Hardware
ASUS Prime Transformer is a big step up from its predecessor in so many different ways. One of the most obvious way out of the box is to build it. While the former is rather yellow and thick, ASUS chose to put an emphasis on thinness and weight. This device is only 8.3mm thin, comparable to some of smartphones, and weighs only 586 grams. It's a very comfortable experience whether you're holding it in landscape or portrait.
Build quality feels very premium, something that you want from a tablet that you spend up to U.S. $ 400 on. A brushed metal back plate that covers the internal cover super fast quad-core processors by NVIDIA Tegra 3, 1GB RAM and 32GB and 64GB storage options with an expandable memory option. If you are wondering how fast quad-core in fact, I'll just say that I have never had a smooth experience on both Android phones and tablets.
I never got occasional stuttering and anxiety that I get the original Transformer and terrible CPU / GPU combo is not surprising handled every 3D game I throw at it. I was one of the biggest skeptics about the quad core - I just think it's too much. I am glad to see that I am completely wrong and anyone who wants to take this device should be happy to know there is in them such powerful hardware.
As far as the impact on battery life, the experts were right: You get a chipset, a faster, more powerful and four cores to work less to do more. While the battery life of 10 hours does not meet the norms that we have come to expect from the class 10-inch tablet, it's more than enough to require consideration of the hardware. Low-power companion core on NVIDIA Tegra chipset 3 help it along, handling services and background tasks without using the battery at all.
ASUS uses a 10.1-inch IPS screen is absolutely beautiful. Through this software you can switch between the IPS and IPS +, with the latter being more bright and lively fashion that helps you easily see the display in sunlight. Beyond that, it's responsive to the touch needed to use the OS fine and gameplay. Video and pictures are fun to look at and ghosting is not a problem at all. I'm not videophile but I think any tablet would benefit from this quality screen. That's not to say this display device can not be matched, but you will not find much better on the market today.
Since this is a big problem when the device first came out, I want to touch on the issue of GPS should be. Before going, I should note that I have since getting all the updates available for the Prime Transformer, including Android 4.0 and two maintenance upgrades to follow. I had absolutely no problems with GPS. Not only can I get the key out in less than two seconds, I also get the same key in the house in the same amount of time.
It's accurate to about 10-30 feet depending on conditions and the radio has never missed or miscalculated exactly where I was. There seems to be a mixed bag of good people who have this problem or not, and I am one who is not.
It's a shame that there is a problem at all but if the GPS on the tablet that are important to you then it's worth taking a chance on Prime. Who knows, you might be as lucky as I do. Maybe it would be a good idea to check it out at the store before you buy it, but make sure the unit has received all the necessary updates.
As for other hardware features, you get a microSD card slot, micro HDMI port and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the chassis for all your multimedia needs. As some of the OEMs tend to ignore this feature, we appreciate ASUS even more to fit all this stuff in there, and do so without compromising the compactness of this tablet.
From build quality to the look, from the GPS for the GPU, I can not find much wrong at all with hardware that Prime Transformer. WiFi and GPS performance has been very good for me, although I understand the hesitation to purchase a product when considering all the reports that came out about a problem with them. It does not feel cheap or flimsy, and it's something you should expect from a premium Android tablet. Even with cutting edge features that are great value and that's what makes it so appealing. This software makes it all better.
Software
ASUS is one of the first if not the first, tablet manufacturers to upgrade their users for Android 4.0 and that is what we are working with today. Android 4.0 brings a number of improvements over 3.2 Honeycomb, including a smooth user interface, several new features and some nice performance enhancements. While the transformation of 2.3 to 4.0 for Android phones is greater than the transformation of 3.2 to 4.0 for the tablet, we still appreciate its presence.
Many 4.0-specific Android applications remain largely the same and the same is true with many operating systems. Different settings menu to reflect the new selection as some new security features and menu options that give developers the tools they need developers to test applications on the tablet.
We also got a tray of new applications (widgets and applications can be found in the same panel) as well as a new application switcher that allows you to swipe a particular application from the list. There is also a key to open a new screen that allows you to change the owner information and open either the homescreen or a camera.
Android 4.0 introduced a hardware acceleration by default, but the tablet does not need it, even on Android 3.2. Thanks to the inside of the quad-core processor Tegra 3, this is absolutely fine Android experience I've ever had on a tablet. We already mentioned that in the hardware section but deserves another mention here. You will not be pulling your hair out waiting for applications to load or waiting for Android to register your touch screen thanks to all of this power.
ASUS Android customization has not changed much but it's never too obtrusive or annoying. In addition to a redesigned navigation bar, a redesigned notification panel (which you can easily switch back to the default setting), dot homescreen indicator-based and mostly pre-installed applications and widgets, Android 4.0 is pretty much pure. ASUS does not include the application is very helpful, though.
