Showing posts with label you. Show all posts
Showing posts with label you. Show all posts
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Best Mobile Phones 2013 10 best smartphones you can buy
Best smartphones, mobile phones, phones. Whatever you call them they all share the same thing. They’re the hottest kind of tech. They sell millions, and make billions.
The first thing is to decide the platform you want to side with. There’s the iPhone and its iOS software, there’s the Android phones by Google, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 and – new kid on the block – BlackBerry 10.
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They’re also the gadgets many of us are willing to spend the most cash on. Did you know that a high-end phone on contract can end up costing you over a thousand pounds?
It’s best to make sure you’re making the right choice before committing to a phone. We’re here to help you.
The first thing is to decide the platform you want to side with. There’s the iPhone and its iOS software, there’s the Android phones by Google, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 and – new kid on the block – BlackBerry 10.
iOS offers the best apps and games, Android the most fiddling potential. Windows Phone 8 is the slickest and BlackBerry 10 is on hand for those who want something a bit different.
2013 has already been a big year for smartphones with the two iPhones, the Nokia Lumia 1020, new Android phones from Sony and Samsung, and with the Nexus 5 showing its possible to sell a top-end phone at a reasonable price.
Which would you pick from the current bunch? Rifling through the phone reviews that get the TrustedReviews seal of approval, check out our best mobile phones of 2013 so far.
10. Nokia Lumia 1020
It might not be the best all round smartphone, but if you are looking for a great cameraphone the Nokia Lumia 1020 definitely fits the bill. The 4.5-inch, Windows 8-running 1020 piles in some impressive photo-grabbing specs including a 41-megapixel PureView camera and a Xenon flash with LED focus light. Image results can compete with compact system cameras in the right conditions and can be viewed back on a punchy, colourful 1,280x768 resolution screen. Its only dual-core and does still suffer from a poor selection of Windows apps. But if you really want camera quality photos, then the Lumia 1020 is the handset to snap up.
Review price: £599
9. Sony Xperia M
If you want an Android smartphone, but dont want to spend a huge amount, the Xperia M is an excellent option. Its only £170 SIM-only or free on a £16 a month contract, so it wont break the bank. For your money you get a 4-inch phone with a dual-core, 1GHz processor. Naturally theres a microSD slot for expanding the storage, which is just as well as only 2GB is built-in. Overall, the Xperia M doesnt do any single thing amazingly, but the screen, design and performance are all just right for the price you pay.
Review price: £170
8. LG G2
The smartphone with the buttons on the back, the LG G2 sees the South Korean company make an impressive return to smartphone prominence. The 5.2-inch G2 features a full HD IPS edge-to-edge display, a 13-megapixel OIS (optical image stabilization) camera and a speedy Snapdragon 800 quad-core CPU. Moving the buttons to the rear and reducing the screen bezel frees up the extra screen estate to make the most of HD movie and video watching. The camera is good, but doesnt deliver Z1 or Lumia 1020-like images. The G2 delivers a strong overall package making it a great alternative to the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Price: £400
7. Sony Xperia Z1
Addressing the key issues with the Xperia Z, the Sony Xperia Z1 is one of the most powerful smartphones to currently get your hands on. The 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor delivers one of the slickest overall performances weve seen and the 3,000mAh battery gives the Z1 real staying power. A slightly curvier design makes the 5-inch smartphone more comfortable to hold and the added camera button makes it easier to take photos and video underwater. The improved 20.7-megapixel camera didn’t blow us away but is still one of the best smartphone snappers around. Look out Samsung and HTC, Sony is starting to get a hang of this smartphone-making business...
Review price: £550
6. Samsung Galaxy Note 3
King of the big phones, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is once again equipped with the excellent S-Pen stylus. Featuring a 5.7-inch 1080p Super AMOLED screen, the Note 3 is powered by a Snapdragon 800 2.3GHz CPU and has 32GB and 3GB of RAM to take care of multitasking. The key design change from the Note 2 is the leather-effect battery cover which is more cosmetic than adding anything in terms of comfort. There’s a 13-megapixel main camera to shoot photos on par with the S4, but the S Pen stylus is once again the star of the show and has more apps to utilize its stylus powers. If you are after a big screen phone to get creative with, this is the best to go for.
