At an event in Milan this morning, ASUS made official the PadFone 2 – the tablet/phone combo device that looks to improve on its predecessor while continuing the goal of providing "incredible mobile flexibility." ASUS touts a redesign of both the phone and tablet elements, the integration of which appears to be much more elegant than the original, with the phone sliding vertically into the back of the tablet, ditching the clumsy door of the original PadFone for a sleek dock.

In its release, ASUS emphasizes the PadFone combo's battery first and foremost among its otherwise amped up specs. The PadFone 2 carries a 2140mAh pack, while the tablet component offers an impressive 5,000mAh that should keep things running for quite a while. That capacity is a tiny bit smaller than the original PadFone's whopping 6,600mAh, probably because the tablet's body has been slimmed significantly to 649g.

Here's a quick rundown of the PadFone 2's other specs:

  • Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor at 1.5GHz
  • 2GB RAM
  • 4.7" HD Super IPS+ display at 1280x720 (that's 312 ppi) for the phone
  • 10.1" IPS display at 1280x800 for the tablet station
  • 13 MP "high-performance" camera capable of 6 shots per second
  • Free 50GB ASUS WebStorage space for two years
  • Android 4.0.4 (which ASUS explains will be "upgradeable to Jelly Bean shortly")

Overall, the PadFone 2 looks like a decently-spec'ed phone, and the tablet station could prove to be handy for those that want just one device experience.

As for availability, ASUS says the PadFone 2 will be available "before the end of 2012" in Europe (Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden), and Asia (HK, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and UAE). Other countries are expected to be announced "at a later date." While ASUS' Milan release doesn't specify pricing, Engadget reports that Taiwanese customers can expect to pay about NT$17,990 to NT$21,901 for the phone itself (the price is varied for the 16, 32, or 64GB capacities), with an additional NT$6,000 for the tablet station.

For the full press release, just check below.

Live Life Intuitively with ASUS PadFone™ 2

The latest Smartphone technology features incredible battery life and a thinner, lighter

PadFone™ 2 Station to deliver the ultimate mobile flexibility.

Milan, Italy (October 16, 2012) ASUS, a global leader in the new digital era, today announces the PadFone™ 2. Building upon the successful PadFone combination of an Android smartphone and dockable tablet for incredible mobile flexibility, PadFone 2 features the latest quad-core smartphone technology and a completely redesigned tablet.

ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih unveiled the PadFone 2 at a world-wide press conference in Milan, Italy. “Our relentless drive to innovate through Design Thinking has empowered us to create PadFone 2. It’s beautiful, it’s fast, it’s seamless and, best of all, it’s intuitive,” said Mr. Shih.

PadFone 2 is a fully featured 4.7” Android™ smartphone with industry-leading specifications that docks with the unique PadFone 2 Station to become a lightweight, but fully featured, 10.1” tablet. Apps are seamlessly optimized on-the-fly to support both tablet and phone modes, with an instant transition between smartphone and tablet screen sizes.

Portability with Power to Spare

ASUS’ world-renowned Design Thinking philosophy has significantly reduced PadFone 2 Station’s thickness and weight. At just 649g, the combined weight of both PadFone 2 and PadFone 2 Station is now lighter than most tablets on the market, and the dock mechanism has been redesigned to require just one easy dock or undock action. PadFone 2 has also been subtly refined to increase its screen size to 4.7”, while reducing its maximum thickness to 9mm and weight to just 135g.

Battery life is astounding, too. The higher-capacity PadFone 2 2140mAh battery provides up to 16 hours 3G talk-time and 13 hours Wi-Fi web browsing, while PadFone 2 Station’s 5000mAh battery provides up to 36 hours of 3G talk-time. PadFone 2 Station’s internal battery also has enough capacity to fully recharge the docked PadFone 2 up to three times.

Smartphone, Smarter Performance

A 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM ensures incredible PadFone 2 performance in both smartphone and tablet modes. The new 4.7” 1280 x 720 HD Super IPS+ display uses scratch-resistant Corning® Fit Glass and delivers sharp, detailed images with accurate colors, ultra-wide viewing angles and 550 nits brightness for stunning outdoor visibility.

A new 13-megapixel high-performance camera captures incredibly detailed images with no shutter lag. Burst mode can capture up to 100 shots at a blisteringly quick six shots per second, while simultaneously recording 1080p HD video at 30fps, or 720p HD video at 60fps. Low-light performance is also enhanced by the wide f/2.4 aperture and a dedicated image signal processor. Both PadFone 2 and PadFone 2 Station feature superlative sound quality too, thanks to ASUS SonicMaster technology and audio tuning by Waves, recipient of a Technical GRAMMY Award® for audio design.

Easy to Share, Easy to Save

With capacities up to 64GB and 50GB of ASUS WebStorage provided free for two years, PadFone 2 offers endless possibilities for storing data. Data syncing between devices is also a thing of the past, since PadFone 2 storage is used by PadFone 2 Station when the two are connected. Shared mobile data connectivity between smartphone and tablet also means just one data plan is needed for both devices, while support for up to 42Mbit/s DC-HSPA+ and 100Mbit/s LTE delivers super-fast web browsing and downloads.

User-friendly enhancements

PadFone 2 also features a new version of the SuperNote app that instantly converts handwritten notes made in multiple languages into editable text. Its Instant Translation tool also translates any word, phrase or sentence in an email, web page or app at a touch, without the need for a third-party translation tool.

Availability

PadFone 2 will be launched before the end of 2012 in Europe (Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden) and Asia (Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, U.A.E). Availability in other countries will be announced at a later date.