PLDT Telpad increasingly becoming part of Pinoy homes

MANILA, Philippines – It looks very much like a futuristic touch-screen telephone.

The PLDT Telpad, which comes with the rebranded Huawei S7 Slim tablet, is now increasingly becoming part of thousands of Filipino living rooms, replacing the plain old telephone of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

“The Telpad adds value to the landline. From basic telephony, this adds another dimension of providing a device that runs on the landline,” said Dan Ibarra, marketing head for PLDT’s home business.

“This device fits into our subscribers’ lifestyles. They are receptive to this kind of technology and it enhances their lives,” Ibarra said in a recent interview.

The PLDT Telpad is a two-in one device. It’s mainly a handset base that also acts as a dock for a seven-inch Android tablet. If you don’t have a tablet yet, this can be a good start for an average family who want to get into the swipe-and-touch digital age.

Setting up is easy. Just connect the phone and handset cable into their respective plugs. If you have your DSL modem nearby, you can plug it in the line port to give your docked tablet Internet access. Many would rather connect the modem to their Wi-Fi router instead. Simply plug the base to a power supply to charge the tablet whenever it’s docked.

The Huawei S7 Slim tablet is distinctive in its design, ostensibly crafted for landscape viewing. It may not have the specs to wow you or pry you away from your iPads but it’s serviceable for a family’s first tablet device. It looks classy, though, with its white shell.

When docked, you can use the tablet to make your calls although many have found it’s still easier to use the phone’s physical buttons when dialing. PLDT also added some helpful shortcuts on the tablet. Very useful is the Meralco app which allows one to pay electricity bills easily.

Patrick Tang, PLDT’s vice president for home marketing, said the Telpad is the centerpiece of the company’s program to revitalize its home phone business.

“The Telpad’s ‘Tell Me How’ application keeps landline and DSL subscriptions relevant to consumers, even as mobile technology grows in reach,” he said.

During the interview, Tang demonstrated the Telpad’s unique content in its “Tell Me How” app which features instructional content such as videos and articles on a range of topics, including cooking, fashion and photography.

Since it is portable and always charged, new converts to the Telpad usually pick up the tablet every morning during breakfast to check NBA scores, other news, and also their Facebook accounts. Do now expect high-definition display on the Telpad but it’s still a decent device for watching YouTube or other videos which can be stored in its 8GB storage. There’s also an option to put up to 32GB microSD for additional storage. And the base station acts as a stand and also has a speaker to make the tablet’s volume louder.

A 1GHz processor powers this tablet and it also comes with Android Froyo 2.2. It may not have the latest Android OS for tablets but it can still run games and apps from the Android Market.

Another thing many customers like about its portability is that one can take the Telpad to the bathroom to continue reading an e-book or play Scrabble.

With the two-megapixel front-facing cam, one can also video-chat via Skype with friends. In many families, kids play with the build-in cam, as well take self-portraits using fun photo apps from the Android Market.

Overall, the Telpad is a worthy addition to a household that wants a bundled tablet to its phone and DSL connection. The included Huawei S7 Slim tablet is a decent choice for a family’s first tablet considering the price and bundled services PLDT is offering for it.

The PLDT Telpad requires a minimum of 1Mbps DSL connection. That would amount to P1,849 a month, excluding the P5,500 payment for the unit. Other plans and payment options can be found at http://wwwopldttelpad.com/plans.aspx.

Consequently, for PLDT DSL (including Telpad) subscribers, you can simply add P150 to your monthly bill to get access to the PLDT Wi-Fi Zone which allows you to surf with a DSL connection when you are within one of about 5,000 Wi-Fi hot zones nationwide.

The Telpad was first introduced in late 2010, while a second-generation of the China-made tablet PC was released earlier this year.

Ibarra said about 15 percent of PLDT’s DSL subscribers have opted to avail themselves of the Telpad. About 60 percent of landline subscribers have DSL lines. He said the company’s goal would be to have one Telpad in every home that already has a PLDT DSL line.

PLDT is eyeing the resurgence of its fixed landline business in efforts to offset the slowing growth in the group’s bread-and-butter mobile operations.

In the first quarter of 2012, PLDT’s fixed line service revenues increased by P1.3 billion or nine percent to P15.6 billion from P14.3 billion in the same period in 2011. This was driven by enterprise data and digital subscriber line (DSL) revenues. DSL revenues grew 15 percent, due partly to the Telpad.

This, compared to the four-percent decline in the group’s wireless service revenues to P24.2 billion in the same three-month period.