Confused whether you should buy a big screen phone (Phablet) or a Tablet? How bout both?
Asus PadFone 2 is the second generation of Tablet/phone hybrid combo. The combo lets you use the phone docked to a larger screen and use it as a tablet.
PadFone 2 has shredded lot of weight for good and the new form factor is amazingly thin. Why wouldn’t it be amazing, it took 2.5 years of development and result is
- Seamless (& Fast) switching between Tablet, Phone.
- Phone holds to dock very well
- Phone +docking Tablet are together lighter than any 10″ Tablet available in the Market.
So what powers this device?
PadFone 2 Specs
- Display: 4.7-inch 720p Super IPS+ panel (with up to 550nits brightness thanks to Sharp’s IGZO technology), Corning Fit Glass
- CPU / Processor: Cortex A15 Snapdragon S4 1.5Ghz Quad-core by Qualcomm. APQ8064 SoC
- Camera: 13-megapixel f/2.4 BSI sensor from Sony, 1.2-megapixel front camera, 1080p at 30fps, 720p at 60fps and up to 100 continuous shots at full resolution
- OS: ICS, JellyBean coming soon
- RAM: 2GB of DDR2 RAM
- Battery: 2,140mAh fixed battery
- Storage: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB + 50GB of ASUS WebStorage for two years
- Connectivity: 3G, 4G LTE, NFC, WCDMA 900/2,100MHz plus LTE 800/1,800/2,600MHz
- Weight: 135g
PadFone Station Specs:
- Display:10.1-inch 1,280 x 800 IPS display on the PadFone Station, Super IPS+ screen, which is much sharper than the old PenTile Super AMOLED display, and it no doubt has better outdoor performance as well.
- Battery: 6,600mAh battery’s been slimmed down to 5,000mAh
- Weight: 514g, total of 649g with phone, lighter than iPad 4G
- Docking connector: 13-pin socket’s compatible with micro-USB as well as MHL
PadFone 2 Review
Asus has done remarkable job designing the best hardware combo we’ve come across. The docking system is flawless, pushing phone in and pulling out of PadFone Station is hardly a challenge, and there is some magic tech that keeps the phone tucked into the bay no matter how hard you shake the tablet upside down.
PadFone Station is well built and has premium feel to it with a nice rubbery texture, making it just as comfortable to hold. The overall operation of PadFone 2 is fast, and very Stock AOSP Android, and hence snappy on the tablet as it is on the phone. Also, switching between Phone and Tablet mode takes only a second and the app runs in the optimized layout to adapt to screen size, seamlessly.
PadFone 2 Video Introduction
PadFone is empowered by Sharp’s IGZO technology and hence you get excellent viewing angles. Also, blacks are extremely deep, and the overall image quality is difficult to immediately distinguish from the One X’s best-in-class screen. But Asus PadFone 2 takes the lead from other quad-core smartphones/tablets with its quad-core Snapdragon S4 chip, and a super powerful 13-megapixel camera capable of shooting at 6fps for 100 consecutive shots.
PadFone 2 has a beautiful angular design. Overall, the phone feels great in the hand and its weight feels just right.
The 10.1-inch PadFone 2 Station adds 5000mAh to the device’s lasting power and has a screen resolution of 1280 x 800. It’s an IPS LCD panel as well.
PadFone 2 Video Reviews
PadFone 2 Pricing & Availability
Both the dock and the handset will be available by December 2012 in Europe and Asia, $750 for the 64GB version. Pricing for Europe has been announced: the 32GB Padfone 2 will sell for €799 and the 64GB model for €899. Both will include the tablet dock by default and will come in two color options: black or white.
Some asian regions like Taiwan will have early access to the device, however white version would ship later this year.
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