Review price: £619.99
5. Nokia Lumia 620
The Nokia Lumia 620 is the cheapest phone in our best mobile phone round-up, but it totally deserves to be in here. It costs only a shade over £150 SIM-free (as low as £14 a month on contract), but its many times better than the majority of Android phones at a similar price. Its 4-inch screen isnt high resolution, but the colours and contrast are very good. But what really marks the Lumia 620 out as a star is the excellent design and the very responsive performance for the price. If you want a basic smartphone without the typical smartphone price tag we cant think of a better phone to choose.
Review price: £150
4. Samsung Galaxy S4
The Galaxy S series has come to be seen as the pinnacle of Android, and with good reason. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a superb phone. It has a 13-megapixel camera, giant 1080p 5-inch display and quad-core processor (the 8-core version is not available in the UK.) In Samsung style, it has masses of extra software features including a fitness tracker, translator and eye tracking software that lets you scroll books and articles with just a gesture. Quite simply the Samsung Galaxy S4 is still one of the best Android phones to buy.
Review price: £579
3. HTC One
One of the most desirable phone of the year so far is the HTC One. And, yes, that includes the Samsung Galaxy S4. It has a sleek aluminium body that makes the top-end competition feel a little bit cheap. The HTC One also has a few other new HTC features. Top of the list are the UltraPixel camera and Blinkfeed, the star of the show of the new Sense UI. It’s sleeker and more stylish than the HTC Sense of old and – in our experience – it works better too.What’s not to like? The 4-megapixel camera doesn’t reap as detail-packed shots as its top rivals in bright sunlight, but it’ll win out in dim situations. If neither of the top two appeal to you, its the next best around.
Review price: £549
2. Google Nexus 5
If this was a round-up of the best value smartphones, the Nexus 5 would win hands down. At £300 for the 16GB version, the Nexus 5 is far better value than the iPhone 5S and Galaxy S4, or any other rival we can think of. Its Snapdragon 800 processor means its a match for the iPhones A7 processor, and its actually faster than the S4 and HTC One by dint of having the latest version of Qualcomms top-end processor. Elsewhere, we love the understated and practical design, the screen and the pure Android 4.4 experience with its improved interface. Where it falls down is in the battery life and camera departments. Neither are bad, but they dont quite match up to the iPhone 5S, which is why its only a narrow (but still excellent) second overall.
Review price: £300
1. iPhone 5S
The iPhone 5S continues Apples benchmark setting trend, though the gap between it and its rivals is as narrow as narrow can be. Keeping the same 4-inch Retina display found on the iPhone 5 and its replacement the iPhone 5C, the high grade aluminium phone is now available in gold and space grey colours. The most radical design change is the Touch ID fingerprint sensor situated in the home button to add an extra layer of security and convenience. The super-fast A7 processor is great, too, but its the camera that clinches things for the 5S. The new True-Tone LED flash leads to better shots with the flash enabled, while the infinite burst mode, slow-mo video, speedy app and outstanding HDR mode make using the iPhone 5S camera a joy.
Review price: £549
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Asus Padfone 2 vs Asus FonePad Which should you buy
With the Padfone 2 and the FonePad, Taiwanese manufacturer Asus has established itself as the master of the Android hybrid.
While Android smartphones continue to thrive and Android tablets - but for a few exceptions - continue to flounder, Asus has come up with a novel way to capitalise on the former and circumvent the latter.
Mash them both together.
However, Asus doesnt quite seem to have decided on a definitive format. Both the Asus Padfone 2 and the Asus FonePad combine key elements of the smartphone and tablet form factors, but they go about it in very different ways.
The Asus Padfone 2 takes the mash-up idea quite literally, presenting you with a decent upper-mid-range smartphone that slots into a 10-inch tablet dock when you want to go large. The FonePad, meanwhile, is an altogether subtler blend, offering a sleek 7-inch tablet that happens to accept a smartphone SIM for 3G calling.
Join us as we take a look at how these two Android phone-tablet hybrids compare, and ultimately try to establish which you should buy.
Both the Asus Padfone 2 and the Asus FonePad use Googles stock People app for managing your contacts, so navigating through to make calls is a pretty similar experience across the two devices.
However, when it comes to the experience of placing calls, the difference is pronounced.
The Padfone 2, when in its default phone state, is a thoroughly pleasant device to make and receive calls on.
Its 4.7-inch display and relatively slim 10.4mm body make navigating its interface easy even while out and about, and lifting it up to your ear looks and feels normal. The odd circular groove pattern on the back even makes it quite comfortable to grip.
The FonePad, by contrast, is unavoidably a 7-inch tablet rather than a phone, so holding it up to your face feels faintly ridiculous. In fact, scratch that - its hugely ridiculous.
