Asus Padfone Infinity 2 review: a decent smartphone that can turn into a tablet

Written by B Johnson December 16, 2013
Hi guys, welcome back to this site!! Glad to see again here! :D

Anyway, since yesterday, i’ve been posting my reviews, to be exact my personal non-in-depth reviews, about some of Asus’s awesome tablets under the Asus Padfone and Asus Padfone Infinity series.

(Asus Padfone Infinity 2 Specs)

They are the first-gen Asus Padfone, Asus Padfone 2 and the most recent Asus Padfone Infinity.

As the sequels of the previous models, then it’s really obvious that Asus Padfone 2 and Asus Padfone Infinity have much better and higher quality specs than the predecessors.

It goes the same with Asus Padfone Infinity 2, which obviously comes with so much better specs than Asus Padfone Infinity.

Asus Padfone Infinity 2 benchmarks and gaming performance

Talking about generation, Asus Padfone Infinity 2 can be said as the 4th generation of Asus Padfone series.

However, given that this device is released under the flag of Asus Padfone Infinity series, then Asus Padfone Infinity 2 is definitely the second generation of this series.

So probably, you will see the third generation of Asus Padfone 3 or Asus Padfone Infinity 3 in the future.

Actually, Asus reportedly is about to launch the new model under the different series called Asus Padfone mini, which i believe to be the first gen of this Asus Padfone mini series.

Just like the name says, this device is the mini version or 7-inch version of Asus Padfone device, of course packing some lower quality specs than the higher-end Asus Padfone 2.

But i’ll talk more about Asus Padfone mini in the future in case you’re interested to know about that device.

Okay then, if you’re eager to read my personal opinion or view about Asus Padfone Infinity 2, then here you go, my personal review of Asus Padfone Infinity 2.

But as usual, before you read the review, please allow me to give you the brief introduction of this device.

Introduction

The first Asus Padfone device made its first debut around 2 years ago.

This series has been through some upgrade overhaul on each of the newer models. Asus Padfone 2 was then released as the successor for the first-gen model.

When it comes to spec sheet, this device is a huge departure from the predecessor.

It has much higher 720p display on both smartphone and tablet station, more powerful hardware, much better overhaul design and much better performance than the previous model.

And here comes the Asus Padfone Infinity 2, the successor of the first-gen Asus Padfone Infinity.

However, even though this device looks just the same with the other Asus Padfone devices, Asus Padfone Infinity 2 is actually the second generation of the different series than the previous models.

What makes them different is their design material, Asus Padfone series that comes with the regular plastic polycarbonate material, while Asus Padfone Infinity series is the premium version with much higher quality material.

Design


When it comes to design, there is no doubt that Asus Padfone Infinity 2 looks more superior than any other tablets out there on the market to date, even the iPad Air.

Not only does it have a unique and revolutionary design all over its body, but Asus Padfone Infinity 2 is also made from premium aluminum material.

This is actually the thing that separates the Asus Padfone Infinity line with the regular Asus Padfone series.

The design of Asus Padfone Infinity 2 actually still looks identical with the design of predecessors, Asus Padfone Infinity and even the Asus Padfone 2.

It still has the same port on top of the back cover with the same design and the same logo position on the front and back.

The noticeable difference can be found on the back cover of the smartphone.

Unlike Asus Padfone 2, Asus Padfone Infinity 2 smartphone has the smooth finish on the back.

On the other hand, the regular Asus Padfone 2 has that rubberized or line textured finish on its back.

Meanwhile, on the front side of the phone, you can see clearly that the bottom area of Asus Padfone Infinity 2 doesn’t have that curve shape found on Asus Padfone 2.

However, overall, from Asus Padfone 2, Asus Padfone Infinity and Asus Padfone Infinity 2, these devices pretty much look similar one to another.

