Thanks to a Reddit tipster, we have confirmation that the Asus PadFone X (also known as the PadFone T100D) has officially arrived at the Federal communications commission. It will be reviewed over the next week by the FCC, and that will then lead to a release very soon by AT&T. AT&T have rights to release this device before any other carrier.
Once a handset clears the FCC is will not be long until customers are able to buy the device from stores and online. The official time varies depending on when the carrier wants to release it, but it can be a matter of weeks, or even less.
This will be the third generation PadFone, and because we know all big carriers around the US have decided to choose this gadget up, that means they are expecting it to sell really well. If users are sceptical of that, you have every right to be because up until this year’s model we did not know they existed just like much of the world did not either.
The idea of a PadFone is to have a large size phone that lives in the back of a larger tablet. When it slides into place, it is hardly recognizable and is on a similar level to what the back plate of the tablet is so it sits nice and flat on the ground and does not get damaged any more than you would expect the bottom side of the tablet to pick up general wear and tear.
We do not think these are for everybody. The new PadFone idea reminds me a lot of what I had going with my Motorola Atrix setup. The last time we tried to buy a phone (Motorola Atrix) that came with its own Lapdock I was left with nothing but regrets when it came time to upgrade my Android Smartphone. The reality is that if consumers are on a contract then you want to upgrade your Smartphone more often than you want to upgrade your tablet or laptop. If you are anything like me, this will leave you wishing you just left it alone. Still, if you are somebody that has money to burn then why not indulge is something new and adventurous like the PadFone?
There is one cost cutting advantage to owning this nifty two for one gadget, and that is that customers can use both of the devices on the same 4G LTE network. It works by using the phone’s connection instead of making two separate connections, so there’s also no tethering bills to pick up either. The emerging market here as somebody who may spend a bit of time away from home and on the web.
The Asus PadFone X is running Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box. It has a 5-inch display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. Both screens are full HD. Because they are running Android you also get the built-in YouTube and google+ applications plus Picasa.
Why do we love this device?
For the simple fact that you can begin watching footage on the smartphone and then continue watching it on the larger screen when its suitable to do so. They both integrate really well with each other and being able to share one data plan makes it really useful when out and about and around the home if you are not running a WiFi connection. Again, we do not think they are for everybody, but we do think there is a strong emerging market for those who will find this a very useful product. The 4G LTE also means that you will have fast upload speed.
If it is something you might be thinking about buying, you can start planning now because it will not be long until AT&T officially start selling it.