Does anyone use a Tab as their phone?

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Does anyone use a Tab as their phone?

simon14

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#154039 16-Oct-2014 10:28

I'm thinking of replacing my Note 2 with this Samsung Tab:

Samsung GALAXY Tab S 8.4"

Does anyone else use a tab as their mobile phone?

I'm assuming it would look rather silly at first holding such a big device up to your head. For those long calls, i could always use a head set though.

The only other problem is that it wont fit in my pocket.

I like the big screen as i have shocking vision.

Thoughts?

DravidDavid

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#1156021 16-Oct-2014 11:54

If you have a problem with your vision, it might be very beneficial for you. But I can't imagine others using a tablet as their phone unless they also had a problem seeing the text.

There might be an app for forwarding calls from your tablet to your phone that you could have in your pocket for when the tablet is in the car or out of quick reach. Or have the tablet ring so many times before calling your actual phone.

Can't imagine holding a tablet to my head for a conversation with my mother, but as you say, it wouldn't be unusual with a headset. I would be more than likely to assume you were on a Skype call.

NZtechfreak

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#1156033 16-Oct-2014 12:12

I don't but increasingly considered it, probably make the jump when the right tablet comes along - I think the Sony Z3 Tablet Compact looks better than the Tab S 8.4 myself.

I would probably concede to using a headset with a tablet, although to be honestly I would also feel comfortable using it against my head like a regular phone. I'm secure enough not to give a rats about what others think (apart from using it as a camera, that's just wrong :).

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simon14

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#1156054 16-Oct-2014 12:30

mmmm, maybe a slightly smaller tab would be a better option - like a 7inch.

chiefie

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#1156061 16-Oct-2014 12:41

Just be aware that not all tablets can function or have phone.app. Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact seems to have phone.app installed.

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simon14

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#1156068 16-Oct-2014 12:52

yea that's a good point, thanks.

tigercorp

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#1156586 17-Oct-2014 09:47

I've been using the Tab S 8.4 LTE as the daily phone for 2 weeks now.
I'm a little biased in favour of tablets as I came from the original Tab (7") to the Tab 7.7 then dropped down in size to the Note 3. While I do love the Note 3 I found myself still using the 7.7 for everything non call/message/camera related e.g reading, browsing, gps so wanted to go back to just one (large) device.

Re the size, I don't really care how it looks to hold the phone up to the ear but 90% of the time I'm using a bluetooth headset. It also fits into all my jacket pockets, the back pocket of all my jeans and the front pocket of my work trousers.

Some cons:
- no notification light. I'm using NoLed from the Play store but would have preferred a real blinking led
- no NFC. Would make pairing my headset easier
- I can't find a (decent) car mount. I'd like to use it as the gps and charge it in the car
- the battery life feels much worse than the Note 3 and Tab 7.7. I haven't measured anything, this is definitely a 'feeling' based on noticing how quickly the batter counter seems to decrease. Obviously its got a lot bigger screen than the Note but I'd have thought they'd have compensated with a much bigger battery.

Some pros:
- the screen. The quality is incredible.
- build quality is excellent
- the screen
- the dialler app makes much better use of the screen than the Tab and Tab 7.7
- the screen
- its super light and easy to hold for long periods of time. I read a lot on it.
- the screen

Zippity

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#1156619 17-Oct-2014 10:02

I have a Samsung GalaxyTab 2 which uses a 2Degrees card - costs me $19 a month.

Their carryover plan currently has me with 384 minutes talk time available

Rather than hold the tablet up to my ear (and look like a compete idiot) I can use my blue tooth ear-piece which I also use with my Nexus 5

Of course, I can always use plug-in corded earplugs/microphone too.

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simon14

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#1156624 17-Oct-2014 10:08

Thanks guys, that's really helpful. Interesting point regarding no LED flashing light and no NFC....nice to know it can fit into some pockets though.

Still haven't made up my mind... i dont really care if i look like an idiot holding it up to my head and talking though :)

Dairyxox

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#1156669 17-Oct-2014 10:50

I've used both Galaxy Tab 2 7-inch, and Tab 3 7-inch tablets as my phone for a while. Samsung are one of the few that include the dialer app on their 3g tablets.
Battery life was great.

I wanted to use a Nexus 7, but google/asus doesnt include the phone dialer or txt message app. Apparently it can be added with custom roms, but these were work devices so I wasn't going there.