Mobile Phones Guide

Compare This

ASUS PadFone

28 Feb 2012

Powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, the ASUS Padfone transforms from an Android 4.0 smartphone to a 10.1-inch tablet with the PadFone Station.

Tags: google, smartphone, tablet, asus, mobile phone, ice cream sandwich, android 4.0, mwc 2012

Filter by Manufacturers

HWZ's Overall Rating: 8.5

Design:

8.5

Features:

8.5

User-Friendliness:

8.5

Performance:

8.5

Value:

Great overall performance

Good design and handling

Beautiful Super AMOLED display

Back cover gets warm easily

Camera performance not up to expectations

Accessories not very practical

<div id="reviews-list">
		<h2>More articles (2)</h2>
		<ul>
					<li class="current">
			<a href="/review-asus-padfone-phone-tablet-and-netbook-combined" alt="/product-asus-padfone/review?review=279633">ASUS PadFone - Phone, Tablet and Netbook Combined</a>			</li>
					<li >
			<a href="/feature-hands-asus-padfone-padfone-station-accessories" alt="/product-asus-padfone/review?review=261771">Hands-on: ASUS PadFone, PadFone Station & Accessories</a>			</li>
				</ul>
	</div>
	
	<div id="product-review" class="article">
			<h2 class="header-green">ASUS PadFone - Phone, Tablet and Netbook Combined</h2>
		<span class="byline">Reviewed by Sidney Wong on Monday, 14 May 2012</span>
		<div class="share">
	<div
		id="addthis_div_519b2ef962480" 
		class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style"
		addthis:url="http://www.hardwarezone.com/review-asus-padfone-phone-tablet-and-netbook-combined"		addthis:title="ASUS PadFone - Phone, Tablet and Netbook Combined"	>
		<a class="addthis_button_google_plusone" g:plusone:count="false"></a>
		<a class="addthis_button_facebook"></a>
		<a class="addthis_button_twitter"></a>
		
		<a class="addthis_button_email"></a>
	</div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
	window.addEvent ('domready', function ()
	{
 		//AddThis thing
		addthis_share = window.addthis_share || {};
		addthis_share.url_transforms = {
			add: {
				utm_source: 'addthis',
				utm_medium: 'referral',
				utm_campaign: 'addthis',
				utm_content: 'ASUS%2BPadFone%2B-%2BPhone%2C%2BTablet%2Band%2BNetbook%2BCombined'
			}
		}
		
		addthis_config = window.addthis_config || {};
		addthis_config.data_track_clickback = true;
		addthis_config.data_ga_property = 'UA-166763-1';
		//window.addthis && addthis.toolbox (".addthis_toolbox");
		 
