Key Difference: The Asus Padfone Infinity smartphone is a slick 5-inch full HD 1920x1080, Super IPS+ with Capacitive Multi touch panel and provides approximately 441 ppi density. The device is a bar phone, with curved corners giving it a similar look to the ‘iPhone’ and ‘HTC One’. The Asus Padfone Infinity Dock is basically the 10-inch tablet shell that allows users to dock their phone into the tablet by sliding it into a slick slot on the back. Sony has recently announced its revamped smartphone and tablets line. Along with the new flagship phone Sony Xperia Z, the company has also added a new tablet, the Sony Xperia Z Tab. The tablet supports a 10.1 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen and is created using the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 technology.

Asus has announced its latest phone and tablet in the Padfone series, knighted the Asus Padfone Infinity. The original Asus Padfone did not reach the Western Shores but the company states that the Padfone Infinity is set for world-wide launch in the second quarter of 2013. Similar to the original Padfone, the Padfone Infinity is available just as smartphone or along with a tablet dock that allows seamless transition between phone and tablet needs. The Padfone Infinity is a pretty intriguing concept that allows the phone to dock on the tablet, which powers the tablet and transfers all the data on the tablet for use. However, without the phone the tablet is just a shell without any ‘brain’ of its own. The phone/tablet is set to provide serious competition to rivals Sony Xperia Z Tab, iPad 4 and Samsung Galaxy Tab. Let’s cover its features separately.

The Asus Padfone Infinity smartphone is a slick 5-inch full HD 1920x1080, Super IPS+ with Capacitive Multi touch panel and provides approximately 441 ppi density, making the screen visibly sharp, crisp and clear. The device is a bar phone, with curved corners giving it a similar look to the ‘iPhone’ and ‘HTC One’. The phone has a sleek metallic chassis, with a silver brushed look on the back. The phone is powered by the latest 1.7GHz quad-core Krait Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, providing fast responsiveness from the device. It offers the latest Android v4.2 Jelly Bean. The phone has a 2GB RAM and is available with 32/64 GB of internal storage capacity. The phone houses a 13MP primary camera and a 2MP secondary camera, with HD recording capability. The massive battery power allows the phone to provide up to 19 hours of 3G talk time. The company also introduced a bunch of new features such as Asus Echo, SuperNote, ASUS Story, Instant Dictionary and two years’ free Cloud Storage with 50GB ASUS WebStorage. The Asus Echo is the newest personal assistant, similar to Siri that allows the user to activate a number of features (search contacts, make calls, pick up incoming calls, activate the camera shutter for self-portraits, set alarms, change settings, etc) on the phone using voice commands. The new SuperNote supports real-time handwriting to text conversion and is sensitive enough to accurately translate from handwriting to text. Asus Story allows users to create albums and story lines, while Instant Dictionary allows users to translate words, phrases and sentences in emails, web pages or apps.

The Asus Padfone Infinity Dock is basically the tablet shell that allows users to dock their phone into the tablet by sliding it into a slick slot on the back. The slot comes with rubber gromits that ensures that the phone locks into place and does not slide out and fall. When the phone is docked on the tablet, the tablet and the phone synchronize automatically and the apps that were on the screen of the phone automatically re-sizes itself and pops up on the tablet screen. The tablet sports a 10.1 Full HD 1920x1080, Super IPS+ with Capacitive Multi touch panel, similar to the phone, providing a clear and detailed picture on the tablet. The screen on both, the phone and the tablet, have a Corning Gorilla Glass covering. The tablet does not have a processor or anything such hardware on it. It does offer a few advantages to the phone. The tablet houses a 1MP front camera for video calls. The tablet is also capable to output 1080 Full HD video via Micro-USB compatible MyDP interface. The device also has a dialer and is able to accept and make phone calls and send text messages. The phone and the tablet have speakers have the ASUS Audio Wizard audio enhancement providing rich audio experience. The battery as a massive 5000 mAh Li-Polymer, that enhances the battery power of the phone allowing up to 40 hours of 3G talk time. The tablet also has the power to charge the phone three times with a full battery. The tablet starts charging the battery of the phone, when the phone is docked into the tablet.

The high-end phone/tablet hybrid comes with a high-end price of EUR 999 and should be around US$ 1300 when it finally reaches the States. The main purpose of such a hybrid is so that people can use one data plan and it eliminates the need for manually synchronizing the tablet to phone and vice-versa. The phone has also been criticized for the lack of the keyboard, which was one of the features available in the original Padfone. Will the phone be a massive success or failure will be seen when the phone finally becomes available world-wide.

Sony has recently announced its revamped smartphone and tablets line. Along with the new flagship phone Sony Xperia Z, the company has also added a new tablet, the Sony Xperia Z Tab. It shares many features to its little brother, but is also different in many ways. The Xperia Z tab has already seen the light of day in Japan in January, while it was recently unwrapped for global availability. The company’s claims the tablet to the lightest and the slimmest LTE tablet available in the market. The tablet supports a 10.1 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen and is created using the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 technology. Similar to its little brother, the phone is water-resistant and dust proof. The phone can be submerged about 1 meter for 30 minutes without any damage (However, all the ports and slots should be firmly closed). The phone can also withstand water jets and the screen is coated with shatter-proof film coating. The borders of the tablet have been designed in a way to not obstruct side viewing.

The tablet houses the 1.5 GHz Krait Quad-core processor and the Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064 chipset. The tablet runs on 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and can be upgraded to 4.2 Jelly Bean. It is available with 16/32 GB internal memory, which can further be upgraded up to 64 GB. The company has maintained the camera technology on the tablet. The tablet houses 8.1 MP Exmor R primary camera and a 2.1 MP secondary camera for video chatting. The phone offers features such as Superior Auto, geo-tagging, Exmor R for mobile image sensor,

HDR for both picture/film, continue burst mode, scene recognition, sweep panorama, smile detection, face detection and touch focus.  Superior Auto automatically adjusts the shooting profile depending on the shot that is being taken. Additional features include face unlock, screenshot capturing, wake-up mode, screen mirroring, throw feature, TV side view and remote control application. The throw feature allows users to automatically connect and play mobile content on any devices that can be connected to the phone via screen mirroring, DLNA or Bluetooth. Face Unlock allows users to place their face in front of their phones to unlock the photo. The company has not yet announced pricing of the tablet.

The information for the detailed table about the two phones has been taken from the Asus website, Sony Mobile website and GSMArena.com.

Image Courtesy: asus.com, sonymobile.com