Asus Padfone combines smartphone, tablet

What happens when you marry a smartphone with a tablet? We imagine it looks a little something like the Asus Padfone.

Bonnie Cha Former Editor

Bonnie Cha was a former chief correspondent for CNET Crave, covering every kind of tech toy imaginable (with a special obsession for robots and Star Wars-related stuff). When she's not scoping out stories, you can find her checking out live music or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California.

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Bonnie Cha

May 31, 2011 7:53 a.m. PT

In addition to announcing the ultrathin UX and Eee PC X101, Asus showed off a new product called the Padfone at Computex that combines the power of a smartphone with a tablet.

Similar in concept to the laptop dock for the Motorola Atrix 4G, the Padfone consists of a 4.3-inch Android smartphone that can be used alone or docked in a tablet. The latter provides a larger 10.1-inch screen with speakers and acts as an extended battery, but the processing power, Internet connection, and content all come from the smartphone.

Asus didn't offer up many more details about the Padfone, but according to Engadget Mobile, the company dropped some clues to indicate that it would run Ice Cream Sandwich and hopes to ship by Christmas.

Asus Padfone (photos)

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