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  • 4G LTE
  • Nano-SIM
  • Released October 2013
  • - Smartphone with 5.0 inch Super IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1080 x 1920 pixels (~441 ppi pixel density)
  • - Padfone Station with 10.1 inches IPS display, 1920 x 1200 pixels, 5000 mAh battery, front camera. 264.6 x 181.6 x 10.6 mm, 532 grams.
  • Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.2 GHz Krait 400 CPU
  • Adreno 330 GPU
  • 2 GB RAM
  • Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
  • microSD card slot for up to 64 GB
  • 13 MP rear-facing LED flash
  • 16/32 GB Internal storage
  • GPRS
  • EDGE
  • Wi-Fi 802
  • Bluetooth
  • GPS
  • Java
  • NFC
  • USB
  • FM radio
  • Non-removable 2400 mAh battery
As we know already, the first-gen of Asus Padfone Infinity brings some new improvements and enhancements when compared with the predecessor, Asus Padfone 2, like more powerful hardware specs (e.g., Snapdragon 600 from Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU), bigger 5-inch display with higher 1080p resolution (from 4.7-inches with 720p resolution on the predecessor) and many more.

And it goes the same with Asus Padfone Infinity 2.

This latest model now is getting bumped up in many sectors, like more powerful CPU (Snapdragon 800 from Snapdragon 600 on predecessor) microSD card slot (which can’t be found on predecessor), stronger GPU (Adreno 330 from Adreno 320), newer Android build and some other more.

However, as the Uncle Ben says, "with great power, comes great responsibility". So with more powerful specs, comes more expensive price tag.

Asus Padfone Infinity 2 now costs more expensive than the previous models.

So unless you have big budget in your pocket, you better stay away from this device.

Other alternatives like Asus Padfone 2 is actually still a great and powerful device though, as well as Asus Padfone Infinity 1.

Screen
When compared with the predecessor, there is no significant changes found on the screen of Asus Padfone Infinity 2.

It still uses the same 5-inch Super IPS + LCD touchscreen with the resolution of 1080x1920 pixels, just like the Asus Padfone Infinity.

Interestingly though, there is 1MP front-facing camera found on the tablet station of Asus Padfone Infinity 2.

I know - the previous model also has it too but i’m not sure if it’s the same 1MP or much lower quality sensor.

Asus Padfone Infinity 2 comes with the Super IPS + LCD screen.

IPS stands for In-Plane-Switching and what it does is, this screen technology allows users to set the screen on Asus Padfone Infinity 2 at higher or brighter level, but it will not drain the battery life of the phone, making sure that you can enjoy using the phone at the brighter screen in many many hours of battery life.

So having known that, then the battery life of Asus Padfone Infinity 2 will be insanely powerful and long lasting, even for doing some heavy tasks in marathon.

And given that Asus Padfone Infinity 2 already comes with 7900mAh battery combined (2400mAh and 5500mAh battery capacity on smartphone and the tablet station respectively), then the battery life of this device will be much even stronger.

User Interface

When it comes to UI or User Interface, there no big changes made by Asus on this Asus Padfone Infinity 2.

It still inherits the same usual kind of UI just like the predecessor, of course with some new icons and new goodies of features.

And thanks to the higher quality 1080p screen on the smartphone plus the more powerful hardware specs on Asus Padfone Infinity 2, then the experience of using this device for on-the-go will be much even better.

Asus Padfone Infinity 2 comes with Android 4.2.2 out of the box, which is not the latest software build of Android OS.

I’m not sure when this model will finally get the KitKat update from Asus.

But given the fact that Asus Padfone Infinity 2 comes with some monstrous specs like Snapdragon 800 quad-core 2.2GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU, then i strongly believe that it’s just a matter of time before we finally see Asus release the latest KitKat updates for this device.

Besides, Android 4.4 KitKat is said to also come on many devices on the market, from high-end to low-end devices, even with only 512MB RAM.

So with that being said, then the powerful hardware specs of Asus Padfone Infinity 2 have what it takes to receive even the future Android updates in the next 1 year, if not 2 years.

But again, it will come down to Asus itself.

Does this manufacturer have any plan to upgrade Asus Padfone Infinity 2 to KitKat or sadly, not?

Performance

As the flagship model of this series, then no doubt that Asus Padfone Infinity 2 comes with some high-end quality specs.

As a matter of fact, the Snapdragon 800 CPU, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU of Asus Padfone Infinity 2 are considered as today’s industry standards of high end devices.

