Event Coverage

Hands-on: ASUS PadFone 2

By Sidney Wong - 16 Oct 2012

Hands-on: The New PadFone Station

New PadFone 2 Station

Launched alongside the PadFone 2 is the upgraded Station accessory. Unlike its hefty predecessor, the new PadFone 2 Station is significantly lighter, slimmer and hence easier to tote around. 

It is noteworthy to mention that the combined weight (649g) of the ASUS PadFone 2 and its new Station is even lighter than some tablets such as the third generation Apple iPad (662g). When compared to the combined weight (853g) of the first generation PadFone and its PadFone Station, the difference is even more apparent as ASUS managed to shed more than 200g off the weighing scale.

Here's a table highlighting the differences between the new PadFone 2 Station and its predecessor:  

Device

New PadFone 2 Station

PadFone Station

Display   10.1-inch / 1280 x 800 pixels
IPS with Corning Fit Glass
10.1-inch / 1280 x 800 pixels
TFT with Corning Gorilla Glass
Dimensions TBC  273 x 176.9 x 13.55mm
Weight  514g 724g
Battery 5,000mAh  6,600mAh
Features 1-megapixel front-facing camera
13-pin dock connector (microUSB 2.0 host)
External phone antenna (GSM, WCMDA, LTE receiver diversity)
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 
1.3-megapixel front facing camera
3.5mm audio jack
microUSB 
microHDMI
Phone and GPS antenna

No more ugly bulging from the back of the PadFone Station. The new PadFone 2 Station enables you to slip the phone seamlessly into its dock.

We really appreciated the ease of docking the PadFone 2 into its new Station. It is much faster and easier to dock or remove the phone.

We really like the new design of the PadFone 2 Station. It is slimmer and lighter, making it a perfect match for the PadFone 2.

To maintain a sleeker and lighter design, the new PadFone 2 Station (left) carries a 5,000mAh battery pack in its chassis, which is lower than the 6,600mAh battery pack in its predecessor (right).

The battery life of the ASUS PadFone 2 can be boosted further when docked into its Station.

Unfortunately, the ASUS PadFone Station Dock doesn't have a successor for the PadFone 2. For those who prefer to type on physical keyboards, we suggest that you can look around for third party keyboards which you can connect via Bluetooth to a tablet.

Since the ASUS PadFone 2 supports LTE connectivity, you can be well assured that your phone will not run out of battery juice since the PadFone comes with a beefier 2140mAh battery. If that's not sufficient for your needs, you still can count on the PadFone 2 Station to last you through a day or two.

The ASUS PadFone 2 and its Station will come in two colors: black and white.

 

Closing Thoughts

Overall, the ASUS PadFone 2 is a worthy successor. It has one of the best hardware components in the market which will enable it to stand out among the sea of Android smartphones. Coupled with a sleek design, good build quality and handling, the ASUS PadFone 2 is ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Android powerhouses.

The ASUS PadFone 2 is expected to be launched before the end of December in Europe (Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden) and Asia (Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and U.A.E). Availability in other countries will be announced at a later date.

From left to right: ASUS PadFone 2, Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC One X and the PadFone.

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