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Asus announce the Padfone – a Tablet and a Smartphone in one

Remember the teasing pictures of a new Asus tablet we showed you last week? Well the device has now been officially unveiled, and there’s a big surprise within.

The new device has been unveiled at the Computex event in Taipei, and it’s called the Asus Padfone. There’s a pretty big clue in the product name as to what the big surprise could be..

Asus have created a 10.1-inch Tablet with a compartment on the back to dock an Asus Smartphone, and they’re dubbing it the Padfone. The phone designed to dock into the back is a 4.3-inch Smartphone made by Asus. Unfortunately we haven’t been given any details on the specifications of the phone at present.

By docking your Asus Smartphone into the hidden compartment on the back of the tablet, your mobile phone experience will be blown up onto the 10.1-inch screen, much like the Motorola Atrix with its “Lapdock” accessory.

“The ASUS Padfone is a device that explores one possible convergence between two popular mobile devices – the smartphone and tablet,” said Asus when presenting the device.

Unfortunately Asus didn’t share any juicy info such as the specifications of the phone or tablet, though it has since been revealed by Benson Lin, corporate VP and GM for the Personal Mobile Devices Business Unit at Acer, that they are planning to use Google’s forthcoming version of Android; Ice Cream Sandwich.

We also know that the tablet part of the Padfone will be able to use the SIM card from the Smartphone part to gain a data connection, and the phone can also take charge from the larger battery of the tablet.

We’re certainly interested in the Asus Padfone, are you? Let us know your thoughts on this concept by leaving a comment, or tweet us @Gadget_Helpline.