Asus EEE Pad Transformer

[david13lt]

I am thinking of getting for quite a while. The biggest drawback of ASUS Transformer is the lack of 3G connectivity. I am with my MacBook and iPhone all the time, so I can connect to my work servers and do fast modifications no matter where I am.

[betadan]

I have to say that i love mine. Still undecided on the dock.

Currently running Prime 1.5 with stock kernel

When i first hot my Transformer i too was horrified at the flash performance...even in youtube.

Once 3.1 came out my flash was smooth as butter.

[+mrbester MVC]

I know there are two versions of the dock out, the "bad" one which starts with B5 in the serial, and the "good" one that starts with B6. Luckily I have the B6 revision.

Hmm. Guess I'll RMA my B4 one then...

[c3ntury]

Brilliant review, kudos.

Thoughts for next time? Pictures? :D Unless they're not displaying because we're using IE8 at school (it's painful).

[Teebor]

Good review (Y) I soooo want one of these but looks like I might not be able to afford it until the end of the year now :( dammit!!

Even the negative things I hear about this are minor really, the dock could be a pain but as a known issue replacement should be easy.

[rajputwarrior]

Brilliant review, kudos.

Thoughts for next time? Pictures? :D Unless they're not displaying because we're using IE8 at school (it's painful).

it may just be your browser. their are some pictures there (not high res or anything though)

[DukeEsquire]

Very good and fair review.

I briefly owned a Asus Transformer, but ended up returning it due to the software issues you mentioned in your post.

The Android Market doesn't seem well situated for Tablets and the app ecosystem is painfully weak.

On top of that, apps will constantly crash. I never got the Facebook app working right.

[rajputwarrior]

On top of that, apps will constantly crash. I never got the Facebook app working right.

yeah the facebook app is definitely crap on this thing, but to be fair. it doesn't officially support tablets either :pinch: for me, i have to strategically wait and time my self and go a certain path to find friend or else the app crashes. Friend Me is a great alternative for facebook on tablets, just doesn't do chat though...

[evo_spook]

okay.......

I have a iPad 1 and a iPhone, never used Android long term besides playing with anyone elses.

I'm very tempted to get one to play around with, not decided yet, I'm tempted by the Asus but think might be best waiting to see the Samsung 8", the Touchpad looks nice but can't see it going anywhere with a app infrastructe

Thoughts, is it worth splashing on a Asus just to learn and play with?

I wouldn't mind app programming but iphone requires a Mac investment which not prepared to pay for, so could look at android

[Mystic Mungis]

I really fancy one of these, pretty sure I could deal with the bugs/annoyances so I might order one later :D

[rajputwarrior]

in terms of the issue with the dock and charging/draining. a fix is coming.

ASUS confirms Eee Pad Transformer power fix incoming

ASUS has admitted to an issue with the Eee Pad Transformer?s power management settings, which could see users of the keyboard dock experience problems with power drain and how well the attachment recharges. According to ASUS, the fault is down to how the company chose to configure the power management around sleep mode; however, there?s also a fix promised.

The exact nature of that fix has not been explained, though ASUS says it will be announcing details ?shortly? on how it intends to resolve the situation. Most likely, however, is a firmware update that will change the power management configuration based on the feedback ASUS has received from owners.

?Apologies to anyone who has encountered issues with their Transformer keyboard dock (power drain and charging). The issue is related to the way we configured the device?s power management in/out of sleep mode. We will shortly be announcing details on how this will be resolved for our customers? ASUS

Despite the issues, the Eee Pad Transformer has reportedly been a significant sales success. ASUS claimedit was the best-selling Android tablet recently, with the production line unable to keep up with demand for the low-cost Honeycomb slate. More information in our full review.

http://androidcommun...oming-20110713/

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also for you americans, anandtech has a contest to win a free eee pad

http://www.anandtech...pad-transformer

[evo_spook]

Just got a 16GB Transformer with Keyboard. 32GB be nice but thought if needed more space can add a card.

[Elemak]

Got the 32GB version a few days ago. Loving it so far.

[evo_spook]

Well not used it so far, it says charge for 8 hours first so thats what I'm doing.

