With tablet computer boom, the customer got exposed to the convenience
of big screens and to the possibilities of work-on-the-go devices that
could handle presentations, spreadsheets, documents et al, without the
need to boot up the laptop. Luxury became necessity.
However, they were
stuck to the needs of a cellphone as well. A 7” device is
simply too unwieldy for making phone calls, though a few brave souls did
try to stick a tablet to their ear and make calls. Bluetooth headsets
were one solution, but that was just a workaround.
With the 5” Galaxy Note, Samsung set a template, and the word phablet
--- phones that could be used as tablets --- was born. The device has
found great market acceptance, and has spawned several imitations. We
look at four options this week --- two in the premium range and two in
the budget
category.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2
The 5.3”-screen Galaxy Note 1 was the first off the block. Early
adapters welcomed it with open arms, and encouraged Samsung to upgrade
the device last year with Jelly Bean, the latest version of the Android
OS. The Note 2 has a slightly more curvaceous design, and features a
quad-core processor that speeds up things. Camera specs (8 megapixel
rear, 2 megapixel front) were unchanged, but the screen became an even
bigger 5.5” high-definition. At the time of writing, it is the prettiest
phablet screen available.
One leading feature of the Note siblings is the stylus, which Samsung
calls the S-Pen. It extends the versatility of the phone, and can be
used to take notes, make drawings and edit pictures, adding to your
multimedia experience.
LG Optimus Vu
This is the other big banner phone in the segment. It also runs on
Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.4), but its screen is 5” — but then, it
does cost less too. It too has a quad-core processor and a rear 8MP
camera, though the front one is only 1.3 MP, and the screen is only a
WXGA with a 4:3 resolution — neither as sharp nor as vivid as Galaxy
Note. So the question is, what is your primary purpose. For everyday
tasks such as email, phone calls and a bit of browsing, the LG is value
for money, but if you watch movies or hi definition videos, or play
high-end games, you will feel the difference.
The Vu too has a stylus, but sadly, LG forgot to create a slot for it in the device, and you have to carry it separately. On the flip side, the device comes with a free flip cover in the box.
Lava Iris 501
This is the latest entry in the phablet market. Lava is not really a
big player but seems to have big plans for the price-sensitive market.
The screen is 5” with WVGA resolution (notice that the resolution comes
down with the price), i.e 800 x 480 pixels, which is good for web
browsing, emails and basic YouTube videos, but like in the LG Vu, you
will not be able to see high-definition content.
The camera is 5 MP at the rear and 0.3 MP in the front — good enough
to shoot and share social pictures, but video calling requires a
brightly-lit room. The processor is dual-core, but it is fast enough
since the screen has a lower resolution.
Micromax A110
The A110 is commonly called the Canvas 2, and has been available for
some time now. It is the cheapest phablet we reviewed. Specs are similar
to the Lava phone: dual-core processor, a 5” FWVGA screen (with a
slightly higher resolution at 480x854) and a 0.3 MP VGA front camera.
The rear camera is better at 8MP, though, which is the only scoring
point over the Lava — apart from the Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS
(4.0.3).
VERDICT
Overall, the economy phablets give their costlier siblings a run for
their money. If you don’t care for the name tag, and are only looking
for a phone that can work as a tablet too, and don’t really need HD
video playback, the economy tablets feature better. They even have dual
SIM capability which the larger brands do not have.
