Help me chose an android phablet (phone/tablet hybrid) to meet my snowflake needs?

December 28, 2012 12:02 PM

Help me chose an android phablet (phone/tablet hybrid) to meet my snowflake needs?

I'd like to use a 7 inch tab as my phone. I'll be willing to use speakerphone or Headphones, but the tablet must allow for Sim card usage (unlocked. AGSM). Must be Android. And for reference I'm coming from note II which I love but I'd prefer bigger :-)

I'd prefer a removable battery so I can buy an extra battery  for backup. 

I'd prefer additional external storage space up to 64 gigs.(32 is acceptable too I guess) because I use lots of media.

I want it under 8 inches but above 6.5

One of the main reasons I am doing this is that tablets are permitted to be on, on airplane but phones never are, even in flight mode.

I prefer Samsung or Google but it seems they don't have any that meet my needs.


( closest being nexus 7, and Samsung tab 2 7.0) but nexus has small storage and no removable.battery and maybe even no sim card slot? 

I'm willing to wait a couple months if something is coming out before.March. 

I realize I'll probably have to compromise somewhere but what are the closest tablets to what I want?

posted by crawltopslow to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

One name you haven't mentioned is Evo; any reason?
posted by BibiRose at 12:21 PM on December 28, 2012

One of the main reasons I am doing this is that tablets are permitted to be on, on airplane but phones never are, even in flight mode.

Have we been flying on different airlines? I've only been told once that I couldn't use my phone on a plane. I ignored the stewardess and we definitely didn't crash.
posted by Strass at 12:30 PM on December 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'd like to use a 7 inch tab as my phone.

Making phone calls is not a common feature of tablets. Even the ones with SIM cards typically use that for data, not voice. If you want that feature, you are looking at importing cheap, outdated, no-name tablets from China and you'll be on your own in terms of getting it to work with whatever carrier you use.

If you're okay with doing Voice over IP on the tablet (e.g. GrooVeIP), then pretty much any of them is fine; I got a Nexus 7 for Christmas and would recommend it.
posted by kindall at 12:32 PM on December 28, 2012

One of the main reasons I am doing this is that tablets are permitted to be on, on airplane but phones never are, even in flight mode.

Seconding that I can't speak for your airline, of course, but this is not my experience at all.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 12:33 PM on December 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm willing to wait a couple months if something is coming out before.March.


There are rumors of a Note 3 with a 6.3" screen coming out next year. It's supposed to be announced at CES 2013, which is Jan 8-11.

(And nth-ing everyone else - the whole point of "airplane mode" is to use your phone on an airplane)
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:48 PM on December 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Plenty of tabs do phone calls via speaker phone and or Headphones. Its not uncommon at all.

As for airlines, I live in Asia and i have been asked almost every time I. watch a movie on my phone to turn it off. Even if someone near me is watching a movie on a tablet. My flights are intra and inter Asia.

Anyway I don't want to focus on airline policy. I want to get tab recommendations.

I'm not familiar with evo. Link plz?
posted by crawltopslow at 12:54 PM on December 28, 2012

Mod note: Folks, please stick to answering the question and don't get derailed by the airplane policy thing.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 1:09 PM on December 28, 2012

I live in Asia

This would have been good to know before I made my comment based on product names and availability in the US, where (as I said) tablets with phone capability are nigh nonexistent and would need to be imported from, well, Asia, where they exist.
posted by kindall at 10:21 AM on December 29, 2012