ASUS has confirmed its Padfone 2 smartphone won't launch in Australia until 2013, despite a release in Europe and Asia before the end of 2012.
The company last week unveiled the second generation Padfone 2, a thinner, lighter and faster upgrade over the original Padfone. The Padfone 2 will launch "before the end of 2012" in Europe and Asia but Australian users will have to wait until 2013 thanks to a narrow gap between the launch of the original device in August.
"It [the Padfone 2] will be coming, but the first Padfone launched not long ago so we will need to leave a bit of room for it," an ASUS spokesperson told PC World Australia. "It is the head office's decision. We will need to get the telcos to test it here as they work slightly different to rest of the world."
ASUS refused to confirm whether the Padfone 2 would be sold through an Australian telco when it launches in 2013. The original Padfone is only sold outright through Harvey Norman retail stores across Australia for $999.
The Padfone 2 is likely to work on the Australian 4G networks used by Telstra and Optus as the device features the required LTE 1800MHz network band.
The ASUS Padfone 2 is a follow up to the original Padfone and uses a modular design consisting of an Android smartphone that docks inside a tablet shell, effectively combining two devices into one.
The Padfone 2 features a redesigned tablet dock, a larger 4.7in screen and will ship with the latest version of Google's Android operating system, 4.1 Jelly Bean.
In Europe, the 32GB Padfone 2 will sell for ¬799, with the 64GB model retailing at ¬899.
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