ASUS Reveals Padfone Tablet/ Smartphone Combo at Computex

One of ASUS' big announcements at the Computex 2011 tradeshow this week came in the form of the Padfone, a hybrid concept device that will fuse smartphones and tablets in an effort to capitalize on the strengths of both forms of technology.

A lot of the finer details on the device(s) are still unknown, as ASUS’ presentation of the Padfone thus far have focused more on the idea than the specifics. The general concept that the company has developed involves a 4.3-inch Android smartphone that can be plugged into a 10.1-inch tablet dock. Think of the Motorola Atrix 4G, except instead of expanding into a laptop, the Padfone will pull double duty as a tablet.

Similar to the Atrix, the Padfone’s dock would be essentially useless until connected to the phone. When the two are connected, the tablet dock will provide additional battery life and external storage for the phone component.

The Padfone will run the Android OS, but which version and how ASUS plans to implement it across two devices with two different displays is anyone’s guess.

ASUS currently plans to release the Padfone this winter; however, the Taiwanese manufacturer is starting to develop a tendency of jumping the gun at tradeshows and leaving devices in limbo after they are announced. At the moment, a lot of development remains before the Padfone is legitimately more than just an idea.

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