IFA 2013: Asus hands-ons

Introduction

The Asus team was thinking big when they planned their IFA lineup - and by that we mean they brought only phablets and tablets, all powered by Android. They cover the high-end with a brand new Transformer Pad, but also a number of smaller and more affordable devices.

Asus Transformer Pad TF710T

The Transformer Pad TF701T continues the line's tablet-laptop duality with a refreshed version of the QWERTY dock. The new Pad really is a +1 compared to the TF700T - it has a higher resolution screen (2560 x 1600) and faster chipset (Tegra 3).

Asus Transformer Pad TF701T at a glance

• Form factor: 10.1" tablet with detachable keyboard dock
• Dimensions: 263 x 180.8 x 8.9mm, 585g
• Dock dimensions: 263 x 180.8 x 7mm, 570g
• Display: 10.1" IGZO IPS touchscreen with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution (299ppi)
• Chipset: Tegra 4 T40X; quad-core Cortex-A15 at 1.9GHz, 72-core GeForce GPU, 2GB RAM
• OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
• Camera: 5MP camera with F/2.4 aperture; 1.2MP front-facing camera
• Video camera: 1080p video capture with main camera, 720p with front-facing
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n with Miracast, Bluetooth 3.0, HDMI with UHD video out, full-size USB 3.0 port on dock
• Storage: 32/64GB built-in, microSD card slot in tablet; full-size SDXC in dock
• Battery: 31Wh in tablet (13 hours of battery life), 16Wh in dock (extra 4 hours)

Then there are the MeMO Pad twins - 10" and 8" tablets - which offer a more accessible alternative to the Transformer Pad. They share most of their specs, except the screen, battery and back camera. All you have to decide when choosing between the two is how big a tablet you want.

Asus MeMO Pads

Asus MeMO Pad 8 and 10 at a glance

• Dimensions, Pad 10: 256 x 174.6 x 10.5mm, 522g
• Dimensions, Pad 8: 212.4 x 127.4 x 10mm, 350g
• Display: 10.1 / 8 inch IPS LCD with 1280 x 800 resolution
• Chipset: 1.6GHz quad-core processor
• OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
• Camera, Pad 10: 2MP main, 1.2MP front-facing
• Camera, Pad 8: 5MP main, 1.2MP front-facing
• Video camera, both: 720p
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB 2.0, A-GPS with GLONASS
• Storage: 8GB, 16GB version for Pad 10 only; microSD card slot
• Battery, Pad 10: 5,070mAh
• Battery, Pad 8: 3,950mAh
• Misc: dual speakers with Sonic Master tech

Then there's the smallest tablet today, the Fonepad 7. As the name suggests, it supports full voice call functionality. Other than that, it's a 7" Android 4.2 tablet powered by an Intel Atom chipset.

Asus Fonepad 7 at a glance

• Dimensions: 196.8 x 120 x 10.5mm, 340g
• Display: 7" IPS LCD with 1280 x 800 resolution
• Chipset: Intel Atom Z2560; dual-core CPU at 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM
• OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
• Camera: 5MP main, 1.2MP front-facing
• Video camera: 1080p
• Connectivity: voice call support, quad-band 2G, quad-band 3G with DC-HSPA+ (42Mbps down, 5.76Mbps up); Wi-Fi b/g/n with Miracast, Bluetooth 3.0
• Storage: 8/16/32GB built in, expandable with microSD card slot
• Battery: 3,950mAh
• Misc: dual speakers with Sonic Master tech

The Asus Fonepad Note 6 phablet also made an appearance, though technically it's not new. It has a sharp 6" 1080p screen and shoots 1080p video with its 8MP camera. It also packs a stylus and two front speakers.

Asus Fonepad 7

Asus Fonepad Note 6 at a glance

• Dimensions: 164.8 x 88.8 x 10.3mm, 210g
• Display: 6" Super IPS+ touchscreen with 1080p resolution (367ppi)
• Chipset: Intel Atom Z2580; dual-core CPU at 2GHz, 2GB RAM
• OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
• Camera: 8MP main, 1.2MP front-facing
• Video camera: 1080p
• Connectivity: voice call support, quad-band 2G, quad-band 3G, DC-HSPA+ (42Mbps down, 5.76Mbps up); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB 2.0; A-GPS with GLONASS
• Storage: 16/32GB built-in, expandable with microSD card slot
• Battery: 3,200mAh Li-Po
• Misc: dual front speakers with Sonic Master tech

Phew, that's a lot of devices. Let's start from the top - the Asus Transformer Pad TF701T - and we'll work our way down the chain.