	});
//]]>
</script>		<div class="content resizeable">
						<div id="page-1" class="page">
		 		<h2 class="page-title">Overview, Design and Features</h2>
		 		<h3 class="page_title">Mobility Redefined</h3>
<p>ASUS is certainly a big player in the mobile computing market as they've had first-mover advantage in the netbook and tablet product categories. However, the same can't be said in the mobile phone market with their scant presence. While they made pretty notable inroads with&nbsp;their Garmin&nbsp;collaboration which spun off touch screen phones such as the Windows Mobile 6.5-equipped<a href="/product-garmin-asus-nuvifone-m10" target="_blank">&nbsp;Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10</a>, the Android-powered&nbsp;<a href="/product-garmin-asus-nuvifone-a10" target="_blank">Garmin-Asus A10</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="/product-garmin-asus-nuvifone-a50" target="_blank">Garmin-Asus A50</a>, that was probably their high-point. Ever since their <a href="http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/tech-news-asus-and-garmin-announce-new-strategy" target="_blank">change of strategy</a> to sell ASUS-only branded devices, we've yet to see anything noteworthy from the company. Instead, we're re reminded of their old in-house designed QWERTY phones like the&nbsp;<a href="/product-asus-m530w-smartphone" target="_blank">M530w</a>&nbsp;and<a href="/product-asus-m930-35g-smartphone" target="_blank">&nbsp;M930</a>.</p>
<p>Nonetheless all this is set to change for ASUS as it brings forth one of its most prized mobile devices, the PadFone, which was unveiled at&nbsp;<a href="/feature-asus-computex-2011" target="_blank">Computex 2011</a>&nbsp;and last seen at <a href="/feature-hands-asus-padfone-padfone-station-accessories" target="_blank">Mobile World Congress 2012</a> where we had our first real hands-on. While it may seem to be just another Android smartphone in the market, the PadFone actually has some nifty tricks up its sleeves to surprise the unsuspecting consumer.&nbsp;What's unique about the PadFone is its ability to dock itself and power a 10.1-inch tablet accessory, known as the PadFone Station. The combination can be attached to yet another accessory, the Station Dock, which is essentially a keyboard docking station that doubles as an extra battery pack. Here's a very quick video overview to see how this works:-</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe src="http://content.bitsontherun.com/players/5tlWAEzF-9E7QWqWp.html" width="560" height="340" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto"></iframe></p>
<p>The transformational concept isn't new as ASUS has pulled it off rather elegantly on its <a href="/product-asus-eee-pad-transformer" target="_blank">Eee Pad Transformer</a>, <a href="/product-asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime" target="_blank">Transformer Pad Prime</a>, <a href="http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/review-asus-eee-pad-slider-hybrid-gadget" target="_blank">Eee Pad Slider</a>&nbsp;and <a href="/product-asus-transformer-pad-tf300" target="_blank">Transformer Pad TF300</a>. While the concept was well received in the tablet realm, can ASUS replicate the same success on the smartphone front? That's what we intend to find out. We'll be focusing on how the three parts of the device work together, but first up is a quick diagnosis of the smartphone quotient with the PadFone :&nbsp;</p>
<table align="center">
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <td class="rtecenter"><img width="200" height="200" title="ASUS PadFone" alt="" src="/files/img/2012/02/TNPadFone.jpg" />&nbsp;</td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <p class="rteleft"><strong>&nbsp;            Key highlights of the ASUS PadFone<br />
            </strong></p>
            <ul>
                <li>Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich</li>
                <li><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:
                PMingLiU;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
                ZH-TW">4.3-inch Super AMOLED</span>&nbsp;Display /&nbsp;<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:
                PMingLiU;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
                ZH-TW">qHD (960 x 540) resolution,<br />
                scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass with HCLR</span>&nbsp;Film</li>
                <li>Qualcomm 8260A Snapdragon S4 dual-core 1.5GHz processor with Adreno 225 GPU</li>
                <li>1 GB RAM / <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:
                PMingLiU;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
                ZH-TW">16GB or 32GB internal storage with 32GB free ASUS&nbsp;Webstorage for 3 years&nbsp;</span></li>
                <li>8-megapixel rear autofocus camera with F2.2 lens and LED flash</li>
                <li>1520mAh battery</li>
                <li>129g</li>
                <li>128 x 65.4 x 9.2 mm</li>
                <li>Availability: <strong>S$800 without line contract</strong>; LTE&nbsp;model targeted for early Q3 2012 release &nbsp;</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="page_title">The PadFone Quotient<br />
&nbsp;</h3>
<h4 class="page_sub_title">Design Aspects&nbsp;</h4>
<p>The ASUS PadFone has the hallmarks of a modern Android smartphone - a plastic chassis, slim, rounded corners and a sizable 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display. In our hands, the PadFone feels quite solid despite its slender weight of 129 grams.</p>
<p>Its 9.2mm side profile sits comfortably in the middle of the competition; it is a hairline thinner than<a href="/product-apple-iphone-4s" target="_blank"> the Apple iPhone 4S</a> (9.3mm) while measuring 0.3mm thicker than<a href="/product-htc-one-x" target="_blank"> the HTC One X</a> (8.9mm) and <a href="/product-samsung-galaxy-nexus" target="_blank">Samsung Galaxy Nexus</a> (8.9mm). The PadFone edges out its closest rival, <a href="/product-motorola-atrix-2" target="_blank">the Motorola Atrix 2</a>, which is rather thick by today's standards at 10.4mm.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img src="http://images.hardwarezone.com/upload/files/2012/05/c3cd1d81db.jpg" width="600" height="380" title="ASUS did a great job with the design of the PadFone (right) as it competes favorably with the HTC One X (left) and Samsung Galaxy Nexus (center). However, some may argue of its iPhone-like appearance which isn't a bad thing." alt="" /></p>
