Asus unveils Padfone tablet-dockable smartphone
Rumors, teasers and leaked pictures of this thing have been going around the net, but now Asus has finally shown off the Padfone in its entirety. Read on for the details.
The deal with the Padfone is that you have a smartphone that docks into a tablet and functions as the tablet’s brain. The tablet will have a screen (duh), some connectors, extra battery and speakers. It’s and mockups and ideas right now as there is no working prototype or even a final design, but it looks to be a ~4″ smartphone and a ~10″ tablet. It would be rather stupid if they didn’t also make it compatible with the Transformer dock, letting you have a phone that docks into a tablet that docks into a laptop. We will know more later this year so nothing to be overly excited about right now, and TBH it’s not the brightest idea I’ve seen so far. Sure it’s cool, but how much or an annoyance is it really to carry a phone separately? Especially if you also like to use them separately, which you can’t do with this setup. Also, while the tablet dock here has to be a bit cheaper than the $400 Transformer, you do have to buy that smartphone at the same time. I know I’m not the only one who’s gotten over the whole smartphone craze after getting a tablet, so it’s likely to be a rather expensive setup when everything is totaled. Still, a nice concept. Below is a few videos, courtesy of Asus, Engadget and netbooknews.
