Using a tablet as a phone

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levi456

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Hi everyone. One of my friends has been using her tablet as a phone for about 5 months and has loved the experience.
I'm thinking of doing the same as I love the big screen experience tablets offer however I'm wondering if this would be practical.

I'm considering buying a Galaxy Tab S 8.4 or the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact because they're a good size for reading ebooks. Then I'm thinking of getting a Asus Zenwatch so I can read emails etc without taking the tablet out of my bag all the time. I'm also thinking of getting a Bluetooth headset like the Sony Sbh52 so I can take calls comfortably.

Has anyone done what I'm thinking of doing? What's your experience been like? Are there any problems you've faced? The more detail you can provide the better :)
 
I have a Tab S 8.4, you could certainly use it as a phone, but it is a bit big for that.
 
Jola said:
I have a Tab S 8.4, you could certainly use it as a phone, but it is a bit big for that.
Click to expand...

Ya a small phone is obviously practical for calls as it fits in your pocket but that's why I wanna get a Bluetooth headset as well. Have you ever used the Tab S as a phone for at least a day or maybe a week?
 
Yes, I used as a phone with a local sim when I was overseas, but I used it more for data and as a hotspot rather than making calls, although I did make a few.
 
Don't think I'd like it. Even the notes seem too big for my liking let alone a tablet.

Even for a 7 inch tablet i use a messenger bag to carry it around comfortably . My S4 in comparison fits into all my trouser pockets.

Frankly at this stage my phone is a glorified WhatsApp / mp3 / Skype machine anyway. Rarely use it for any actually phone stuff.
 
Insert your primary sim card into tablet.

Register whatsapp on tablet with primary sim.

Whatsapp will work with any sim after u have successfully authenticated.

Place your primary sim in cheap phone:you can use the phone for calls and sms.

The tablet will receive all your whatsapp messages regardless of sim used

Problem solved.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
arr0w said:
Insert your primary sim card into tablet.

Register whatsapp on tablet with primary sim.

Whatsapp will work with any sim after u have successfully authenticated.

Place your primary sim in cheap phone:you can use the phone for calls and sms.

The tablet will receive all your whatsapp messages regardless of sim used

Problem solved.
Click to expand...

Does this work on the latest version of whatsapp? I heard an update is coming that'll make whatsapp to whatsapp calls possible. It seems like I'd end up using the tablet as a phone anyway. I've still got my Nokia C7 so I could use that as a backup
 
What about considering an Asus Fonepad 7, which has built-in GSM for calls.

Tablet with support for GSM voice communication, SMS, and MMS
Click to expand...

There are various models to choose from, but they're around R1,700.
Negatives are they have low resolution screens, and low res. cameras (2MP).
 
@BayCityRoller the issue with the Fonepad is the specs aren't great. The Tab S and Xperia compact have the specs I want. I'd consider a phablet like the Note 4 but I'm worried that in a few months of using it I'm going to think to myself 'eish I want something bigger :('. That's why I'm thinking of a good spec'd tablet as a phone.
The main thing I'd use it for is reading ebooks, watching videos off YouTube & general web browsing. I don't care about the camera
 
Been using a Galaxy Note 8.0 (tablet with phone capabilities) as my all-in-one communication device for about 6 months now. Admittedly don't use it much for phone calls and when I do I make sure that I don't put it to my ear - looks, um, silly, so use the loudspeaker. Bit of a schlep to carry round but the great interface for messaging, email (which I use a lot) and browsing the Web makes it all so worthwhile.
 
levi456 said:
Hi everyone. One of my friends has been using her tablet as a phone for about 5 months and has loved the experience.
I'm thinking of doing the same as I love the big screen experience tablets offer however I'm wondering if this would be practical.
<snip>
Click to expand...

There's your problem, right there. If you want practical, you should be a person who doesn't care about other people. Practical never is beautiful, of course using a tablet for phoning and tablet use is practical. You can do much more for cheaper. But like all things super practical, example would be the Fiat Multipla, is that it won't look nice and everybody will have something to say or joke to make.
So get the tablet and switch off the caring. My Lenovo is rocking dual SIM and all.
 
If you have to buy all that extra crap just to use the phone option on the tablet...rather just buy a R999 phone to use for phoning and use the tablet for everything else.
 
beans100 said:
There's your problem, right there. If you want practical, you should be a person who doesn't care about other people. Practical never is beautiful, of course using a tablet for phoning and tablet use is practical. You can do much more for cheaper. But like all things super practical, example would be the Fiat Multipla, is that it won't look nice and everybody will have something to say or joke to make.
So get the tablet and switch off the caring. My Lenovo is rocking dual SIM and all.
Click to expand...

Ya, what you saying makes sense. You right, I think I should just do it.

SauRoNZA said:
If you have to buy all that extra crap just to use the phone option on the tablet...rather just buy a R999 phone to use for phoning and use the tablet for everything else.
Click to expand...

I want the Asus zenwatch because I think it's beautiful! The fact that it will work with the tablet makes me want it more. The Bluetooth headset is because I don't wanna bring the tablet to my face to answer :)
 
Don't get a phone pad if it has less than 8 GB of storage. I have a 4 GB one, since it auto updated to Kitkat I continually run out of space.

The tablet is also unstable at times and the play store and chrome crash frequently.

I would never have updated if I knew what was in store.
 
10i said:
Don't get a phone pad if it has less than 8 GB of storage. I have a 4 GB one, since it auto updated to Kitkat I continually run out of space.

The tablet is also unstable at times and the play store and chrome crash frequently.

I would never have updated if I knew what was in store.
Click to expand...

Sucks when updates ruin the device! I'm currently using a galaxy s3. Decided to keep it on jelly bean 4.1 after I read how kit kat messes up data on micro sd cards.
 
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