Around the market right now, this type of specs can be found on Samsung GALAXY Note 3, HTC One, Kindle Fire HDX or Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1.

And these are top shelve flagships from each manufacturer.

Having known that, then it’s really obvious that the performance of Asus Padfone Infinity 2 will be insanely powerful and on par with the likes of iPad Air, iPad mini 2, Kindle Fire HDX, Samsung GALAXY Note 3 or HTC One.

So if you love watching HD movies or playing heavy games, this device without a doubt is more than capable to handle these tasks at ease without any hiccup.

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Besides great for watching movies or browsing the web, Asus Padfone Infinity 2 is also a perfect machine to play games.

And that’s thanks to the monstrous specs found on this device, like a quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU, which are the specs of today’s high-end devices on the market to date.

So if you really love playing games, either simple games like Angry Birds, Temple Run 2, Fruit Ninja or even the most graphically intense games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, Dead Trigger 2 or GTA San Andreas, then you're in luck as these games can all be played in buttery smooth performance with no lag whatsoever and in full graphics.

Camera

Just like the predecessors, the 13MP rear-facing camera on Asus Padfone Infinity 2 no doubt is able to take some decent shots.

Actually, i already said this over and over again in my previous posts about Asus Padfone tablets. And that is its camera.

If you want know how great the 13MP camera of Asus Padfone Infinity 2, let’s make a comparison (but please don’t quote me on this).

And that’s between the 5MP camera on Asus MemoPad 7 HD and 13MP camera on Asus Padfone Infinity 2.

I know – it’s really clear that 13MP camera obviously is far better than 5MP camera.

But what i’m about to say to you might be really helpful for you to figure out the camera quality of Asus Padfone Infinity 2.

Based on what i’ve seen on the 5MP rear-facing of Asus MemoPad 7 HD (and also from other reviews), the 5MP camera of this tablet surprisingly is able to take decent shots and videos.

It’s really amazing because Asus MemoPad 7 HD is actually a low-end tablet, priced at only $150.

But impressively, Asus manages to make the camera of this tablet capable to take some great shots.

So with that being said, then the 13MP camera on Asus Padfone Infinity 2 is definitely able to take much even better quality photos and videos to you.



Battery Life

Battery life of Asus Padfone Infinity 2 is simply GREAT.

If the smartphone and the tablet station are combined together, it will result in around 7900mAh battery capacity (2400mAh and 5500mAh power batteries on the smartphone and the Padfone Station combined).

And this is considered as huge for a tablet.

And thanks to the Super IPS + LCD display on this device, which stands for In-Plane-Switching (that allows users to set the screen at brighter level without draining the battery life), then total battery life of Asus Padfone Infinity 2 will be much even stronger and longer even for doing some heavy tasks.

So if you love playing high-performance games in the row or watching HD movies in marathon, the battery life of Asus Padfone Infinity 2 could survive around 8 to 10 hours.

However, if you intend to use this device separately, like bringing the phone on-the-go without the Padfone Station, then the total battery life will be relatively different, either longer or shorter.

User Opinions

So to sum this up, overall, i totally like Asus Padfone Infinity 2 and a LOT. First of all, i’m a big fan, huge huge fan of its unique design and premium material.

I think it just looks nice and premium.

I also like how Asus made some design overhaul on the smartphone, with much better and elegant design than the regular Asus Padfone 2.

However, what makes me really impressed with this device is definitely its monstrous specs.

It’s really great to see that the expensive high-end device like Asus Padfone Infinity 2 is packing a quad-core Snapdragon 800, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330, which are the today’s standard for high-end devices on the market like Samsung GALAXY Note 3, HTC One, Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 or Kindle Fire HDX.

So Asus Padfone Infinity 2 will definitely be great for many things, like watching movies, reading books, browsing the web or even playing the most graphically intense games on Google Play Store.

And all can be done in buttery smooth performance with no lag whatsoever.

The final decision now will come down to you now, do you really need to buy a unique device like this, which is really expensive? Do you really need to have a smartphone that can be used as a tablet too?

Well, if you can answer these questions with YES, then go ahead, buy this tablet.

You’ll make no mistake when buying this tablet.
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