The Asus PadFone is basically just an Android smartphone with a 4.3 inch display and 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core processor. But what sets the PadFone apart is the way you can add a series of optional docking stations to transform the phone into a tablet or a laptop.

But it looks like Asus has another dock up its sleeve. Engadget spotted a 24 inch monitor at Computex which functions as a PadFone docking station.

Asus PadFone monitor dock

Just throw your smartphone into a cradle and the PadFone becomes the brains of desktop computer with a 1920 x 1200 pixel screen.

You’ll need to plug in a keyboard and mouse, since the monitor dock doesn’t have a touch panel. The good news is that the monitor features 4 USB 3.0 ports for connecting peripherals. There are also HDMI, VGA, and DVI inputs, allowing you to use the monitor as a display for any PC.

There’s no word on the price or release date yet.

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7 replies on “Asus PadFone monitor turns smartphone into a desktop PC”

  1. no way , this will be a couple of years from now , there is too much money to be made in tablets and laptop convertibles for now before it gets simple and all you need is your smart phone , check out clambook it is also similar principle but not out yet , phone docks are the future just not yet ,

  2. The PadPhone should have come out with Ubuntu for Android.

    It is nice to have a huge screen+mouse+keyboard but it isn’t worth much if all you have is Android apps to work with.

    1. You’ll have to wait for that option as it isn’t ready yet. It takes more than just a common kernel for them to work together and the present ICS isn’t using the newer kernel yet anyway.

      So for now it’s just either VM or custom desktop UI for Android solutions. Though you can also use remote desktop and someone may port their own version of desktop Linux for everyone to optionally use.

      While also keep in mind desktop Linux requires more system resources than Android. So it may be preferable to wait for a specification bump, like more RAM, before they offer more than just Android.

      One of the reasons for example that Motorola stopped using VM for their webtop is because of the performance hit and increased power usage it caused. So even though Android is more limited they opted to use a customized Android based desktop UI for now for the increased performance of running everything natively.

      The next gen ARM hardware is also still slowly rolling out and would be preferable for running desktop software than the older ARM devices.

    2. Not sure I’m ready to chuck my PC for this, but when you look at how Android has Netflix, Chrome, and apps like Documents to Go, there’s plenty of uses for this. If both this and the Padfone are priced right, I’ll be getting both of these, using the phone when I don’t need to power up the PC but want to get smaller tasks completed. Since getting the Transformer tablet, I’m finding less need to use a PC so this fits perfectly for my needs.

  3. Heh, odd that they included VGA. Tho it could be some kind of cross talk as the DVI with a passive converter can do the VGA thing just fine.

    Looks like Asus is squaring off against Motorola’s Webtop with this. And i wonder if JB will bring the ability for Android to turn from phone to tablet/desktop mode on the fly (an ability that Asus has hacked into ICS in a limited way).

    Btw, i am surprised they went with building the dock into the monitor rather than simply selling a dock with video out and USB in like what Motorola offers.

    Also, i would love to see Asus announce a media player as a alternative core device as i really do not feel the need to replace my phone right now.

    1. Why surprised about the monitor? It’s a Asus monitor ;-p

      Motorola doesn’t offer their own monitors…

      While the connector should work with other similar products from Asus and like she said, it can still be used like a regular monitor with the multiple input options.

      1. Ah yes, i keep forgetting that Asus is a veritable ACME of consumer technology.

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