14 DAY TRIAL // The Padfone S was officially released by Asus last year in October, and it's still available for purchase for around $275. The tablet/smartphone hybrid was initially launched in Malaysia, but it's now available in more countries where Asus sells its products.
However, Asus has decided that the Padfone S can't compete successfully with other smartphones in the same price range, so a new version of the hybrid will be released this week.
The Padfone S Plus has been confirmed on a Malaysian retailer Facebook page and will be officially released in Malaysia on April 8. As the name suggests, this is the beefed-up version of the Padfone S, which isn't that old either.
The price will be higher too, but not by much. Asus announced that Padfone S Plus wouldn't cost more than $300, but that remains to be seen when the smartphone goes on sale.
Moving on to specs, Asus Padfone S Plus sports a 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution and features Corning Gorilla Glass coating.
Lots of optional accessories will be available as well
On the inside, the smartphone is equipped with a rather obsolete quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.3GHz, which is complemented by 3GB of RAM and no less than 64GB of internal memory.
If the amount of storage is not enough for you, then you will be pleased to know that Padfone S Plus comes with microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 128GB).
On the back, the smartphone features a 13-megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus and 4K video recording, while in the front there's a secondary 2-megapixel camera for video calls and selfies.
Connectivity-wise, the Padfone S Plus provides a wide range of options, including 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC (Near Field Communication), microUSB with SlimPort support and GPS with AGPS.
Asus Padfone S Plus will be powered by a 2,300 mAh battery, but keep in mind that you will be able to dock it for extra battery life. Wireless charging has been implemented as well.