BW Communities

Four-Piece Gadget

Mala Bhargava Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[If you're wondering whether to buy a smartphone, tablet or laptop, you may soon get the chance to buy the lot in one package. AsusTek, which is letting its imagination run wild these days, has officially lifted the lid off its innovative Padfone at the Mobile World Congress, the biggest show in mobiles, at Barcelona, Spain. And yes, the Padfone is in four parts. Here's how: For Part I, you have a smartphone. It's an Android 4.0 phone with a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED display – nice bright display, in fact – and it's as thin as they could make it. It isn't short on power with its  1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Dual Core processor and 1GB of RAM. Nor does it skimp on the camera, which is at the rear is 8 megapixels and front, a VGA.. So far, a regular lightweight biggish Android phone. But wait for Part II. The Padfone fits into a tablet, the Padfone Station. The back of this 10.1 inch tab (which has a USB port and card reader slot) has a little compartment that opens up to fit the Padfone. Click it into place and the tablet, which also runs Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Android, wakes up and speaks both phone and tablet. With the Padfone fitted in, you can still make and receive calls and apparently it even gets charged. More amazingly, if you were working on some notes on the phone, you will see them pop up on the tablet – and vice cersa. There are some specific apps that make use of the tablet and phone combo. And when you've decided you've had enough playing around with a tablet, call in Part III, which is like half a notebook – the keyboard end. I have to admit my eyes popped out of their sockets somewhat when I saw that, even though Asus has already been playing around with docking devices as you'll see with the Transformer Prime, being launched in India now. With the keyboard part attached, you have yourself a notebook. Running Android, of course, not the Windows to. which you may be more accustomed  The keyboard is optional. For the final Part IV, there's a stylus headset. You can use it to write on the tablet and you can stick it next to your ear to use the microphone on a call. The Padfone has actually been around since May 2011 but will actually be available for sale from this coming April. What is to be available starting today in India though, is the Eee Pad Transformer Prime, a tablet and keyboard docking station combo. It's also power packed and runs Android 4.0 – besides being all metallic and gleaming. With just these two pieces, the tablet and the keyboard dock, the Transformer, which has pretty good reviews, should appeal to those who would want to consume content and be entertained with a tablet but also need the option to create content for their work. The Padfone is a most ingenuous concept. Good thing someone's actually thinking different and doing something about it, to boot. How easy it will be to handle all the components of this package however, we'll only know when it comes out of the showcase and into the market.

Mala Bhargava

BW Reporters Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.