Dupa cum a fost anuntat, astazi a avut loc lansarea oficiala a noului Padfone de la Asus. Personal consider ca primul Padfone a fost unul dintre singurele produse de tip smartphone / tablet care au venit cu ceva mai original fata de ceea ce oferea Apple, restul nereusind altceva decat sa scoata clone pe banda, cu mici imbunatatiri hardware sau software. Din acest motiv chiar asteptam cu entuziasm noul Padfone 2, fiind extrem de curios de ceea ce ar putea aduce Asus ca noutate sau imbunatatiri. Well, sa vedem daca "petrecerea" din Taipei si Milan a avut succes sau nu, trecand sumar prin toate noutatile cu care se lauda noua lor combinatie de smartphone/tablet.
In primul rand, trecem in revista "baza" Padfone 2, si anume smartphone-ul. Acesta a fost upgradat la o diagonala de 4.7", rezolutie 720P cu panou de tip Super IPS+ (s-a renuntat la Super AMOLED, thx God!). Panoul acesta este printre primele care se lauda cu tehnologia IGZO de la Sharp, oferind un brightness pana la 550nits. Inima smartphone-ului este data de unul din cele mai puternice procesoare de pe piata, si anume un Qualcomm Quad Core APQ8064 SoC la 1.5Ghz, alimentat de 2GB RAM. Pe spate troneaza o camera cu un senzor BSI (backside illuminated) de 13 Megapixeli de la Sony, dar care nu se poate lauda decat cu un f/2.4. Pe fata avem o camera de 1.2 Megapixeli. Capabilitatile de filmare sunt de 30fps la 1080P si 60fps la 720P, precum si 100 de imagini in "6 FPS" la rezolutie maxima.
Tot la partea hardware, avem acum 2GB RAM, NFC, Corning Fit Glass (pentru a reduce greutatea), o baterie de 2140mAh (care din pacate este fixa), WCDMA 900/2,100Mhz plus LTE 800/1,800/2,600Mhz. Din pacate, nu avem un slot microSD (bizar), insa Asus spera ca prin cei 50GB de Asus WebStorage (gratuit pentru 2 ani) sa repare aceasta greseala. E de mentionat aici ca Padfone 2 vine cu microSIM, si nu nanoSIM (in caz ca va "temeati").
Legat de tableta (sau mai zis "docking tablet") in care se introduce smartphone-ul... aceasta vine cu un display de 10.1" si rezolutia 1280 x 800, cu un panou de tip IPS. La tableta se pare ca expertii de la Asus au incercat sa mearga pe a o face cat mai usoara posibil (multi se plangeau de greutatea combo-ului primului Padfone, unde tableta+smartphone-ul ajungeau la 854 grame). Au ajuns astfel la greutatea de 514 grame, insa pentru asta au renuntat la 1600mAh din baterie... aceasta avand acum doar 5000 mAh.
Vechiul conector de 40 de pini a devenit acum un conector ciudat cu 13 pini (care se ocupa de transferul de date, video, curent si radio intre Padfone 2 si Padfone Station). Din fericire, noul conector este perfect compatibil cu microUSB-ul si chiar MHL. Ca design, cred ca Padfone 2 arata mult mai bine decat prima generatie... insa foarte bizar este ca Asus nu a anuntat niciun fel de tastatura pentru acesta, ceea ce este un pic dezamagitor. La fel de dezamagitor este si faptul ca Padfone 2 vine doar cu Android ICS 4.0.4, dar ni se promite un update cat de curand posibil.
Padfone 2 va fi disponibil in 2 culori (alb si negru) si in 3 capacitati (16GB, 32GB si 64GB). Cei din Taiwan il pot avea deja de saptamana viitoare in varianta simpla - fara Padfone Station (la preturi intre 620 USD si 750 USD) iar varianta bundle va aduce un extra de 210 USD. Padfone Station 2 separat va fi aproximativ 310 USD (grr).
Pentru urmatoarele tari, Padfone 2 va fi disponibil incepand din Decembrie anul acesta: Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, U.A.E.
Update: Tocmai au venit si preturile anuntate pentru Europa (din Milan): Bundle-ul Padfone 2 va avea pretul de 799 EUR pentru modelul de 32GB si 899 EUR pentru modelul de 64GB. Mai multe detalii aici. So... cum vi se pare?
