Tablet... With a phone???

[Effenhimer]

So about 12 years ago I got into this author Tad Williams who wrote a book called Otherland... In this series, he talked about well, basically tablets, and how they were used in everyday life, EVERYDAY!

Since then, I've been waiting for PC's, smartphones, whatever to get to the point they are at about now, (not even having had them exist yet). And My question is...

When can I buy a Tablet that has a phone on it?...

I always pictured it being pretty much what they are now, except having a dial pad, (virtual or button) on the back so you don't have to always turn the whole screen on or pull the thing out of its bag/carrier just to make/answer a call, and typically coming with a small thin shoulder bag, with said pad open for ease of use. With BT and touch screens being so easy to manufacture now a days, is this really that far off??...

Smart phone with a tethered tablet = one data/service plan + wifi... Can't they just put those two together??

Anyone heard anything about something like this??... (bigger than the midi's anyway?)

 

[ZDriver]

I get what your saying and if I have to pay for a data plan might as well let me make phone calls too, of course with a bluetooth headset! I know some people have been able to get galaxy tab too make phone calls on T-Mobile or att. Hope that helps

 

[mpf]

Take it to the next step. How about a phone which slides into a tablet display -- or other displays. You carry your phone size device which has primary functionality and communications capability, and just slap it into other devices as needed. Say you want a 10" display today, but this weekend you are using it to show a movie to the family, so you plug it into the 42" flatscreen at home. You could then have computing capabilities on the tablet/whatever to suppliment the phone -- say higher end graphics or secondary (and faster CPU's). There could be a whole market in things that the phone plugs into.
Of course, this flies in the face of the current "planned obsolecense" model of phones today -- but it has potential.

 

[jmlivingston]

When can I buy a Tablet that has a phone on it?...

There's already a couple options out there for you. The first is to use your tablet with a VoIP phone service and software such as SipDroid and a bluetooth headset. Another option is the Huawei S7 tablet which has been selling for about $300 at Best Buy for about 4 or 5 months now. Touch screen is still resistive though. I've heard they have a new model on the way that will be capacitive.

 

[Jessikat]

And don't forget about the Dell Streak. The Streak 5 has a phone, the Streak 7 has phone capabilities, and the Streak 10 is soon to be released. Voice dial can be achieved through the carrier and/or the device not to mention Google voice. As for the bag, e-bay, amazon, or a custom one from a leather shop would do nicely.

 

[Bujin#IM]

It sounds like you're talking about the idea behind the Atrix. Stand-alone phone. Or can be docked to a laptop, or to your TV. Granted, there is no tablet dock, but you have a sort oof modular functionality.

 

[peteyg]

I too want a 7 inch tablet phone, for use with a blue tooth headset.I have a rooted Nook Color and have been working to make it the tablet/phone i need. 7 inch is fine to carry as long as I don't have to hold it too my ear. 10 would be easier to read but harder to carry.