Asus new Padfone

patrick_spd4u · May 12, 2012

PlanetJumble said:
But custom ROMs will not be easy due to the special nature of the PadFone. And I hope some good developers will take that as a challenge.

I think in the first months, there will be only optimized-stock-ROM like the early development of Acer ICONIA A100 due to the lack of unlocked bootloader.

bluebobx said:
Only real problem (and this isn't just me!) is that the touch pad can get inadvertently brushed when you're typing and move the cursor. This is annoying, but then again Asus put that "trackpad disable" button on the keyboard - one press of that and the problem's solved.

Actually I'm not a big fan of trackpads either, so I'm quite happy to have it disabled and use the touch screen instead.

I'm confused too why they put a trackpad on a device that already has huge & responsive touchscreen

PlanetJumble · May 12, 2012

A trackpad can be helpful in situations where the touchscreen is too imprecise (don't tell me you never had those). Also you can rest your arms while e.g. browsing and don't need to reach up for clicking on a link. I think it is a nice addition, but will most of the time be switched off.

timboyce94 · May 12, 2012

PlanetJumble said:
That has been discussed numerous times, in tablet mode, the Padfone is a tablet in every aspect. Of course the apps will run tablet activities instead of phone ones when they are designed that way. But if they are not prepared for DynamicDisplay, they need to be restarted.

This - discussion was settled multiple times now.

olly230 · May 12, 2012

From a french site
http://www.lesnumeriques.com/teleph...adfone-en-retard-a-cause-qualcomm-n24324.html

"Not due in France till late 2012"

Is that linked to the EU as a whole or just french carriers???

Marlinn · May 12, 2012

If France only gets it in Q3-Q4 I think I'd better just give up and get a Galaxy s3.. Too bad Asus

Kozato · May 12, 2012

The padfone is not even available off the shelves in Taiwan yet. Its gonna be a long wait before its available locally. Thanks to htc and samsung.

silkshadow · May 12, 2012

I don't know if this has all been posted yet but:

ASUS PadFone Unboxing with the PadFone Station & Station Dock

PadFone Dock is Interchangable with the Original Transformer Dock

ASUS PadFone Detailed Walk Through of Handset, Tablet & Dock

A ton of great info here, should answer a lot of questions. What do you all think?

A little disappointing on the size/looks of the thing. Its bigger (well fatter anyway) than any laptop/netbook I've had in the last 5 years, especially wiht that hump. Kind of makes me want to wait for a Padfone 2, a little bit. I don't understand why the tablet part is so thick and heavy as its only a screen and a battery, so why make it so fat?

Looks like the stylus/phone thing is only a bonus for pre-ordering. It sounds like it won't be standard. Not a big deal at all, I would've never used it.

Big unanswered question for me is the bootloader unlocked? I don't know, that would probably be the key info. I have lust for it, even with the size/weight, but if the bootloader is locked, I will pass.

Edit: Interesting thing is that Asus looks to be trying to get rid of their old stock of 1st gen transformer keyboards. There is no other reason why they would opt for that old, flawed design over the new and improved Prime design. That part ticks me off. For such a high price tag, Asus should not be using it to dump their old inventory. Also, for the price, why make it plastic rather than metal like the Prime? Overall looks like a midrange device, not a high end premium device and that's a shame.

Frederick1337 · May 12, 2012

interesting

Seems cool.

PlanetJumble · May 13, 2012

silkshadow said:
I don't understand why the tablet part is so thick and heavy as its only a screen and a battery, so why make it so fat?

Maybe because a fully fledged tablet does not have anything of weight or size that the PadFone Station doesn't need as well? The CPU is really nothing noteworthy in this aspect, and the Station does have a simple one managing connection to the phone and charging.

The size is just about the same as the original Transformer, but of course it has to have the hatch so that can't be smoothed out. How can you expect it to be just as slim as a regular tablet?

Big unanswered question for me is the bootloader unlocked?

Judging from the Transformer Prime and other recent phones, it will be locked but Asus will provide an unlocking tool. The locked bootloader is mandatory for certain services like Google Play Videos, which you will lose with the usage of those tools.

Edit: Interesting thing is that Asus looks to be trying to get rid of their old stock of 1st gen transformer keyboards. There is no other reason why they would opt for that old, flawed design over the new and improved Prime design.

The keyboards are not exactly the same, at least the hinge is changed to alter balance point and the maximum opening angle (less, so the PadFone Station doesn't tip over). But I fail to see where this is "flawed". Clearly, the Prime is of better quality, made of metal and slimmer, but that doesn't make the original Transformer or the PadFone bad. I agree that neither the phone part nor the tablet are high end, but upper middle class, which is OK for me.

timboyce94 · May 13, 2012

silkshadow said:
I don't know if this has all been posted yet but:

ASUS PadFone Unboxing with the PadFone Station & Station Dock

PadFone Dock is Interchangable with the Original Transformer Dock

ASUS PadFone Detailed Walk Through of Handset, Tablet & Dock

And also now:

Seems to be a constant stream of videos from that user, so everyone should just keep an eye on this page:

Netbooknews - Mobile Computing Videos

silkshadow · May 13, 2012

PlanetJumble said:
The size is just about the same as the original Transformer, but of course it has to have the hatch so that can't be smoothed out. How can you expect it to be just as slim as a regular tablet?

