What happens if you get a phone call in tablet mode? I assume it would just do a priority scheme like BT Headset > Speakerphone > ???, but it still seems kinda unwieldy for that situation.
Seems like it'd be pretty easy to just slide the phone out of the dock and answer it. Seems about as unwieldy as carrying two separate devices in that scenario.
I have the 1st version of Padfone and to ansver you can use BT or cable handsfree (both was part of package), pull the phone out or talk directly tu the tablet (same as when you have phone on loudspeak).
I have this new one, and you just slide it out and answer the call. It's super easy and you don't need to reboot anything; everything just transfers directly from phone to tablet to phone. It's a great phone, and I love not needing two interfaces, two SIM cards, synching, etc. It's basically all the benefits of two units, and the only time I can see the setup as being problematic is if you tend to use your tablet while talking on the phone. I would recommend it and would definitely buy it again.
I assume the idea is that you use the phone when you need to be mobile, then plug it into the tablet when you're stationary without losing any work/whatever.
That's what I'd use it for if it worked with a US carrier. I currently carry a phone and a tablet most of the time, and only a phone part of the time. This would work as an all-in-one device for me.
It eliminates the need to keep two devices in sync. Just like a laptop dock lets you have a desktop experience while at work and a mobile experience on the go all with a single device, this allows a tablet experience at home (or wherever you carry it to) and a phone experience when a tablet is too cumbersome.
There are quite a few benefits. There are no syncing issues across two devices since it's just one device (your phone) that can drive a larger display. The tablet portion should be cheaper as it's mostly display and battery. Plus all your connectivity is tied to the phone, so you don't have to share a data plan, or have tethering enabled to use the tablet off of wifi, all that is provided by the phone you already use. Considering most high end smart phones are using essentially the same SOC as many tablets it makes sense that you could buy the hardware once and use it in two form factors.
Another big benefit would be that at home most people with both phone and tablet rely on the tablet, so texts and calls can be missed if you are not near the phone, in this case that would not be an issue as they are the same device.
The problem with this design is that your SOC have the thermal limits of a phone SOC instead of a Tablet SOC. Just look at the Nexus 7 review and you will see that Nexus 7(1.5Ghz Krait 300) out performs GS4 (1.9Ghz Krait 300 )because it stays at its max clock much longer while the GS4 SOC oscillates between 1.9Ghz and 900 mhz.
I dunno, I wouldn't write it off just yet (until the performance is actually tested.) In docked mode, the phone can switch off its screen, and it can mooch off the tablet's battery -- which would save on heat generated internally inside the phone. Also, just being in contact with the tablet helps because it cools the phone faster than only being in contact with air (or with a hand holding the phone); the phone/tablet having metal surfaces would further facilitate the heat transfer (so the tablet would tend to act as a rather large heat sink.) Seems like, with some clever engineering, this could be made to perform quite well.
I'm intrigued; awaiting a full review and wondering if this would ever come to Verizon (alleged hostility by carriers being rather disconcerting news...) Also wondering as to the quality of the camera on the phone -- and whether it has good OIS: not listed in the spec sheet, but something I'd think an absolute requirement these days for anything to be considered "absolutely bleeding edge in terms of ... its camera".
Yikes. 14nm ARM chips will kill Intel completely!. It will be TWICE as fast yet consume 20% less power and costing less than half of the intel part. That 14nm Finfet is the holy grail of Arm and that is "game over" for the Atom family even with price drops, no body would want it. Why do you think Intel goes into a "quark" contingency recently ?.
Maybe I'm just being impatient! Remember though, Bay Trail was only just released, and the Windows 8.1 products have yet to hit the shelves. Then there's the issue of Bay Trail not totally optimized for Android yet, which will mean a few weeks of in-house tweaking. Then it'll go to the OEMs, yada, yada, yada... With any luck, we should be seeing Bay Trail-based regular Android tablets (7, 8 & 10 inches) by November if we're lucky. But for a specialty item like the Padfone, I'd expect it to take a lot longer - 3 or 4 months just for a prototype. Even conservatively, 6 months... But yeah, if it's going to take a whole year, then they (Asus) may as well just skip Bay Trail and go with Airmont.
Gosh this peripherial modular concept will be such an absolute smashing win when the connection goes wireless.
Even now it is far and beyond better option in theory, than having two separate devices. - it SAVES MONEY - it saves you the trouble of syncing/multiple downloading and data connection bills
Just imagine if Samsung for example, had a docking standard incorporated in their galaxy phones. You could buy an Galaxy S5 and invest just another 200-300$ in the whole range of high quality Samsung touch display peripherials to pick from.
Tablets as a separate devices would became pointless.
I don't think so. Constantly unplugging/replugging the phone would be a hassle - the connector would eventually wear out. I find text messaging is much easier on a smaller screen with one hand, whether I'm typing normally or using Swype.
It doesn't really save money, either.
As you say, it will be cool when they are wireless, but that won't be until at least 5 years from now. Wireless display is just not great at the moment.