Bear in mind that many people scoff at the idea of holding the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2 up to their noggins, and hopefully youll see where were coming from here.
Of course, theres always that Bluetooth headset or those mic-equipped earbuds youve been holding onto, but still...
As a pure phone for making and taking calls, the Padfone 2s flexibility and fit-for-purpose design makes it the clear winner.
Again, the messaging experience is nigh-on identical from a software perspective between these two devices. Both feature the same default Android messaging app, and the same native email application too.
Weve got mixed feelings about Asuss custom keyboard, but regardless of your preference there are plenty of fine alternatives on the Google Play Store. Its also another thing the Padfone 2 and the FonePad share, so its hardly a deciding factor between the two.
Were left, then, with the differences between the actual physical process of messaging on each phablet device. Its undoubtedly the toughest area to call.
On the one hand, the Asus Padfone 2 offers the two extremes of messaging on the go - the potential for one-handed typing with the phone element and the potential for a full-sized two-handed typing option with the tablet peripheral engaged.
However, the Asus FonePads 7-inch display appears to strike a fine balance between the two. Held in portrait view in one hand and typing with the other, we found messaging on the FonePad to be an error-free process. Its just got that extra bit of breathing space that makes texting and emailing a solid experience.
After a slow start, gaming has become an increasingly prominent part of Android devices, and with Googles planned social and achievement integration its only going to get bigger.
Beyond that, comparing the gaming performance of the Padfone 2 and the Asus FonePad acts as a fine barometer for their relative hardware merits. After all, nothing puts a phones innards to the test like a modern 3D game.
A performance comparison is especially interesting because the Asus Padfone 2 and the Asus FonePad, despite being produced by the same company at around the same time, could scarcely be more different internally.
While the Padfone 2 is built on a fairly typical - though also very capable - quad-core Qualcomm CPU and Adreno 320 GPU combo with 2GB of RAM, the FonePad takes a very different approach.
Its built on an Intel Atom Z2420 processor, which uses PC-like Hyper-Threading rather than multiple cores. Its backed by the slightly creaky PowerVR SGX540 GPU and a relatively meagre 1GB of RAM.
Comparing the two using the Antutu benchmarking tool, which provides a number of graphics-intensive (both 2D and 3D) tasks for Android devices to run through, theres a clear winner. With an average score of 21,607, the Padfone 2 more than doubled the 9,208 average score of the FonePad.
This apparent doubling in performance is understandable. While the Qualcomm chip is a premium component, the Intel processor is intended for relatively low-cost devices. Sure enough the FonePad can be had for about a third of the price of the Padfone 2.
If youre after something that will be able to run high-end games both now and into the future, the Padfone 2 is a better bet - if you can spare the £600/US$720/AU$750 it will take to obtain it.
Otherwise, the FonePad will run pretty much anything currently available reasonably well - even advanced 3D games such as Real Racing 3 - and youll pay just £180/AU$315 (around US$275) for the privilege.
The first thing to note is that both devices name the Google Play Store as the main source for their media. Through this increasingly impressive online media library you can get access to thousands of cheap video rentals and the comprehensive Google Books.
Wed prefer to watch a video and read a book on the Asus FonePad than on the Padfone 2, though. Its down to the difference in screen dimensions.
The FonePads 7-inch 1280 x 800 display simply makes for a clearer and more engaging experience than Padfone 2s 4.7-inch equivalent.
The latter may be a little brighter and sharper, but the extra two inches of screen real estate more than makes up for that when watching a widescreen blockbuster or settling down to read a sprawling novel.
Obviously the Padfone 2 also has that 10.1-inch tablet adaptor, but with no increase in resolution and an inferior picture, both video and text can look a little grainy and washed out when blown up to such a size. It really offers little advantage.
Storage is another issue here. While the FonePad is only available with 8 or 16GB of internal storage compared to the Padfone 2s 16, 32, or 64GB, the former has the massive advantage of a microSD card slot. Not only does this open up the possibility for an extra 64GB of cheap memory expansion, it also offers another way to get media onto your tablet from other devices.
Once again, Google provides the default arrangements for internet software here in the shape of Chrome. Its a brilliant mobile browser, with its minimalistic interface, intuitive use of multiple tabs and ability to sync bookmarks with the desktop equivalent.
The respective screens play a big part in deciding which internet experience is preferable here. Once again, the Padfone 2s sub-par tablet component lets it down somewhat, compromising the full-size internet experience with its fuzzy, dim picture.
