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Asus PadFone X Mini, the Smartphone-Tablet Combination Comes to the US

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At the beginning of this year, Asus launched a new line of Asus Ultrabooks, slim and smart laptops that are quite amazing. Today, we’ve got some more Asus news: the Asus PadFone X Mini is coming to the U.S. and it might shock a few people. Why? Because it’s a device that is both a smartphone and a tablet, without being a phablet. You put the smartphone inside a docking with a screen and it becomes a tablet!

Asus PadFone X Mini

The Asus PadFone X Mini may not impress with its tech specs, but it’s not meant to do that. What’s special about the smartphone is the docking station which comes with it and which transforms the phone into a tablet with a better display quality. The Asus PadFone X Mini has a 4.5-inch display with a resolution of 853×480 pixels and once you slide it into the docking station, you get a tablet with a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels. Now, that’s impressive! The docking station also comes with its own 2,200mAh battery, while the smartphone has a 2,060mAh one.

Asus PadFone X Mini

Asus PadFone X Mini Tech Specs

As mention earlier, the smartphone doesn’t impress, but that’s not to say that it’s a bad phone. Not at all! The LTE capable smartphone features a dual-core 1.6 Intel Atom processor, 8GB of internal memory and 1GB of RAM, a 5MP back camera and a 2MP front-facing camera. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat and it costs $199,99 contract-free on the GoPhone prepaid plans of AT&T.

The Asus PadFone X Mini will be available starting with October 24. Are you interested in getting one? How do you find this smartphone/tablet mix? Drop us a line in the comment section below and tell us about it!

Two Brand New Asus Zenbook UX32LA and UX32LN Ultrabooks to Hit the Market

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Just when you thought there is little left to know and experiment with in the world of ultrabooks, here comes Asus walking on tip – toes and releasing the brand new Assus Zenbook UX32LA and UX32LN Ultrabooks, two laptops to satisfy all tastes and pockets. Even if the big news made it to the media, Asus kept a bit of quiet regarding the ultrabooks, but now that they are here, nothing stops us to take a deeper, closer look at them and see what specialists have to say about them, besides them offering the user the choice of operating on Windows 8.1 or Windows 8.1 Pro.

The Asus Zenbook UX32LA

asus zenbook ux32laThis is the budget – friendly one of the family, and even if tech experts say the affordable price is correlated to the relatively low screen resolution –  1,366×768 pixels for a 13.3-inch screen and uses only Intel’s HD Graphics 4400 (as opposed to NVIDIA discrete graphics found on the other model as a supplemental option), the Asus Zenbook UX32LA has pretty neat specifications: Intel Haswell processors available in multiple choices: Intel Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7, a 1 TB of storage and 4GB of RAM. To top it all, in spite of the resolution and the decent price, the Asus Zenbook UX32LA comes with premium features also, including Bang & Olufsen speakers, lit keyboard and a thin, slick, practical case.

The Asus Zenbook UX32LN

Asus Zenbook UX32LN The Asus Zenbook UX32LA and UX32LN Ultrabooks may become fierce competitors for the other models in the ultrabook market and the Zenbook UX32LN may be the gladiator Asus was aiming to bring into the battle. It looks pretty much the same like the previously mentioned model, but this one comes with spectacular graphics powered by the NVIDIA GeForce GT 840M graphics, an additional feature to the Intel HD Graphics 4400, which makes this ultrabook not only spectacular in graphic performance (if we take into account the 1920 x 1080 pixels screen resolution), but also a bit more expensive.

How much are the Asus Zenbook UX32LA and UX32LN Ultrabooks?

Unfortunately, Asus hasn’t released yet the price range for the U.S. market, but since on European (Germany for instance) markets the Asus Zenbook UX32LA is around 700 Euros, while its more performing brother is said to cost an added 200 Euros (basically because the NVIDIA graphics and maybe the screen resolution too), you can do the math and see if they are worth the price compared to the specs.

Brand New Asus Ultrabooks

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asus ultrabookAsus has released two new ultrabooks of 13 -inch in the Zenbook family of products, a cheaper model which runs at a resolution of 1366 × 768 and a more expensive model running at FullHD resolution with Nvidia graphics. Both Asus ultrabooks use an Intel Haswell processor.

