ASUS Fonepad Note FHD 6 Android phone (preview)

Large smartphones seem to be as popular as ever and ASUS has just jumped into the game with the Fonepad Note FHD 6. It's a 6in Android smartphone that comes with a stylus and it's likely to compete directly with Samsung's Galaxy Note II.

ASUS yet hasn't released a full specifications sheet for the Fonepad Note, despite unveiling the device at the Computex trade show in Taipei. However, the Fonepad Note appears to be slightly larger and thicker than the Galaxy Note II. ASUS chairman Jonney Shih says the phone has an "incredible narrow frame" that will easily fit in a pocket but make no mistake — this is a very large smartphone.

The Fonepad Note comes with dual-stereo speakers that sit above and below its 6in screen and the back is finished in a glittery, white plastic. The device appears to come in a white model only, though we expect to see a black model released at some stage. A stylus is included with the Fonepad Note and it is stored in a compartment at the back of the phone, very similar to the Galaxy Note II.

ASUS has used a full HD Super IPS+ screen with a resolution of 1920x1080, so expect the Fonepad Note to display crisp text. The device is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2560 processor, has 2GB of RAM and comes with either 8GB or 16GB of internal memory. A microSD card slot allows users to expand the on-board storage.

Unfortunately, the Fonepad Note is not an LTE device, so it won't support 4G networks in Australia. The handset is a quad-band 3G smartphone that will work on all Australian 3G networks including Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.

Other features of the ASUS Fonepad Note include an 8-megapixel rear camera, a front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera for video calls and NFC connectivity. The phone runs Google's latest 4.2 "Jelly Bean" version of Android.

ASUS hasn't announced if or when the Fonepad Note FHD 6 will be launched in Australia, but we expect to see it in the coming months.