The PadFone is Asus’ own smartphone that can be converted into a tablet and was first announced last year at Computex. It was still a prototype back then but recently over at Mobile World Congress, the Asus PadFone became a reality.
The Asus PadFone is really just an Android smartphone running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It features a 4.3” Super AMOLED qHD (960 x 540) display which is popular among high-end Samsung Galaxy devices. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor and can have up to 64GB internal storage with up to 64GB more via microSD. The 8-megapixel camera f/2.2 camera comes with a Fuji image processor.
Turning the PadFone into a full-blown 10.1-inch tablet requires the optional PadFone Station. This 10.1-inch tablet has a compartment at the back for the PadFone and can increase the battery life of the phone five times over. It also has an SD card slot for even more expanded storage.
Sliding the PadFone into the docking station’s compartment triggers the ASUS’ proprietary Dynamic Display technology which allows seamless transition between the PadFone and PadFone Station display screens.
Further complementing this setup is also an optional keyboard dock to further extend the battery life of the PadFone while providing a physical keyboard for better productivity. Also optional is the PadFone Stylus Headset which is essentially a BT stylus pen that also doubles as a headset for calls.
I really like what Asus did here. Providing a very capable phone and giving its users options to turn it into a tablet or better yet, an Android notebook if they feel the need to do so.
Asus is planning to ship the PadFone this April but will keep you posted when it will hit our shores and for how much.