The cheapest version out of the Asus Ultrabooks

The Asus Zenbook UX32LA is the cheapest member in the Zenbook range of products and we can easily think about the 1366 × 768 pixels resolution as the reason for the low price. This laptop weighs about 1.4 kilos. In terms of specifications, this model has three USB 3.0 ports, a HDMI port and DisplayPort, SD card reader, 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 4.0 and a battery that provides a power of 50whr. The laptop is available with a choice of Intel processor 4th generation Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7, 4GB RAM capacity up to 1TB of storage (with the option to choose a 128GB SSD or HDD larger capacity).

Asus Zenbook UX32LN, $ 200 more expensive

This model has the same size and shape as the UX32LA, but additionally to the Intel Haswell and Intel HD 4400 graphics, the UX32LN Zenbook uses a dedicated video card Nvidia GeForce GT 840m with a display running at a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels.

In addition to these specifications, the laptop offers the same connectivity options and ports, but because of the display running at a higher resolution and the dedicated video card, the price is definitely higher. The starting price of this model is 200 euro higher than the Zenbook UX32LA, which doesn’t make it the cheapest version out of the Asus ultrabooks. .

Both Asus ultrabooks are available on the specialized market in Germany and are priced at 699 EUR, respectively 899 EUR. Worth it or not? What do you think?

Asus Announces New Range of Hybrid Smartphones And Tablets Powered by New Gen Intel Chips

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Asus is banking more on mobile devices such a tablets, big screen smartphones or phablets and smartphones to drive growth in 2014. This becomes evident with the range of devices that the Taiwan based company showcased at the recently concluded CES event. Also, with all the devices being powered by an Intel chip, what is also evident is that Asus is taking forward Intel’s dream of becoming a serious player in the mobile devices segment. Mentioned here are five phones and a tablet that Asus showcased at the CES 2014 event.

ASUS-Transformer-Book-Duet-

Transformer Book Duet (TD300)

As the name suggests this is a tablet cum laptop convertible. However, that is not the only unique aspect of the device as it is designed to dual boot both Windows 8.1 and Android. A virtual key on the screen is all that users would need to tap on to switch between the OSs. The hardware specs of the Duet starts with the core processor being an Intel Core i7 chip. It also sports an Intel HD graphics chip and a 4 GB RAM. Internal storage comprises of a 128 GB SSD memory while the keyboard dock also stacks up another 1 TB of storage space. That is not all for there is also the provision to add another 64 GB via microSD cards. The 13.3 inch display is based on IPS technology to allow for an expanded viewing angled and offers a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The front facing camera is HD enabled while there is also a digital mic to make video calls.

PadFone Mini

The PadFone Mini is another unique concept from Asus in that it combines a smartphone as well as a tablet for enhanced versatility. This device is powered by an Intel Atom Z2560 processor clocking at 1.6 GHz and offers 8 GB of internal storage which is further expandable to 64 GB using microSD cards. The PadFone Mini is also a dual SIM device and hides a handset of 4 inch display while the tablet is of 7 inch dimension. Users would therefore get the benefit of the 7 inch screen when the handset is docked into the tablet while the smartphone itself will function just as any other smartphone currently available in the market. The PadFone Mini also packs a dual camera, with the front facing camera being of 2 MP resolution while the rear one is 8 MP resolution.

VivoTab Note 8

An Intel Atom Z3470 makes up the core of the VivoTab Note 8, which allows for seamless multitasking functionality with the device. Running the full Windows 8.1 version, other important aspects of the VivoTab Note 8 is the long battery life of 8 hours that it offers, which means nearly a day’s worth of work can be carried out before a recharge is necessary. The storage space also is very large with 64 GB of it and users can pitch in another 64 GB of it via the microSD card slot. ASUS also offers one year of unlimited storage space at their Website for cloud computing.

ZenFone 4:

A smartphone with 4 inch of display, the ZenFone 4 comes with a vibrant color option of Charcoal Black, Pearl White, Cherry Red, Sky Blue, and Solar Yellow. Otherwise the device is powered by an Intel Atom Z2520 processor which is based on Quad-Thread Hyper-Threading Technology clocking at 1.2 GHz. It is also dual camera based device with the rear facing one of 5 MP resolution. Weight of the device is also interesting for it is just 115 grams.