However, the phones vibrant 4.7-inch display really shows off the increasingly mobile-optimised web nicely, and the phones speedy CPU and GPU loads content up just as fast as its internet connection will allow it.
Theres the sense with 7-inch tablets such as the FonePad that youre getting an internet browsing experience thats caught somewhere betwixt and between - neither small enough to make the stripped-back mobile-optimised versions of websites feel natural, nor big enough to display full web pages comfortably like, say, an iPad can. Not without some vigorous zooming and panning, at least.
Theres not much in it, but browsing the web feels a little less forced on the Padfone 2 - and there is something to be said for a full-sized tablet web browser, no matter how low-res.
Listening to music is pretty much identical on both devices. Both have access to the marvellous Google Music service, which enables you to upload 20,000 tracks to the cloud for free, as well as to listen to your music through a stylish UI and to shop from Googles reasonably priced music store.
Its also about to go full-on Spotify on us, so watch out for an extra subscription-based incentive to opt for an Android smartphone or tablet (or both) in the near future.
Its considerably more wieldy listening to music on the go with the Padfone 2 thanks to its more pocket-friendly size, but then the FonePad has the benefit of that microSD slot for loading up even more music locally.
Back in the Padfone 2s favour, however, is the fact that it comes with a half-decent set of earbuds (the proper in-ear variety) packed in, while the FonePad has none.
Yes, any music fan should really be investing in a decent set of third-party earphones, but the fact remains that only one of these devices enables you to listen to music out of the box - at least without relying on a tinny speaker.
Both of these Asus phone-tablet hybrids impress when it comes to battery life. The Padfone 2 has a slightly larger than average 2,140mAh battery, which is technically removable if you dont mind performing minor surgery on your phone (thats what it feels like, at least).
Combined with the famously power-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU, we were easily getting through a full day of moderate to heavy usage without running out of juice.
But thats not the biggest plus point in its battery life box. That comes from the unique tablet dock, which doubles as a back-up charger.
If you carry this around with you, the tablet portions 5,000mAh battery can be used to completely recharge the phone section three times over. When youre away from a power point for a prolonged period, this could be a massive plus.
The FonePad, for its part, has no such gimmicks to rely on, but thats not to say its 4,270mAh battery doesnt sport impressive stamina.
We clocked around eight and a half hours of continuous usage - which involved whacking the screen brightness up to full and repeatedly looping an HD video - before the battery died. Impressive stuff.
Whichever Asus device you opt for, you wont have a problem with battery life.
As weve hopefully made clear, the Asus Padfone 2 and Asus FonePad are far more different than their shared heritage and similar names would suggest.
This means that when it comes to deciding which is the right Android phone/tablet hybrid for you, your mileage may vary.
If youre after a capable smartphone first and foremost, with a competent tablet experience considerably lower down on your list of priorities, then the Asus Padfone 2 is the device for you. Its nicely proportioned and very powerful, while its 4.7-inch display is very impressive.
Sure, its tablet dock provides a sub-par full-sized tablet experience, but it does the job. This component also acts as a portable recharger for the phone, which could prove very useful for the frequent traveller.
If the tablet side of things is more - or even equally - important to you, then the Asus FonePad is probably the better buy. Its a superbly well balanced device with a sharp display, exemplary build quality and an irresistibly low price tag.
Indeed, its the Asus FonePads sheer value for money that nudges it over the line for us when weighing the two against each other. At a third of the price of the Asus Padfone 2, this competent all-rounder is firmly in impulse-buy territory - and few will be disappointed with such a snap decision.
Read more »
While Android smartphones continue to thrive and Android tablets - but for a few exceptions - continue to flounder, Asus has come up with a novel way to capitalise on the former and circumvent the latter.
Mash them both together.
However, Asus doesnt quite seem to have decided on a definitive format. Both the Asus Padfone 2 and the Asus FonePad combine key elements of the smartphone and tablet form factors, but they go about it in very different ways.
The Asus Padfone 2 takes the mash-up idea quite literally, presenting you with a decent upper-mid-range smartphone that slots into a 10-inch tablet dock when you want to go large. The FonePad, meanwhile, is an altogether subtler blend, offering a sleek 7-inch tablet that happens to accept a smartphone SIM for 3G calling.
Join us as we take a look at how these two Android phone-tablet hybrids compare, and ultimately try to establish which you should buy.
Padfone 2 vs FonePad: Contacts
Both the Asus Padfone 2 and the Asus FonePad use Googles stock People app for managing your contacts, so navigating through to make calls is a pretty similar experience across the two devices.
