Asus silently adds the PadFone E to its Taiwanese website
Taiwanese Asus has silently added the new PadFone E device to its line-up of transformer gadgetry. The PadFone series, tablet and smartphone in one -- a product that was pioneered by the company -- appears to be high on the list of priorities for the manufacturer, as it also introduced two other PadFone devices at CES2014.
Reading the specs list of the dual SIM PadFone E leaves little to the imagination -- this is a mid-range device through and through, and it serves to close Asus' iron grip on the form factor, as its 2013/2014 line-up now occupies all price tiers of the budget spectrum.
Much alike to its flagship sibling, the PadFone X, the PadFone E draws its power from a Qualcomm chip, instead of the usual Intel silicon. Equipped with a quad-core, 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM, we're expecting an adequate user experience, as this configuration has proven potent enough in the past. Other hardware highlights include a 4.7-inch, 720x1280 resolution IPS display with Gorilla Glass for the phone, and a 10.1-inch, 720x1280 resolution screen for the tablet dock. The PadFone E is also outfitted with a 13-megapixel rear snapper, with f/2.4 aperture and an LED flash, and a 1820mAh cell (plus 5000mAh in the tablet dock). The device will run on the back of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, and come in two color options -- 'pearl' white and 'Johnnie Walker' black, winning the creative-color-options-names-war once and for all.
As for availability and price, we're told nothing, though we obviously expect this to first reach the hands of Taiwan locals, and then perhaps make its way to the rest of the world. We're unaware of the exact sales figures of previous PadFone devices, but Asus does appear very committed to the form factor, so we're guessing that they're selling relatively well. And why shouldn't they? After all, these are usually priced quite competitively for what they have on offer.
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