I would expect it to be as slim as the phone and a bit, but no more. I'd be happy to place a bet that the Padfone 2 will be that slim. This 1st version is more like a experiment, which is fine. This is a new category of device, the Motorola thing is quite different, so I am wiling to pay to be a guinea pig

.

Judging from the Transformer Prime and other recent phones, it will be locked but Asus will provide an unlocking tool. The locked bootloader is mandatory for certain services like Google Play Videos, which you will lose with the usage of those tools.

Good news, I hope you are right!

But I fail to see where this is "flawed".

I am certainly not saying its bad, but it is flawed, did you watch the videos? Nicole goes into details at the end of IIRC the full walk through video about why its flawed.

I agree that neither the phone part nor the tablet are high end, but upper middle class, which is OK for me.

Me too, but I am disappointed. For $1000 or whatever the final price will really be when its released in markets where I can buy it, I would far more prefer to have a device that looks and feels like a $1000 phone.

Edit: That new dynamic switching video was informative. So, in general if its not made by Asus, the app won't dynamically switch at this time anyway. That's not surprising at all, however still a tiny bit disappointing.

BTW is it me or do you really like this reviewer, Nicole? Listening to her videos is enjoyable, more so than some others IMO.

Steven82 · May 13, 2012

yeah she's good

it's down to the developers to add dynamic switching, I know I will be if there's adoption for this device

olly230 · May 13, 2012

When is it going to be REALLY important to need to switch mid app?

The only time I can think would be possibly getting a call mid way through a game on the tablet.

The fact its plastic and is pretty obviously based on the TF101 makes it appear that it been ready to be built for a year or so. That kind of implies that they have held on to an an idea waiting for the market to be ready and its backfired.
Too much weight at the top? mount the phone at the bottom so then you don't need a chubby keyboard to counter balance a top heavy screen...

I think because of this delay the product will be still born and there will never be a padfone2 and that both makes me want it less and more at the same time...

Marlinn · May 13, 2012

silkshadow said:
I would expect it to be as slim as the phone and a bit, but no more. I'd be happy to place a bet that the Padfone 2 will be that slim. This 1st version is more like a experiment, which is fine. This is a new category of device, the Motorola thing is quite different, so I am wiling to pay to be a guinea pig .

Good news, I hope you are right!

I am certainly not saying its bad, but it is flawed, did you watch the videos? Nicole goes into details at the end of IIRC the full walk through video about why its flawed.

Me too, but I am disappointed. For $1000 or whatever the final price will really be when its released in markets where I can buy it, I would far more prefer to have a device that looks and feels like a $1000 phone.

Edit: That new dynamic switching video was informative. So, in general if its not made by Asus, the app won't dynamically switch at this time anyway. That's not surprising at all, however still a tiny bit disappointing.

BTW is it me or do you really like this reviewer, Nicole? Listening to her videos is enjoyable, more so than some others IMO.

Imo she reviews alot of stuff I didn't really need to hear about, still haven't really seen alot of things like battery life, screen quality (with readings, not her opinion), compatibility with other USB devices, how long it takes to charge the whole deal etc.. I seriously couldn't care less about her playing a game, some weird casing to put the pad in, or dynamic switching (Seriously, whats the difference with closing it and then reopening...)

Steven82 · May 13, 2012

Marlinn said:
Imo she reviews alot of stuff I didn't really need to hear about, still haven't really seen alot of things like battery life, screen quality (with readings, not her opinion), compatibility with other USB devices, how long it takes to charge the whole deal etc.. I seriously couldn't care less about her playing a game, some weird casing to put the pad in, or dynamic switching (Seriously, whats the difference with closing it and then reopening...)

agreed.

she flashed us a padfone case or something in the unboxing video but never seen it again.

I want to see a mouse connected to the keyboard dock.

I'm quite happy to create a trackpad disable button for it if nobody else does

I would have thought asus would have thought of that.

and yes, when all are flat out of charge, I want to know how long it takes to charge all at the same time. I hear charging the phone takes a LONG time when doing it off the extras. so I'll be interested to see all via ac.

silkshadow · May 13, 2012

Steven82 said:
yeah she's good

it's down to the developers to add dynamic switching, I know I will be if there's adoption for this device

olly230 said:
When is it going to be REALLY important to need to switch mid app?

The only time I can think would be possibly getting a call mid way through a game on the tablet.

