Computex 2011 | Asus breaks the barrier with Padfone

Is it a tablet that accommodates a phone, or a phone that accommodates a tablet? You might be asking yourself this question as the new Asus Padfone attempts to blur the line between need of a phone and a tablet further.

The Padfone has two devices in conjugation to each other – a 4.3inch phone hiding on the backside of a 10.1inch tablet. The phone actually has a slot on the back of the slate. The phone works independently as well, unlike the slate that needs the phone to function. So the slate is more of a larger display, a set of speakers, an extended battery, and an I/O extender for the smartphone. Asus also claims that conjugating both the devices will facilitate seamless data transfer with no external interface needed, and a single 3G SIM card will do for both the form factors. The smartphone can use the tablet’s battery to function and it can return the favor by letting the slate access its 3G network.

Another fascinating thing about the gadget could be the OS it runs. Honeycomb that could run on the slate is not optimized for the phone and vice-versa for Gingerbread. Asus thus expect Google’s upcoming version called Icecream Sandwich to come out by later this year when the Padfone should be released. Google is expected to melt both Gingerbread for smartphones and Honeycomb to give it the Icecream Sandwich form, thus the name Sandwich. This OS should be able to run in all form-factors, which exactly solves Asus’ problem. We suggest it actually waits for the Icecream Sandwich to come out before releasing this device.

There are no wordings on the price, but we do not expect it to be cheap.

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