Asus hasn’t been pushing out phablets for awhile now, but when the company does release something, it usually comes with hype and aggressive marketing. In the case of the PadFone X, is there more than promotional material to the phablet? Can it live up to expectations?
- Design and Specifications
The Asus PadFone X itself has dimensions around 143.4 x 72.5 x 10 mm (or 5.65 x 2.85 x 0.39 in) and weighs in at around 150g. It’ll be comfortable for constant use and won’t cause you much strain. The casing is curved and rounded, coming in that standard black that’ll blend in to the back of the tablet. Speaking of the tablet, those dimensions are about 250.4 x 172.3 x 11.6 mm at 510g. Definitely a hop and skip away from simply carting around the smartphone. Fortunately, the two pieces are expected to be easily compatible in the overall design; popping the Asus PadFone X into the PadFone Station is a simple and pleasant solution. Especially since you’ll more than likely be keen on lugging both around as you’re going through your daily routine.
It’ll host an Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat) with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset. Alongside the Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 this smartphone is guaranteed to gloss over the competition. It’ll be a relatively impressive competitor to the other releases that’re due in these next few months. With an internal 16 GB, and 2 GB RAM the accessible space can be upgraded through implementing the microSD, which’ll give you up to 64 GB in all. Definitely useful if you’re looking to download numerous apps or access an array of music and movies. After all, who said that you can’t mix downtime with work time?
- Display and Audio
Both the smartphone and PadFone Station tablet are relatively impressive when it comes to keeping their interface looking neat and orderly. The display on the Asus PadFone X is going to have a Super IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen, with 16M colors. It’ll have 1080 x 1920 pixels, and at 5.0 inches it will offer 441 ppi pixel density. Which is rather high in terms of competitors; not to mention that the smartphone will be crisp and defined when it manages to hit the mobile market. In terms of audio, we’re expecting a high-quality experience, though at the moment there’s no available amplification listed. A sound enhancer would be nice for the tablet specific part of the Asus PadFone X, so hopefully details on that will be released in the near future. But so far, the baseline is striking a comparatively high threshold.
- Camera
And of course, if you’re expecting the all-out package; the camera will be something worth digging into. The Asus PadFone X will offer a 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, and LED flash optimized camera that should be strong and smooth enough to appease any potential photographer. It’ll also have various features such as geo-tagging, touch focus, and face detection. The video on the smartphone will be 1080p at 30fps, which should place the Asus PadFone X up there with the unavoidable competition.
- Battery Life
As of right now all we’re aware of is the non-removable Li-Po 2300 mAh battery. We have no estimation or tested statistics to offer in terms of “talk time,” versus your multimedia or consistent web browsing. Though there’s no official numbers, I’ll assume that it won’t be too different than what the Asus PadFone Infinity 2 will be capable of handling. Right now, that model has about 19+ hours of accessible “talk time,” and an impressive stand-by charge. Ultimately, I’d be disappointed if the Asus PadFone X undermined that particular range; as I’m certain most customer’s would do the same and pivot towards another option.
In Conclusion
This reviewer is rather excited for the Asus PadFone X. One hindrance, however, is the fact we don’t know much about the big numbers. Meaning the cumulative price and when to expect the products official launch. At the moment, the Asus PadFone Infinity 2 that was released in October of 2013 is still gliding in at about $1000 at lowest package price. Quite the investment for those of us who’re browsing for a compatible phone with an appropriate PadFone Station attached. But in hindsight, the specs are going to be the saving grace of this smartphone. Overall, if you’re looking to pay for both a tablet and smartphone in the forthcoming year choosing to wait until the Asus PadFone X hits retail locations might actually save you some money in the long run. Purchasing two devices, such as the rumored iPad 6 alongside your smartphone might actually prove to press the price even higher. So before you even consider the Asus PadFone X, it’ll be worth the customer’s time to sit down and ponder over what’ll be best for them in accordance to price range.
This model is primarily geared towards individuals who need the PadFone Station as well as the function of the smartphone throughout their progressive day. Honestly, I could see the Asus PadFone X being a rather successful opted choice in terms of mixing its specs with convenience. I’ve heard some complaints that the Asus PadFone X won’t offer enough to make it differ from the Asus PadFone Infinity 2. But honestly, the comparison isn’t too valid and we’re still uncertain about some of the finalized numbers on the PadFone X. Right now, it’d be wise to follow-up on the specs and grade them in terms of your personal preference.
Will you be looking forward to the Asus PadFone X? Or is what it’ll offer not enough to even consider purchasing it?