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Look, up in the sky! It’s a smartphone! It’s a tablet! No, it’s the Android-powered Asus PadFone X, and the combo device will finally be flying into the U.S. courtesy of AT&T later this year.
AT&T announced Monday that it will bring the latest Asus PadFone to the United States as a carrier exclusive later this year, combining an Android smartphone with a nine-inch tablet, presumably combining the best of both worlds.
PadFone X is the latest Asus attempt to create a smartphone capable of being docked onto the back of a tablet. Powered by the latest Android 4.4 KitKat, the PadFone X is first and foremost a smartphone with a five-inch HD display — the tablet half of the product won’t work at all until the handset is docked onto it.
“AT&T and Asus share a passion for innovation and we are very excited to bring the Asus PadFone X to the U.S market,” said Asus Chairman Jonney Shih. “Our technology is capable of instantly turning a premium smartphone into a tablet, giving consumer the ultimate experience on both devices. Together, we look forward to bringing more choices to consumers.”
Asus is best known to U.S. buyers as the manufacturer of Google’s Nexus 7 tablets, as well as a popular line of Transformer tablets for both Android and Windows. AT&T is keeping details on pricing, specifications and availability close to their vest for now, but the PadFone X is expected sometime this year.
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