[CES 2014] ASUS unveils PadFone X, headed to AT&T, could Canada be next?

ASUS's Original Padfone is surprisingly headed towards its second birthday this summer and really was the start of ASUS' attempt at bridge the gap between smartphones and tablets by making them use the same hardware. While the idea is still quite novel to North Americans, the PadFone name is soon to make its first big splash in North America with the PadFone X headed to AT&T to our friends in the U.S.

Little is known about the PadFone X's official specs other than Voice over LTE Support, which is quite interesting and quite possibly a North American first, and HD Voice. We also know that the phone will have a 5-inch 1080p display while the tablet will have a 9-inch display, will have dual front facing stereo speakers and will be running Android 4.4 KitKat. Other than that no word on internal specifications.

What does this mean for Canadians however? While there is no word on Canadian availability, the fact that a deal has been brokered between ASUS and AT&T has us believing that we would not be surprised if one or more of the Canadian Big Three, Rogers, Bell or TELUS were to piggy back on the bulk AT&T purchase to nab their own units.

[CES 2014] Samsung unveils the Galaxy NotePro 12.2 Galaxy TabPro in 12.2, 10.1 and 8.4 inch formats

Samsung hasn't been one to shy away from trying new form factors for existing product segments. We saw it with the introduction of the Galaxy Note smartphone line, and we are seeing something of a similar experiment in the tablet market.

While this isn't the first "jumbo" Android tablet released by a major OEM as we've seen others like the Toshiba Excite 13, this is probably the most serious attempt at introducing the form factor to the masses.

The NotePro and TabPro 12.2 will be available in WiFi, 3G and LTE variants with the first two being equipped with a Samsung Exynos 5 Octacore processor while the LTE variant will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Quad core processor. Both variants will also be sporting a 12.2-inch WQXGA (2560 X 1600) Super clear LCD, 3GB of RAM, 8MP Cameras, 32/64GB Internal Memory (Upgradeable by 64GB via microSD card), 9500mAh batteries and of course the NotePro will have S Pen Capabilities.

The TabPro 10.1 will also be available in WiFi, 3G and LTE variants and again the first two being equipped with a Samsung Exynos 5 Octacore processor while the LTE variant will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Quad core processor. It will also have a 10.1-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) Super clear LCD, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP Camera, 16/32 GB Internal Memory, microSD (Up to 64GB) and a 8220mAh battery.

The TabPro 8.4 well also be available in WiFi, 3G and LTE variants but in this case will sport a Snapdragon 800 2.3 GHz QuadCore on all three variants. Surprisingly the TabPro 8.4 will also be rocking the same resolution but more pixel dense (359 DPI) 8.4-inch WQXGA (2560x1600) Super clear LCD.  It will also have 2GB of RAM, an 8MP Camera, 16/32 GB Internal Memory, microSD (Up to 64GB) and a 4800mAh battery.

All four will ship with the latest version of Android 4.4 KitKat. No word on Canadian Availability, but as usual we would be shocked if none of these tablets made it to Canada.

[CES 2014] Sony announces the Xperia Z1 Compact

With the increased interest in more compact smartphone, OEMs have thrown in their attempt at "miniaturizing" their flagship smartphones. HTC did it with their One mini, Samsung did it with the Galaxy S4 Mini and to be quite frank while the attempts are valiant there are obvious corners being cut on both devices leading to unwanted compromises.

Sony looks to buck the trend of compromises by litteraly taking the flagship Xperia Z1 and repackaging it in the Z1 Compact. With a 4.3-inch 720p display and smaller 2300mAh battery but virtually the exact same internal specifications and water/dustproofing as the flagship Z1, the Z1 Compact looks like an absolute beast on paper.

We are pleased to see Sony move to an IPS display as Sony's phones have historically been criticized for less than stellar displays in their flagship devices and the Z1 Compact looks like it bucks the trend.

While there is no word on Canadian availability, we hope that the Z1 Compact makes it to Canada to go head to head with the HTC One mini as well as the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini.