Asus is rolling out an update to its Padfone family of smartphones that transform into 10 inch tablets with the help of a tablet dock. The new model features a refined design, a faster processor, and less storage (but a new microSD card slot to help make up for it).

Asus Padfone Infinity

The new Asus Padfone infinity is an Android smartphone with a 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, a 5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB to 32GB of storage, a 13Mp rear camera, and a 2MP front-camera.

It has a microSD card slot, a 2400mAh battery, a Super IPS display, and support for WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G and 4G LTE — but it’s designed for use on European and Asian wireless networks at the moment, and might not be much use in the United States (unless you don’t actually plan to use your phone to make calls or surf the web on the go).

The Tablet Station has a 10.1 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel IPS display and a 5,000mAh battery. It uses the phone’s processor, storage, memory, cameras, and other hardware for its guts, so it doesn’t work as a standalone device.

While Asus offered an optional keyboard dock for the original Padfone, the company currently has no plans to sell an official keyboard accessory for the new Padfone Infinity. So if you want to use your phone/tablet hybrid as a laptop you’ll need to pick up your own Bluetooth keyboard.

The phone sells for about $640 in Taiwan, and the tablet dock costs about $240. But if you already have the original Padfone Infinity tablet dock, you can just buy the new phone and use the old dock.

via Asus, Engadget, and AnandTech

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6 replies on “Asus unveils new Padfone Infinity smartphone/tablet hybrid with Snapdragon 800 chip”

  1. it would be awesome if this was like their transformer tablets that had a keyboard so you could install ubuntu touch on the phone and dock it in the tablet and keyboard dock and use it like a full computer

    1. Like, the original Padfone dock? Some Padfone fans keep asking for its return, but the Padfone 2 sold much better without the extra cost of the keyboard / connector, so Asus probably doesn’t see the need. (It was extra $$$ even back then for the consumer.)

      I’d love having the dock too, but even then expect I’ll be able to manage without; it’s just not a deal-breaker.

      1. It’s rather unfortunate to say the least. The keyboard was entirely optional and a connector shouldn’t really be that much of an issue; and while some may see it as irrelevant I actually found it a deal breaker when considering purchasing someone else a set and even upgrading my own.

        Yes, I am aware that if what I want is plain productivty I have all sorts of bluetooth keyboards around, but many are almost Surface RT like keyboards, others still don’t hae a good feel to them, neither of them provides a good screen cover to the face of a tablet like you have in the original Padfone nor are they an extended 12V battery that extends the life of the tablet AND phone.

        The phone-tablet is neat, but what lured me was that I could use it in all 3 modes to fit my situation, and regardless of how well adapted you may be to a virtual keyboard the hard one will always be more reliable to type at a constant proper pace… and without a virtual keyboard eating into your screen view.

        I’m sure that in terms of numbers I’m but an ant, but Asus lost multiple sales from my side.

  2. Why are these things always based around gargantuan phones? If the idea is to get the best of both worlds and not compromise (big phones are basically a compromise) then it’s rather missing the point. So shoot me, but a good part of the success of a certain fruity phone is its common sense, pocketable-by-all form factor – and I do not speak as an owner of one before any fanboyism is suggested.

    1. The Asus leak also points to a Padfone mini… there’s no word what that means or when it’ll show up, but hopefully it’s talking about a smaller phone form factor (rather than the tablet…) and sooner rather than later.
      Even the iPhone 5 is a tad to big for my tastes; I’m sticking with my 4 for the time being… even without 4G / LTE, I prefer the smaller size. Let’s see if the new Padfone mini changes my mind.

    2. Phablets go up to 6.4″ now… So 5″ isn’t quite considered gargantuan anymore, especially with many designed well enough to still be easily held with one hand and still pocket-able…

      The trend is definitely towards larger phones though… So much so that earlier this year, Levi Strauss brand Dockers increased the size of its pants pockets to accommodate the growing size of smartphones, essentially Phablets.

      Thing to remember is mobile devices are increasingly being used for more and more things and the larger phones are simply easier to use with these new usages. While the convenience is not needing to also carry a tablet but tablets face the same pressure to get larger because touch UI is not very accurate, especially limited to capacitive touch, and usage gets easier and more practical on larger displays but of course it needs to be balanced out for weight and mobility but everything in mobile, from small to large, is a compromise on something…

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