Things like Backup App and App Locker (the latter is a security feature that allows you to password protect access to the application) will get almost daily use of me. MyNet MyCloud and help me take my multimedia on my journey and sharing of multimedia tablet into another device, such as my PS3 or Xbox 360. DLNA feature is great and works seamlessly. I do not even need to set anything out of the box and I play my music and movies back in seconds.
WebStorage, Zinio, the Press Reader, MyLibrary, SuperNote, TegraZone, Polaris Office and all your usual applications that Google is also present. Some of these applications can be disabled in Android 4.0, but not all can. It should not matter much to wade through your application with or without the ability to turn off but you do not use the ASUS kept things very minimal, all things considered.
Widget MyZine they are still one of the best I've seen to manage both professional and personal life, all in one panel. You get the weather, bookmarks, music, photos, email, events and more right to be fed your homescreen. Unfortunately we can not replace email with Gmail so that those who really want to use the Gmail application MyZine will need to set up their Gmail account in the email application.
ASUS has been very good with support as evidenced by their rapid turnover of Android 4.0 and frequent updates to fix the problem. Do not worry about support because they have become the best of the best in the region, something that should be and it is important for many users. At this point, you can not expect a lot of OEMs to bring the user experience of the stock 100% Android and ASUS get as close, if not closer to it than any OEM.
Games and Multimedia
As you would expect, Tegra 3 in the chipset to handle most games handily. From heavy hitters such as 3D THD Shadowgun with that are not designed specifically for the Tegra 3, 3D games are very good. Smooth framerates and high quality textures are just a few of the many benefits of having this chipset in magnitude. Unfortunately, not all 3D games are very good in the Android market is available to Premier.
One of my favorite games, Modern Combat 3, it is not appropriate. We're not sure if this is due to Gameloft has not tested the game on this chipset, or if it's just due to incompatibility with Android 4.0, but we were disappointed regardless. With all this power was a shame to lose a few games that can take advantage of the Tegra 3 but there are still many options available for platform games.
As you would expect, the video is the problem here. Is it on YouTube or streaming video from my media server, either in quality or worst in high definition, the Prime Transformer barely whimpered. The device is handled most types of files I threw at it with the exception of MKV video., Though I can not blame them as the MKV container is strange that most of the media player has problems with.
The speakers on the ASUS Transformer Prime may seem simple at first, but they provide an incredible voice. I never expect much from a small set of speakers embedded in the device is thin but Prime Transformer produce sound above average.
I can not say I'm too happy with the performance of bass on it but, again, I did not expect it. You'll want to find some external device to your audio feed through if you want the best quality you can get. Otherwise, the audio crisp and loud enough to be heard through a moderate amount of noise.
Camera
For the camera, we have an 8 megapixel shooter in the back is capable of shooting 1080p HD video. This is accompanied by a very bright LED flash as well. Also on the front-facing camera is 1.2 megapixel. The number of megapixels in the sensor is not just for marketing, either.
Behind the camera as good as it will get on this tablet. While other manufacturers are taking shortcuts in their devices because they do not expect you to take pictures and video with such a large slate, ASUS chose to give the user the best they can and let them make their own decisions.
Low light performance is very good and the LED lights to help take decent pictures even in pitch black darkness. Of course, the day-light performance is even better and you'll be pleased that ASUS quality sensor stuck here for days where you just do not have your cell phone for some odd reason. Video recording is smooth and very high quality. Even at 480p and 720p, you can produce crisp moving images with less ghosting or stuttering.
Front of the camera is just as good for what it is. Most will use it for video calls and self portraits, and was shot sure that your friends at the other end will have a problem figuring out who you are.
Unfortunately, the experience of the camera wrapped by the software itself. As good as the sensor, the default camera application is as bare-bones as it can get. This is not the fault of ASUS - point the finger all on Google. Since Android 1.0, Google software camera leaves much to be desired. It's sad that we are almost in the four years since the first public release of Android, and they still have not figured it out.
Lack of options for fine-tuning the image and adding special effects are sickening, and while it may sound a bit harsh it is necessary to call Google about this. OEM does not have a problem creating a great camera software. Motorola, even as bad as they have cameras in the past, still produced a very good software. Samsung and Sony, of course, lead the way in this category.
If Google had to go so far as to have helped them create the OEM camera software, then they need to do that. It's disgusting how basic it and I almost never interested in using it for this reason. It's a shame that such a large sensor camera can not get an extensive software viable. I keep my fingers crossed for ASUS solutions developed in the future but it is unlikely that this will happen. But for those samples of the camera, see above and below.
Keyboard Dock
After using the keyboard dock area, I can say that you will not want to buy a tablet without it. Even if you already have a netbook you should consider changing your Transformer into a netbook because it is only as good as any with the tablet attached. The tablet is securely locked in place and will not open unless you want by using a button at the top of the dock.
