At a packed press conference just before the opening of the Computex trade show in Taiwan, Asus announced several new products, including a challenger to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, named the Fonepad Note. Although it shares its name with the Fonepad tablet announced at Mobile World Congress, the Note is more phone than tablet this time around.
The device has a 6-inch (which is around the same size as the Galaxy Note 3 is expected to sport), Super IPS+ screen with a 1080p resolution, while the processor is not a Snapdragon or Tegra chip, but an Intel Atom Z2560 instead. One of several Intel-backed devices Asus unveiled today, the Z2560 chip has recently been linked with the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1.
A stylus is included with the Fonepad Note – just as we spotted in an Asus teaser video – and can be used for freehand sketches, writing notes on the screen, and with a selection of specially created Asus apps. On the rear of the device is an 8-megapixel camera, while above the screen is a 1.2-megapixel video call lens. Like the Fonepad tablet, the Note is equipped with a 3G radio, so it can make phone calls, but there’s no 4G LTE connectivity, only HSPA+.
It runs Google Android Jelly Bean, but we’re waiting for confirmation of the version number, along with final details such as storage memory, price and the release date. The Note has only just been announced, and further details should follow through the day, so we’ll update here as soon as we know more.
