Asus PadFone launched in India for Rs 64,999

[xiang2011]

Asus has launched the PadFone in India for Rs 64,999. The PadFone is an Android ICS smartphone running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz. It comes with a unique PadFone Station with a docking slot for the smartphone that converts it into a 10.1-inch tablet. The package also comes with a dockable full-size Asus Keyboard and keypad for a laptop like experience.

The PadFone has a 4.3-inch 960×540 pixel display, an 8-megapixel rear and VGA front cameras, 1GB memory and the usual connectivity options including 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS. The PadFone Station has a 10.1-inch 1280×800 pixel display, a 1.3-megapixel front and 8-megapixel back cameras and a 6,600 mAh battery that also charges the phone while it is docked. The Asus Keyboard dock has another 6,600 mAh battery and comes with two USB 2.0 ports and a memory card reader slot.

While the concept of having one device that can morph into a smartphone, tablet or laptop-like form-factor might sound innovative, we are not really sold on the idea. Firstly, for Rs 64,999 one can easily get a better smartphone and a fully-featured tablet. The PadFone won’t work as a tablet unless the phone is docked into it, which renders the tablet useless.


Asus is also talking about some software tweaks that make apps fit into the tablet’s bigger display when the phone is docked. In all probability, Google Play will recognize the PadFone as a smartphone and not a tablet, which means the few tablet-optimized apps available for Android won’t work with this.

Overall, the PadFone turns out to be a compromise device when it comes to using it beyond a smartphone. Asus could have provided it as a stand-alone smartphone running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and offered the PadFone station as an optional accessory . That’s our take on it.

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