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Asus PadFone Combines Smartphone, Tablet, Keyboard

Posted by Soulskill on from the modular-computing dept.

crookedvulture writes "Asus is showing off a bunch of new devices at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, including a budget Transformer model and an Infinity Series graced with a 10", 1920x1200 display. In addition to the tablets, there's the novel PadFone hybrid. This Snapdragon-powered smartphone has a 4.3" screen with a generous 960x540 resolution. If you want more screen real estate, the PadFone slides into the back of a tablet docking station that offers a 10", 1280x800 display alongside an auxiliary battery. That combo can in turn be plugged into an external keyboard with a full-sized SD slot, USB port, and other perks. The only problem is those auxiliary components are thicker and heavier than Asus' standalone tablets, which offer the same functionality, sans smartphone."

26 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. slashvertisement.... by kj_kabaje · · Score: 4, Funny

    I love how a slashvertisement is brought to you by "Crookedvulture".  Too funny.

  2. 1920x1200 laptop! by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 2

    Screw the phone. Tell us more about the laptop...

    --
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
    1. Re:1920x1200 laptop! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's not a laptop. Well, not really. It's an upgrade of the Transformer Prime with a higher resolution screen. I have the current Prime, and the docking station, and it is pretty damn close to a laptop, but there are limitations, largely because Android just wasn't designed with a touchpad in mind. I also think the higher resolution screen is a waste, there's just no justification for that kind of resolution on a 10" screen.

    2. Re:1920x1200 laptop! by treeves · · Score: 3, Insightful

      ...there's just no justification for that kind of resolution on a 10" screen

      Why not? That's lower pixel density than the 960x540 4.3" screen and you're not complaining about that. (5.4X area, but only 4.4X pixels)

      --
      ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
    3. Re:1920x1200 laptop! by Lussarn · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sure we need higher resolution. I have an iPad 2 and have bought a cople of magazines, but I can't read a page without zooming because of the low resolution. Which is so irritating I no longer by magazines for it.

      And since I'm shopping for an Android tab anyway, this sounds like a good bet.

    4. Re:1920x1200 laptop! by M0j0_j0j0 · · Score: 2, Funny

      1st world problems!!

    5. Re:1920x1200 laptop! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The original Transformer is my primary tablet, and I'd kill for higher resolution. As far as I'm concerned, if I can see individual pixels on the screen, it ain't high enough. And this is even more true of something that's held closer to the eyes than your typical desktop display.

    6. Re:1920x1200 laptop! by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 2

      Umm... you're on a site that mainly talks about blinkie things that cost money. The 'first world problems' joke isn't very spicy around here.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  3. uh oh by forkfail · · Score: 4, Funny

    They've got rounded corners.

    There will be trouble. And the shame of it is, they could have avoided it if they'd just taken a look at this.

    --
    Check your premises.
  4. fixed the title by noh8rz2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Asus PadFone Combines Smartphone, Tablet, Keyboard; compromises on every aspect, does nothing well.

    1. Re:fixed the title by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 4, Funny

      Asus PadFone Combines Smartphone, Tablet, Keyboard; compromises on every aspect, does nothing well. Lame

      FTFY

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  5. Dilbert by michaelmalak · · Score: 5, Funny

    From just four days ago.

    1. Re:Dilbert by nschubach · · Score: 2

      True Slashdotters link to the Fast version ;)

      --
      Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
  6. Is this a pad or a phone? by QuatermassX · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wept with laughter at this bonkers trade show intro - really, I actually wept over my grande Americano at the Starbucks near Holborn tube on a sunny Saturday morning this summer.

    Padphone, eh? The only thing this chap didn't do is actually jump over a shark. Poor bastard.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sqjoRMHyYQc

  7. Re:If only it was not running Android by nzac · · Score: 3, Informative

    As far as I know ASUS don't use locked boot loaders and most major Linux Distros are wanting to get a ARM build working as soon as possible.

  8. Tablets by omganton · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I have never understood the tablet crazy. I have never once felt the need for another portable device beyond my phone and laptop. I used to have an MP3 player as well, but my phone does that now too. I can remote into my desktop at home with my phone or laptop, both can check my work and personal email, I can take notes and create presentations with my laptop, I can play games on both devices... My laptop is already portable, and in the few instances where it's inconvenient, I don't see how a tablet would be any less inconvenient. Maybe it's just me, but if you have a decent phone and a decent laptop, a tablet is just a waste of money, especially considering the fact that any tablet you're going to buy has the same operating system as your phone. /opinion

    1. Re:Tablets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I travel with a Laptop an iPad and a phone. I thought the same as you would. But the iPad has replaced many things I used to travel with such as books and the need for printing things to review as well as entertainment. Waiting at a stopover, bring out tablet. The tablet is more for consuming output than work and play than for creating it. It is also now the primary way I communicate with family when travelling (Skype/Facetime). It weighs the same as the book I would normally carry to reading on a long flight. I would in fact, give up the phone in exchange for a 3G tablet.