Specificatii complete:
Padfone 2 - Smartphone Specs
Networks: WCDMA 900/2100MHzEDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHzLTE 800/1800/2600MHz HSPA+ (DL: 21Mbit/s, 42Mbit/s (optional) / UL: 5.76Mbit/s) LTE (DL: 100Mbit/s / UL: 50Mbit/s)
Operating system: Android 4.0 ICS (upgradeable to Jelly Bean)
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (8064 + 9215m) quad-core Cortex A15 class (1.5GHz) with Adreno 320 graphics
Storage / memory : 16GB / 32GB / 64GB eMMC Flash / 2GB LPDDR2 RAM
Color: Black / White
Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0 & NFC (mobile payment function is optional and by request only)3.5mm audio jack, Micro SIMASUS 13-pin dock connector (supports Micro-USB 2.0 & Mobile High-Definition Link for HDMI connection)
GPS: A-GPS & GLONASS
Display: 4.7“ (1280 x 720) / 312ppiSuper IPS+ (550 nits)Scratch-resistant Corning� Fit Glass with HCLR Film (anti-fingerprint coating)
Main camera: 13MP BSI Sensor Sony Camera, f/2.4 Aperture,five-element lens, auto focus with LED flash
Front camera: 1.2MP
Other: G-sensor, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, gyro sensor, e-compass
Battery: 2140mAh Li-Polymer (non-removable)
Talk time: Up to 16 hours with 3G
Standby time: Up to 352 hours with 3G
Browser: HTTP / Google browser / YouTube browser / Facebook / Google+
Messaging: SMS / MMS / email / IM
Video: Video Playback: MPEG4/H.264/H.263/WMV @ HD 1080pVideo Recording: MPEG4/H.263 @ HD 1080p / 60fps @ 720pH.264 Video Decode @ 720p / Video Encode @1080p
H.264 / Ogg / Theora / MPEG4 / WMV / 3GP
Picture: JPEG / PNG / GIF / BMP
Audio: MP3 / WMA / 3GP / AAC / AAC+
Dimension: 137.9 x 69 x 9mm
Weight: 135g
Padfone 2 - Station Specs
Color: Black / White
Display: 10.1“ (1280 x 800, WXGA), 149ppiIPS with capacitive multi-touchScratch-resistant Corning� Fit Glass with HCLR Film (anti-fingerprint coating)
Camera: 1MP front camera13MP via PadFone 2 rear camera
Battery: 19Wh (5000mAh)
Connectivity: 3.5mm audio jack via PadFone 2ASUS 13-pin dock connector (Micro-USB 2.0 Host)
External phone antenna: Wi-Fi & BT, GSM, WCDMA, & LTE receiver diversity
Audio: High-quality speaker with ASUS SonicMaster technology
Comunicat de presa oficial:
http://youtu.be/AxE_Im20UZMQuote:
Live Life Intuitively with ASUS PadFone™ 2
Quad-core smartphone with incredible battery life and a thinner, lighter PadFone 2 Station deliver the ultimate mobile flexibility.
Milan, Italy (October 16, 2012) - ASUS, a global leader in the new digital era, today announces the PadFone™ 2. Building upon the successful PadFone combination of an Android smartphone and dockable tablet for incredible mobile flexibility, PadFone 2 consists of a higher-specification quad-core smartphone and a completely redesigned tablet.
ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih unveiled PadFone 2 in front of the world's media at a press conference in Milan, Italy. "Our relentless drive to innovate through Design Thinking has empowered us to create PadFone 2. It's beautiful, it's fast, it's seamless and, best of all, it's intuitive," said Mr. Shih.
PadFone 2 is a fully featured 4.7" Android™ smartphone with industry-leading specifications that docks with the unique PadFone 2 Station to become a lightweight, but fully featured, 10.1" tablet. Apps are seamlessly optimized on-the-fly to support both tablet and phone modes, with an instant transition between smartphone and tablet screen sizes.
Enlarge and Charge
ASUS' world-renowned Design Thinking philosophy has significantly reduced PadFone 2 Station's thickness and weight. At just 649g, the combined weight of both PadFone 2 and PadFone 2 Station is now lighter than most tablets on the market, and the dock mechanism has been redesigned to require just one swift step to use. PadFone 2 has also been subtly refined to increase its screen size to 4.7", while reducing its thickness and weight to just 9mm at its thickest point and 135g, respectively.
Battery life is astounding, too. The higher-capacity PadFone 2 2140mAh battery provides up to 16 hours 3G talk-time and 13 hours Wi-Fi web browsing, while PadFone 2 Station's 5000mAh battery gives up to 36 hours 3G talk-time. PadFone 2 Station's internal battery also has enough capacity to recharge the docked PadFone 2 three times over.
Super Phone, Super Performance
A 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM ensures incredible PadFone 2 performance in both smartphone and tablet modes. The new 4.7" 1280 x 720 HD Super IPS+ display uses scratch-resistant Corning� Fit Glass and delivers sharp, detailed images with accurate colors, ultra-wide viewing angles and 550 nits brightness for stunning outdoor visibility.
A new 13-megapixel high-performance camera captures incredibly detailed images with no shutter lag. Burst mode can capture up to 100 shots at a blisteringly quick six shots per second, while simultaneously recording 1080p HD video at 30fps, or 720p HD video at 60fps. Low-light performance is also enhanced by the wide f/2.4 aperture and a dedicated image signal processor. Both PadFone 2 and PadFone 2 Station feature superlative sound quality too, thanks to ASUS SonicMaster technology and audio tuning by Waves, recipient of a Technical GRAMMY Award�.
Easy to Share, Easy to Save
With capacities up to 64GB and 50GB of ASUS WebStorage provided free for two years, PadFone 2 offers endless possibilities for storing data. Data syncing between devices is also a thing of the past, since PadFone 2 storage is used by PadFone 2 Station when the two are connected. Shared mobile data connectivity between smartphone and tablet also means just one data plan is needed for both devices, while support for up to 42Mbit/s DC-HSPA+ and 100Mbit/s LTE delivers super-fast web browsing and downloads.
User-friendly enhancements
PadFone 2 also features a new version of the SuperNote app that instantly converts handwritten notes made in multiple languages into editable text. Its Instant Translation tool also 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.
Availability
PadFone 2 will be launched before the end of December in Europe (Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden) and Asia (Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, U.A.E). Availability in other countries will be announced at a later date.
http://youtu.be/DjpACIJkpQo
http://youtu.be/DhK35aLPD7c
