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ASUS PadFone Infinity review: the convertible phone goes full HD and beyond
Almost exactly two years ago, Motorola's Android-in-Webtop-OS solution was kicked off the stage by ASUS' PadFone, the world's first phone that could fully power a tablet module from its own OS. The original concept took a while to materialize, but since then the company has kept up with a surprisingly rapid product cycle. It was only five months from the first PadFone to the PadFone 2; and now seven months later, ASUS is offering the PadFone Infinity: a non-surprising full HD update for both the phone and the tablet module. The phone itself also benefits from a newer 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 SoC, as well as a new brushed-aluminum body. So, does this upgraded package have what it takes to kill the "glass is half empty" mentality? Or would consumers still rather have two separate devices? Read on to find out.%Gallery-188021%
ASUS PadFone gets its first firmware update, minor bugs removed
We've been regularly poking the "Check Update" button on our PadFone since the release of our epic review, and just as promised, today ASUS has finally delivered the hybrid device's first OTA update. While the release notes have yet to pop up, we can see that the system firmware on our Taiwanese model's been upgraded to IML74K.CHT_PadFone-9.18.8.41_CHT_9.1.15-0, which has eliminated some of the bugs that we had reported to ASUS. For instance, the missing change-keyboard button in ASUS' Chinese handwriting input method has been reinstated, and trace input in ASUS' English keyboard is now working properly. Sadly, the "A" and "L" keys are still easy to miss -- we're accustomed to their larger sensitive areas on the native Android keyboard, so we shall stick to that for the time being. Also sent along is the camera firmware's update which brings the version number up to f09951, and consequently we're no longer getting an erroneous "no GPS signal" message in the camera app. Last but not least, the PadFone Station's firmware is now at version p40, but we've yet to notice any difference. Until we get the update log, don't be afraid to drop us a note in the comments if you spot anything else new. Update: We almost forgot to mention that the PadFone's already out in Singapore, and our pals over at Engadget Spanish reported earlier today that it's also heading to tiendas españolas next month. Likewise for Italy, according to Notebook Italia. Update 2: It turns out ASUS has also thrown in a solution for the Dynamic Switching compatibility issue, but we've yet to see a change log materialize a week after we received this update. If you have a PadFone, head over to Settings and under "ASUS Customised Setting" you can now add apps to a dynamic display switch list. While most of our apps now work fine with this, some of the core apps like Play Store, Gmail, YouTube and Maps are absent on the list, and the recent apps list still gets wiped clean after each switch. That said, this is already a huge improvement.
ASUS PadFone review
It's been a long ride for the PadFone. ASUS' last smartphone was the Android 2.1-powered A10 from two years ago, then five months later the company ended its smartphone partnership with Garmin (though they're still friends). The next thing we knew, the outfit was openly considering Windows Phone, but obviously nothing came to fruition despite its E600 engineering units floating about in the wild. Meanwhile, a bunch of Android Eee Pads started entering the market to get a slice of that hot tablet pie. Eventually, the PadFone shocked the industry at last year's Computex (remember our brilliant mockup based on the teaser pics?), but ASUS went on to miss its Christmas launch target, allowing it extra time to rejig the phone's software and design. Then CES and MWC went by, with the latter hosting the official launch event to unveil the PadFone's final design and availability date. This time, the new April target was missed by only three weeks, and shortly afterwards we got hold of our retail unit from Taiwan, which is still the only place where you can get hold of the product. But enough with the story. What we want to know is whether ASUS' courageous and unique project has all the right ingredients to squeeze itself into a market now dominated by the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC. Most importantly, will the company set a new trend with this two- or three-in-one form factor -- in the same way it did with netbooks -- thus taking the Android ecosystem to the next level? Let's see.%Gallery-155848% %Gallery-155852%
ASUS PadFone's real world battery life: 14.1 hours of 3G browsing in laptop mode (video)
Since the official launch at MWC, ASUS has been mum on how many hours its upcoming PadFone can stay on the treadmill for, but earlier today, we spotted an official promotional video -- which has since been removed from ASUS's YouTube channel -- that mentioned 16 hours of battery for the phone itself, 63 for tablet mode and 102 for laptop mode. Something smells funny here so we pinged ASUS, and guess what? Those turned out to be just continuous talk time over 2G, so perhaps said video clip was pulled to be re-edited. Conveniently, ASUS was also kind enough to share some very realistic battery life figures from the lab. With the corresponding screen set to 137 nits (about half the brightness), you get the following for phone mode, tablet mode and laptop mode, respectively: 2.6 hours, 10.7 hours and 17 hours of continuous WiFi browsing; and 2.1 hours, 8.9 hours and 14.1 hours of continuous 3G browsing. Just as promised before, the PadFone Station (the tablet) and the PadFone Station Dock (the keyboard) do seem to pump up the battery by about five-fold and nine-fold max, respectively. Now sure, these may make the 1,520mAh battery inside the phone look feeble and silly, but do bear in mind that these aren't the "up to" numbers. As always, stay tuned for our own tests whenever the PadFone finally lands on our doorstep. Update: A new version of said walkthrough video is online, now with a clarification at the top left corner in the battery life segment. Check it out after the break. [Thanks, Ex14]
