Asus will soon launch Padfone Infinity and FonePad. The Padfone Infinity is the third generation device in the Padfone series, and is a smartphone with an integrated docking tablet. The key upgrade in Padfone Infinity to its predecessor is the use of QCOM’s Snapdragon 600 Quad-core CPU (1.7GHz), and larger 5″ display. FonePad is a 7” tablet with 3G voice (i.e., phone) functionality, but is more akin to a tablet, in our view. FonePad is Asus’ challenge to Phablets.
The convergence of consumer PC, tablets, and smartphone purchases is pushing Asus to press on with a smartphone strategy. Its Padfone Infinity is certainly a step in the right direction, and is its high-end offering. Asus’s target remains 1.0 mn smartphone shipments in 2013, compared with a few hundred thousand per quarter per model in 2012
Asus argues NEXUS 7 has given it closer ties with Google to improve time-to-market of product development, but also supply chain advantages (i.e. marketing and procurement).