TransPhone, which we called the poor man’s Padfone, will soon get its successor (real – not just the Pro version) in the form of a dual-core mid-ranger TransPhone 2. Unlike the original model, this one will come with a bigger tablet part with an 8-inch IPS screen. Moreover, it will also get a slimmer body with the phone coming out at 8.5mm and the “Pad part” at 10.5mm.
The basic TransPhone 2 phone will rock a 4-inch 845×480 pixels TFT screen, 1GHz (dual-core) processor, 5-megapixel rear camera, front-facing camera, 512MB of RAM, 4 GB on-board storage, 8GB of internal (not user changeable) pre-installed SD card, while Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will run the show out of box. The matching TransPad supports resolution of 1024×768 pixels while also boasting a 4,000 mAh battery for a total of 5,500 mAh if you add the phone and TransPad capacities together. Retail price should be about $299, plus import duty and sales tax where applicable.
But that’s just the basic model. The Pro version (TransPhone 2 Pro) increases RAM to 1GB, and onboard storage to 8GB, with 32 GB on the preinstalled internal SD card (not user-changeable) for a total of 40 GB of user storage. The rear camera resolution increases from 5MP on the basic version to 8MP on the Pro, and, instead of TFT, both the phone and the TransPad use high quality IPS screens. All this will sell for some $399.
Finally, there will be the TransPhone 2 Pro+ which on top of the TP2 Pro specification offers 32 GB on board as well as 32 GB of internal SD card (total = 64 GB). In addition, the front-facing camera has a 3-megapixel sensor and Gorilla glass is used on both the phone and TransPad. Expected retail is about $449.
But wait, there’s more. You see, you’ll be able to get additional TransPad 2 units (tablet part) for $100, $105 and $110, respectively. Or get a 10-inch screen for your TransPad 2 Pro+ if you need a bigger screen.
The new TransPad 2 should start selling in the near future, and for the second half of the year we should expect quad-core units and a Universal TransPad (UTP) that converts your existing phone into a tablet and for which samples will be available shortly. Can’t wait…