Tired of watching movies and browsing websites on your phone’s miniscule screen? Do you wish that that you could plug it into a bigger display and navigate your phone on that same display? Well, apparently somebody is and does, because AsusTeK is marketing a product that does exactly that. Due to release in April, it’s called the Padfone, and it consists of a high-end smartphone that can plug into a tablet dock. This dock boosts the phone’s battery life and provides much more screen real estate. It looks to revolutionize the smartphone market the way their Transformer series did for tablets. But will it gain even a fraction of the acclaim that its tablet brethren did? Actually, I think Asus’s attempt at mad genius might very well pay off.

ASUS Padfone hardware:

First of all, the hardware is there. The phone itself comes packing with an incredibly powerful 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, up to 64 GB of storage, a super AMOLED display, and a front and rear camera duo, the latter of which is 8 Mega-Pixels, has autofocus, and comes with a flash. This phone was not at all scraped together from parts they had lying around on the floor; it looks like a very high-quality build. On top of that, it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which offers the very latest features. It’s sure to resonate with consumers the same way that the Transformer Prime did.

Increased battery life:

Next, Asus has given consumers a good reason to actually use the tablet dock it comes with: increased battery life. With many complaining of poor battery life on smartphones, including our own Anthony Munns, everyone is clamoring for more juice. The Padfone’s dock provides it’s own internal battery to boost that of the phone. And if that’s not enough, consumers can purchase an additional keyboard dock to enhance the battery even further. Asus claims that the battery life will increase five-fold with the tablet dock, and nine-fold with the keyboard dock in addition to the tablet dock. That’s quite a bit of power to be wielded.

Minor bug bears:

That’s not to say that Asus has done everything absolutely right. Engadget complains of the tablet dock’s girth and weight, and I personally would have liked the tablet to be compatible with the Transformer and/or Transformer Prime docks. There’s also the objection that Motorola has done similar things with its phones, and they haven’t exactly set the world on fire. Ultimately, though, I feel that Asus’s Padfone will carve out a significant chunk of the market simply because of it’s build quality, and Asus’s sensitivity to it’s customer’s needs and wants.

So what is the ASUS Padfone release date? Who knows just yet, but we will keep you posted.

I have been a proud owner of an Asus Transformer since this past summer.

I love everything about it and all that Android has to offer.

However, I recently received the much anticipated ICS update, and I realized that something is missing. Everything was running smoothly after the update and I was in Android heaven when I suddenly realized that the face unlock feature was not there!

I immediately went to the web to discover that l could not find an Android tablet running standard ICS that did have the face unlock feature. Many people are very disappointed, as the face unlock is one of the highlight features in the ICS operating system.

I myself was disappointed and frustrated. I couldn’t wait to show off the face unlock technology to all my friends. I did a little poking around in the new OS to see what I could find and stumbled across the “missing” face unlock. it was under the programs list on the device.

ASUS ICS Face Unlock:

I did more research to find that the application was being hidden on purpose from users. Many people are speculating on the reason for the “missing” face unlock.

One claim is that Google has chosen to hide the feature on tablets because of a major security flaw that the unlock presents. A picture of a face is enough to unlock the device, without having the owner physically there.

A friend of mine could unlock my device by displaying a picture of my face to the camera. Another rumor is that the feature will become available in smaller, future updates to tablets.

There are various other claims floating around the tech community but I myself feel that the reason is a combination of the two claims I presented above.

My guess is that Google saw the security flaw in earlier ICS phone updates and decided it would be most beneficial to just leave it out of tablets altogether until the flaw is fixed. Please share any information or personal speculations below!

With ASUS first showing the world their new Padfone in 2011 at the Computex IT conference in May of last year, the overall design and look was met with some pretty curious glares, such is its odd take on a smartphone and tablet.

Smartphone / Tablets way forward?

With the Samsung Galaxy Note being rather fondly taken into the bosom of many new owners, it seems that size could after all be everything, and with the talk of the new iPhone 5 being potentially somewhat larger in the screen department, this size thing seems to be catching.

Larger screen can mean a larger battery win-win?

In all honesty there appears to be another benefit for going super size when it comes to smartphones and mobile devices, and that is the ability to place in a much larger battery and stop those annoying smartphone battery life moaners from telling all and sundry how blighted they are with their inept devices that they expect to last for 15 days through hell and high water on one charge.

So how does this actual device work?

The new Padfone from ASUS will bring together a marriage of two devices, which both run on the Android operating system, and which when combined will share common features such as internet connection, battery and storage.

The device will only need one SIM with the phone acting like a normal smartphone, but with the addition of a 10.1 inch mobile tablet monitor which makes it into a tablet in essence.

