There aren't a lot of upcoming Asus phones for 2014 aside from the affordable ZenFone lineup, but in case you are looking for the next generation version of the popular PadFone smartphone-tablet hybrid, then this is your lucky day. 

According to a report by GSM Arena, the Taiwanese manufacturer has announced that it has plans to release the Asus PadFone S in Malaysia at only $275 for the phone, and $152 for the tablet dock.

Unlike previous releases in the PadFone lineup, this time around getting the dock is optional, which means you can just purchase the PadFone handset separately and pay just below $300. 

So what specs are you getting for this amount of money? They are pretty impressive for the price. 

In the report, the PadFone S handset boasts a 5-inch IPS display with Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, a quad-core CPU clocked at 2.3GHz, a Snapdragon 801 chipset from Qualcomm and 2GB of RAM. 

Other specs include Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth, NFC and LTE. 

In case you want to avail the tablet dock as well, you only need $152 more cash to do so and the benefits are certainly rewarding. Aside from the bigger 9-inch display with the same FHD (1080p) resolution, the dock adds superb battery life to the PadFone. Its 4,990mAh battery is sure enough to handle plenty of applications and tasks throughout the day, and you won't be anxious that there are no power outlets nearby. 

Unfortunately, the Asus PadFone S will only be available in Malaysia for now. Details were not yet disclosed whether the device would hit other markets as well.