The Fonepad Note 6, in the flesh!

Aside from the Fonepad 7 Dual-SIM, Asus also brought out their Fonepad Note 6 phablet to their event last night. We haven’t really seen this particular gadget in the flesh before even after Asus’ ninja-launched it back in December, so we were glad to finally get around to actually using their jumbo sized phablet.

ASUS FonePad Note 6 Spec Sheet

•     2.0GHz Intel Atom Z2580 Dual-Core Processor
•     PowerVR SGX544MP2 Graphics
•     2GB DDR2 RAM
•     16GB Internal Storage, Expandable via MicroSD Card
•     6.0-inches IPS+ Full HD Display, 19280 x 1080 pixels
•     8.0-megapixels primary camera
•     1.2-megapixels secondary camera
•     3G, HSPA+, WiFi, WiFi Hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS/aGPS
•     3,200mAh Battery
•     Android Jelly Bean 4.2
•     SRP: Php 19,995

Initial Impressions: Big on size and specs, but not unmanageable

The Fonepad Note 6 doesn’t mess around when it comes with the specs. While it only has a dual-core processor, it uses Intel’s Hyperthreading technology that allows it to run 4 threads at any given time, which makes it perform much like a quad-core processor. Its other specs aren’t too shabby as well – 2GB of RAM, 6-inch full HD IPS display and 8-megapixel camera. Aside from those features, the Fonepad Note 6 also has an included stylus, which makes it clear that the Fonepad Note 6 a direct competitor of the Galaxy Note 3.

There’s no getting around it – the Fonepad 6 is a big device. It’s smooth, rounded body and corners make using it one handed a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, Asus has a one handed-mode that allows you to scale the screen down several screen sizes below 5-inches for efficient one handed operation, either on the left side or the right. The white finish is quite fetching, though the silver trim feels a bit too plasticky for our taste. The display is nice and bright, and readable even under direct sunlight at 71 Gramercy where the event was held.

Like the Note 3, taking out the stylus launches Asus’ own note taking software. There are Asus analogues to Samsung’s S-Pen software solutions – even the Air View function is replicated with the Fonepad Note 6. Asus also just didn’t take a stylus and put it in the Fonepad Note 6 though – the Fonepad 6 uses a Wacom digitizer, and while we’re not exactly sure if its the same one on the Note 3, the fact that the company used Wacom’s solution means that they’re serious about the stylus part of the Fonepad Note 6 equation.

As far as performance is concerned, the Fonepad Note 6 is a pretty solid performer, thanks mainly to the Intel Atom processor inside it. While we were not able to run AnTuTu on the device given the poor internet at the event, you only need to look as far as the Starmobile Engage 9i to get a gauge of the similarly specc’d Fonepad Note 6’s possible performance. One worry that we have is that the Fonepad Note 6 may have the same heat management issues as the Starmobile Engage 9i because of the processor, though only a longer, more in-depth review will reveal that for sure. That’s it for this hands-on. We’re trying to wrangle a review unit from Asus so we can give you guys a full review.