Who ever said 2011 is the year of the tablet was surely not expecting this! The rather unimaginatively named yet a completely new concept design , the Padfone. And yes you’ve guessed rightly, it is the combination of a tablet and a phone. While docking phones to connect to PCs and Laptops is nothing new, what this product offers is quite different. According to ASUS, the manufacturer, the phone integrates deeply with functionality of the tablet. What’s more the tablet has an extra battery that charges the phone while its docked in.
Even the dock is so well integrated into the tablet that its hardly noticeable, no more carrying docks or wires. Check out some of the cool features of this device while we try to assess the true utility of a design like this.
This combinational device will offer a 10 inch tablet that is currently running Android Honeycomb and a 4.3 inch phone running Android Gingerbread.The device takes docking to a whole new level, the tablet almost completely hides the phone inside it through a flap at the rear of the tablet. The specs of both these devices are currently being kept a secret as they are likely to change by the release date. Some features of this device include :
- Seamless transition of applications between pad and phone
- Eliminate data transfer hassle with a single storage pool
- One SIM card for two devices
- Use the pad as an extended battery to charge your phone
- Have a video conferencing experience and easily share with family and friends
The tablet does not have a rear camera of its own ( it has a front camera), the phone while docked inside the tablet acts as the rear camera. When the phone is docked in, you can use a Bluetooth ear piece to have your phone conversations! Since the dock where the phone fits has a Mini HDMI port and a Micro USB port, the phone pretty much integrates completely with the tablet, even providing a single storage solution. Cool features for sure.
Reports suggest that the tablet phone combinational device may be available before the end of the year. Is this the future of devices or what? Well that’s a tough one to answer, we know that tablets are flooding the market with a new device being rolled out almost every month, and Android tablet makers need to distinguish themselves from other Android manufacturers by adding features that make them stand apart from their Android cousins.
Reports from the study of PC sales suggest that tablets have already started eating into market share of notebook PCs in the European markets. Although i do agree that tablets can hardly provide the functionality of a notebook PC, I don’t doubt their usefulness. There are some pretty strong rumours that ASUS might go for a slight change in the phone and completely remove all the capacitive buttons you see on the screen.
The reason? Google announced a month back at their developer conference that Android Ice Cream Sandwich may be on its way before the end of the year and will completely integrate the operating system for phones as well as tablets. But is this device going to set a new standard for the development of Android tablets?
Why don’t you tell us what you think.