<p class="rteleft">Taking cues from Google and the <a href="http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-samsung-galaxy-nexus-finally-touches-down" target="_blank">Samsung Galaxy Nexus</a>, ASUS eschewed physical navigation buttons and implemented the three touch buttons on the PadFone. While it boils down to individual tastes for preferring touch screen or physical navigation buttons, we cannot help but feel that the inconsistency among Android vendors in implementing these navigation buttons. So if you're switching from a phone with physical navigation buttons, you might take a while to get used to the slight difference in usage.</p>
<p class="rteleft">The standard suite of connectivity options can be found on the PadFone: micro-USB port, micro-HDMI port, 3.5mm audio output jack and microSD memory card slot. To access the memory card slot, you have to remove the battery cover. This may be inconvenient for some who often swap memory cards.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="rteleft">You will find the 8-megapixel rear camera, LED flash and speaker grille at the back of the PadFone. As there is no cover protecting the camera lens, it is recommended that you take extra caution when placing the PadFone on any surface to avoid scratching the lens.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img src="http://images.hardwarezone.com/upload/files/2012/05/f6fc02237f.jpg" width="600" height="492" title="The PadFone has the signature concentric circles on its back, similar to the Zenbooks and Transformer slates. Its rougher texture helps give the PadFone a better handling and minimizes the chances of the phone slipping out of your hands." alt="" /></p>
<p class="rteleft">&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="page_sub_title">Padded with Ice Cream Sandwich&nbsp;</h4>
<p>Keeping to its track record of delivering products with the latest software, the ASUS PadFone ships with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box. While HTC and Samsung like to toy around with the stock Android user interface (UI) and add on new features, ASUS opted to keep most of the UI intact with some minor additions.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img src="http://images.hardwarezone.com/upload/files/2012/05/06e92300df.jpg" width="600" height="520" title="Those who dislike heavily customized Android UIs may find the ASUS PadFone appealing as it retains much of the stock interface." alt="" /></p>
<p class="rteleft">The screenshot above on the left shows the PadFone sporting a familiar lock screen of the stock Android 4.0 UI where you can choose to unlock the phone by swiping right or activating the camera by swiping to the left. On the right is the screenshot depicting the ASUS PadFone running on Android 4.0.3, one of the three phones besides the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, HTC One X and One V, running Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img src="http://images.hardwarezone.com/upload/files/2012/05/86c5ab0713.jpg" width="600" height="520" title="Some of the ASUS widgets such as the ASUS Battery and Task Manager help monitor your usage on the PadFone." alt="" /></p>
<p class="rteleft">ASUS kept the look and feel of the stock Android 4.0 UI as seen in the screenshots above. However, it adds several of its own widgets such as ASUS Weather and Battery widgets (right). Having more widgets provides users with more customization options for their five home screens.</p>
<p class="rteleft">ASUS also added an extra column, &quot;Pad Only&quot;, on the top bar in between Apps and Widgets to house Pad only apps (right). For example, you can drag a tablet-specific app like News 360 for Tablets from the App List onto the home screen and to the top right hand corner of the display where there is an option to add &quot;Pad-Only app tag&quot;. After tagging it, the app will appear in the Pad Only tab. Similarly, you can remove the app from the Pad Only list by dragging it out from the tab onto the home screen.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img src="http://images.hardwarezone.com/upload/files/2012/05/f92c0e1cd0.jpg" width="600" height="200" title="You are not limited to just tagging tablet-specific apps. Apps that work for both tablets and smartphones such as Dropbox can also be tagged." alt="" />&nbsp;</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img src="http://images.hardwarezone.com/upload/files/2012/05/df8614c373.jpg" width="600" height="520" title="ASUS's modifications enable you to toggle between the different settings quickly." alt="" /></p>
<p class="rteleft">Another aspect where ASUS made changes to the stock UI is the pull-down notifcation tab (left). Besides giving you an overview of the notifications, ASUS supplements it with a row of quick settings to toggle, which includes the shortcut to toggle the outdoor mode to tune up the brightness for outdoor usage.</p>
<p class="rteleft">There is also a special customized settings under the Settings tab where you can enable several ASUS-exclusive features such as taking screenshots by holding the Recent Apps key and switching between the three system modes (Power Saving, Balanced and Performance).</p>			</div>
		</div>
			<div class="pagination" >
		<span class="desc">Page 1 of 3</span>
		<ul>
			<li class="prevnext prev"><a href="/review-asus-padfone-phone-tablet-and-netbook-combined" class="disabled">&lsaquo; Prev</a></li>
			<li class="skip">
				<form id="PageAddForm" method="post" action="/go"><fieldset style="display:none;"><input type="hidden" name="_method" value="POST" /></fieldset>					<select name="data[Page][url]" class="page-selector" id="PageUrl">
<option value="/review-asus-padfone-phone-tablet-and-netbook-combined" selected="selected">Overview, Design and Features</option>
<option value="/review-asus-padfone-phone-tablet-and-netbook-combined/exploring-padfone-station-and-station-dock">Exploring the PadFone Station and Station Dock</option>
<option value="/review-asus-padfone-phone-tablet-and-netbook-combined/performance-and-conclusion-38">Performance and Conclusion</option>
</select>					<input type="submit" class="submit" value="Go" />				</form>			</li>
			<li class="prevnext next"><a href="/review-asus-padfone-phone-tablet-and-netbook-combined/exploring-padfone-station-and-station-dock" class="">Next &rsaquo;</a></li>
		</ul>
	</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
	window.addEvent ('domready', function ()
	{
 
