If you’re in the market for a new phone, the choice may be more difficult, with a new Asus phone-tablet hybrid on the way, updating the last model significantly by making it faster and ready for 4G.
Reviewed only recently, the Asus Padfone is a device that brought with it some interesting expectations.
Is it a phone? Is it a tablet?
The answer was both, but mostly a phone, with the handset able to be plugged into the tablet for the sharing of files, mobile connection, contacts, messages, and more.
This week overseas, Asus has unveiled the next iteration of the Padfone, with some interesting updates to the product, including a bigger 4.7 inch screen up from the 4.3 inch from the first, 720p HD resolution, quad-core processor instead of the dual-core from the first generation, and 2GB RAM which should help Android run even faster, as we saw when we reviewed Samsung’s 4G Galaxy S3.
The phone will also include support for fourth-generation mobile connectivity (4G) using the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology, and should be compatible with both Optus and Telstra’s networks when it arrives.
Over on the multimedia front, the Padfone 2 will receive a 13 megapixel rear camera with a 1.2 megapixel for the front, although Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” will be present, with an update coming for the most recent version – 4.1 – also known as “Jelly Bean.”
With all of these increases in technology, the battery has been increased, pushed from the 1520mAh of the first Padfone to a bigger 2140mAh, which should offer increases across the board.
Just like the first model, the Asus Padfone 2 will come with a 10.1 inch tablet station that relies on the phone, working only when you plug the phone into the back of the Padfone station.
The new model Padfone station has shed some weight – around 200 grams – bringing the entire phone-tablet weight to 649 grams, closer to the 652 grams on offer from the Apple iPad, its main competition.
As of yet, there’s no word as for when or if Australia will receive the new model, but given the expected October release date internationally, we shouldn’t be too far off, so stay tuned.
I cant understand why this is not the new ‘norm’, 1 sim, 1 plan, 2 products.
It’s something we’ve asked telcos here before, because it makes sense to us, too.
Last time we were told that the one plan for multiple products concept only worked with fleet plans, nothing else.
your norm isnt reality, we should have 2 sim in a phone as a lot of us have work phone and home phone sim or multiple mobiles for different purposes. They should all make at least dual sim for todays standards.
Not everyone needs two SIM cards in a phone, and I’m not sure it’s the same argument, in any case.
That is the east vs west debate. In Asia, different plans serve different purposes eg one sim for data one sim for calls and most people like to save money, people in Asia travel between countries and roaming is expensive etc. In the West (such as Australia), most people go on phone plans to buy a phone which has the major telcos force their data restrictions onto them, but they just accept it. The only Australian plan with roaming as of today is vodafone and you still need to pay $5 AUD a day! If I go to HK, I just get a cheap prepaid sim and stick it into my 2nd sim card slot and voila!