Recently, ASUS released the PadFone 2 in Milan and if you’ll remember, the phone part of the original PadFone wasn’t all that great. It featured a laclustre qHD display and an okay dual-core processor. However, it was clear that ASUS didn’t think too hard on the phone part of the equation. This time around though, ASUS have looked long and hard on how to make the pad’s fone, a lot better and they certainly pulled through. The PadFone is brilliant phone in it’s own right, let alone the fact it can transform into a tablet. With a brilliant 4.7″ HD IPS panel and a quad-core Snapdragon S4 pro this phone is a killer phone.
With all the tablets that ASUS make I’m sure many of you have been wondering when they’ll start making smartphones outright, without accompanying tablet docks. Corporate Vice President, Benson Lin, was asked about whether or not ASUS would begin selling smartphones without tablet docks and he replied, simply: “Yes, why not?”. He also went on to say that the PadFone 2 is “a continuous line of products” which firmly suggests that this isn’t the last we’ve heard of the magical phone/tablet combo.
It’s clear that ASUS can make good smartphones, with the the PadFone 2 being a very capable device, regardless of the tablet dock. Shipping with stock Android and keeping things simple has resulted in a quality product that looks good and works well. When in Milan for the launch, Lin was happy to show off the quality and rigidity of the new combo, viciously shaking the device to try and dislodge the phone. ASUS have made quality products since the original Transformer TF101 and it’d be great to see them bring the same quality to the smartphone market. However, it’s certainly a tough business to break into, no more so than in the US where carriers hold onto to all the power and pick and choose who to share with. I’m sure a lot of us will be looking forward to getting their hands on the PadFone 2 and to see what ASUS have up their sleeve next.
[Source: Pocket Lint]