However, when it comes to the experience of placing calls, the difference is pronounced.
The Padfone 2, when in its default phone state, is a thoroughly pleasant device to make and receive calls on.
Its 4.7-inch display and relatively slim 10.4mm body make navigating its interface easy even while out and about, and lifting it up to your ear looks and feels normal. The odd circular groove pattern on the back even makes it quite comfortable to grip.
The FonePad, by contrast, is unavoidably a 7-inch tablet rather than a phone, so holding it up to your face feels faintly ridiculous. In fact, scratch that - its hugely ridiculous.
Bear in mind that many people scoff at the idea of holding the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2 up to their noggins, and hopefully youll see where were coming from here.
Of course, theres always that Bluetooth headset or those mic-equipped earbuds youve been holding onto, but still...
As a pure phone for making and taking calls, the Padfone 2s flexibility and fit-for-purpose design makes it the clear winner.
Padfone 2 vs FonePad: Messaging
Again, the messaging experience is nigh-on identical from a software perspective between these two devices. Both feature the same default Android messaging app, and the same native email application too.
Weve got mixed feelings about Asuss custom keyboard, but regardless of your preference there are plenty of fine alternatives on the Google Play Store. Its also another thing the Padfone 2 and the FonePad share, so its hardly a deciding factor between the two.
Were left, then, with the differences between the actual physical process of messaging on each phablet device. Its undoubtedly the toughest area to call.
On the one hand, the Asus Padfone 2 offers the two extremes of messaging on the go - the potential for one-handed typing with the phone element and the potential for a full-sized two-handed typing option with the tablet peripheral engaged.
However, the Asus FonePads 7-inch display appears to strike a fine balance between the two. Held in portrait view in one hand and typing with the other, we found messaging on the FonePad to be an error-free process. Its just got that extra bit of breathing space that makes texting and emailing a solid experience.
Padfone 2 vs FonePad: Gaming
After a slow start, gaming has become an increasingly prominent part of Android devices, and with Googles planned social and achievement integration its only going to get bigger.
Beyond that, comparing the gaming performance of the Padfone 2 and the Asus FonePad acts as a fine barometer for their relative hardware merits. After all, nothing puts a phones innards to the test like a modern 3D game.
A performance comparison is especially interesting because the Asus Padfone 2 and the Asus FonePad, despite being produced by the same company at around the same time, could scarcely be more different internally.
While the Padfone 2 is built on a fairly typical - though also very capable - quad-core Qualcomm CPU and Adreno 320 GPU combo with 2GB of RAM, the FonePad takes a very different approach.
Its built on an Intel Atom Z2420 processor, which uses PC-like Hyper-Threading rather than multiple cores. Its backed by the slightly creaky PowerVR SGX540 GPU and a relatively meagre 1GB of RAM.
Comparing the two using the Antutu benchmarking tool, which provides a number of graphics-intensive (both 2D and 3D) tasks for Android devices to run through, theres a clear winner. With an average score of 21,607, the Padfone 2 more than doubled the 9,208 average score of the FonePad.
This apparent doubling in performance is understandable. While the Qualcomm chip is a premium component, the Intel processor is intended for relatively low-cost devices. Sure enough the FonePad can be had for about a third of the price of the Padfone 2.
If youre after something that will be able to run high-end games both now and into the future, the Padfone 2 is a better bet - if you can spare the £600/US$720/AU$750 it will take to obtain it.
Otherwise, the FonePad will run pretty much anything currently available reasonably well - even advanced 3D games such as Real Racing 3 - and youll pay just £180/AU$315 (around US$275) for the privilege.
Padfone 2 vs FonePad: Multimedia
The first thing to note is that both devices name the Google Play Store as the main source for their media. Through this increasingly impressive online media library you can get access to thousands of cheap video rentals and the comprehensive Google Books.
Wed prefer to watch a video and read a book on the Asus FonePad than on the Padfone 2, though. Its down to the difference in screen dimensions.
The FonePads 7-inch 1280 x 800 display simply makes for a clearer and more engaging experience than Padfone 2s 4.7-inch equivalent.
The latter may be a little brighter and sharper, but the extra two inches of screen real estate more than makes up for that when watching a widescreen blockbuster or settling down to read a sprawling novel.
Obviously the Padfone 2 also has that 10.1-inch tablet adaptor, but with no increase in resolution and an inferior picture, both video and text can look a little grainy and washed out when blown up to such a size. It really offers little advantage.
