ASUS has tweaked the tablet interface so that you can use a standard stylus but also made it a touch screen that responds to human hand gestures.

Asus expects to ship the Padfone by the end of the year. As far as the price, the company would only comment that the Padfone would be cheaper to buy than a separate smart phone and tablet.

The Taiwanese company Asus announced four new tablets for this year. One of them can connect to a keyboard to make it more like a laptop computer. Another has a keyboard that slides out.