Hasta La Gadget!

Wow, so our theory and mockup turned out to be pretty much spot on: indeed, the oddly named ASUS Padfone does tuck itself into a shielded docking bay on the back of its companion tablet, and the latter’s hinged cover appears to pop up upon releasing the latch. You can also just about make out the two ports inside which are likely to be HDMI and micro-USB — one for driving the larger display, and the other for taking care of touch input while possibly sipping juice from an extra battery somewhere. Now, what we really like to know is which version of Android will be shipped (if ever) with this split-personality phone — our money’s on Ice Cream Sandwich, given that this flavor will happily cater both phone and tablet form factors later this year. That said, given the uniqueness of this product, ASUS could probably still get away with taking a step back and launch this as a Gingerbread tablet. Well, we shall dig up more answers for y’all tomorrow, and stay tuned for some sweet hands-on time.

Continue reading This is the ASUS Padfone

This is the ASUS Padfone originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 14:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PadFone. Well, as silly as it sounds, the name sure speaks for itself. Unearthed by our friends over at Pocketnow, this USPTO trademark document was filed by ASUS merely four days ago. Such timing suggests that this could very well be the final name of the company’s eccentric “pad or phone” combo, which is to be unveiled at Computex next week. As expected, no specifics are detailed in this application, but it does mention “electronic pens for computer touch screens” — possibly hinting that the PadFone will be compatible with N-Trig’s DuoSense or similar stylus technology.

Alas, that’s all we have for now until ASUS lifts the curtain on Monday, but let us point you to Notebook Italia’s brilliant mock-up to quench your thirst for the time being — we, too, suspect that the phone would slide onto the back of its companion tablet, hence the bump. That said, do bear in mind that this phone is already proven to be not as tacky looking, but is likely closer to a full-fledged Android handset. Anyhow, check out the artist’s impressions after the break.

Update: Oh hey, remember Windows SideShow? Good times.

Continue reading ASUS ‘PadFone’ to be the final name of the phone-docking tablet?

ASUS ‘PadFone’ to be the final name of the phone-docking tablet? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, tabletphones are coming back! Joining the eccentric Dell Streak 5 is Pantech’s conveniently named Vega No.5 (or IM-T100K), a 5-inch Android 2.3.3 smartphone powered by Qualcomm’s brawny dual-core 1.5GHz MSM8660. Apart from the extra 0.7 inches of screen size, what we have here is essentially the same package as the Vega Racer: 800 x 480 LCD, 8 megapixel 1080p camera, front-facing camera, 1GB DDR2 RAM, 16GB of memory, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, and 14.4Mbps HSPA+ connectivity. No word on international availability, but expect this slate to hit the shops in Korea later this month. Hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Pantech Vega No.5 bringing sexy back to tabletphones, packs 1.5GHz dual-core chip

Pantech Vega No.5 bringing sexy back to tabletphones, packs 1.5GHz dual-core chip originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 06:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, ’tis quite a shock for a Monday morning, but it turns out the dual-booting Fujitsu LOOX F-07C smartphone is indeed legit. According to NTT DoCoMo’s preliminary spec sheet, this 7.69-ounce landscape slider handles both Symbian and Windows 7 (Home Premium, 32-bit Japanese edition) with its 4-inch 1,024 x 600 LCD (that’s 297ppi right there!), along with a 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of LPDDR400 RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 32GB of eMMC disk space, and expandable memory via microSDHC. You’ll also find a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with face detection on the back, coupled by a VGA front-facing camera. Of course, the main concern is how the battery life fares here: we’re told that in “mobile phone mode” you get up to 600 hours of generous standby time and up to 370 minutes of 3G talk time; whereas in Windows 7 mode you’ll have to make do with just two hours, and then you’re forced into mobile phone mode when the battery level is low. If you’re itching to get yourself an eccentric F-07C, then watch out for its launch in June or July. Full list of specifications and press release after the break.

Update: ASCII’s just posted a few real-life shots of this device, and mentions a retail price of around ¥70,000 ($860). Oh, and there’s HDMI-out via a USB adapter.

Update 2: Akihabara News has a hands-on video — check it out after the break, and be sure to take a gander at its photos as well.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo’s Fujitsu LOOX F-07C goes official, dual-boots to Windows 7 and Symbian (updated)

NTT DoCoMo’s Fujitsu LOOX F-07C goes official, dual-boots to Windows 7 and Symbian (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can’t say we’re surprised by this, but turns out Verizon’s decided to delay the launch of its Samsung Droid Charge — originally scheduled for today — at the very last minute. According to an internal email we obtained, the blame’s on “unexpected delays” and no new date has yet been set. This makes sense, considering it wouldn’t do Verizon much good to launch a new 4G Android when its LTE service is still down (for over 24 hours and still counting). Ah well, this 4.3-incher better be worth the wait.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Update: We’re hearing reports that LTE is gradually being restored across the states, and our own Myriam Joire also sees 4G connection in San Francisco. That said, at this stage it’s unlikely that the Droid Charge will resume launch today.

Update 2: Apparently the folks at Target aren’t picking up what Verizon’s putting down, as a tipster has told us it’s releasing the Charge today as planned. Picture’s after the break.

Continue reading Verizon freezes Droid Charge launch indefinitely, blaming ‘unexpected delays’ (update)

Verizon freezes Droid Charge launch indefinitely, blaming ‘unexpected delays’ (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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