Asus first showed off the Padfone back in May last year but from Mobile World Congress we`re actually getting information regarding specs and availability for the combo unit. The final product offers a 4.3″ Quad-Core phone which docks into a 10.1″ tablet, which in turn connects to a keyboard dock, they’ve also advised that a stylus is available which operates as a headset when the phone is docked in the tablet. The details on the accessories are scarce at this stage as is information regarding availability for the Padfone in Australia but hopefully we`ll hear something from Asus Australia soon.
Padfone specs :
- Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 8260A Dual-Core 1.5 GHz
- 16/32/64 GB onboard storage with microSD Card Slot
- 4.3″ Super AMOLED qHD 960×540 display
- 8MP Rear Camera with Flash & F2.2 Aperture and Front Mega-Pixel VGA Camera
- WLAN 802.11 b/g/n,
- G-Sensor/E-Compass/Gyroscope/Proximity/Light Sensor/Built-in motion sensor
- 1520 mAh Battery
- 128 x 65.4 x 9.2 mm @ 129gm
I`m going to have to assume that the padfone supports BlueTooth as the stylus/headset is described as running on Bluetooth, unless this is built into the Tablet accessory. There is also no explanation of where the Stylus is stored, if it’s like the HTC Flyer which has no place on-board for the stylus or like the Samsung Galaxy Note which has a slot for the stylus to slot into within the unit. You can see the Stylus/headset being used at the 1:40 mark in the video below.
Asus is marketing this device as “Two devices, One data plan” which seems to be a problem that a number of people are looking at these days when it comes to wether they need a 3G enabled tablet or wether to use tethering on their mobile. The Dynamic Display technology which allows seamless transition between the PadFone and PadFone Station is a function that appears to work quite well and overall the whole stylus idea is something I personally think is a great idea but overall, the dock is what i`m worried about, I’m waiting to see the build quality of the phone docking compartment first. Anyone interested in the Padfone concept?