In a similar vain to the ASUS transformer prime, a docking system will allow you to connect the two together at the back of the case, giving you a much larger screen option when needed, with the screen making use of the phones 3G connection when it needs to and also offering itself as a battery charger, a pretty neat set of functions, and one which does sate many general needs and wants of modern mobile users.

Easily shift between phone and tablet:

With data synchronisation happening seamlessly, it appears that the devices sync automatically with screen layouts getting adopted across both devices.

Ice Cream Sandwich Android operating system:

It appears that the device will launch with Android’s newest Ice Cream Sandwich operating system already installed, and will utilise an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, it will be intriguing to see how this new smartphone-come-tablet is received by the attendees at MWC and what the biggest people to win over will have to say about the padfone, the general public!

Looks pretty sweet though I must say.

The Android ICS 4.0 upgrade has not been without problems for many devices, so it is perhaps good news that the earlier release of the ASUS Eee pad will now bring ICS but slightly later than the troubled Transformer Prime ICS update which is now seeing refunds being offered to certain users who have had issues with the upgrade and want tehir money back here in the UK.

We now hear that owners of the ASUS Eee pad will get their ICS update sometime in February with a report that the middle of the month is likely.

With ASUS promising an update this month, there are no hard statements from the company as to the specific dates of the update but according to a report on Electronista, it looks likely that mid February will see the update being released to owners.

In a reply on their facebook account to the question:

When will ICS be available for The original Transformer? Cant wait any longer!

ASUS North America replied:

Sorry for the confusion, HQ told me this morning it is looking more like mid-February for ICS on the TF101. The Slider update will come after the Transformer.

Ice Cream Sandwich update:

Once finalised and finally delivered it is expected that the new operating system will bring speed efficiency to the overall user experience and the UI as well as a new interface to use the device on.

We do hope that the ASUS Transformer Prime Ice Cream Sandwich Problems are not replicated on this earlier ASUS tablet device and that the extra time offered this upgrade will iron out issues before a full release is expected in February.

The update is expected pretty soon for Wi-Fi only devices but is not expected to be a quite as dramatic an improvement as the update delivers for Android smartphone owners, but assuming all is smooth and there are no huge issues with the update it looks like a worthy move to get your tablet up to speed with the new Android operating system.

Let us know how things go when it finally gets unleashed!

We have covered the issue of the Quad Core ASUS transformer prime Ice Cream Sandwich update problems and issues using 3G, and WiFi freezes on the device before this article (as well as pretty much every other Android device that has gone for the ICS update), so what has changed in the UK to warrant an update for owners of the relatively new ASUS device?

ASUS UK offer refunds:

Well, it appears that ASUS in the UK have dug deep and now come up with a pretty fair package, if your unhappy with your Transformer Prime, simply take it back for a full refund.

You can not say fairer than this but it has been at the cost of lots of friction and perhaps a tarnished reputation for ASUS in the UK as the Ice Cream Sandwich update has just been a total disaster for so many, there have been apologies from ASUS, attempts to fix the problems, and now a promise of a full refund if you are indeed pi***ed off with the ICS update plague.

As an Apple owner there is a rule to never ever get an iTunes update or Mac O/S update straight away, it is not that Android is inherently buggy, it is just that the fragmentation of the Android marketplace leaves much more room for errors on differing devices, and the first releases of new O/S’s may well (as can be seen) have many issues that need resolving over a short period, despite testing prior to release.

ASUS offer extended warranty:

ASUS are going one step further though and if you wish to keep your device they will now extend their warranty to 18 months in order to alleviate any worries that may surface now or after with this crappy update!

It seems like Ice Cream Sandwich has plagued many device owners on an upgrade, and the ASUS transformer prime is no exception, but we have good news.

Yes, it appears that they are close to getting a working solution to the problems that have persisted so far, as the device was given the update OTA (over the air) the problems that occurred seemed to be where serial numbers were not being recognized, and as a result the update was not completing.

Fix to the problem of ICS:

Electronista are saying that you should simply do a factory reset to sort the problem out and wait for the ASUS update that should resolve these problems.

Various ROMs are available on the XDA forums as you would expect after the initial OTA release.

It does appear that ASUS have been using the XD forums to help debug this issue and from what I can gather it looks likely that a solution will be winging its way to device owners pretty damn soon.

So while you can go on at Motorola for being a bit crap with this ICS release, some would say that the late Motorola Xoom Ice Cream Sandwich Update which was expected sooner, could at least work properly when it arrives….so who was wiser, Motorola for waiting a while till a full release, or ASUS for getting it out quickly but facing a bad rep for it not being fully tested?

I will pass that over to you guys!

With the release of the ASUS transformer prime tablet only just occurring for US consumers, it appears that ASUS are already looking at delivering an upgrade, so what will they be changing on their Ice Cream Sandwich tablet?