You are both right on. Its more of a cool factor feature than utility for most apps. However things like a word processor, web browser and so forth I would hope the devs do include it, assuming this device does get sold in decent numbers.

The fact its plastic and is pretty obviously based on the TF101 makes it appear that it been ready to be built for a year or so. That kind of implies that they have held on to an an idea waiting for the market to be ready and its backfired.
Too much weight at the top? mount the phone at the bottom so then you don't need a chubby keyboard to counter balance a top heavy screen...

I think because of this delay the product will be still born and there will never be a padfone2 and that both makes me want it less and more at the same time...

Lol, I know exactly what you mean. I am concerned though about the stillborn issue. The delays on this device have already put it about a year or so behind the current superphones, then add in the high price and lower quality build it becomes an issue of: is this unique form factor worth all the sacrifices? For me, it is very compelling but my year long lust is starting to taper down to mere adoration. Is adoration worth $1000 out of my account and giving up things like LTE and nvidia graphic prowess as well as living with an uglier device than the current market offers? Seeing the sexy Prime next to the Padfone in the video hurts a bit.

Marlinn said:
Imo she reviews alot of stuff I didn't really need to hear about, still haven't really seen alot of things like battery life, screen quality (with readings, not her opinion), compatibility with other USB devices, how long it takes to charge the whole deal etc.. I seriously couldn't care less about her playing a game, some weird casing to put the pad in, or dynamic switching (Seriously, whats the difference with closing it and then reopening...)

To be fair, she is not reviewing the Padfone yet, though I get what you mean totally. Supposedly the review comes later in the week or so. Right now she is just showing everyone her first weekend with the device. She is playing with it, learning about it and allowing all of us, who have been starved for some real Padfone hands on videos, to watch over her shoulder.

bluebobx · May 13, 2012

olly230 said:
I think because of this delay the product will be still born and there will never be a padfone2 and that both makes me want it less and more at the same time...

I know 110% what you mean - if they'd launched this six months earlier, or even just after MWC, then I absolutely guarantee that they would have sold a lot more than they will now.
I'm a big Asus fanboy (diet pending - LOL) but the excellence of the HOX (minus points for stupidity like no uSD slot and especially fixed battery) gave me a few doubts. And now - even though it seems to be generally thought of as "disappointing" - the Galaxy SIII makes me reconsider.

Sure the Asus is far more flexible, but I figure that it's going to be FAR easier to find accessories for the SIII - like cases, mounts, etc. Particularly worrying is that graphics on the SIII are supposed to be 1st class.

I've more or less decided to see what the deal is come contract renewal time, if the SIII is cheaper than PF+Station then I'll probably go that way, especially if the PF is STILL in short supply. On the other hand, if Asus-UK launch at a good price then I'll be tempted to give them the business. I figure Asus deserve some success just for daring to be innovative - I wouldn't necessarily say that either HTC or Samsung are doing that.

Steven82 said:
I'm quite happy to create a trackpad disable button for it if nobody else does I would have thought asus would have thought of that.

From what I've seen the PF dock uses the same keyboard layout as the TF101, in which case the trackpad disable key is top row, fourth key from the left side.

ZeldaWW · May 13, 2012

does it reboot like the TF101?

i got one of those tablets and it reboots constantly

Kozato · May 13, 2012

bluebobx said:
I know 110% what you mean - if they'd launched this six months earlier, or even just after MWC, then I absolutely guarantee that they would have sold a lot more than they will now.
I'm a big Asus fanboy (diet pending - LOL) but the excellence of the HOX (minus points for stupidity like no uSD slot and especially fixed battery) gave me a few doubts. And now - even though it seems to be generally thought of as "disappointing" - the Galaxy SIII makes me reconsider.

Sure the Asus is far more flexible, but I figure that it's going to be FAR easier to find accessories for the SIII - like cases, mounts, etc. Particularly worrying is that graphics on the SIII are supposed to be 1st class.

I've more or less decided to see what the deal is come contract renewal time, if the SIII is cheaper than PF+Station then I'll probably go that way, especially if the PF is STILL in short supply. On the other hand, if Asus-UK launch at a good price then I'll be tempted to give them the business. I figure Asus deserve some success just for daring to be innovative - I wouldn't necessarily say that either HTC or Samsung are doing that.

The reason Asus is unable to launch the padfone earlier is due to the shortage of the Snapdragon S4 SoC and how Asus is receiving the S4 chips from Qualcomm on an installment basis and low volumes.

HTC and Samsung are higher on Qualcomm's client lists as they are able to pour more money into getting Qualcomm to supply them the S4 chips and also their ability to move more units of devices running the S4 chips.

nicedeath · May 13, 2012

Was this already posted?
A clip recorded with the padfone ... 1080p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZpCm5K4mA8

Asus new Padfone

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