Asus shows off haul of fresh Android tablets

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Well, Asus has been busy. The Taiwanese company has just ripped the wrappers off its 2014 range of tablets… and there are a heck of a lot of them.

All Asus’ new models run Android 4.4 KitKat and, quite unusually for Android devices, run on 64-bit processors (quad-core Intel Atoms, to be precise). While the potential of 64-bit is yet to be realised, it’s still an interesting move and one which may pay off, should app developers start making software that takes advantage of the architecture.

First in line are the new Asus Fonepad 7 (pictured above) and Fonepad 8. Like their predecessors, these are tablets with the ability to make phone calls and send texts (both offer 3G and dual SIM slots). The new Fonepad 8 has the distinction of having the largest viewing area of any 8in phablet on the market. Both models have 1280 x 800 resolutions. Asus has not yet revealed availability or pricing for either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFJF5rV5vBI

There are also new MeMO Pad 7 and MeMO Pad 8 models, 7in and 8in respectively with 1280 x 800 resolutions. The 8in model seems particularly powerful, sporting a 2.3GHz processor, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and LTE 4G. Asus claims it’s the world’s lightest 8in LTE tablet at 299g. Both models will be on sale in mid-June, with the 7in model priced at £120 and the 8in at £170.

Moving on, there are also a couple of new Transformer Pad models, both of which come with a new hidden hinge design of keyboard dock. Both models have 10.1in screens, the TF303 with a 1920 x 1200 resolution and the TF103 with a 1280 x 800 resolution, and the TF303 has a faster processor and LTE on top of its sharper screen. The TF103 will be on sale mid-June for £200, or for £240 with the new keyboard dock. There’s no info on the TF303’s availability yet.

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Tech journalism's answer to The Littlest Hobo, I've written for a host of titles and lived in three different countries in my 15 years-plus as a freelancer. But I've always come back home to Stuff eventually, where I specialise in writing about cameras, streaming services and being tragically addicted to Destiny.