ASUS PadFone

After a long wait and several deadlines , Asus has finally introduced a combination of smartphone, tablet and notebook computer which aim at consumers who are tired of working around different devices at a same time.

However, delays in bringing this product to market, coupled with developments in wireless pricing and cloud storage, may have shut the door of opportunity for all-in-one device, known as  "PadFone."

The unit consists of three pieces. There's a smartphone running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), a 10.3-inch tablet and a keyboard dock. The phone slips into a compartment behind the tablet. The tablet connects to the keyboard to form a notebook.

Since the tablet uses the phone for its wireless data connection, we don't need a separate data plan for the slate. And since the phone acts as the hub for all our data, we don't have to worry about data being stored in a tablet or notebook that we may not be carrying with you.

The problem is that developments in service plans and online storage may have closed the window of viability for the PadFone, which is selling online for around US$930.

With better cloud solutions and Verizon rolling out a shared data plan, with AT&T , it is believed that the delay in the introduction of the PadFone may hurt the device.

                          Also Asus is one of the few companies that can do this without volume because it has enough volume on other stuff that it can subsidize an initial run on this device.