Do you remember the ASUS Padfone? Surely you do, it’s a tablet and a smartphone all in one!
ASUS announced the Padfone back in May of this year, and until now we’ve heard very little of the intriguing device since, until now.
ASUS top dog Jonney Shih confirmed that the Padfone will be going on sale early on in 2012, and it will be running the very latest Android 4.0 software, Ice Cream Sandwich, to boot.
The device is a 10.1-inch tablet which has a hidden dock on the back which can accommodate a smartphone. Once you dock a smartphone into the tablet, you can replicate the screen of the phone on the larger tablet screen and control it using touch gestures.
ASUS has also designed a smartphone that is specifically for docking with the tablet. We know that it has a 4.3-inch screen, though that is about all we know. The phone will be able to run Android Ice Cream Sandwich though, so in theory the screen should be of HD quality.
“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 back in May.
Unfortunately Jonney Shih didn’t give us any further information yesterday at the event, and we still don’t have an exact date for the release. However, knowing that an original piece of gadgetry such as the Padfone is coming is exciting enough, as is the inclusion of Android 4.0.
Jonney Shih also announced another big new product yesterday at the AsiaD conference – the ASUS Transformer Prime tablet.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.