Earlier, ASUS had just launched its successor to this year’s Padfone, the Padfone 2 in a swanky ceremony in Milan. The new Padfone 2 comes less than six months since the launch of the original Padfone, back in June, and comes a day after images of it were leaked.
In any case, the Padfone 2 is a significant upgrade from the present one, with massive bumps in hardware. The Padfone 2 now runs on the latest quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor running at 1.5GHz, with superior Adreno 320 graphics. RAM has been doubled to 2GB, while storage choices range from 16GB, 32GB and 64GB with no microSD card expansion. ASUS will also provide free 50GB ASUS WebStorage cloud storage for two years.
Of course, with the trend of bigger screens, the Padfone 2 has expanded its real estate to a 4.7-inch HD screen with Super IPS+ LCD technology and protected with Corning Gorilla Glass. In addition, the Padfone 2’s camera is now a massive 13MP module and a 1.2MP front-facing camera. Video capabilities have also been enhanced, with promised recording rates of 30fps at full HD and 60fps at 720p.
Also, the main attraction of the Padfone 2 is of course, the Padfone Station. While the screen is still of a similar size and resolution as the original Padfone (1280 x 800 10.1-inch IPS display), it is significantly lighter at only 514g. However, it packs a smaller battery at 5000mAh.
The Padfone 2 will run on Android 4.0 from the box, but an update to Jelly Bean will be available in the near future. Also, the Padfone 2 will feature an app called Super Note, which is home to the Instant Translation tool. Instant Translation translates any word, phrase or sentence in an email, web page or app at a touch, without the need for a third-party translation tool. In addition, the Super Note app can also instantly converts handwritten notes in multiple languages into editable text.
Finally, this LTE and NFC enabled phone/tablet hybrid will be available in Malaysia in the first wave of release by the end of December. Official pricing has not been announced, although the European pricing will be 799 euros and 899 euros for the 32GB and 64GB versions respectively. Prices are inclusive of the Padfone Station.
(Source: Engadget)
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