The keyboard itself is very good. This chicklet style keyboard with a large distance and a large footprint and feel. A full QWERTY layout with a specific line number is enough for me, but the ASUS adds an additional row for OS navigation, settings and more are a treat. It's not often that I have touched my tablet to do anything but play games (and you definitely want to release in that case).
Track pad on the device is a standard setup you will find on any netbook or laptop. You have a large enough area to move your mouse cursor and click at the bottom. Trackpad also supports multi-touch gestures, something I was surprised about. You can scroll left, right, up and down using nothing but the track pad if you want. Perhaps the most interesting is how ASUS allows you to customize how the buttons on the track pad work. For example, I can set up as a right-click the back button, while the middle button can act as a menu button.
Dock to go further with the option to connect the USB cable as well as a full-size SD card for added storage. Perhaps the most exciting thing about the dock is that it houses an extra battery that gives users an extra 10 hours of battery life, so as long as 20 hours of battery life at all. If that's not enough, the dock will charge your tablet when it is inserted, even if you do not have the charging cable is attached.
On average, keyboard dock only costs about a third or a fourth of the actual tablet depending on the configuration, and I see no reason to not get it. This is a great accessory that I want will come standard with every tablet and ASUS does not disappoint. You have the most capable Android tablet on the market and one of the most capable netbook with a simple click.
Decision
ASUS Prime Transformer is the best tablet on the market. Period. Quad-core? Check for. The position of the camera? Check for. A beautiful view? Check for. Android 4.0? Check for. The ability to turn it into a netbook? Check for. All these things come together to create the best tablet experience I ever had with Android tablet. While I wish the camera software is not so limited, you still will want to use the camera for quality only. Game on Prime Transformer is like no other device on, and the same rings true for the overall multimedia experience.
On top of that, I have not had a lot of bugs, including the dreaded GPS issues that forced ASUS to remove the spec from their marketing lists. Even with the problems that you may or may not care about, you still want to buy ASUS Prime Transformer. Unless you can wait for a wave of quad-core devices will definitely go to the store later this year, do not go to the store looking for ASUS Transformer tablet without keeping the prime on the front of your list.
battery
Battery life is exceptional, thanks to smart design decisions on the Asus. All the processing power contained in a tablet, leave the keyboard effectively dead weight. However, Asus cramed secondary battery in there as well. When the tablet is docked to the keyboard, he determined that of the secondary battery (which, in turn, you can fill from the mains via the power adapter tablet). Together, advertised as providing Transformer up to 18 hours of battery life (up to 12 hours without the dock). That's really a bit of stretch, but using the Transformer as my only PC while traveling, I managed to get some 8-hour work day before requiring recharging.
One annoyance is interesting and important is the way the power button sits on top of the screen in 'laptop mode, the backward-curved edge. I found that when using a Transformer in economy class airplane seat, stuck to the screen in front of the back seat I keep pressing the power button. This causes the tablet to sleep when I'm writing. I also managed to put the tablet to sleep in the middle of notetaking few times unfair to 'lock' button on-keyboard, which is located in the upper right corner, right above the backspace key - something I find myself hitting quite often to fix the characters missing or misspelled words occasionally.
Prime Transformer is not perfect, nor is it even particularly novel. Once again, there are a large number of dockable keyboard for the iPad and Android tablet on the market more generally. On the other hand it is a slim, attractive, powerful, flexible and useful. The price is really only downside to consider. If you just want a tablet with a keyboard, there are cheaper ways to get one. If you want a combo tablet / laptop correctly with the portability of the former and the latter power, Prime Transformer is right up your alley.
General:
Released: 20/12/2011
Form Factor: Slate
Hardware Keyboard: Yes
Size
Width: 10.35 inches
Height: 7.12 inches
Depth: 0.41 inches
Weight: 20.67 ounces
Display
Type:
Capacitive
Technology: TFT LCD
Size: 10.1 inches
Resolution: 1280x800px
Camera
Megapixels: 8MP
Autofocus: Yes
Flash: LED
Megapixels: 8MP
Video Quality: 1080p
Secondary Camera
(Front Facing)
Megapixels: 1.2MP
Autofocus: ?
Flash:No
Video Quality: ?
Connectivity
Bluetooth:
Bluetooth 2.1
Bluetooth Types: A2DP
EDR
USB: Proprietary Connector
Wifi: 802.11b/g/n
GPS: Yes
GPS Types: aGPS
Multimedia
Headset Jack: 3.5mm
Speakerphone: ?
FM Tuner: ?
Browser: ?
Battery
Type:
Li-Po
Capacity: 6930 mAh
Removable: No
OS
Version: Android 4.0.3
Custom UI: None
Hardware
Internal Memory: 32,64 GB
External Memory: MicroSD
External Memory Amount: Up to 32 GB
RAM: 1GB
Processor: NVIDIA
Processor Speed: 1.3 GHz