		var container = document.getElement ('#product-review'),
			content = container && container.getElement ('.content'),
			pagination = container && container.getElement ('.pagination'),
			form = pagination && pagination.getElement ('form'),
			menu = form && form.getElement ('.page-selector'),
			links = {
				prev: pagination && pagination.getElement ('.prev a'),
				next: pagination && pagination.getElement ('.next a')
			},
			page = -1,
			desc = 'Page {curPage} of {lastPage}'
		;

// Tag as Javascript-enabled
		pagination.addClass ('js');

menu.addEvent ('change', function (e)
		{
			var curPage = this.selectedIndex + 1,
				lastPage = this.length,
				url = this.get ('value'),
				pageContent = container && container.getElement ('.page')
			;

// Disable controls
			menu.set ('disabled', 'disabled').blur ();
			if (pageContent) pageContent.setStyle ('opacity', .5);

new Request.HTML ({
				'url': url,
				'method': 'get',
				'link': 'cancel',
				'update': content,
				'onSuccess': function ()
				{
					// Update controls
					menu.erase ('disabled');
					links.prev
						.set ('href', menu.getChildren ('option')[(curPage > 1)? curPage - 2: curPage - 1].get ('value'))
						[(curPage > 1)? 'removeClass': 'addClass'] ('disabled')
					;
					links.next
						.set ('href', menu.getChildren ('option')[(curPage < lastPage)? curPage: curPage - 1].get ('value'))
						[(curPage < lastPage)? 'removeClass': 'addClass'] ('disabled')
					;
					pagination.getElement ('.desc').set ('text', desc.substitute ({ curPage: curPage, lastPage: lastPage}));

captureIntraLinks ();
					new Fx.Scroll (window).toElement (container);
				},
				'onFailure': function ()
				{
					// Restore controls
					menu.erase ('disabled');
					if (pageContent) pageContent.setStyle ('opacity', 1);
				}
			}).send ();
		});
		$$([links.prev, links.next]).addEvent ('click', function (e)
		{
			e.stop (); this.blur ();
			if (!this.hasClass ('disabled'))
				menu.set ('value', this.get ('href')).fireEvent ('change');
		});
		form.addEvent ('submit', function (e)
		{
			e.stop (); this.blur ();
			menu.fireEvent ('change');
		})

