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ASUS CEO: The PadFone is coming to America in Q2 2014
ASUS has big ambitions with its PadFones, a unique phone-to-tablet convertible concept that was first introduced back at Computex 2011. While these devices are barely nibbling on the global mobile market (let alone entering the US), the company still stands by its "N+1" philosophy: "to add on a simple change which allows the product to evolve beyond its current capability." This is evidenced by its five iterations of transformable phones, including the new PadFone Infinity (A86) and the upcoming PadFone Mini. The question is: when, if ever, will the PadFone break out of its niche? CEO Jerry Shen reckons now is the time. What's more, he's going for a dual-series strategy, henceforth, with a high-end line for Europe and the US, and a "mainstream" line for Asia.
The new ASUS PadFone Infinity hands-on (video)
While ASUS has some way to go before dominating the world with its PadFones, it seems that the company is still very much committed to this eccentric phone-in-tablet idea. What's more interesting is that rather than launching a completely new device, this time we're given a nice spec bump in a near-identical device, meaning existing PadFone Infinity users can keep their tablet docks and swap just the phone. But is it worth the upgrade? Let's take a quick look.
ASUS' new PadFone Infinity unveiled with Snapdragon 800, microSD slot and design tweaks
Just as promised, today ASUS has made its new PadFone Infinity official in Taipei, and there are definitely no surprises in the specs. The main update here is obviously the 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC, along with the addition of a microSD slot plus a secondary microphone for noise cancellation. Unsurprisingly, the internal storage options have been lowered to 16GB and 32GB, which is understandable with that new storage expansion capability. One very subtle change that we missed in the leaks is the new diamond cut on the metallic backside, which gives the phone a more premium and solid look than the original version. To accompany that, the new PadFone Infinity comes in two new color options: "Titanium Black" and "Platinum White." The software has also been given a gentle facelift, courtesy of a more consistent design language throughout the system -- from the simplified icons to the UI of some of the built-in Android apps. Since this is based on Android 4.2 instead of 4.1 out of the box, we should also see some performance boost as well. The good news for existing users is that the original PadFone Infinity will also receive this update, but there's no time frame for the roll-out just yet.
ASUS PadFone Infinity with Snapdragon 800 could simply be 'The new PadFone Infinity'
Following the original ASUS PadFone Infinity (A80) with Snapdragon 600 SoC, rumors of a new "PadFone Infinity A86" (or "PadFone T004") go as far back as July 20th, with benchmark evidence showing a more powerful Snapdragon 800 enabling this mysterious device. While details are still light, several eagle-eyed PadFone fans have started noticing a new name on ASUS' tech support page: "The new PadFone Infinity." Assuming this is more of an official name and less of a placeholder, it looks like we'll be seeing an identical-looking device sporting Qualcomm's latest piece of silicon; and perhaps a launch is imminent -- maybe at IFA next week? But ASUS, it really wouldn't hurt if you guys can throw in a microSD slot plus a dedicated keyboard dock as well this time. Remember the original PadFone? Good times.