ZenFone 5:

A bigger sibling of the ZenFone 4, this one has a 5 inch HD screen of 1280 x 720 pixels and is IPS technology based. The device is powered by an Intel Atom Z2580 processor clocking at 2 GHz. The device boasts of superior camera functions and comes with a 2 MP at the front and a 8 MP camera for the rear. The rear facing camera boasts of image stabilizing feature while there is also the backside-illumination (BSI) sensor and wide-aperture f/2.0 lens. The lens technology is quite exclusive in that it is based on ASUS PixelMaster technology. This set also has options of vibrant colors to select from, which are Charcoal Black, Pearl White, Cherry Red, and Champagne Gold.

ZenFone 6:

As the name suggests the screen size in this case is 6 inches and has the GloveTouch and PenTouch display technologies available on the ZenFone 5. The core processor is an Intel Atom Z2580 chip clocking 2 GHz. Other interesting feature is the ASUS SonicMaster audio system with virtual surround sound via headphones that can be experienced by the user. The front facing cameras is of 2 MP resolution while the rear facing one is of 13 MP with PixelMaster technology featuring in it.

CES 2014: Asus Announces Transformer Book Duet TD300 Running Android and Windows OS

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Asus has not only come up with a unique design of their tablet cum laptop device so far as its method of locking the keyboard to the tablet goes but also given it the ability to switch between two Operating Systems. And for this, all that the user will have to do is just tap on an onscreen icon. Not only is this feature absolutely unique and a first of its kind but also the simplest way to change the OS. The product in question is the Asus Transformer Book Duet TD300 which comes with the usual Transformer quality, that of a a detachable keyboard which can be locked into position or detached for converting between a laptop and tablet mode. The tablet or screen of the device is 13.3 inch and the two OS are Windows and Android.

asus-transformer-book-duet

It takes 5 seconds to switch between the two OS and an icon with the tag “OS Switch” placed at the top of the screen is all that the user needs to tap on for the process. Otherwise the device has an Intel fourth generation Haswell processor, and the price has been tagged at $599.

At the CES 2014 show, the company also announced launch of the Padfone in the US. This product is being launched by ASUS in association with AT&T. Padfone X is the name of the product to be launched and the device would be a hybrid of a tablet and a smartphone.

The tablet is 9 inch and the smartphone offers a 5 inch display. The smartphone part can be docked inside the tablet to convert the screen of the smartphone to that of the tablet. It would be a single OS device and that is Android. The gadget would be backed up by a battery pack of 2300mAh. It would have a Qualcomm processor, support 4G network services. This device has been announced to be launched in middle of 2014.

Other products that Asus launched at the CES on Monday were its Zenfone line of products. These items would be launched in sizes of 4, 5 and 6 inches, in markets outside of the US in the first quarter of this year. They would all have at their core the latest Intel Atom chips. Another device announced by Asus was its Padfone mini which would be a combination of a 7 inch tablet and a 4 inch handset.

Asus Rumored to be Developing 8 Inch Windows 8.1 Tablet Based on Intel bay Trail Chip

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Asus could well be the next company to come up with an 8 inch tablet running Windows 8.1 with an Intel chip at its core. This if true will make Asus the newest entrant to the league of companies comprising of the likes of Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba and Dell that have all launched Windows based tablet in such a form factor. Asus though isn’t completely new to the Intel Bay Trail and Windows 8.1 combination, it being the first to include both in the Transformer Book T100TA that comes with a 10 inch display as well as a keyboard dock.

Asus

There is however unconfirmed information that comes from Tech2.hu about Asus introducing an 8 inch tablet or a tablet smaller than 10 inch. The reason for this assumption stems from the fact that the model is named Asus M80TA though there is also talk of the device likely to be named Asus VivoTab Note 8. Also, the tablet could be priced $299, which is similar to most other 8 inch Windows 8.1 tablet costs.

The M80TA is speculated to be running Windows 8.1 as per a listing at a retailer’s site. The specifications also mentioned there speak of an Intel Atom Z3740 Bay Trail processor powering the device, coupled to a 2 GB RAM along with 32 GB of storage capacity. It would also come pre-loaded with 2013 Home & Student MS Office. It also mentions about the device including support for a stylus, something that the Transformer Book T100TA lacks. There is however no clear indication if there would be a keyboard dock as the one which is there on the Transformer Book T100TA.

