ASUS at CES 2014: ROG 27” 1440p 120Hz G-Sync Monitor, Tablets, Smartphones, and a new Transformer Book
by Ian Cutress on January 6, 2014 3:30 PM ESTNew at CES: the ASUS PadFone Mini
The range of PadFone/FonePad from ASUS has been something of a small revolution in terms of having the adaptive device on the go. The current PadFone 2 uses a 4.7” phone that slots into a 10.1” tablet to provide a larger working surface for media consumption and extra battery, whereas the PadFone Infinity has a 5” HD phone with a 10” full HD tablet. ASUS is announcing today the PadFone mini, striking cues from other ‘mini’ branded products in the market – this is a 4 inch smartphone that slots into a 7 inch tablet.
The 4” smartphone is powered by the Intel Atom Z2560 (dual core with hyperthreading) at 1.6 GHz and 8 GB of internal storage, with a microSD slot on hand for another 64 GB. Initially it will ship with Android 4.3, but this will be updated to KitKat/4.4 in due course – ASUS will also apply its own ZenUI on top of Android. The battery is a non-removable 1170 mAH polymer battery, powering an 800x480 IPS+ screen – the tablet segment will give another 2100 mAH battery life while powering a 1280x800 screen.
Other specifications include dual micro-SIM capability, 1GB LPDDR2, support up to DC-HSPA+, a Sony BSI 8MP f/2.0 main camera with a 2MP front camera, 802.11 b/g/n, BT 4.0 and a weight of 116g. The tablet section will add an additional 260g, and both units will be available in a choice of colors.
New at CES: the ASUS ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 6
Also in the spirit of attaching numbers relating to the size of the product, ASUS is going for a more mid-range market with the ZenFone series in their new 4 inch, 5 inch and 6 inch formats.
All the models will be running Intel Atom processors, have IPS panels, microSD card slots, Android 4.3 and one of the marketed features of this lineup is ASUS’ ZenUI to increase the user experience. This features the Omlet Chat client for messaging and improved stock Android apps such as email.
No word on release date or pricing as of yet.
| ASUS ZenFone Range | |||
| ZenFone 4 | ZenFone 5 | ZenFone 6 | |
| CPU |
Intel Atom Z2520 1.2 GHz 2C/4T |
Intel Atom Z2580 2.0 GHz 2C/4T |
Intel Atom Z2580 2.0 GHz 2C/4T |
| Screen Size | 4" TFT | 5" IPS | 6" IPS |
| Resolution | 800x480 | 1280x720 | 1280x720 |
| Android | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Android 4.4 | Soon | Soon | Soon |
| DC-HSPA+ | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LTE / 4G | No | No | No |
| DRAM | 1GB LPDDR2 | 1GB LPDDR2 | 1GB LPDDR2 |
| Rear Camera | 5MP | 8MP | 13MP |
| Front Camera | 0.3 MP | 2MP | 2MP |
| Battery | 1170 mAh | 2050 mAh | 3230 mAh |
| MicroSD | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions | 124.4x61.4x11.2-6.3 mm | 148.2x72.8x10.3-5.5mm | 166.9x84.3x9.9-5.5 mm |
| Weight | 115g | 144g | 200g |
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TheJian - Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - link
No, we are conditioned to pay higher prices for two reasons. The products is actually better, or it's a brand new tech everyone wants (sometimes both reasons I guess, like here).$600 is reasonable to you, but if it sells out, nobody agrees with you right? Having said that, I'll wait for at least 4-5 brands competing because I refuse to be the 1st adopter that gets raped :) Once the shine wears off (next xmas) I'll have tons of choices and much better NON 1st adopter pricing. I paid $600 for a 24 in 2007 and $900 for my Viewsonic PT813 years before (at OEM pricing, because I bought it to DEMO as a reseller you could do this legally, saved $200 or so). So I'm ok with the price, I just want something else and more models to choose from. I'm hoping for 2560x1600. I hate wide crap for games or web pages. I want 16:10 and maybe a shot at 30in for $1000 for xmas (or I hope top end $700 27in, but I'd pay $800 for 16:10 27in).
TheJian - Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...Lowest price of a brand I recognize (acer) is $500. You'd have to GIVE me a Korean monitor to get me to use one. I don't find that junk appealing, nor will I Ebay a monitor :) I still can't believe Ryan thought that was a good idea in 2012 660ti article...ROFL. Catleap's etc from some guy on Ebay? My Visa# to that guy? ROFL. Whatever...To this day he's still pushing this crap as a res tons of people use (lies) and they still are 2% of the market for 1440p+ combined (all resolutions at or above this). It hasn't changed.
euler007 - Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - link
Don't mind the price tag, will order as soon as it is in stock.WaitingForNehalem - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
This is my dream monitor! Could not care less about the dime-a-dozen mobile products.Sabresiberian - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
I'm actually a little miffed at Asus for not making Windows phones. I mean, I've spent plenty of money on their products for Windows computers, I'd like them to support me in the rest of their devices as well! (I'm not buying a tablet. Sorry, a smart phone is as close as I ever plan to get there - maybe a solution that happens to be convertible, but no outright tablets for me.)I'd love to see a serious Asus design of a Windows phone. They don't always hit the mark with their products, but they are always interesting.
dragonsqrrl - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Looks like THE g-sync monitor to get. It's everything everyone's been asking for.Jodiuh - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Ummm...no mention of panel type? 1400P + 120hz + Gsync mean nothing if this is a TN.Friendly0Fire - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Precisely. If this is IPS, it's my dream panel. If it's TN, it better have fantastic picture quality and viewing angles or you just lost me.efeman - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Very unlikely that it'll be IPS. Maybe VA or PLS, either of which would be nice. But more than likely it's TN, for a product like this at that price.sandineyes - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
I've never heard of a 1440p 27inch panel that wasn't either IPS, PLS, or AHVA, and $800 bucks is pretty average for such a display. The G-sync and 120Hz might make it seem like it should be more, but my guess is that as a gaming monitor, it won't have any fancy features like hardware calibration support or factory calibration presets (because obviously gamers care nothing for image quality, right?). There have also been some 28 inch 4k displays announced for around this price, so I imagine that might have an influence on pricing as well.