Asus teases Padfone for 2012

Last year, Asus hinted at a collaboration that would bring together the phone and the tablet in a way that no one had ever considered. With Mobile World Congress around the corner, it looks like we could see the fruits of that in just a few days.

When we first got wind of this product last year, Asus was calling it the “Padfone”, a tablet that featured a port at the back where a phone could be inserted. All of the apps, messages, and files normally on the phone could then be used on the tablet, making it perfect for those looking to integrate both devices into their active working life.

This idea differs from the “tablet-phone” devices we’re beginning to hear about, products like the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note and LG Optimus Vu which bring huge screens into smartphones and make them into one large phone that can be used as a tablet.

A video put online this week has suggested that Asus will be bringing this device – or something like it – to Mobile World Congress in just a few days, with a video showing Russian Matryoshka dolls being placed inside each other, a reference to the exact way the Padfone is rumoured to function.

Asus has also been teasing us with a new screen, one that could bring the fight to the next-generation iPad 3 just as Apple’s new rumoured high-density screen comes to life.

The company has released a small teaser video titled “Twice the detail, twice the fun” giving us reason to believe that a new screen will be announced next week, possibly one that could stop Apple’s upcoming expected high-resolution iPad 3 display technology in its tracks.

In the past couple of years, manufacturers have been slow to respond to Apple’s advances, with the iPad usually leading tablets. We’ve certainly seen some strong competitors in the past few months, and if companies can get their act together at the same time as Apple, they may actually have enough strength to compete properly.

We’ll certainly know more when Mobile World Congress begins next week, so expect announcements from both the mobile and tablet camps in just a few days.