Asus Padfone set for Australian launch 14 August

Blending smartphone, tablet and laptop, the Padfone is finding its way to Australia through Harvey Norman.

Although the long wait process and subsequent hardware and software has quelled interest in the device, there's no doubt that there are those that want to "transform" their digital experience.

The magic of the machine is in its Ice Cream Sandwich powered phone, which features a dual-core Snapdragon S4 8260A running at 1.5GHz. It has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED 540x960 screen, but plug it into the back of the tablet and you'll be able to operate at 10.1-inches and 1280x800. You can then dock the already interesting contraption into a keyboard to get laptop functionality and, presumably like Asus' Transformer tablets, more battery life. The phone uses an eight megapixel camera, which is also used in tablet mode.

The device includes 32GB storage and a microSD slot. You can also answer calls with the tablet, apparently using a Bluetooth stylus that doubles as a headset.

At this stage, it seems Asus has no telco partners, so you'll have to bring your own SIM to the party. The Padfone will be sold through Harvey Norman on 14 August for AU$999.