02/26, 12:22pm
Tablet serves as phone dock
Asus' PadFone has maintained a unique strategy in the mobile market, acknowledging that smartphones and tablets are now essentially powered by the same components. The PadFone infinity is the latest extension of the concept, pairing a high-end Android phone with a dock that converts the pair into a 10-inch tablet. We stopped by Asus' low-key meeting room at Mobile World Congress to see the Infinity in action.
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02/08, 5:24am
Asus set to bring full call capabilities to 7-inch Fonepad
The first Intel Atom-powered ‘phablet’ is set to debut at Mobile World Congress, according to Digitimes. The rumored 7-inch Asus device is set to be dubbed the ‘Fonepad, ’ which is a reversal of the PadFone name that Asus has previously used for a different smartphone/tablet hybrid device. This device would not integrate a discrete smartphone where the tablet component acts as a dock as with the Padfone, but instead would double as a self-contained super-sized smartphone.
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09/21, 12:59pm
Successor to dockable mobile set for dual Italy, Taiwan launch
Asus will be revealing the follow-up to its PadFone next month. Invitations sent to media outlets for the PadFone 2 show a partial shot of the smartphone's display, alongside a request to book the 16th of October into calendars, and will apparently be debuted in simultaneous events in Milan, Italy and Taipei, Taiwan.
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04/16, 3:05pm
ASUS prices, dates mobile gear for Italy
At the Milan Design Week, ASUS priced and dated many of its upcoming portable products for the European market, Notebook Italia learned. The Padfone will ship late in May, or about a month later than in its home market of Taiwan. Its price at a telephone operator hasn't been revealed, but the Padfone Station that includes the 32GB handset and a docking tablet that's coming in June will cost 700 euros (about $914).
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04/05, 6:05am
The long-awaited ASUS PadFone due mid-April
The ASUS PadFone is finally ready to go on sale in mid-April. The unique mobile product pairs a smartphone with a tablet dock, which in turn can be docked with a keyboard. It was first unveiled in May last year, but only recently made its first appearance at World Mobile Congress where Electronista had the opportunity to go hands-on with the device.
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02/27, 8:10am
Phone brings Snapdragon dual-core processor
ASUS has brought its latest gadgets to Mobile World Congress, including the PadFone smartphone and two docking accessories that can be used to convert the device into a tablet or ultraportable notebook. Electronista had a chance to try out the combination, which aims to compete with Motorola's Lapdock system.
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02/23, 1:40pm
ASUS release teaser video for new tablet at MWC
ASUS is beginning to release teasers for a new tablet, more than likely to be a follow-up to the Transformer Prime. It may be the Transformer Prime TF700T that was shown at CES, but it could be a totally different device. The TF700T may sport a higher-resolution, 1920x1200 display, which doesn't quite live up to the teaser video's promise of "twice the detail, twice the fun." The TF700T would run on Android 4.0 and ship in June, so it's unlikely ASUS would stoke anticipation for a reintroduction of the same tablet at a different show.
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01/31, 11:35am
PadFone coming to MWC, ASUS invite promises
ASUS will bring its long-delayed PadFone device to the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona at the tail end of February, confirming earlier rumors. This news comes from ASUS itself, who sent out a media invite shared by Android Central. The PadFone was introduced in May and is actually two devices in one, with a 4.3-inch smartphone at the core and a 10-inch tablet serving as a dock and larger screen.
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12/20, 10:40pm
ASUS hints it stays unafraid of Apple lawsuits
ASUS isn't worried about being sued over patents, company chairman Jonney Shih stated at an awards ceremony Tuesday. Picking up the Pan Wen Yuan Prize with Digitimes in attendance, he said ASUS had "many" 3G patents and wasn't worried about being sued. Although not stated, he was likely referencing HTC's loss to Apple after an ITC complaint, which will likely lead to a favorable ruling if HTC doesn't settle ahead of other ITC verdicts and matching civil lawsuits.
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12/05, 1:45pm
PadFone to get Tegra 3 CPU, debut at MWC?
The ASUS PadFone will be officially unveiled at the Mobile World Congress show in February, a source told Engadget. At the same time, NetbookNews's Nicole Scott believes the device will be powered by a quad-core Tegra 3 CPU like the Transformer Prime tablet, and not the Snapdragon S4, as previously believed. As its name suggests, the PadFone will be a hybrid device which docks a smartphone into a tablet element.
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11/21, 9:05am
ASUS Padfone may carry 1.5GHz quad Snapdragon
ASUS' delayed Padfone may give users a performance treat after an inadvertently posted benchmark uncovered its processor choice. The smartphone and tablet hybrid should have a Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960), Qualcomm's faster 1.5GHz chip, which might mean a quad-core. The GLBenchmark test gave surprisingly low performance, in many cases getting two and a half stars out of five, although the test was running Android 2.3.5 and appeared to be using two cores out of the possible four.
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10/31, 5:00pm
ASUS to bring out two Windows 8 tablets next fall
Along with its third-quarter financial results PDF), ASUS revealed it will begin shipping tablets running on the Windows 8 operating system in the summer of next year. Specifically, there are two tablets due to be released then, with a heavy marketing push taking place ahead of the release to ensure strong sales. ASUS currently relies on the Android OS for its current tablets, such as the Eee Pad Transformer.
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05/30, 5:25am
ASUS reveals unique smartphone-tablet hybrid
(Update: OS details) ASUS has formally unveiled the Padfone at Computex 2011. Teased over the course of the past week, the new device converges a 4.3-inch smartphone with a 10.1-inch Android 3 tablet. ASUS claims that the device solves the problem of data transfer hassles and requiring multiple SIM cards, one for separate use in a smartphone and one for separate use in a user’s 3G tablet. The Padfone has a smartphone, which docks inside the companion tablet to give users an expanded view to suit their tasks.
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05/29, 12:30pm
ASUS PadFone gets clearer imagery
(Update: new photo, explanation) ASUS' PadFone may have been given its first real details after one more sighting showed much more of the design. The repeatedly teased hardware now clearly shows a phone with the standard Android touch-sensitive buttons as well as a companion tablet. While not mentioned in the NotebookItalia slip, it is presumed the two are dependent on each other and that the phone can share calls or its Internet connection with the tablet.
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05/27, 2:40pm
ASUS trademarks Padfone for next tablet
The recently teased ASUS tablet that promises to "break the rules," may be called Padfone. ASUS has applied for a trademark for the unusual name with the US Patent and Trademark Office, though it may be too late for this particular tablet/smartphone hybrid. The device, which could be the Eee Pad MeMo or Eee Pad Slider, is to be unveiled at Computex on May 29.
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