Please post objective comments. It saves money because purchasing two high end devices would cost 60-80% more. You don't have to constantly plug and unplug the phone. The tablet mode takes calls too when you are in stationary mode...
Not my cup of tea. I'm not very impressed with the large non-Windows tablets I've used. I end up having to carry around a laptop anyway, so I just switched to a Windows 2-in-1 device (Samsung XE700T1C) and sold my 10.1" tablet. This would not be something for then, especially since the phone has to be inserted without a case (which makes sense), but I never carry around a phone without a case, so there'd be the hassle of removing the case and having to put it somewhere. If there was something like this with a 4.5" phone and a 7", maybe 8" tablet, that would be more interesting to me. As it stands now, I'm gonna use the hell out of my Galaxy Nexus and get a Nexus 7 2013 to go along with it. And maybe at some point I'll get my option above or a good 6.5", 7" phablet.
I definitely love the very idea of that but god is this thing ugly. A Frankentablet! They should call it The Igor.
It would be much easier to make it into something less repulsing by wrapping a kind of laptop around the phone, you could maybe even use the touchscreen (with the display off) as a trackpad then.
Still, a phone is something that has to be easy to hold and use on its own and making it seamlessly integrate with a slender tablet or notebook isn't easy at all. May be one of those ideas that seem great at first but are impossible to execute in a way that you want to use what you end up with for practical reasons. Especially if it ends up more expensive than just a phone AND a tablet you each chose for its own merits... Syncing several devices isn't exactly hard these days.
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A5 - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
One thing I've always wondered about these:What happens if you get a phone call in tablet mode? I assume it would just do a priority scheme like BT Headset > Speakerphone > ???, but it still seems kinda unwieldy for that situation.
nafhan - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Seems like it'd be pretty easy to just slide the phone out of the dock and answer it. Seems about as unwieldy as carrying two separate devices in that scenario.PixoSK - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
I have the 1st version of Padfone and to ansver you can use BT or cable handsfree (both was part of package), pull the phone out or talk directly tu the tablet (same as when you have phone on loudspeak).madmish - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
I have this new one, and you just slide it out and answer the call. It's super easy and you don't need to reboot anything; everything just transfers directly from phone to tablet to phone. It's a great phone, and I love not needing two interfaces, two SIM cards, synching, etc. It's basically all the benefits of two units, and the only time I can see the setup as being problematic is if you tend to use your tablet while talking on the phone. I would recommend it and would definitely buy it again.WhitneyLand - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
So the tablet is useless without the phone?What scenarios is this intended for, to give less bulk when you need to have both tablet and phone available?
A5 - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
I assume the idea is that you use the phone when you need to be mobile, then plug it into the tablet when you're stationary without losing any work/whatever.JeffFlanagan - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
That's what I'd use it for if it worked with a US carrier. I currently carry a phone and a tablet most of the time, and only a phone part of the time. This would work as an all-in-one device for me.nathanddrews - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
This would be the perfect CarPC. Mount the tablet to the dash, then just insert the phone every time you get in.Ikefu - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
You don't need a second data plan for a tablet this way since your phone has LTE and IS the tablet.crimson117 - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
It eliminates the need to keep two devices in sync. Just like a laptop dock lets you have a desktop experience while at work and a mobile experience on the go all with a single device, this allows a tablet experience at home (or wherever you carry it to) and a phone experience when a tablet is too cumbersome.En1gma - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
again its asus's NEW proprietary connector???Flunk - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Yes ever ASUS connector is totally unique, like a fingerprint.djc208 - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
There are quite a few benefits. There are no syncing issues across two devices since it's just one device (your phone) that can drive a larger display. The tablet portion should be cheaper as it's mostly display and battery. Plus all your connectivity is tied to the phone, so you don't have to share a data plan, or have tethering enabled to use the tablet off of wifi, all that is provided by the phone you already use. Considering most high end smart phones are using essentially the same SOC as many tablets it makes sense that you could buy the hardware once and use it in two form factors.Another big benefit would be that at home most people with both phone and tablet rely on the tablet, so texts and calls can be missed if you are not near the phone, in this case that would not be an issue as they are the same device.
sherlockwing - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
The problem with this design is that your SOC have the thermal limits of a phone SOC instead of a Tablet SOC. Just look at the Nexus 7 review and you will see that Nexus 7(1.5Ghz Krait 300) out performs GS4 (1.9Ghz Krait 300 )because it stays at its max clock much longer while the GS4 SOC oscillates between 1.9Ghz and 900 mhz.boeush - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
I dunno, I wouldn't write it off just yet (until the performance is actually tested.) In docked mode, the phone can switch off its screen, and it can mooch off the tablet's battery -- which would save on heat generated internally inside the phone. Also, just being in contact with the tablet helps because it cools the phone faster than only being in contact with air (or with a hand holding the phone); the phone/tablet having metal surfaces would further facilitate the heat transfer (so the tablet would tend to act as a rather large heat sink.) Seems like, with some clever engineering, this could be made to perform quite well.I'm intrigued; awaiting a full review and wondering if this would ever come to Verizon (alleged hostility by carriers being rather disconcerting news...) Also wondering as to the quality of the camera on the phone -- and whether it has good OIS: not listed in the spec sheet, but something I'd think an absolute requirement these days for anything to be considered "absolutely bleeding edge in terms of ... its camera".