Official confirmation on all these speculations would come to an end on 6th January when Asus is going to address a press conference. The event is to be held at Las Vegas. There would sure be mention about the Padfone X device also during the press conference, as that too is a hotly talked about device expected form Asus.

Asus Rumored to be Developing DualSim Tablet

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Tablets made by Asus have made good name in the market selling under the names of MemoPad, FonePad and then the most successful of the labels, Nexus. Now the company is expected to come up with another version of the tablet which would sport dual SIM support. This one is also being speculated to be in the mid-range section so far as price factor goes. ASUS ranks third so far as its popularity goes in the tablet market with Apple and Samsung leading the market as per reports from IDC based on statistics received for the third quarter of this year.

ASUS

While ASUS have not yet made anything official about this tablet to be launched, an estimated picture can be inferred from reports that have been received earlier. GizBot had written about an ASUS tablet running Android with dual SIM in their columns way back in July. Their source had been an insider at ASUS who had requested for anonymity. That tablet was supposed to have been launched in October. The report had mentioned it to be 7 inch by size and have 1 or 2 GB of RAM. The internal storage was supposed to be 8 GB. The tablet was supposed to be for the emerging markets that would cater to those seeking a budget device. It seems the present tablet being discussed could be the one which had been in R&D stages at that time.

GizBot has also reported an ASUS make tablet at a logistic website Zauba which deals with import and export to India. The model number has been given as ME175CG DS and could be the Dual SIM tablet being discussed. The tablet is priced at Rs, 9,590 and 16 units are being shipped from Taiwan for Bangalore as per the Zauba site. If we note, the ASUS model number for their MemoPad in the market is ME172V. With both sharing the same ME prefix further adds to the rumors of them belonging to the same MemoPad tablet lineage.

A Chinese based web site had also reported an ASUS MeMO Pad ME175 would be launched soon albeit with a Qualcomm processor. What it means is that ASUS is including China in its probable list of markets for the Memo line of tablets.

Asus to Launch More Affordable Transformer Pad TF502T Soon

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Spending $449 for an Android based tablet or for that matter any tablet running any OS may not be the top most priority for most out to buy a tablet device. That however is the price for the latest tablet launched by ASUS, named the Transformer Pad Infinity TF701T.The tablet that comes in the 10 inch category offers a screen resolution is 2560 X 1600 pixels and runs on an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. Fortunately for those who’d prefer Transformer Pad sort of device at an even cheaper price point, ASUS is in the process of coming out with the Transformer Pad TF502T. The tablet would be running on a Tegra 3 processor, have 2 GB of RAM and offer lower pixelated display having a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.

Asus Transformer Pad

The processor, as can be noted form the specs is of a lower rank than the other ASUS made gadgets in the market. The screen resolution is also lower, but the working memory is higher. Reports mention that the fetching price of this upcoming tablet would be lower than Asus’ Infinity line of products.

The tablet comes with 32 and 64 GB of internal storage options while there is also a micro SD card slot that will allow for more storage options should one need it. It would also have a USB port and dual camera. The front camera is of 2 MP resolution while the rear of 8 MP. For connectivity the tablet would sport Wi-Fi and Bluetooth features. So far as multimedia capabilities go, the tablet would have four speakers giving it stereo capability in any layout, be it portrait or landscape.

Also, with the device being part of the Transformer series, the tablet comes with an accompanying keyboard docking feature. This when attached transforms the tablet into a notebook device. That is not all for the keyboard also includes a power source of its own which increases the overall backup time of the device to a commendable 16 hours.

Asus Transformer Book Trio to be Launched in Japan in November, No US Launch Date Revealed

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Asus is all set to unleash its Transformer Book Trio device in various world markets this November. In case you have joined in late, the said device from the Taiwanese manufacturer can be considered to be the amalgamation of a tablet, a desktop and a notebook in its various configurations, and hence the name Trio. Japan would be among the first countries that would be getting the device which is slated to hit the market there on 2nd November for 139,800 yen or $1430. The actual cost of the Trio though is expected to be lesser when it arrives in the US market. The Transformer Book Trio is already available in the French market for 899 Euros which is approximately $1240. Its not known though when the device will eventually make it to the US markets.

asus-transformer-book-trio

For using the device as a tablet alone, the display will be required to be detached from the keyboard leaving the screen portion free as a tablet. This way, the device with its 11.6 inch display will make for a generous sized tablet. Also, a unique aspect of the Trio, apart from its three-in-one functionality, is that the OS in the standalone tablet mode is Android and when the keyboard is connected, it turns into full fledged laptop with Windows as the OS.

