[Android General] starrwulfe:
Padfone or G-Nexus-7 combination

I've been using a SIM-free (unlocked and rooted) Motorola Atrix 4G with the lapdock everyday as my "daily-driver" phone/laptop solution since April of last year. I used the webtop, and later on, a modded version of Gentoo with Google Docs and Libre Office to get things done. I work at a university, so if I need something other than regular office software, I just use one of the hundreds of workstations I have access to on our campuses-- I've never experienced the so-called limitations that the lapdock+phone combo presents, and the fact that I ride very crowded trains in Tokyo precludes me from bringing my $1500+ laptop around everyday.

So when the Asus Padfone came out, I was sure that this would be my upgrade path! A phone that goes into a tablet that clips onto a keyboard. Brilliant! But hang on-- now there's the Nexus 7... Pure Google, and OPEN... That plus a Galaxy-Nexus... hmmmmm.... Could that also do the trick??

Well, there's always "let's wait and see a few more months..." But the obvious happened a week ago-- my Atrix's screen gave up the ghost... Sure I can plug it into HDMI, and use the lapdock just fine, but I can't use it as a phone... GRRRR!! Oh, and check out my location to the left-- I live in JAPAN, but I travel a lot, and go back to the US every year; actually, I'm going home in a week for a month!! So I NEED a phone either just before I go, or when I get there....

REQUIREMENTS:

- SIM Free (unlocked): I travel. A lot. Internationally. I needs my unlock!

- Multi-band support: Japan uses 2100MHz for HSPA+, and so does most of Asia. The US is 850, 1900, 1700... I'd like to find a phone that supports both of these... The Padfone will only support the Asian frequency, but nothing in the States-- I'd be stuck on 2G back home for a month... I can tolerate that though because I'll at least have AT&T hotspot support. The G-Nexus of course has a PENTABAND 3G radio (why the F don't other phones <other than the iPhone> have this same radio?!) so it'll work with whatever network I throw at it.

- Open bootloader/Rooted: One of the things I really enjoyed about my Atrix was being able to tweak tweak tweak. The Nexus devices don't need an explanation here-- They're designed to root and tweak. The Padfone can be rooted now--but it's bootloader is locked... But with the exotic tweaks made to get the tablet and phone UI to work, I doubt I'd use a custom ROM anyhow.

- Tablet/Phone combo: I got spoiled by my Atrix. Being able to use a physical keyboard to respond to an incoming text message is really habit-forming. Especially if I need to type it in Japanese. Of course the Padfone would win here... Not sure if there's an app that lets you see the text and MMSs on a phone through a tablet though. The other obvious thing here is that the Padphone *IS* the tablet, once docked into the PadStation. No tethering, no separate data plan, no hotspot needed. The G-Nexus-7 combo would see me tethering the G-Nex to the Nex-7. Is there a simple app that can make an on-demand data connection between the two happen at will?

- Updates: This is what pissed me off about Motorola. The OG Atrix's Tegra 2 processor can more than handle ICS, but here it is almost 6 months later, and nothing. Luckily I can get Kang builds, but certain things just don't work for me--for example Chrome crashes ALL the time. Camera sucks, etc. Hence, I'm over using another Moto device. Obviously the Nexus duo will ALWAYS get the latest and greatest; no-brainer there. Asus? The TF series got their updates to ICS within the first 3 months IIRC. Since Jelly Bean is just a point update, perhaps the Padfone will see an update in the fall sometime--I can live with that.

- Ease of use: Not the OS, but the physical pieces... The G-Nex-7 combo is easy in the way that both are able to use the same charger (micro USB). Padfone just nests together. I like how the Padfone keyboard has USB ports and an SD card slot... Not to mentin BATTERIES galore. It's hard as hell trying to find a place to charge my phone all the time, and sometimes I'd just use the Moto's lapdock as a battery charger!

- Price: this is the kicker... The Galaxy Nexus/ Nexus 7 Combo will come out to less than US$600 when bought from the Google store. Even buying from a grey-market distributor in Taiwan, I can't buy the Padfone/PadStation/Keyboard combo for less that US$1000... I have barely that much to spend though.

Friends, I need some help deciding! Here are my pros and cons for each device as it stands today. I'm posting this in the Padfone, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, and my old Motorola Atrix forums as well. I want some good honest and thoughtful opinions-- no haterism, flaming, or retardedness please. This is an extremely important purchase for me, and needs to be done ASAP.

As always, thank you so much for your opinions!