Asus PadFone X review: Like no other

Unboxing

Asus PadFone X ships in a large orange/white box with AT&T logo. Inside it, you will find the handset and its tablet dock, a charger, a microUSB cable, a pair of Asus headphones (yay!), as well as the usual set of booklets.

The retail package

The retail package of the Asus PadFone X covers all the basics. There are no essentials missing out of the box and we are glad to see a headset included with a US smartphone for a change.

Additional accessories

Asus offers additional accessories for the PadFone X. They include a set of flip covers for the phone and the tablet (sold together), as well as a full keyboard dock.

The flip covers are made from high-quality TPU. They are cleverly designed so that the phone can dock into the tablet station with its cover on - the phone case replaces the back cover of the device.

The original covers for the Asus PadFone X

The full-QWERTY keyboard dock features a mouse pad and transforms the device into a capable notebook. It connects to the device via Bluetooth 3.0 and features a 450 mAh battery of its own, which gives it up to a month of heavy use.

The QWERTY keyboard dock

One major downside of the dock is that it is extremely heavy. In order to accommodate the PadFone X and its tablet station, the keyboard dock features a metal docking mechanism. The entire setup rivals some of the lighter 15" notebooks in terms of weight.

Design, build quality, handling

Both the PadFone X handset and its tablet station are highly unlikely to wow you with their appearance - they simply look plain next to their competitors.

The handset and its docking station look a bit dull

We particularly miss the circular design pattern, which was a staple of previous PadFone family members. In the case of the PadFone X, it has been replaced by matte-finish plastic with tiny glitter elements embedded into it.

Build quality is outstanding on both the smartphone and the tablet station. The two devices are crafted from high-quality polycarbonate and have their displays covered in Corning Gorilla Glass - they will certainly handle a user's routine without breaking a sweat.

The physical measures of Asus PadFone X are 143.4 x 72.5 x 10 mm for the handset and 250.4 x 172.3 x 11.6 mm for the docking station. Weight of the phone alone comes in at 150 grams, while the tablet setup checks in at 514 grams.

PadFone X sized up against HTC One (M8)

While the handset alone weighs in line with similarly equipped devices, the tablet setup is a tad heavy compared to a standalone slate with similar screen size. The extra bulk of the tablet is caused by the docking mechanism, so we reckon that it is a fair tradeoff.

Handling only the handset of the PadFone X is easy thanks to the soft-touch finish of its polycarbonate body. It enhances grip, thus making accidental drops unlikely.

Handling the Asus PadFone X

The device is not as comfy to hold in tablet mode though. It requires two hands practically all the time due to the combination of its considerable weight, thickness, as well as the hump on its back that accommodates the phone.

Display

The handset of the Asus PadFone X totes a 5" Super IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 441ppi. The tablet dock features a 9" IPS unit with 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution.

The display of the Asus PadFone X

Asus is well known for equipping its flagship devices with quality displays and the PadFone X is no exception. The screen of the smartphone boasts good brightness, great contrast, and pleasingly vibrant colors.

A closer look at the handset's display

Viewing angles are impressively wide and the overall image quality is generally stellar. Sunlight legibility turned out good as well.

User can also calibrate the color reproduction of the device's display. Color hue and saturation can be tweaked via a duo of sliding toggles.

Calibrating the screen

The screen also features Vivid Mode. It will likely appeal to those switching from devices with AMOLED displays.

At first glance, the tablet dock's display is not as impressive as that of the handset thanks to the lower pixel density. However, due to its IPS nature, the screen offers good color rendering, coupled with respectable contrast and viewing angles. Its sunlight legibility is nowhere near as good as that of the smartphone, though this is hardly a surprise - the tablet has an IPS unit as opposed to an IPS+ solution on the handset.

A look at the tablet's screen