The ASUS PadFone 2 is the second Android tablet/smartphone combination to be released by ASUS.
There are two parts to the PadFone 2 – the phone and tablet dock (also referred to as the PadFone 2 station). The phone can be used on its own as you would any other smartphone. However, it can then be docked in the back of the tablet, meaning that the setup that you have in place on the handset is instantly available on the tablet – no need to install apps for a second time and sync data. The transition time between docking the handset and the tablet display firing up is just one second. Once in tablet mode, apps automatically run in tablet version (provided that it has been developed), so there are no compatibility issues.
So in buying the ASUS PadFone 2, you have the advantage of a high end tablet and smartphone, but at a lower cost than purchasing the two separately. Furthermore, the two combined are lighter than the majority of other 10-inch tablets on the market. The fact that the station uses the handsets data connection when docked also means that there is no need to tether, nor take out a second contract for internet connectivity on the go.
Another advantage of the convergence of the two parts to the PadFone 2 is that the tablet is able to provide a charge to the battery of the PadFone 2 handset (when docked) up to three times from one charge of its battery. The PadFone 2 handset has a good battery as it is – its 2140mAh capacity provides up to 16 hours 3G talk-time, but having the 5000mAh battery of the docking station as a backup is a big advantage when out and about.
As the name would suggest, the PadFone 2 is the second product of
this nature to be released by ASUS. However, ASUS has made some big
improvements for the second iteration. The PadFone 2 is lighter (down to
649g instead of 853g), faster (it features a 1.5GHz quad-core processor
and has LTE capability) and has a much improved docking method. It has
taken ASUS two years worth of research and development to come up with
the new docking system, displayed under our ‘videos’ tab above. The new
system is more secure and makes it much quicker to dock the handset.
The features built in to the ASUS PadFone 2 would make it a market leader as either a standalone smartphone or tablet. A 1.5GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM give it plenty of power, plus it runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (upgradeable to 4.1 Jelly Bean) and has an extensive range of connectivity features: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, 3G, 4G (LTE), video out via MHL, USB hosting and a 3.5mm earphone jack for music. The handset can be charged via its microUSB connection and there’s a 13-pin dock connector to charge the tablet.
ASUS is better known for making tablets than smartphones, but it could be on to a winner with the PadFone 2. It features a 4.7” 1280 x 720 HD Super IPS display, which is made of Corning Gorilla Glass for protection against bumps and scratches. The PadFone 2 station has a 10.1-inch display with a 1280 x 800 resolution and is also made of Gorilla Glass. Both screens have an anti-fingerprint coating to keep the display as clear as possible.
LTE has just started rolling out in the UK and the good news is that the PadFone 2 has the 4G functionality built-in. It is compatible on 1800MHz (EE & Three), plus 800MHz and 2600MHz (O2 and Vodafone). The PF2 offers LTE download speeds of up to 100Mbps and upload speeds of 42mbps. There is of course 3G compatibility as well, which is available on 900/2100MHz and offers download speeds of up to 42Mbps and upload speeds of 5.76 mbps.
The PadFone 2 has 16/32/64GB internal storage and ASUS is also including 50GB of ASUS WebStorage free for two years. That’s plenty of room to store music and movies, plus all the photos and videos that you’ll be taking with the 13MP camera, which has auto-focus and LED flash, f/2.4 aperture and five-element lens. There’s also a 1.2MP front facing camera for video calling. All this technology is packed into just 135g of weight for the PadFone 2, with the combination of both phone and tablet coming in at just 649g.
There are two parts to the PadFone 2 – the phone and tablet dock (also referred to as the PadFone 2 station). The phone can be used on its own as you would any other smartphone. However, it can then be docked in the back of the tablet, meaning that the setup that you have in place on the handset is instantly available on the tablet – no need to install apps for a second time and sync data. The transition time between docking the handset and the tablet display firing up is just one second. Once in tablet mode, apps automatically run in tablet version (provided that it has been developed), so there are no compatibility issues.
So in buying the ASUS PadFone 2, you have the advantage of a high end tablet and smartphone, but at a lower cost than purchasing the two separately. Furthermore, the two combined are lighter than the majority of other 10-inch tablets on the market. The fact that the station uses the handsets data connection when docked also means that there is no need to tether, nor take out a second contract for internet connectivity on the go.
Another advantage of the convergence of the two parts to the PadFone 2 is that the tablet is able to provide a charge to the battery of the PadFone 2 handset (when docked) up to three times from one charge of its battery. The PadFone 2 handset has a good battery as it is – its 2140mAh capacity provides up to 16 hours 3G talk-time, but having the 5000mAh battery of the docking station as a backup is a big advantage when out and about.
The features built in to the ASUS PadFone 2 would make it a market leader as either a standalone smartphone or tablet. A 1.5GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM give it plenty of power, plus it runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (upgradeable to 4.1 Jelly Bean) and has an extensive range of connectivity features: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, 3G, 4G (LTE), video out via MHL, USB hosting and a 3.5mm earphone jack for music. The handset can be charged via its microUSB connection and there’s a 13-pin dock connector to charge the tablet.
ASUS is better known for making tablets than smartphones, but it could be on to a winner with the PadFone 2. It features a 4.7” 1280 x 720 HD Super IPS display, which is made of Corning Gorilla Glass for protection against bumps and scratches. The PadFone 2 station has a 10.1-inch display with a 1280 x 800 resolution and is also made of Gorilla Glass. Both screens have an anti-fingerprint coating to keep the display as clear as possible.
LTE has just started rolling out in the UK and the good news is that the PadFone 2 has the 4G functionality built-in. It is compatible on 1800MHz (EE & Three), plus 800MHz and 2600MHz (O2 and Vodafone). The PF2 offers LTE download speeds of up to 100Mbps and upload speeds of 42mbps. There is of course 3G compatibility as well, which is available on 900/2100MHz and offers download speeds of up to 42Mbps and upload speeds of 5.76 mbps.
The PadFone 2 has 16/32/64GB internal storage and ASUS is also including 50GB of ASUS WebStorage free for two years. That’s plenty of room to store music and movies, plus all the photos and videos that you’ll be taking with the 13MP camera, which has auto-focus and LED flash, f/2.4 aperture and five-element lens. There’s also a 1.2MP front facing camera for video calling. All this technology is packed into just 135g of weight for the PadFone 2, with the combination of both phone and tablet coming in at just 649g.
PadFone 2 Features
- Two parts - tablet and smartphone
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (Upgradeable to Jelly Bean)
- 1.5GHz quad-core processor
- One second transition time when docking phone in tablet
- 2GB RAM
- 16/32/64GB internal storage
- 50GB ASUS Cloud Storage free for two years
- 13MP camera with auto focus and LED flash
- 4.7" display on PadFone 2 handset
- 10.1" display on PadFone 2 tablet
- Both displays made of Corning Gorilla Glass
- Handset 135g in weight
- Handset and tablet combined 649g in weight - lighter than most standalone tablets
- Video out via MHL
- USB hosting
- Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G (LTE), Bluetooth and NFC
Posted in: Android,ASUS,ipad mini,Tablets,Touch UI
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