ASUS Padfone Up for Pre-Order in Taiwan with April 20th Launch in Singapore, Hong Kong & Germany

By Nicole Scott
5 Apr, 2012 5:54 pm

10 Comments

The ASUS Padfone is the next exciting hybrid device in the ASUS family, it follows the very popular Transformer Prime but this time it is a phone that transforms into a tablet, instead of a tablet turning into a netbook. The ASUS Padfone debuted on the Taiwan market today with a ceremony staring some of our corporate ASUS big wigs like Jonney Shih & Jerry Shen. They announced that the Padfone would be up for pre-order in Taiwan starting April 6th and would be hitting the streets on April 20th it will be heading to a few other countries including Singapore, Hong Kong & Germany. There is no exact date on when we will be seeing the Padfone in these other countries, but at least we know where to expect the Tegra 3 device next.

Here in Taiwan, Chungwa Telecom and Senao International will be distributing the device, so we should be able to find out pricing soon since they’ll be wanted to move some units in the local markets. However, if we were to venture a guess we would have to say that a phone that turns into a tablet that has the ability to sport a keyboard docking station will run you around $700-800. Since it is up for pre-order tomorrow it won’t be long before we find out how much this 10 inch tablet and 4.3 inch smartphone will be.

 

ASUS PadFone™ is Available for Purchase in Taiwan

The beginning of a world-wide launch to be followed by Singapore, Hong Kong and
Germany

Taipei, Taiwan (5 April, 2012) – ASUS today announced that the much anticipated
PadFone™ will be available for pre-sale in Taiwan from tomorrow, Friday April 6, 2012. The
official launch event was opened with an introduction by ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih and a
detailed product presentation by ASUS CEO Jerry Shen.

“I am very excited to deliver the ASUS PadFone into the hands of our customers. It is an
Ultra-savvy intelligent device that combines the function of a phone, a Pad, as well as a
notebook. It was built to offer users an unrivalled level of performance, customization and
choice in how they connect with their digital world. Welcome to the future,” said Jerry Shen,
ASUS CEO. “I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation to our local
partners,” Mr. Shen added as he introduced Chuanghwa Telecom Chairman Shyue-Ching Lu
(呂學錦) and Senao International President Paul Lin (林保雍) to join him on stage.

Customers can make their purchase at all participating Chunghwa Telecom and Senao stores
throughout Taiwan starting from April 20th while pre-order begins tomorrow. Taiwan will be
the first market to enjoy the newest ubiquitous cloud computing experience created by ASUS,
with Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany and more European countries to follow shortly.

The ASUS PadFone is an incredible 4.3” smartphone featuring a Super AMOLED qHD
display, the latest Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ S4 dual core 1.5GHz processor, an ultra-
sharp 8-megapixel digital camera with Fuji image processor, F/2.2 aperture, and a 5-Element
lens all wrapped in an exquisite design that is optimized for Google’s Android 4.0 operating
system. When placed inside the optional PadFone Station, it transforms into a 10.1” tablet
with up to *63 hours of extended talk time. The PadFone offers unmatched versatility via
ASUS’ proprietary DynamicDisplay technology which allows seamless transition between the
PadFone and PadFone Station display screens. In addition, the PadFone Station offers an
optional keyboard dock that essentially turns the PadFone into an ultraportable computing
device, with an extended talk time of up to 102 hours*. The PadFone also comes with the
option of a PadFone Stylus Headset which is a Bluetooth stylus pen that transforms into a
headset for picking up calls easily.

PadFone owners will also be receiving 32GB of ASUS WebStorage for three years and
utilize ASUS’ cloud service to optimize their ubiquitous cloud computing experience. This
latest ASUS innovation comes preinstalled with ASUS’ exclusive SuperNote application —a
versatile note taking app that allows users to take notes and information through a variety of
options, including the keyboard, finger input, photo and video capture or audio notes.

*All specifications are subject to change without notice and may differ from country to country. Talk time is based
on 2G network use with the PadFone Station and Station Dock acting as chargers only. Actual performance may
vary depending on applications, usage, environment and other factors. Content and product availability varies by
country and coverage areas, and is subject to change. Brand and product names mentioned are trademarks of their
respective companies.