September has already brought with it a number of ASUS product announcements, including some MeMO Pads, some Fonepads and a Transformer Pad. Today ASUS added another Pad to that list with the introduction of its refreshed PadFone Infinity.
The PadFone Infinity first made its debut at MWC 2013 in February. Since then, though, the device has undergone some surgery to make itself better both inside and out. This updated model sports a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, up from the 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 chip found in the earlier version, as well as a new microSD card slot and what ASUS says is a "brand new UI" running atop Android 4.2. Engadget also notes that the new PadFone Infinity features a "diamond cut" design on its backside to give the device a higher-end look.
The remainder of the new PadFone Infinity's spec list remains about the same. There's a 5-inch 1080p display on board along with 2GB RAM, 2400mAh battery, and the ability to dock into a PadFone Station tablet with a 10-inch 1080p display and battery pack to provide extra juice to the PadFone.
This new PadFone Infinity also retains the 13-megapixel rear camera found on its predecessor, but this time around ASUS is touting a new PixelMaster feature that can combine pixels to produce a clearer 3-megapixel photo. The company says that PixelMaster can also automatically adjust its light sensitivity in darker situations to churn out better low-light shots without using a flash. Rounding out the PixelMaster's list of features is a 30 photo per second Turbo Burst Shot, a "Best Face" feature and the ability to remove unwanted objects from an image.
With a 5-inch 1080p display and 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, the original PadFone Infinity wasn't exactly a slouch in the specs department. Upgrades that include a Snapdragon 800 chip and microSD card slot help to make the PadFone Infinity more competitive with the hardware that's being churned out by the likes of Samsung and Sony, though, and overall this new PadFone Infinity looks to be a pretty respectable flagship smartphone.
Any consumers interested in picking one up can expect to pay NT$18,990 ($641 USD) for the PadFone Infinity itself and NT$7,000 ($236 USD) for the PadFone Station dock. Additional glamor shots of both devices can be found in the gallery below.