    2. Re:Tablets by itsme1234 · · Score: 2

      Funny thing actually with this ipad craze: I've had during the last week TWICE people telling me ON THE PHONE "you know, I have skype on my ipad let's use that". The call was anyway on company phone and even then probably free/included in the plan/minutes.
      Apart from the fact that they didn't want to actually use the phone (which after all is designed for calls) the funny part is that marketing is sometimes strange: I haven't heard people using skype with iphones (or even with windows mobile 2003, although I did for years, years ago) but somehow the perception is that the ipad just does it much better.

    3. Re:Tablets by jacksonyee · · Score: 2

      I own a Nokia N900 3.5" smartphone, a cheap $80 Chinese knockoff 7" tablet that's basically the equivalent of a Nook, and an Asus 12" netbook, and I can tell you that the 7" tablet definitely comes in handy for many situations.

      • It's just the right size to fit into your pants' pocket (if you prefer pants with large pockets like most geeks that I know tend to).
      • The screen size makes reading eBooks much more enjoyable than on a phone, and you can carry it around in your hand without having it being awkward like the 12" netbook.
      • It's wonderful for showing off pictures or videos to a group of people who don't have to squint to see the 3.5" screen.
      • It's great for watching movies on the bus, the train, or the plane.
      • The 7 hour battery life means that I can use it for about a whole day without worrying about draining my smartphone's battery and not being able to receive a call when I need to.
      • When you need to pacify your cousin's kids or your own students while waiting, you can just pull it out, let them play games on it for a couple of minutes, and don't have to worry about them breaking it or deleting your important documents.

      There are definitely a lot of things that I find lacking in Android, but for the most part, it does what I want it to do. You may think that a tablet won't do anything for you, but try it out for a month or so. It really is quite convenient for a whole class of situations.

  9. The futurez by jones_supa · · Score: 2

    Isn't the PadFone a step towards the reality people have been heralding here: tomorrow we will be using just a phone which at home or workplace attachs to a bigger display and peripherals...

    1. Re:The futurez by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 2

      My answer to that is fairly simple.

      I installed Linux on a flash drive so that I could use the same uniform environment and files on my home PC and my netbook, and even use my work laptop for personal use when sitting in departures or a hotel room on business. So that's three different computers acting as though they're simply one computer.

      I've always said the ultimate personal computer would be a pocket-sized device that could be used in multiple form-factors with various peripherals, and that anyone who needed extra "oomph" would have a desktop docking station with a faster processor that used the device as a simple disk drive.

      Or perhaps a bit more -- it wouldn't take much USB bandwidth to use the phone as a touchpad and soundcard too, for example.

      --
      Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
  10. Laptop that lets you take apps and data with you by tepples · · Score: 2

    It's not inventing the laptop computer per se as much as inventing the laptop computer that lets you pull a piece out and take your applications, data, and computing hardware to use them with you.

  11. Re:But will they run Linux? by Reapman · · Score: 2

    It should. I know there's Ubuntu running on the original Transformer (that's what I have) - don't have the dock or I'd have given it a go. Check out the Transformer XDA Forums for more info on it. It'll probably take a bit of work to get it going on this newer hardware, but I'd be suprised if it's not ported fast (Purely my own speculation, however)

    Just remember it's still ARM.. not a full powered Intel/AMD chip running inside.

  12. Can't believe it took them 3 years to clone this by recrudescence · · Score: 2

    I can't believe it took them 3 years to copy alwaysinnovating.com 's smartbook technology!
    It only took them 2 year to copy the transformer!

    Anyway, I hope they rip off their pocket projector next. Alwaysinnovating has stopped selling products independently - I missed my chance to buy :(

  13. Re:Netbooks turning into Hybrid tablets by Tha_Big_Guy23 · · Score: 3, Informative

    In the application settings for the stock Android browser and several other android browsers (firefox and opera come to mind), you can change the user agent string to use a desktop browser string, and all websites then show up in their full "normal desktop" glory. I had this exact same problem on my transformer. Once I changed that setting and I've not had a problem since. Just thought I'd let you know. In the stock browser, its under advanced settings IIRC.

    --
    If you're looking here for something insightful or thought provoking, you're probably looking in the wrong place.
  14. 1920x1200 laptop? by __aazsst3756 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just tell me where I can find a decent 17" laptop with at least 1920x1200 display under $1200? I have been repairing an old Dell for years now with ebay parts because I have not found a suitable replacement. Sad that my phone and tablet may soon pass my laptop in dpi.