Bringing along both a smartphone and tablet can be cumbersome, which is why I find 7inch tablets with cellular connectivity to be an intriguing option. They’re small enough that you can realistically take a call at a moment’s notice while still maintaining the functionality of a tablet. The Torque Ego Phab 3G is one such tablet and at Php2,599, it’s a compelling one, particularly for those on a budget. Torque was kind enough to give us a unit for us to try out. Here is our quick review.

Design

Front Screen Off

The Torque Ego Phab 3G is surprisingly compact thanks to thin bezels on either side of the screen.

Right Side

The control layout places the volume rocker, power/lock button and small reset button on the right side of the device while the 3.5mm headset jack and micro USB port can be found on top.

Back

Flip it over and you’ll find the camera, Torque and Ego Phab 3G branding, and a small loudspeaker.

Hardware

Landscape

The Ego Phab 3G sports a 7 inch WSVGA screen similar to its non-3G sibling, the Ego Phab. It’s not an IPS panel, so the color accuracy and viewing angles aren’t as spot on.

As for performance, the Ego Phab 3G is driven by a 1.3Ghz dual core processor coupled with 512MB RAM and 8GB of internal storage. It should be able to deliver a true tablet experience for the most part, but just don’t expect it to run quite as smooth when playing some of the more demanding 3D games.

Software

Front

The Torque Ego Phab 3G runs Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, which is already 3 versions behind Marshmallow 6.0. To be fair, we’re only starting to see Marshmallow on the newest phones coming out, but Lollipop 5.0 and 5.1 have actually been out for a while. Still, Torque didn’t play around with the UI too much so it’s a mostly stock experience.

Impressions

Controls

The Torque Ego Phab 3G manages to cram a lot of functionality while maintaining a low Php2,599 price. It can do just about anything you would want to do on a tablet except maybe play the more graphically demanding games. So if you’re on a budget and just want a device that does it all, the Ego Phab 3G is an ideal pick.

Torque Ego Phab 3G Specs

  • 7″ WSVGA display (600 x 1024 resolution, 170ppi)
  • 1.3GHz quad-core processor
  • Android 4.4 KitKat
  • 1GNB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 32GB
  • 5mp fixed-focus rear-facing camera
  • 3mp front camera
  • 3.75G/HSPA+, dual SIM
  • WiFi, Bluetooth
  • 2,500mAh battery
  • Price: Php2,599

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