Asus Launches The Padfone 2


Asus has just announced the new Padfone — the Padfone 2 — in Taipei, Taiwan and from the looks of things, it’s everything we loved about the original Padfone with the issues ironed out. The most disappointing thing is that we’re probably not going to see it in Australia anytime soon.

The new Padfone 2 builds on the old Padfone by adding a quad-core processor, a whopping 13-megapixel camera, a bigger, brighter 4.7-inch 720p Super IPS+ display and LTE support.

The Padfone Docking Station is also much slimmer than the last one, and from the looks of things, the handset docks vertically rather than in a horizontal flap like the last device.

According to Engadget, the Padfone 2 will ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich but a 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update is already in the works.

Asus have told us though that there is currently no local launch information for Australia, so if you want one of these bad boys, you’ll likely be importing it.

Former Gizmodo Australia editor and all-round nice guy, Alex Kidman, is in Taiwan for the launch, and he’s reporting that the Padfone 2 will set you back around $860 for the 32GB model and roughly $930 for the 64GB.

That makes it about as expensive as the company’s other flagship tablet, the Transformer Infinity. The main difference with the Padfone 2 is that you’ll be getting a phone and a tablet for the one price.

We’ll bring you more on the Padfone as we get it.


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