Here’s our full Asus PadFone X review.
Asus has teamed up with AT&T to offer the PadFone X, the latest version of the unusual smartphone and tablet combo device, and it’s up for pre-order early next month. AT&T is offering a variety of ways to buy the PadFone X, starting with the usual $200 up front charge accompanied by a signature on the bottom of a two-year contract. Should you prefer the Next program, there’s the option of either a 12-month or 18-month plan, the former costing just under $30 per month, and the latter almost $23.
If the PadFone range is new to you, here’s what it’s all about. You have a traditional mobile phone, in this case one with a 5-inch screen, which can be plugged into a 9-inch tablet dock, at which time it becomes the brains of the whole operation. Asus says a PadFone makes perfect sense, because not only is it more convenient, but it’s also cheaper than buying two separate devices.
The PadFone X is the most recent in the ever-evolving line-up. The smartphone’s screen has a 1080p resolution and there’s a 13-megapixel camera on the rear complete with an f2.0 aperture and an LED flash on the rear. While the rest of the smartphone world has moved on to the Snapdragon 801, the PadFone X makes do with the ever-reliable Snapdragon 800, which is backed up by 2GB of RAM. There’s 16GB of internal storage space, but a 64GB MicroSD card can be used to bump this up.
Slot the phone into the tablet, and the Android 4.4 KitKat OS is instantly transferred to the 9-inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel display. Once it’s all synced up, the tablet’s own 4950mAh battery takes over, keeping the phone’s own 2300mAh cell brimmed while you’re working. The convenience factor is increased further by the tablet sharing the phone’s 4G LTE connection, so there’s no need to pay for more than one data plan.
AT&T will have the PadFone X available for pre-order from June 6, that’s in-store and online, plus it’s offering an accessory pack containing a pair of wireless charging covers, and a Duracell wireless charging mat for $80, which is $50 cheaper than if they were purchased separately.
Updated o 06-02-2014 by Andy: News coming from the Computex trade show currently taking place in Taiwan suggests Asus has an international version of the PadFone X in the works. Named the PadFone S, it’ll feature the same specs with only slight alterations to the 3G and 4G bands. A release date of between July and September is being suggested, but there’s no information on where the device may be sold.
Article originally published on 05-28-2014
