Asus Transformer Prime scores positive reviews, arriving December 19

[Jos]

Reviews are rolling in for the world's first quad-core tablet, the Asus Transformer Prime, and so far the general consensus appears to be that there's a new king of Android tablets. The device cuts no corner when it comes to hardware specifications. Besides packing Nvidia's hot-off-the-presses Tegra 3 SoC, it also sports a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) Super IPS+ panel covered in Gorilla Glass, 1GB of RAM and comes in either 32GB or 64GB sizes -- all wrapped in a 8.3mm-thick bushed metal casing that's a hair slimmer than the iPad 2 or Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Other specs include an 8-megapixel shooter on the back and a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front, as well as microHDMI and microSD ports. Like its predecessor, the Transformer Prime connects to an optional keyboard dock ($150) that adds an extra battery, a trackpad, and full-sized SD and USB ports.

Asus' flagship tablet comes preinstalled with Android Honeycomb 3.2.1 instead of the latest and greatest "Ice Cream Sandwich" release, but the company says an update to 4.0 will be out soon. It's also Wi-Fi only for now and there has been no word yet on 3G-equipped versions for the U.S. market.

Besides these relatively minor details and the ocassional stutter when opening menus or switching apps -- which hopefully will be fixed with the ICS update -- reviewers praised the device's aesthetics, long battery life, beautiful display, and graphics prowess. The Verge also says it packs best camera on any tablet.

Available in either Amethyst Gray or Champagne Gold, the 32GB model starts at $499 while the 64GB is going for $599. Pre-orders are open at several retailers, including Best Buy and Newegg. That said, there's still some confusion as to when exactly the device will start shipping, but several reports indicate it will hit online shelves December 12 followed by availability at retail stores on December 19.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/46499-asus-transformer-prime-scores-positive-reviews-arriving-december-19.html

 

[inventix1136]

It looks like a nice tablet, but personally I would like to have a USB port on the actual tablet itself. In my Acer A500 android tablet I use the USB port quite often to transfer files, upload pictures and it is one of the ways that an Android tablet can distinguish itself from Apple's iPad.

Not bad for a first quad core tablet...

 

[lawfer]

inventix1136 said:
It looks like a nice tablet, but personally I would like to have a USB port on the actual tablet itself. In my Acer A500 android tablet I use the USB port quite often to transfer files, upload pictures and it is one of the ways that an Android tablet can distinguish itself from Apple's iPad.

Not bad for a first quad core tablet...

I think the keyboard dock comes with USB ports. At $149.99, the 16-hour battery life extension is, by many, hardly justifiable, but in your case, you might just have two more reason to get it. Even with the optional keyboard, it still costs less the its direct competitor: the iPad 2.

 

[Guest]

I have Acer Iconia A500 as Well and I use the USB port quite often as well. I bought a tiny micr SD adaptor that is just a little larger than the micro SD card itself. I can have 112 gig of resident storage between the internal memory, external micro SD and the micro SD in the USB adaptor. On top of that, I can plug my external hard drive in the USB port when I need to access other data too large for my portable storage media. Another thing I would like to point out with the Asus is it only has one speaker. The Acer has stereo speakers and Dolby sound to boot. I think the Acer is very under valued and for some reason left out of a lot of comparisons. I also have an iPad2, and it is cool in its own way but I don't compare them any more than I would an Apple computer and a PC clone. Two different mind sets and design beliefs involved. I look forward to ICS to see what the evolution of Android brings.

 

[princeton]

Guest. The Acer is undervalued and left out of comparisons because of its sub par screen. 6bit color with a visible fine touchscreen grid doesn't hold up well compared to the 8bit S-IPS and S-PLS panels used in other tablets.

 

[yorro]

Only 1 RAM? I don't own an android yet, but is that good enough?

 

[Guest]

"yorro Only 1 RAM? I don't own an android yet, but is that good enough?"

The Ipad2 only has 512 Megs of RAM, Android tablets come with 1 Gig (1024 Megs) of RAM.

 

[Guest]

USB host ports on an ultra-portable device is debatable. No matter how many ports, there's only so much that can be practically stored on the device itself. It makes more sense to store the bulk of the data on the network, be it local or internet (there's always the option of a 32GB microSDHC card). I like Asus's approach of slimming own the tablet while offering a dock that adds the necessary ports. The vast majority of the time I don't need USB host features so why carry that bulk & weight around 100% of the time like the Acer.

 

[Capaill]

I don't own a tablet (yet) but I would think one of the main uses for a USB port would be recharging the device. The only way to charge the Prime is through a proprietary 40-pin connector port. And I'm not a fan of being restricted in how I use a device. On the go and want to recharge your tablet? Didn't bring that charger with you? Sorry, no, you can't charge it off your mate's laptop because the Prime doesn't have USB.
If a device is designed to be taken out of the home, it should be as flexible as possible. I'd accept micro USB.
All specs and connections are listed on the asus site here:
http://eee.asus.com/eeepad/transformer-prime/specification/

 

[Guest]

Can somebody answer provide an answer for me regarding Droid Tablets and USB devices? It sounds like the A500 and the Prime can copy/transfer/delete to USB External Drives but can someone confirm if either tablets will work with a FAT16 formatted External USB drives? Im hunting for a tablet that can replace my MacbookPro laptop for business travel. I use the laptop for the usual business stuff like emails and Office Documents which sounds like can easily be handled by tablets nowadays. The one thing that I use my Macbook for that is not typical is backup/restore Client's IDE Hard Drives using a Firewire/USB external enclosure. The hard drives are formatted in DOS 6.22 or Win3.11 and using the Macbook with the external enclosure works perfectly but I would like to travel a little lighter by having to only carry a tablet instead of the 15" MBP. From what it sounds like Apple has no intensions of ever allowing file transferring through USB on the iPad. Thanks in advance.