I'm slightly concerned that when I plugged it in to charge the unit came on by itself with a warning box that something had not loaded and needed to be force quitted. I switched it off as I was bothered about charging.

This was fully packaged and everything, so if when switch it on again and get errors I'm not going to be happy.

Not the best welcome from a iOS person to Android.

[rajputwarrior]

Well not used it so far, it says charge for 8 hours first so thats what I'm doing.

I'm slightly concerned that when I plugged it in to charge the unit came on by itself with a warning box that something had not loaded and needed to be force quitted. I switched it off as I was bothered about charging.

This was fully packaged and everything, so if when switch it on again and get errors I'm not going to be happy.

Not the best welcome from a iOS person to Android.

yeah 3.1 has a tendency to do quirky things, but that's okay, as a lot of those type of errors should be fixed soon with 3.2 coming to the transformer pretty quick!

http://androidcommunity.com/asus-transformer-update-to-3-2-honeycomb-coming-soon-20110713/

[rajputwarrior]

28th July 2011

(Pushed to TW and US devices.)

• Updated to Honeycomb 3.2
• Build number: 8.6.5.6-20110726
• Kernel changed.
• Wifi updated: v5.2.52
• Bluetooth updated: v6.19
• GPS updated: v1.5.0
• Improved hardware acceleration.
• Bug fixes.
• Update to Movie Studio
• Update to Google Movies
• Update to widget system
• Update to Google Music.
• Exchange support.
• 'Zoom to fill' feature.
• Pinch to zoom and two finger scrolling with trackpad added.
• Trackpad operation inverted.
• Proper SD card support (which will allow media to sync, etc).
• HDMI output resolution quality scales better for greater compatibility with 720p tv's.
• Mouse cursor changed (now a circle instead of pointer).
• Pressreader updated.
• Splashtop updated (not HD version).
• No longer white squares in default browser when redrawing page.
• Smoother home page rotation.
• Smoother 720p flash.
• UI speed improvement/tweaks.
• Weather widget displays last update time.

[Matrix XII]

Great review rajputwarrior! I was really looking into getting one of these and selling my iPad, but I have some thinking to do now.. :p

[rajputwarrior]

Great review rajputwarrior! I was really looking into getting one of these and selling my iPad, but I have some thinking to do now.. :p

3.2 definitely help a lot with the lagging. it feels a lot snappier now, flash is running better (albeit not as good as one would expect yet) and the music app hasn't crashed yet :)

though there is also STILL keyboard lag in the default browser, but not in Opera...

[Matrix XII]

That's good, I thought it was odd that flash wasn't working properly on it.

I think I might get the next Asus tablet with Nvidia Tegra 3, supposedly released in October/November. That way I can keep my iPad and get an Asus tablet as well :)

[Detection]

well guess the light bleed issue is becoming a norm to most people, myself included. but i noticed so far no reviews that i've read mentioned about it, so i was wondering whether the unit that the reviewers had were bleed free or just that they fail to mention it? I'll be reviewing the transformer some time soon at my android blog, will let u guys know when I review it :)

Really wish I had searched for "Backlight Bleed" in Google rather than "Light Bleed" :x

[rajputwarrior]

TF101G 3G Transformer release firmware. 23rd August 2011

(Pushed to WW devices.)

Build number: v8.6.6.10-20110816

Wifi: v5.2.58

GPS updated: v5.5.9

Bluetooth: v6.20

23rd August 2011

(Pushed to US and WW devices)

19th August 2011

(Pushed to TW and CN devices)

Update appears to lock users to this firmware with no possibility to downgrade (only upgrade) once applied.

Build number: 8.6.5.9-20110816

Wifi updated: v5.2.58

GPS updated: v5.5.8

MobileDock version updated: 0213

Bluetooth v6.20

• Android compatibility mode for apps added.
  
• Keyboard on/off switch when docked added.
  
• Selectable cursor type option added (arrow or circle).
  
• Mouse cursor trackpad movement reversed.
  
• Device faster to turn on.
  
• More MyZine options added.
  
• Dock typing lag greatly improved.
  

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no more stupid circular cursor!!!!