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Asus PadFone Combines Smartphone, Tablet, Keyboard
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."
I love how a slashvertisement is brought to you by "Crookedvulture". Too 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.
Asus PadFone Combines Smartphone, Tablet, Keyboard; compromises on every aspect, does nothing well.
From just four days ago.
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
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.
...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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.