Introduction
In today's rapidly-growing market, it's the push for more CPU cores and (mega)pixels that has been driving the industry forward. But every now and then, an extraordinary gadget emerges to explore new and exciting dimensions. Devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note and the Asus Padfone dare to go against the tide and remind everyone that there's more than one right way to make a phone. Or a tablet. Or both.
Asus obviously doesn't have Samsung's momentum, level of sales or, ultimately, an unlimited budget to really go all out on a project like this, but the first Padfone was successful enough to warrant another go-around. A year later, the sequel has a foundation to build upon, and the company has had time to learn and get stuff ironed out.
Asus Padfone 2 official photos
And going by the Padfone 2's specs, Asus are hoping to make a splash.
Key features
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
- 3G with HSPA; LTE (market dependent)
- 4.7" 16M-color 720p Super IPS+ capacitive touchscreen display with 312ppi density
- Android OS v4.1.1 Jelly Bean
- Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
- Docking station with 10" 1280x800 pixel display, 5000 mAh battery
- Gorilla Glass protection for both displays
- 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geo-tagging
- 1080p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
- 1.2 MP front-facing camera on phone, 1MP front-facing camera on docking station, 720p video recording
- Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
- 16/32/64GB of built-in storage
- MHL-enabled microUSB port
- Bluetooth v4.0
- NFC
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Accelerometer and proximity sensor
- SonicMaster loudspeakers on phone and tablet
Main disadvantage
- Non user-replaceable battery
- Mediocre screen quality of the docking station
- Non-expandable storage
- No camera key
With the second Padfone you have a properly-powered smartphone just a 1080p screen short of matching the 2013 flagships, and one that converts into an equally powerful tablet. The station screen is not quite up to Retina standards either, but considering the price of the whole package, Asus is still vastly over-delivering.
Sure, the Asus Padfone 2 is priced rather steeply for a smartphone, but it's actually a fraction of what you'd normally pay for a quad-core smartphone and a quad-core tablet. Not to mention the added convenience of having all your files, contacts and accounts at your disposal at all times, regardless of which screen you're using.
Which leads us to the catch. You are not actually getting a smartphone and a tablet here, it's simply two screens to work with and two batteries to power the same combo. The best thing is, the Padfone station (the tablet body) will charge the phone's battery too. Think: a tablet with an escape pod, or a phone that can more than quadruple its screen size when needed.
The Asus Padfone 2 at ours
It's a smart concept indeed, but we're yet to see how good the Padfone is at both jobs. The first impression it made on us back in October was very positive, so we're looking forward to exploring it in-depth and seeing how well the tandem performs
Specifications
| GENERAL | 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
|---|---|---|
| 3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 | |
| HSDPA 900 / 2100 | ||
| 4G Network | LTE 800 / 1800 / 2600 | |
| SIM | Micro-SIM | |
| Announced | 2012, October | |
| Status | Available. Released 2012, December |
| BODY | Dimensions | 137.9 x 68.9 x 9 mm (5.43 x 2.71 x 0.35 in) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 135 g (4.76 oz) | |
| - Optional Padfone Station with 10.1 inches IPS display, 1280 x 800 pixels @ 514 g, 5000 mAh battery. |
| DISPLAY | Type | Super IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches (~312 ppi pixel density) | |
| Multitouch | Yes | |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass |
| SOUND | Alert types | Vibration, MP3 ringtones |
|---|---|---|
| Loudspeaker | Yes | |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| MEMORY | Card slot | No |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | 16/32/64 GB, 2 GB RAM |
| DATA | GPRS | Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps |
|---|---|---|
| EDGE | Class 10, 236.8 kbps | |
| Speed | DC-HSPA+, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 100 Mbps | |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot | |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v4.0 with A2DP | |
| NFC | Yes | |
| USB | Yes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL) |
| CAMERA | Primary | 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection | |
| Video | Yes, 1080p@30fps, 720p@60fps | |
| Secondary | Yes, 1.2 MP, 720p |
| FEATURES | OS | Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), upgradable to v4.1.1 (Jelly Bean) |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm MDM215m/APQ8064 | |
| CPU | Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait | |
| GPU | Adreno 320 | |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | |
| Messaging | SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM | |
| Browser | HTML5 | |
| Radio | FM radio | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support | |
| Java | Yes, via Java MIDP emulator | |
| Colors | Black, White | |
| - SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - TV-out (via MHL A/V link) - ASUS WebStorage (50 GB storage) - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - MP4/H.264/H.263 player - Organizer - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input (Swype) |
| BATTERY | Non-removable Li-Ion 2140 mAh battery | |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-by | Up to 352 h | |
| Talk time | Up to 16 h |
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