Problems associated with original ASUS Transformer Prime Tablet:

With occasional issues reported for US buyers of the tablet in relation to WiFi and GPS, some are wondering if now would be a good time to wait for the actual full on improvement to the tablet.

CES unveils upgrade plans:

So what would you be getting if you decided to wait for the upgrades to actual manifest themselves and appear on the shelves?

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• Fixes to the problems mentioned above
• Higher resolution to 1920 x 1200
• Front facing camera upgraded to 2 megapixel

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On top of this, owners of existing ASUS transformer primes will be able to update their device to Ice Cream Sandwich via OTA, which was due to go live on the 12th of January, but has been brought forward a couple of days and is now offered as an OTA update right now..

So with all this news of updates are you happy that ASUS do not seem to be hanging about with key upgrades to the Transformer Prime Tablet?

Or, do you get a bit annoyed when devices you buy are almost immediately made into yesterdays news?…compensation…?

Such is the way of technology I am afraid.

I think it is great that ASUS are on the ball and sharp with this update and the improvement to their devices, if there is a problem, fix it. If there is not a a problem do not mess, simple!

This news will be a nice break from ASUS v HASBRO news that has been washing the internet with more litigation talk about the use of certain terms in their products.

Are you in the market for an ASUS Transformer Prime tablet? If so, tell us why?

It is thought that ASUS will be revealing a new mini version of the Asus transformer prime tablet that currently sees them under scrutiny from Hasbro over the use of the words “transformer” and “prime”.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this month in Las Vegas will see the arrival of many new models and it is expected that it will be the showcase of the new ASUS transformer mini.

The new version is thought to be a 7 inch model of the 10 inch version, which will come with a smaller keyboard dock, the signature of the Asus Transformer Prime.

Asus want to be big in 2012 and distinctive:

There is expected to be a few other arrivals at the CES show and these include:

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• Asus Padfone, a 4.3-inch Ice Cream Sandwich based smartphone which has the ability to turn into a tablet via a 10.1-inch touchscreen dock.
• 7-inch version of the Eee Memo Pad, with a rumoured 1.2 Ghz Snapdragon processor, 1280×800 resolution display, with Wi-Fi and 3G options.

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Will they keep the transformer name?

With Hasbro genuinely unhappy about the choice of names of the Asus transformer tablet, it may be unwise to carry on this potential legal disaster to another model even though in my eyes it seems pretty far fetched that they would have a leg to stand on, I am no lawyer and would not be the best person to pontificate on any outcome here, so if I was Asus, airing on the side of caution would be my instinct, especially as the transformers brand is growing from strength to strength currently.

Hasbro filed the action to sue in a LA court stating that the use of the term could lead to consumer confusion, and has requested that compensation be paid for damages related to the use of the term in current and future products.

Can the word “transformer” really be trademarked/patented/copyrighted?

Are you a lawyer in this field in the US?

If so, please do shed some light on the issue if you are, as it seems far fetched to me.

Barbara Finigan, Hasbro’s chief legal officer, said in a statement.

“Hasbro continues to aggressively protect its brands and products and the specific actions we are taking today against Asus underscores yet again Hasbro’s willingness to pursue companies who misappropriate our intellectual property for their own financial gain….the Transformers property is an incredibly popular global brand which enjoys tremendous fan support and interest around the world. The action we have announced today is in the best interests of our company and our shareholders.”

So like Apple, they are not taking things lightly and I am actually really excited to see what the outcome will be on this one.

Though if I was Asus I would counter sue Hasbro for making my new line of tablets sound like they are a kids toy….we had all pretty much forgotten the name until recently!…How rude Hasbro how rude.

HASBRO will sue ASUS over what they believe is a copycat name from their famous 1980’s television series.

We all remember the transformers cartoons from the 1980’s and the new variations on a theme, though you may not be aware that the toy firm HASBRO owns the transformers brand and line, and they have not been too happy that ASUS have decided to release a “transformer” tablet model and even worse in their eyes, added the term “Prime” onto the end.

So with the slightly random ASUS Transformer Prime release schedule rolling out in the US, we examine what areas HASBRO have issues with.

Yes, Optimus prime was the leader of the transformers, who battled the decepticons in every episode, using their ingenious and thoroughly outrageous method of “transforming”.

HASBRO are quoted saying:

“The specific actions we are taking today against Asus underscores yet again Hasbro’s willingness to pursue companies who misappropriate our intellectual property for their own financial gain.”

How they actually hope to prove that the word “transformer” and “prime” will have any benefit to ASUS driven from the television series or any detriment to HASBRO or the brand “Transformers” is beyond me, unless they own the copyright to very commonly used words, which they do not, then I see no way of this holding up and is seemingly an exercise in futility.

