Asus revamp adds tablet-phone dock
Fondleslab swallows smartphone
Asus has debuted of pile products at Computex this week. Highlights include a 3D tablet and the Padfone – a device which unites smartphones and tablets through a unique docking system.
The Padfone is basically a 4.3in smartphone which docks inside a 10.1in tablet, charging the battery as well as sharing data and 3G internet access over a single SIM.
At the event, there was little more said about it apart from pointing out that the browser will automatically adjust for best viewing. Further information was limited to the following cheesy advertisement.
Next up is the fourth addition to the company's range of tablets, the Eee Pad MeMo 3D.
The 7in slate runs on the latest Android OS and features a multi-touch display that, when in landscape mode, pumps out glasses-free 3D images. It will sit alongside the company's other new slates, the Eee Pad Transformer TF101, Eee Pad Slider SL101 and the Eee Slate EP121.
On the laptop front, Asus has also been busy.
Last week speculation was rife that the company's new Eee PCs wouldn't necessarily run on Windows. The claims had some merit: turns out they'll use the MeeGo OS, although some will be given the option of Windows 7 instead.
In addition to the 10.1in Eee PC X101, its big bro the X101H and the Eee PC 1025 series, Asus has refreshed its 'ultraportable' laptop collection.
The latest generation of UX notebooks come with either 11.6in or 13.in displays, Core i7 processors, 6GB/s Sata drives and up to 7 hours of battery life. A large keyboard and smartphone-like touchpad aims to bring added comfort.
Other announcements include a 27in all-in-one, the Asus ET2700XVT, which, at 70mm thick, claims to be the world's slimmest 27in AIO PC.
The ET2700XVT features a 10-point multi-point screen, an integrated TV tuner, 178 degree viewing angle and a built-in Blu-ray drive. Versions with 22in and 24in screens are also in the works.
Last but not least is a Kinect-style gadget, the Xtion, touted as the world's first and only open-source, controller-free, gesture-based device for PCs. It comes bundled with games such a MayaFit, DanceWall and Beat Booster.
The Xtion is used in conjunction with WAVI (Wireless Audio Video Interaction), which streams HD content around the home using its "robust signal transduction technology".
There's no word on pricing or availability for any of these products yet, but we'll update you when we hear more.
Padfone eh? Views on the back of a postcard please. ®
COMMENTS
I'm Still Waiting
for your Asus Transformer review, so you can tell everyone how awesome it is... Mine arrived yesterday, and it's brilliant....
Padfone. Yes. Now
I'm with Anonymous John. I've been waiting for a company to build something exactly like this and assumed they weren't simply because its possible a lost revenue opportunity (ie you could sell 2 products, phone tab, rather than 1.5, phone + bigger screen).
If this delivers anything close to a useable product I am in with bells on.
Padfone, sounds better that Atrix
I think that the Padfone concept (if correctly executed) should be a huge win. There is a much greater overlap in use between smartphones and tablets with a real blurring of the boundaries and this concept will give you the opportunity to simply choose the best form factor depending on where you are.
The Atrix seems to promise somehtig siilar but the second form fator there seems to just be a gimped netbook that offers little more than a Firefox browser. I can buy a smartphone and a netbook, (that runs more than just Firefox), for a lot less then the Atrix combo - so I don't see the point.
The Padfone seems to be a much more unified proposition.
I like the idea of effectively using one procesing engnie, one 3G connection, having one place to store key files. One ring to rule them all?
