ASUS announces a sleeker, faster, updated Padfone 2
ASUS just loves gadgets that transform – this is obviously apparent in the ASUS Transformer Pad series, and also in the latest gadget announced by ASUS this morning in Milan, the ASUS Padfone 2.
The phone itself looks really sharp, but ASUS has revised the entire design to make the phone/tablet combo even sleeker, thinner, and lighter than before. The phone itself features a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 HD Super IPS+ display with scratch-resistant Corning Fit Glass (I’m not sure how that differs from Corning Gorilla Glass), with up to 550 nits brightness for easy outdoor viewing. The back camera is 13MP and has no shutter lag and a burst mode can capture up to 100 shots per second, while also simultaneously recording 1080p HD video at 30fps, or 720p HD video at 60fps.
On board storage comes in at 64GB, with two years of free 50GB cloud storage with ASUS WebStorage. It’s also got a Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor at 1.5GHz, 2GB RAM, and 42Mbit HSPA+ and 100Mbit LTE connectivity. The 2140mAh battery provides up to 16 hours talk-time and 13 hours Wi-Fi web browsing.
The tablet station offers a 10.1-inch 1280×800 IPS display, along with a 5000mAh battery that provides up to 36 hours of talk-time. The tablet station’s internal battery can also fully recharge the PadFone 2 up to three times. Best of all, the tablet doesn’t require a separate data plan of its own, as it uses the phone’s connection.
Right now, the Padfone 2 will be running Ice Cream Sandwich when it’s released sometime in 2012, although ASUS says it will be upgradable to Jelly Bean soon.
All-in-all, this looks to be an amazing device, and one that I wish would come to the US. Initially, it will only be available in Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and U.A.E.
[Android Police]
