ASUS PadFone X hits AT&T in brand's big phone return to states

If you've seen an ASUS-made smartphone here in the United States in the past few years, it's been a real oddity. Today the folks at AT&T are about to make that change with their announcement of the ASUS PadFone X. This device brings on the heat with a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel 5-inch display on a phone that can slide into and dock with a tablet that then uses said phone's abilities.

While the docking may seem strange, it's certainly not a new concept for ASUS. They've been creating the PadFone concept for several generations now, only bringing their newest version here to the United States now with AT&T. This device looks – by all means – like an average Android phone when it's not docked with its tablet.

The PadFone X works with ASUS DynamicDisplay technology which allows apps running on the phone to "seamlessly resize" when the phone is docked with the tablet. This smartphone uses PMA wireless charging, a 13-megapixel camera at its back with f/2.0 aperture PixelMaster technology, and is run with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3Ghz.

The tablet bit of this equation is sold with the smartphone, but has a different name. It'll be going by the name ASUS PadFone Station, has its own battery, and has dual front-facing speakers. This tablet also sports a 9-inch display with 1,920 x 1,200 pixels across it.

The ASUS PadFone X with AT&T will cost you a cool $199 USD with a 2-year contract. You can also work with 18 months of payments with AT&T Next 18 at $22.92 USD per month or $29.80 per month with AT&T Next 12.