ASUS PadFone 2 docking mechanism took over two years to develop!

Meet the ASUS Padfone 2 - the latest evolution in ASUS' unique mobile phone/tablet hybrid concept. The PadFone concept has been in development for over three years now and the latest release, Padfone 2, has been in the lab for more than two years. More details after the jump.

With PadFone 2, ASUS wanted to further improve the user experience and particularly the process of moving between Pad and Phone.

ASUS engineers worked tirelessly to reduce the weight of both PadFone 2 and the PadFone 2 Station tablet dock, looking at every part of the product with an eye on reducing weight without sacrificing robustness or quality. The result of all this hard work is that, together, the two are lighter than many 10-inch tablets on the market and the user experience hasn't been compromised in the process.

One of the key breakthroughs with PadFone 2's design is the new patent-pending docking mechanism. ASUS wanted to simplify the PadFone 2's docking process by reducing the number of steps required to dock or undock the phone.

PadFone 2 requires just a single-step insertion and removal process that, amazingly, is more secure than the original PadFone docking mechanism, which incorporated a protective hinged door. It's hard to believe that the dock is as secure as it is, but the Phone remains in place when PadFone 2 is used upside down and it'll withstand the knocks and bumps of daily use.

This was the result of over two years of extensive research and development by ASUS engineers. Many different versions of the mechanism were tested during its two and a half year development, and the result is an incredibly intuitive and refined user experience.

Docking and undocking is simple and ASUS software engineers also worked to optimize Dynamic Display technology to make the switch between Phone and Pad even more seamless. The result of this work is instantly obvious -- the transition between modes now takes just over one second and your apps are perfectly optimized for both screen sizes.