Can HASBRO really sue though?

Well they can always have go, the only real leg they have to stand on, is if they could prove that buyers of the new tablet could for one minute be under the belief that they were buying a licensed product in the ASUS Transformer Prime tablet, but it would seem a little far fetched that they would ever get anywhere as they both operate in such different markets. With ASUS hardly copying anything other than two words that are in common use anyway, but….the ASUS Transformer Prime can go from Tablet PC into Laptop in a few small moves, exactly like Optimus prime did, well…dont be stupid, its a sodding computer not a kids toy (arguably I suppose).

HASBRO you risk looking more ridiculous than if you just kept your nose out of this issue, as I see no benefit from starting another legal war related to mobile technology….spare us more of these stories for 2012 please.

Well you will not be the only one, as shipments of the new tablet have been delayed meaning that retailers such as BestBuy are holding back on offering the model for delivery, so you may now see words such as “coming soon”, which appears to have altered since they offered the device for sale prior to the delivery issues.

Demand still very high:

With the ASUS Transformer Prime being so in demand, many who have pre ordered or purchased in the hope of a quick delivery will be somewhat disappointed, but as we have found, most people understand that on release of new models, these things happen!

However it does appear that those who ordered at pre-order stage may have had some luck in receiving their ASUS Transformer Prime under the tree before Christmas, but people who were at the latter stage in ordering may have been a touch unlucky and will have to wait a little longer.

ASUS confirm shipping:

A spokesperson for ASUS has confirmed that the first release was on the way into U.S partner stores, and more will be available and shipped as and when possible over the next few weeks.

“ASUS started shipment of units to our partners last week and supply will escalate quickly over the next couple of weeks.”

Some orders cancelled:

There are stories of some retailers cancelling pre orders due to the high demand, so some lucky people will have got the first releases, but others will have to wait a while and perhaps order again.

BestBuy sell the ASUS Transformer Prime, but it appears that you can only order the exclusive Gray model currently, and this, we assume, may only last a limited amount of time until stocks run out again.

While others have been successful with their order of the ASUS prime from BestBuy, we can see now that it says “coming soon” so they must have run out of stock of the normal model.

Amazon taking orders:

Amazon are said to be:

“taking orders for the next shipment of the Transformer Prime but this batch won’t ship until four to seven weeks later, which will be well into 2012.”

We can currently see that various models are still available at a price on Amazon, with other pre-order models looking at some 4-6 weeks delivery wait.

ASUS Transformer Prime set to be record breaker:

Jonney Shih, ASUS CEO has said of the new model and tablet PC’s in general that they expect to sell upward of 3 million tablet PC’s in 2012 with a hope that they may sell 6 million if things go well and the prime proves to be such a hit. With the ASUS Prime having that unique offering of a keyboard and battery dock (optional extras), it is hoped that this model may appeal to an even wider set of people than a pure tablet.

And with the arrival of Windows 8 in 2012, Jonney Shih has said they are going to be releasing the Transformer prime with the new O/S.

Exciting times for ASUS, so what are your stories on getting hold of this cool looking new tablet PC?

At last many will be happy that the ASUS transformer prime tablet is finally on sale on BestBuy, and you can pick the item up for $499.

And owners who have already bought it are saying that the tablet is ultra responsive, perhaps a bit ugly, but great that it also includes an SD card slot.

Amazon taking orders:

The model for sale on BestBuy is a Gray 32GB tablet, and when I looked shipping was “coming soon”, the device will currently come with Honeycomb 3.2 as your operating system, but an Ice Cream Sandwich update is to follow soon.

In terms of accessories, a keyboard dock will not be included but you can always look to buy these other things later on.

What you will get with your order:

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• Weighs only 1.3 lbs. and measures just 0.3″ thin: For lightweight portability. Sensors include G-sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, E-compass and GPS.
• Digital media card reader: Supports microSD cards and microSDHC formats for storing or transferring media.
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR: Easily link with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or MP3 player.
• Preloaded apps: Includes Android Market, YouTube, Google Search and more.
• Built-in 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN: Connect to the Internet without wires.
• Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system: Along with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, a 667MHz system bus and a 1MB L2 cache allows you to stay connected and productive on the go.
• 1GB LPDDR2 memory: For multitasking power.
• 10.1″ LED-backlit touch-screen display: With IPS technology and 1280 x 800 resolution showcases movies and games in stunning clarity. Gorilla glass screen provides durability.
• Built-in 1.2MP webcam: Makes it easy to video chat with family and friends. The rear-facing 8.0MP camera with autofocus allows you to capture and play back video.
• NVIDIA Tegra 3 graphics: For lush images. Micro HDMI output for connection to an HDTV.

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Please let us know what you think of the device if you have bought it already, or when you do.