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Asus has crafted a second version of its tablet-converting PadFone, and it’s jam-packed with juicy hardware.
The inventively titled PadFone 2 boasts a 4.7-inch display with a 720p resolution, as well as a honking great quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. As if that wasn’t enough terrifying power, it has a 13-megapixel camera on board too.
The PadFone 2’s headline feature, however, is its 10.1-inch docking station. Essentially a tablet with a big hole in the back, this mobile slots into its larger-screened buddy, transforming your smart phone into a tablet.
It’s a better system than the first PadFone employed — rather than simply slotting into the back of the tablet dock, this phone’s predecessor was covered by a folding slot, meaning it was fiddly to gain access once you’d locked it in.
It was also heavy. The combined weight of the first PadFone and its dock was a weighty 853g — Asus has trimmed some fat, and the combined gadgets now tip the scales at a more reasonable 649g.
That’s progress, though the problem remains that you’re left without a phone while you’re using the PadFone 2 inside its mobile mothership. The notion of a docking smart phone isn’t for everyone — check out the video at the bottom of this story to see CNET UK’s editor Jason Jenkins getting wound up about the first PadFone.
There’s a 2,140mAh battery inside the phone itself, while the dock has a 5,000mAh battery than will charge the PadFone 2 when it’s connected. As long as you keep the dock regularly topped up with power, that should mean this mobile lasts a long time.
The PadFone 2 will launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but Asus has promised an update to Jelly Bean before too long.
Our pals at CNET Asia have already gone hands-on with the PadFone 2 — they reckon Asus “has a great handset for the Android smart phone market”. Be sure to read their in-depth look at this high-end mobile.
There’s no word yet on a UK launch or pricing details, but stay tuned. In the meantime, tell me whether you’d buy this transforming tech in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
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Asus PadFone hands-on
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