Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 has finally landed in Malaysia at 18th January 2012, priced at RM2199! The package includes the tablet itself and the keyboard dock. This tablet is so hot selling that it runs out of stock very fast within one week. I was lucky to get the last one at a shop yesterday, as a gift and motivation for this dragon year.
When I unboxed the Prime and powered it up, I was very happy that I did not make a bad choice of getting this, by just reading reviews through internet and without testing the actual tablet. Hope this short review can help some of the people to decide whether to buy this or not.
Let’s skip the boring specs and features, you can find it all in Asus official websites and other popular reviewers.
So what is the first impression of Eee Pad Transformer Prime?
It is thin. It is like you are holding a flashy mirror with a solid metal back. It was quite heavy for the first time holding it, and it is heavier than the keyboard dock. The tablet has rubber covers for the two docking hatches and charger pin, and it feels good to be a standalone tablet. The Prime is preloaded with Honeycomb 3.2 for Malaysia shipment, but you can immediately update it to Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3 via OTA, taking about 10 minutes.
The keyboard is nicely built too. It is sturdy and the tablet fits very well to the hatch. You do not have to worry that the hatch will scratch your tablet. Asus puts a soft layer of foam or something around the hatch to protect it. When docking, the Prime automatically detects the keyboard and it is ready to be used. So far there is no any issue on the keyboard dock, except that it can only be tilted until about 110 degrees, unlike laptops and netbooks which can be tilted until 180 degrees.
How is the battery on Prime?
I have never use any electronic devices that can last that long, period. With a full charge of tablet and keyboard, I have been using Prime since 8am this morning until 11.30pm in balanced mode with auto brightness and I still have 60% of battery in tablet. Asus is smart to programme the dock to use up its battery first to charge the tablet while connecting, and to ensure that the tablet is always having the most battery to be detached.
Here is some screenshots about the live wallpaper.
Home screen at night.
Home screen in the afternoon?
Home screen in the evening!
Menu screen.
Built-in widgets.
Google Search.
Google Maps.
ICS Calendar app.
Facebook on Dolphin Browser.
Nvidia Tegra Zone where you can find all the 3D games for Tegra 3 devices.
A shot of WordPress blogging on-going.
A sample 8MP camera shot.
Some pros and cons about Eee Pad Transformer Prime:
Pros: Prime is fast and responsive, and with the long-lasting battery, you are able to work and play for a long time. The keyboard dock doubles the battery amount and enables easy file sharing with USB and 2 micro SD slots. Moreover the special android keys and shortcuts make the control easier and faster. The Sonic Master speaker is sound-rich, full of basses and loud enough. Besides that, the IPS screen and auto brightness gives a clear and bright display to every angle. ICS is flash-supported therefore flash contents are viewable directly in browsers.
Cons: There are several issues highlighted by consumers all around the world regarding WIFI and GPS. However I have not seen any problem with the WIFI range and connection stability. GPS seems like not “working” with Google Navigation when WIFI is not present. However it needs a better software to confirm because not all countries are able to use Google Navigation. Furthermore, there are still not many apps that are compatible with ICS. Most of the android apps designed for mobile phones are not tablet-optimized. ICS still needs time to grow.
And a negligible complaint about the keyboard layout – there is no “del” key, and the top right corner is a “lock” key. I always press it wrongly and lock my screen away.
As a conclusion, Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is a well-built tablet armed with Tegra 3 quad-core 1.4GHz processors and 1GB DDR2 ram. Both micro SD card slots and USB can expand the file storage and sharing greatly and easily. With the extended battery in keyboard dock, there is no problem working and playing for long hours. The display is bright and clear, and the sounds are lovely. However the WIFI and GPS might have some issues on connectivity and stability. Even though ICS is still fresh and there are still not enough apps for it, it is enough for daily use.
I love Prime very much, how about you?
Some Whispers