This year is indeed the year of the tablets. The
iPad,
Samsung Galaxy Tab, the
Cherry Mobile Superion,
Redfox WizPad or even those clones like the
iPed are just among the cool gadgets which hit and continue hitting the stores.
But here in the Philippines, there's something more than that. A homegrown Android tablet from the country's telco juggernaut - the
PLDT TelPad.
The
PLDT TelPad is a 7-inch Android tablet bundled with PLDT myDSL broadband internet. It docks on a handset (like the usual home telephone) which allows subscribers to make and receive phone calls. For you to picture it out, take a look at the photo below.
 |
| The PLDT TelPad |
PLDT TelPad AD-1000 SpecsAndroid 2.2 (Froyo)
1GHz Cortex A8 processor
7-inch TFT LCD, 480 x 800 pixels
2GB Built-in storage, 32GB Standard SD
512MB RAM
2MP SVGA (800 x 600 pixels) front camera
Wi-Fi, 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
HDMI
Standard USB Port
Built-in speaker and microphone
Accelerometer
3.5mm headphones
8.24 x 5 inches
4000 mAh Li-Polymer standard battery
Quoted from the official press release,
The PLDT TelPad service starts at Plan 1849 with 1-megabit-per-second (Mbps) broadband connection and landline service. The PLDT TelPad unit comes bundled with the plan. Existing PLDT myDSL customers only need to add as low as P500/month to upgrade to the TelPad plans. The other PLDT TelPad plans are Plan 2099 at 1.5 Mbps (P2,099 per month), Plan 3095 at 2.5 Mbps, and Plan 4100 at 3.5 Mbps. All these are inclusive of the landline phone and myDSL broadband service.
I wish I could see this unit physically, or probably write a review about it. Anyway, just stay tuned. You may read the full press release below.
Click to Read Press ReleasePLDT introduces PLDT TelPad
Innovative package combines landline, DSL and a touch-screen tablet
MANILA, Philippines, December 13, 2010 –- The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is transforming the face, feel and future of the fixed line business with a new offering that bundles a landline service with a touch-screen tablet and a high speed myDSL service all under one service plan.
The PLDT TelPad unit includes a special handset that also serves as a charging dock for an application-rich, 7-inch screen tablet computer. Subscribers can use the handset or the portable tablet computer to make and receive phone calls and access over a hundred thousand online applications. This is on top of the unlimited broadband access of the bundled service.
“We are reshaping the future of the landline and we are starting to bring it to the market now,” said PLDT president and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno. “We are proud that the PLDT TelPad was conceptualized and developed here in the Philippines using world-class technology.”
The PLDT TelPad tablet is powered by a 1Ghz Cortex A8 processor that enables the device to deliver snappy performance. It runs on Android’s latest operating system version 2.2, which offers genuine multi-tasking capabilities. Users of TelPad can download a wide range of applications from the Android Market, Google’s online store which offers over 125,000 applications like business apps, e-books and magazines and digital games like the highly popular Angry Birds.
Storage won’t be a problem as the unit’s 2GB internal capacity can be augmented by an SD card and USB slot for extended storage. The TelPad also carries a 2-megapixel front camera for still shots and videoconference calls.
The PLDT TelPad service starts at Plan 1849 with 1-megabit-per-second (Mbps) broadband connection and landline service. The PLDT TelPad unit comes bundled with the plan. Existing PLDT myDSL customers only need to add as low as P500/month to upgrade to the TelPad plans.
The other PLDT TelPad plans are Plan 2099 at 1.5 Mbps (P2,099 per month), Plan 3095 at 2.5 Mbps, and Plan 4100 at 3.5 Mbps. All these are inclusive of the landline phone and myDSL broadband service.
“We’ve packed the PLDT TelPad with features that will dramatically change how we use landlines,” said PLDT Senior Vice President Eric R. Alberto, adding that the Philippine market, with its growing number of ‘netizens’, is ready for an innovative service such as the PLDT Telpad.
“We expect TelPad will be very well received and will create a new market of adopters to this new and exciting service. We are bringing back relevance to and expanding the value proposition of the landline in the home,” he added.
“We have reinvented the landline to take on the emerging digital lifestyle and the growing consumer appetite for rich multi-media content”, said Dan Ibarra PLDT Group Head of Retail Business.
“The intuitive design allows subscribers to access information, entertainment and lifestyle apps easily with simple touch of the screen. Aside from Android based applications such as e-readers, news widgets and games, there are other apps being developed for a more enjoyable PLDT TelPad experience,” Ibarra added.
Patrick Tang, PLDT Vice President for Retail Voice, said PLDT Telpad highlights the enhanced value of landlines to households and businesses. “The PLDT TelPad tablet has built-in widgets and many applications that can access PLDT-run content-rich portals such as PLDT@Home, askPLDT and very soon, even PLDT Watchpad, which is PLDT’s online multi-media entertainment portal.”
Subscribers who enjoy a multi-media lifestyle can also take advantage of the TelPad’s built-in HDMI port which can be plugged into any flat screen TV allowing subscribers to watch movies, play games and very soon, even sing along with the Videoke app on the TV’s larger screen, making the multimedia experience richer. The TelPad tablet can also be used to listen to music, read e-mail and display photo slideshows.
Its web-based interface and multi-media functions also opens the door for new communities and services that provide information and entertainment through its wide range of home- and business-based applications.
Recently, PLDT also completed the P2.8-billion upgrade of the PLDT Domestic Fiber Optic Network, the country’s most extensive and resilient fiber optic network with a total of 10,050 kilometers connecting 68 nodes and equipped with a total network bandwidth capacity of 1.56 Terabytes.
This will support the high-bandwidth requirements of innovations such as the PLDT TelPad, Alberto said.
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The first TelPad we learned last year, model AD-1000, was actually made by Andy Technology; and it was unclear what’s the model of the tablet built to it. But it does carry standard specs of an entry-level tablet like Android Froyo OS, 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM, 2GB storage, 4000mAh battery, and wireless connectivity support. And this time though, PLDT is offering a new variant and it’s called TelPad S7 Slim. I’m thinking S7 Slim actually refers to the 7-inch Huawei IDEOS tablet. If so, seems like PLDT TelPad S7 Slim specs sheet didn’t match that of Huawei IDEOS’.