS panel has a very wide range of visibility angles, and is bright enough for using in the sunlight. Also, a new graphic processing unit (GPU) takes care of hi-def video watching.

The video rendering is spot on, and the front-facing dual speakers, combined with Asus SonicMaster audio technology, deliver sound that is more than decent by tablet standards. Also, you get Miracast support to mirror your media on compatible TVs. While trying this feature out we found it very easy to pair and operate. If you put all of this together, the Fonepad 7 becomes a very good portable entertainment gadget.

 As far as regular tasks are concerned the 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor is quite adept at handling daily tasks such as using multiple applications, browsing, multimedia and gaming. Sometimes all of it together. The proprietary Floating Apps feature is a good touch for multitaskers. It lets the users manage up to six apps simultaneously.

 The Fonepad 7 is very lightly skinned over stock Android, and the UI is customisable to a great extent. The way the Intel Atom processor manages the background processes is also great. Usually the problem with Android tablets, especially in this price range, is the occasional freezing due to a lot of system processes. The battery is actually a smaller one than the first-gen Fonepad, but it gave us nearly a full day of mixed content usage over WiFi and 3G.

Worth the money? As Rs 17,499, the Asus Fonepad 7 is a less expensive option than most phablets in the market. The call quality is pretty good on the tablet, but then again, talking on a 7-inch tablet still looks silly. Furthermore, Asus hasn’t supplied the Fonepad 7 with handsfree headsets, wireless or otherwise. But, if you look at it as a device that you can have fun with, without burning a deep hole in your pocket, and make the occasional call with it, the Fonepad 7 deserves your attention. Just don’t click any pictures with it.

Rs 17,499

Love – Good battery life; powerful processing

Hate – Shoddy camera; no bundled headset