• SumoMe

ASUS-PadFone X-1

Disclaimer: this is a sponsored post. AT&T and ASUS sent me a tester device, and paid for 2 months of 4G coverage for the device so I could evaluate it. I was not paid for this review, and nobody from AT&T or ASUS read/edited this review before I published it. 

Man, technology is getting pretty nuts over time. It’s like nothing needs wires anymore, and everything is getting smaller. The ASUS PadFone X really blew my mind when I think about how it’s the amalgamation of laptop, tablet, and cell phone technology into one complete system–I won’t even call it a device because it’s really two separate things. Let me explain a bit.

The ASUS PadFone X is a phone…and a tablet. Now, I get that iCloud can sync your iPad and iPhone together–which is nice. But this isn’t some cloud synching business, this system involves a literal combination of the phone and the tablet.

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ASUS-PadFone X-5

The photo above shows how you slide the phone into the back of the tablet. Once you do that, the tablet takes over right where the phone left off. This is great when you need to research something on the internet, or if you need to do something more involved on the internet (like fill out a form) but don’t want to do it on your phone. What’s also kind of cool is that the battery in the tablet charges your phone as its docked, so you aren’t draining your phone’s battery life when you dock it with the tablet.

The biggest downside of the ASUS PadFone X is that the tablet is pretty much lifeless without the phone docked in there. With an iPad, you can use your phone and your tablet simultaneously, as both are mutually-exclusive. With the PadFone X, you’re basically carrying around your tablet without being able to use it. If you lose your phone–you lose your tablet. Whoa, bummer. However, this is pretty great for road warriors or journalists who can go out in the field with their phone, and dock up later at “home base” to type out the article.

ASUS-PadFone X-4

The keyboard connects with bluetooth, and the tablet sits on its side in a clip at the top. There’s a mousepad below the keys (kind of hard to see in the photo), which makes using the tablet a lot easier. I found that when I used the tablet, the touch “sensation” was always about a quarter of an inch off from where I was actually touching–but that might just be because I’m accustomed to the iPad. Once you get used to it, though, you can learn to compensate for the slight difference. The keyboard is pretty non-controversial, and does what you’d want it to do.

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The tablet has great color, but I would like the screen size to extend further to the border. I don’t know if the screen size is so small because of the components involved in the docking process, but making the border smaller would be a great upgrade for the next version of the PadFone.

If you’re a guy who works on the road a lot, or if you need to add some mobility to your technology game, then the ASUS PadFone X is a great way to do it. If you’re still not sure, how about you enter the giveaway below and try to win one for yourself?

ASUS PadFone X Giveaway

This giveaway will run one week, and will end at midnight CST on August 17. One entry per person. Fill out the form below to enter. If you enter more than once (I can see your IP address…don’t be lame), I’ll delete all of your entries. Once I go through them, I’ll go to Random.org and pick a random number, and then email you to get your details. I promise that I won’t use your email for nefarious uses: no spam, no email lists, no Nigerian princes–promise. What are you waiting for?

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