For a PC manufacturer, Asus seems to know how to compete in the crowded Android tablet market. After launching its very successful & unique Eee Pad Transformer, Asus is showing what is next on their lineup: Padfone. The Padfone is a smartphone that can be docked into a tablet. Instead of carrying two devices, in reality you can carry one (when docked). However, this is not an ordinary dock. The devices offer a display switching so that if you are browsing the web on your phone, it will seamlessly display where you left off on the tablet. In addition, the tablet can charge the phone when docked. Another great feature is that one should be able to run both devices on a single data plan so one would not need a second data plan. Wireless providers will surely not like that.
The smartphone itself has a 4.3"screen while the tablet will support a 10.1". The phone will have dual cameras but the tablet will use the phone's rear camera as the rear camera on the tablet. The press release photo below shows the tablet and phone but Asus has stated that the final product may differ slightly. The Padfone is targeted for a December release and should run the latest Android software which should be Ice Cream Sandwich. It would not run Honeycomb since its not designed for a phone. The OS must be the same on the phone and tablet. We'll be keeping our eye on this beauty. Of course, no word on price.
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