Asus announced that the PadFone along with the PadFone Station will be ready to ship in April this year. The whole outfit is three devices in one the phone docks to a tablet which turns the phone into the tablet. The tablet docks to a keyboard which turns the whole caboodle into a netbook. A demonstration video follows.
A new accessory is a Bluetooth pen/stylus that can also be used as headset earphone and mouth piece. Now that is a lot of transformer action.
Alone, the PadFone is an Android 4.0Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone with a 4.3” screen, but when connected to the PadFone Station, it transforms into a 10.1” Android ICS tablet with up to 63 hours of talk time.
The PadFone has a Super AMOLED qHD touchscreen, dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 8MPixel digital camera with Fuji image processor, ASUS SonicMaster audio, GPS, 16GB storage onboard, microSD slot and 1520mAh battery. In Italy the Padfone along with the tablet dock is priced at €699 ($917 US) with the keyboard an added €149. Prices of the Asus Transformer Pad 300 and Infinity were also revealed.
When the PadFone is connected to the PadFone Station at any time even while typing an email, the app will automatically adjust to take advantage of the PadFone Station's 10.1” 1280 x 800 screen by displaying more information such as the list of emails in the inbox with a full view of an open email.
The intelligent DynamicDisplay technology will also ensure that the app remembers where it stopped so that users can immediately continue playing that new game without having to start all over again when switching from PadFone to PadFone Station and vice versa.
The PadFone provides all of the PadFone Station’s processing power and storage when the two are docked therefore there is no need to sync data.
An added benefit is that the PadFone Station charges the PadFone for up to 63 hours of extended talk time.
When docked, the PadFone Station uses the PadFone’s 3G connection for internet access, so users only need one data plan for two devices. Asus claims that the sharing of the data plan translates into large savings every year.
An optional Bluetooth stylus headset is both a headset and a stylus – users can use it to draw and write effortlessly and, when a call comes in while the PadFone is docked, pick up the call with ease.
To maximize productivity, the Station Dock keyboard has abattery that charges the PadFone for up to 102 hours of talk time and comes with additional USB ports and card reader.
To ASUS, a sleeve includes a SIM card slot for frequent travelers, along with a cleverly hidden cleaning cloth.
Why is it that every apple competitor has to endure having it's name misspelled in every second article. It gets to the point where you have to assume it's deliberate and/or paid for, rather than a genuine error.
A typo made an "ass" out of "us." It has been corrected to "Asus."
When will it be avail in South Africa??