// Capture all intra-page links and hook to js
		function captureIntraLinks ()
		{
			content.getElements ('a[href^="#"]').flatten().each (function (link)
			{
				var target = link.get ('href').substr (6).trim ();
				if (target && target.match (/^\d+$/) && target <= menu.length)
					link.addEvent ('click', function (e)
					{
						e.stop (); this.blur ();
						menu.selectedIndex = target - 1;
						menu.fireEvent ('change');
					});
			});
		}
		captureIntraLinks ();

// Trigger initial pagination state
		var target = location.hash && location.hash.substr (6).trim ();
		if (target && target.match (/^\d+$/) && target <= menu.length && target != page)
		{
			menu.selectedIndex = target - 1;
			menu.fireEvent ('change');
		}
 
	});
//]]>
</script>
				<div class="footer">
		
<div class="tags" style="">
	<span class="label" style="">Tags:</span> <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/110-smartphone">smartphone</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/308-tablet">tablet</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/345-asus">asus</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/562-qualcomm">qualcomm</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/563-snapdragon">snapdragon</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/2746-padfone">padfone</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/3408-ice-cream-sandwich">ice cream sandwich</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/5954-android-40">android 4.0</a></div>
		</div>
				</div>

<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
	window.addEvent ('domready', function ()
	{
 
		var section = $('tab-product-content-review'),
			dropdown = section.getElement ('#reviews-list'),
			tId = 0
		;

if (section && dropdown)
		{
			var list = dropdown.getElement ('ul'),
				links = list.getElements ('li a')
			;

dropdown.addClass ('js');
			list.set ('morph', { 'link': 'cancel' });

$$(dropdown, list).addEvents ({
				'mousemove': function ()
				{
					$clear (tId);
				},
				'mouseenter': function ()
				{
					list.set ('morph', {'duration': 'short'}).morph ({ 'opacity': 1 });
				},
				'mouseleave': function ()
				{
					tId = function () { list.set ('morph', {'duration': 'short'}).morph ({ 'opacity': 0}); }.delay (1000);
				}
			}).fireEvent ('mouseleave');

links.addEvent ('click', function (e)
			{
				e.stop ();
				//unescape the 'alt' prooperty
				var o = new Element('i', { 'html': this.get ('alt')});
				new Request.HTML ({
					'url': o.get('text') + '&as=ajax',
					'method': 'get',
					'link': 'cancel',
					'update': section.empty().grab(new Element('div')
						.addClass ('waiter')
						.grab (new Element ('span', {
							text: 'Please wait while we load your article ...'
						}))
					)
				}).send ();
			})

section.getElements ('.footer .comments a').addEvent ('click', function (e)
			{
				e.stop ();
				new Fx.Scroll (window).toElement ($('tab-product-details'));

var href = this.get ('href').match (/#.+$/), target = href && href[0];
				if (target)
					(function () { new Fx.Scroll (window).toElement ($(target.substr (1))); })
						.delay (3000);

$('tab-product-comments').getChildren ('a')[0].fireEvent ('click');
			})
		}
		if( $$('.image-caption-container').length < 1 )
		{	
			$$('.article .content img[title]').each (function (img)
			{
				// skip if title is empty
				if (!img.get ('title')) return;
			
				new Element ('span', {'class': 'image-caption-container'})
					.addClass (['left', 'right'].contains (img.get ('align'))? img.get ('align'): '')
					.set ('width', img.get ('width'))
					.replaces (img)
					.grab (img)
					.grab (new Element ('div', {
						'class': 'image-caption',
						'html': img.get ('title').trim ()
					}))
				;
				img.erase ('align');
			
				var link = img.getParents ('a');
				if (link) link.addClass ('captioned');
			});
		}
 
	});
//]]>
</script>

Mobile Phones Guide

ASUS PadFone

Filter by Manufacturers

You may also be interested in...