For using the device as a desktop, the user would need to connect the keyboard to any external display and the set up turns into a desktop. In such a set-up, the keyboard acts as the CPU and comes equipped with an Intel Haswell processor within it. It also houses a 4 GB RAM along with a 1 TB storage space. The keyboard also includes a battery pack of 33 Whr rating and like most other devices has WiFi, Bluetooth functionality besides also including USB, audio and video ports in it. The keyboard can well be called a laptop of its own accord with only the display screen absent.

The screen part which acts the tablet comes with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and is based on IPS technology to allow for wider viewing angles. It has an Intel Atom clover Trail+ processor at its core. Has 2 GB of RAM and storage of 54 GB. It also sports both front and rear cameras. There are the standard microSD expansion slot, WiFi and BlueTooth. It weighs 1.5 pounds while the keyboard section weighs 2.2 pounds, thereby making the total weight of the entire setup in laptop mode at less than 4 pounds.

Battery life with just the tablet is 5 hours with Windows as the OS but with the keyboard connected, it goes up to 13 hours with Android as the OS.

Asus Nexus 10 Release Date with Google Nexus 5 with Android 4.4 KitKat

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The Android 4.4 KitKat release is speculated to occur in October. Tech experts feel that since the Android 4.4 KitKat may arrive in October, even the successor handset for Nexus 4 will arrive in the coming month. Well, the Nexus 5 is not the only Nexus device that is going to be announced soon, rumors have it that even Nexus 10 tablet will be arriving very soon.

The next 10inch tablet is speculated to be an Asus Nexus 10 tablet which will also feature the Android 4.4 KitKat OS. The Asus Nexus 10 is expected to arrive more or less at the same time as Nexus 5. Let us think about last year’s scenario, Google had released four Google products in November.

asus nexus 10 leaked photo

In November 2012, the Nexus 4 came and succeeded the Galaxy Nexus. Next came the Nexus 7 which pitted against the Apple iPad Mini. The third Google product was the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update which is still to appear on many of the popular smartphones and tablets. Lastly, a 10inch tablet called the Nexus 10 was also rolled out to take on Apple iPad.

Each year Google releases a new Nexus device to replace the existing one. This year too Nexus 7 was replaced by Nexus 7 2013 along with the LTE version. The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean has already replaced the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and in the next month or so even it will be replaced by Android 4.4 KitKat.

Google has discontinued the supply of Nexus 4 and retail outlets are only selling the remaining stock if any. This is a clear indication that the Nexus 5 is soon to arrive. Moreover, FCC filing on a new Nexus smartphone also indicates that very soon Google will announces the new Nexus smartphone which is being dubbed as Nexus 5 by most tech blogs.

It is only the Nexus 10 that is left to be replaced by a new tablet this year. As of now, Google has not spoken anything about the new Nexus 10. Well, the Nexus 10 is still available for purchase on Google Play Store. However, it may not remain available after some time.

When the Nexus 7 arrived this year, during the launch event of the said tablet, Sundar Pinchai who is head honcho of Android stated that in the near future that would be rolling out a sequel for Nexus 10. Last year’s Nexus 10 was a Samsung product and according to the recent leaks, the new tablet is expected to be Asus product.

Recently, a new screenshot emerged that clearly indicated that Asus is the one that will manufacture the next Nexus 10 tablet. The screenshot also reveals that the cost of Asus Nexus 10 is going to be higher than that of last year’s product. The screenshot that we have added in this post has originally come from UK retailer Currys. The existing Nexus 10 is priced at £319 and the screenshot shows the price of the Asus Nexus 10 is going to be £349.

As of now, there are no rumors on Google Nexus 10 release date. However, rumors are doing rounds that Google will release Android 4.4 KitKat along with LG Nexus 5 and Asus Nexus 10 on October 14. Also, we do not have any details on the Asus Nexus 10 features and specifications. Once we get to know something concrete, we will share it with you soon.

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