ASUS PadFone Pro Reviews

Game, set and match for the mixed double? Asus' PadFone definitely won the one or other rally in our review. For example, the good-looking and pleasant-to-the-touch exterior. In return, the PadFone does not get a point for the Station screen's outdoor suitability and viewing angle stability. However, user-friendliness is well-implemented: open the cover, slide in the smartphone and the tablet is ready for use. Data transmission is smooth - when it works at first try. So, can the smartphone-Station combo replace a full-blown tablet? This question remains unanswered. It ultimately depends on the user's requirements. If you need more power and memory capacity, you will unlikely be happy with the hybrid solution. However, if you always want your mobile data at hand in one device, the PadFone might be a welcome innovation for you. Potential buyers should perhaps wait for the market launch of the PadFone 2. Who knows what the new PadFone scion will have up its sleeve?

The Asus PadFone is the first attempt to bring to life an exciting idea. The idea of having just one device powering your computing needs. And we love that notion. Despite what Asus achieved with the PadFone, this attempt alone is worth applause - it creates a category of its own. But with this in mind, we should note that the PadFone is not a concept - it is an absolutely real device now, sold for real money. And while we expected the PadFone approach to bring the price of a device like the Station and the whole combination down a lot, it costs a lot of money. Right now, you can buy the PadFone with Station for $840. In Europe, the PadFone alone costs around 600 euro and the Station can be purchased for 150 euro. And that seems overpriced, and this inadequate pricing brings our overall score down. It’s not just the cost, though - competing devices like the iPad and Galaxy Tab 10.1 all offer much slimmer, sleeker, better designs, and the PadFone Station is just too bulky, as if it was from the distant past. The phone is brilliantly designed, but hardware-wise neither the screen, nor the processor really justify its high price. If you want to experiment with the PadFone, you’d definitely have fun, but right now it seems that it makes sense to get a separate phone and a tablet, at least until a future generation PadFone arrives – hopefully thinner and cheaper.

While it may seem like we moan a lot about the PadFone in its current state, we do it only out of love. To put it simply, we're all over ASUS' vision of making the smartphone the literal center of our lives, but the company can do so much more: what we see here is just the core of the idea, the foundation to get things started, while the rest of the product seems half-finished and doesn't yet realize its full potential. On the other hand, you have to start somewhere, and a product like this will surely inspire many to take advantage of this hybrid form factor, be it consumers, developers or even manufacturers. Focusing on the PadFone that's already on the market, we can't help but feel ASUS really just wanted to get it out of the way ahead of Computex, and then rely on OTA updates to beef up the device. This is okay as long as ASUS keeps up its pace, and looking at its track record of updating the Transformer series, we're confident that the fixes will be delivered in good time. Leaving the software bugs aside, at this point it's hard to tell whether the PadFone will appeal to the masses who are spoiled by multi-device options, or those who think the glass is half empty -- as in the tablet is useless without the phone. But then again, the off-contract price for the full package is already very competitive, let alone the subsidized offers from carriers. Ultimately, not only does Android need to become even more productive, but the PadFone also needs to shave off some weight. We guess it'll follow the same path as the first Transformer and evolve into a slimmer model, and you have to remember how fast Jonney Shih came back with the Transformer Prime after the TF101's launch in the same year.

The ASUS PadFone is one of the most versatile mobile device we've seen to-date. It can dock with the PadFone Station and transforms itself into a tablet, and pairs with the Station Dock to become a netbook. What's more, it provides the processing power with its Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core 1.5GHz processor that proves the point that having more cores doesn't necessarily mean better performance. Though the entire tranformational concept of the PadFone seems unique and appealing, it's a shame that the overall hef (1.499kg) is definitely the deal breaker. You can easily get a better deal with an Ultrabook that weighs in the same range but offers far more functionality and performance. We can find any reason why the average consumer on the street will consider this over the more portable Ultrabook. However as a phone, the ASUS PadFone has the necessary specs to take on the powerhouses in the market. The combination of a great design, good handling, beautiful display, smooth user experience, Android 4.0 and commendable overall performance may finally entrench the ASUS branding in the minds of consumers today.

Thre Asus Padfone is a nice idea and one that in time could work, but right now there are just too many things that do not operatate smoothly enough for it to be considered a success. ASUS clearly hasn't found an efficient way to combine both smartphone and tablet modes seamlessly, a critical issue and one that almost defeats the purpose of the Padfone concept entirely. However, we live in hope of developments that make the UK release better, and we'll update this review when that happens.

The Asus PadFone is a great idea and features fantastic battery life when combined with its accessories. However, while the concept is cool, users may find the entire combination bulky.