Storage is another issue here. While the FonePad is only available with 8 or 16GB of internal storage compared to the Padfone 2s 16, 32, or 64GB, the former has the massive advantage of a microSD card slot. Not only does this open up the possibility for an extra 64GB of cheap memory expansion, it also offers another way to get media onto your tablet from other devices.
Padfone 2 vs FonePad: Internet
Once again, Google provides the default arrangements for internet software here in the shape of Chrome. Its a brilliant mobile browser, with its minimalistic interface, intuitive use of multiple tabs and ability to sync bookmarks with the desktop equivalent.
The respective screens play a big part in deciding which internet experience is preferable here. Once again, the Padfone 2s sub-par tablet component lets it down somewhat, compromising the full-size internet experience with its fuzzy, dim picture.
However, the phones vibrant 4.7-inch display really shows off the increasingly mobile-optimised web nicely, and the phones speedy CPU and GPU loads content up just as fast as its internet connection will allow it.
Theres the sense with 7-inch tablets such as the FonePad that youre getting an internet browsing experience thats caught somewhere betwixt and between - neither small enough to make the stripped-back mobile-optimised versions of websites feel natural, nor big enough to display full web pages comfortably like, say, an iPad can. Not without some vigorous zooming and panning, at least.
Theres not much in it, but browsing the web feels a little less forced on the Padfone 2 - and there is something to be said for a full-sized tablet web browser, no matter how low-res.
Padfone 2 vs FonePad: Music
Listening to music is pretty much identical on both devices. Both have access to the marvellous Google Music service, which enables you to upload 20,000 tracks to the cloud for free, as well as to listen to your music through a stylish UI and to shop from Googles reasonably priced music store.
Its also about to go full-on Spotify on us, so watch out for an extra subscription-based incentive to opt for an Android smartphone or tablet (or both) in the near future.
Its considerably more wieldy listening to music on the go with the Padfone 2 thanks to its more pocket-friendly size, but then the FonePad has the benefit of that microSD slot for loading up even more music locally.
Back in the Padfone 2s favour, however, is the fact that it comes with a half-decent set of earbuds (the proper in-ear variety) packed in, while the FonePad has none.
Yes, any music fan should really be investing in a decent set of third-party earphones, but the fact remains that only one of these devices enables you to listen to music out of the box - at least without relying on a tinny speaker.
Padfone 2 vs FonePad: Battery
Both of these Asus phone-tablet hybrids impress when it comes to battery life. The Padfone 2 has a slightly larger than average 2,140mAh battery, which is technically removable if you dont mind performing minor surgery on your phone (thats what it feels like, at least).
Combined with the famously power-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU, we were easily getting through a full day of moderate to heavy usage without running out of juice.
But thats not the biggest plus point in its battery life box. That comes from the unique tablet dock, which doubles as a back-up charger.
If you carry this around with you, the tablet portions 5,000mAh battery can be used to completely recharge the phone section three times over. When youre away from a power point for a prolonged period, this could be a massive plus.
The FonePad, for its part, has no such gimmicks to rely on, but thats not to say its 4,270mAh battery doesnt sport impressive stamina.
We clocked around eight and a half hours of continuous usage - which involved whacking the screen brightness up to full and repeatedly looping an HD video - before the battery died. Impressive stuff.
Whichever Asus device you opt for, you wont have a problem with battery life.
Padfone 2 vs FonePad: Verdict
As weve hopefully made clear, the Asus Padfone 2 and Asus FonePad are far more different than their shared heritage and similar names would suggest.
This means that when it comes to deciding which is the right Android phone/tablet hybrid for you, your mileage may vary.
If youre after a capable smartphone first and foremost, with a competent tablet experience considerably lower down on your list of priorities, then the Asus Padfone 2 is the device for you. Its nicely proportioned and very powerful, while its 4.7-inch display is very impressive.
Sure, its tablet dock provides a sub-par full-sized tablet experience, but it does the job. This component also acts as a portable recharger for the phone, which could prove very useful for the frequent traveller.
If the tablet side of things is more - or even equally - important to you, then the Asus FonePad is probably the better buy. Its a superbly well balanced device with a sharp display, exemplary build quality and an irresistibly low price tag.
Indeed, its the Asus FonePads sheer value for money that nudges it over the line for us when weighing the two against each other. At a third of the price of the Asus Padfone 2, this competent all-rounder is firmly in impulse-buy territory - and few will be disappointed with such a snap decision.
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