snoozemode - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Unfortunately the price has always been very high for the padone+dock and never really made sense from a price point of view.CrystalBay - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Very Nice...Travis Jackson - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Even if six months or a year away, I would love to see a Bay Trail version of this!boeush - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
A year away, I'd expect a Merrifield version. That's when it really starts to get awesome...*wipes drool off chin*
boeush - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
And actually, a full year from now I'd expect Airmont-based refresh of something like Merrifield. 14nm chips in a phone...*starry eyes*
fteoath64 - Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - link
Yikes. 14nm ARM chips will kill Intel completely!. It will be TWICE as fast yet consume 20% less power and costing less than half of the intel part. That 14nm Finfet is the holy grail of Arm and that is "game over" for the Atom family even with price drops, no body would want it. Why do you think Intel goes into a "quark" contingency recently ?.Travis Jackson - Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - link
Maybe I'm just being impatient! Remember though, Bay Trail was only just released, and the Windows 8.1 products have yet to hit the shelves. Then there's the issue of Bay Trail not totally optimized for Android yet, which will mean a few weeks of in-house tweaking. Then it'll go to the OEMs, yada, yada, yada...With any luck, we should be seeing Bay Trail-based regular Android tablets (7, 8 & 10 inches) by November if we're lucky. But for a specialty item like the Padfone, I'd expect it to take a lot longer - 3 or 4 months just for a prototype. Even conservatively, 6 months... But yeah, if it's going to take a whole year, then they (Asus) may as well just skip Bay Trail and go with Airmont.
Electromikey - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Would this work on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network?darkich - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Gosh this peripherial modular concept will be such an absolute smashing win when the connection goes wireless.Even now it is far and beyond better option in theory, than having two separate devices.
- it SAVES MONEY
- it saves you the trouble of syncing/multiple downloading and data connection bills
Just imagine if Samsung for example, had a docking standard incorporated in their galaxy phones.
You could buy an Galaxy S5 and invest just another 200-300$ in the whole range of high quality Samsung touch display peripherials to pick from.
Tablets as a separate devices would became pointless.
flyingpants1 - Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - link
I don't think so. Constantly unplugging/replugging the phone would be a hassle - the connector would eventually wear out. I find text messaging is much easier on a smaller screen with one hand, whether I'm typing normally or using Swype.It doesn't really save money, either.
As you say, it will be cool when they are wireless, but that won't be until at least 5 years from now. Wireless display is just not great at the moment.
puremind - Tuesday, November 19, 2013 - link
Please post objective comments. It saves money because purchasing two high end devices would cost 60-80% more.You don't have to constantly plug and unplug the phone. The tablet mode takes calls too when you are in stationary mode...
phoenix_rizzen - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Is there a keyboard dock available for this version?If there's another battery in the keyboard, we'd finally have "all-day mobile computing". :)
Death666Angel - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Not my cup of tea. I'm not very impressed with the large non-Windows tablets I've used. I end up having to carry around a laptop anyway, so I just switched to a Windows 2-in-1 device (Samsung XE700T1C) and sold my 10.1" tablet. This would not be something for then, especially since the phone has to be inserted without a case (which makes sense), but I never carry around a phone without a case, so there'd be the hassle of removing the case and having to put it somewhere. If there was something like this with a 4.5" phone and a 7", maybe 8" tablet, that would be more interesting to me. As it stands now, I'm gonna use the hell out of my Galaxy Nexus and get a Nexus 7 2013 to go along with it. And maybe at some point I'll get my option above or a good 6.5", 7" phablet.puremind - Tuesday, November 19, 2013 - link
They are contemplating making Windows 8 available on this as well.satai - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
Terribly missing a keyboard dock with other battery and without need to use possibly unsafe bluetooth.uhuznaa - Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - link
I definitely love the very idea of that but god is this thing ugly. A Frankentablet! They should call it The Igor.It would be much easier to make it into something less repulsing by wrapping a kind of laptop around the phone, you could maybe even use the touchscreen (with the display off) as a trackpad then.
Still, a phone is something that has to be easy to hold and use on its own and making it seamlessly integrate with a slender tablet or notebook isn't easy at all. May be one of those ideas that seem great at first but are impossible to execute in a way that you want to use what you end up with for practical reasons. Especially if it ends up more expensive than just a phone AND a tablet you each chose for its own merits... Syncing several devices isn't exactly hard these days.
puremind - Tuesday, November 19, 2013 - link
What are you rambling about? What you say doesn't make sense at all.Wardrive86 - Wednesday, September 25, 2013 - link
Real nice[email protected] - Thursday, September 26, 2013 - link
Surface pro + phone makes this combo kind of useless...