I finally got my hands on your ASUS Transformer ASUS Transformer Prime . Been using it for quite a while now, and I have to express, this is most definitely the top Android tablet to time. Probably the best tablet as of yet. Before you start considering this review is biased, I do want to indicate that there are several quirks with this tablet too, and I will outline them below inside the full review. However, on the whole, definitely the best Android tablet to date. Finally the Samsung 10. 1 has been dethroned! All hail the fresh king: ASUS Transformer Prime. From my previous posts and the press, you are probably already acquainted with the specs on this gadget. However, just in case a person missed anything, the ASUS Transformer Prime may be the world’s first quad-core model tablet. Pretty crazy stuff. It’s the first product using NVIDIA’s new Tegra 3 brand. This baby has several CPU cores and 12 GPU cores, it’s just a huge. In addition, the Prime has been redesigned being much thinner, measuring in at simply 8. 3mm (or 0. 33 inches). This redesign makes it the thinnest tablet on the market, beating both the ipad tablet 2 and Samsung Galaxy 10. 1 The screen has already been upgraded to a Extremely IPS+ display with Corning Gorilla Cup protection. It’s called Super IPS+ because ASUS significantly increased the brightness output with this tablet, to 600nits. This is extremely vibrant and fantastic for backyard reading. Even though ASUS claims that is much brighter than the actual competitor’s displays, in real life We only noticed slight advancement. Nonetheless, it’s a great improvement considering that the last generation and is obviously outdoors readable. The ASUS Transformer Prime also has an upgraded 8. 0MP back-facing camera along with auto-focus and LED thumb. ASUS really put a few work into this digicam; it’s a great shooter. I’m pretty sure this is probably the best, if not the finest, camera on tablets at the moment. The aperture is f2. 4 in size, compared to the usual f2. 8 (smaller the better), which captures more Samsung Galaxy Tab. mild even in darker conditions. Finally, you have 1GB Memory, with 32GB/64GB storage alternatives. Starting price is $499 USD to the 32GB version, and $599 for the 64GB version. This is a quite nice setup, since most other pills only start of along with 16GB of storage pertaining to $499. PHYSICAL CONSTRUCTIONThe first thing you’ll notice regarding the ASUS Transformer Prime tf201, once you have it within your hands, is how awesome it feels. ASUS really went in length to make this tablet feel as if a premium piece of technology. The entire tablet, as well as your mobile keyboard dock, is very sturdy and well developed. It just feels as if you are using something high-priced and premium. The metallic spun finish is really a nice touch, and really makes this tablet stand out from the crowd. Some people said the spun finish on the back, especially on the metallic version (ASUS telephone calls it Champagne Gold), looks like a pot inside your kitchen. I can definitely see where they are coming from, but for me, this thing looks not like a kitchen appliance. The finish ASUS used on the Transformer Prime helps it be surprisingly scratch-resistant. The metal is definitely more scratch-resistant when compared to the iPad 2. The latching mechanism involving the tablet and the mobile keyboard dock has been improved when compared to first generation Transformer. It works much better and the connection gives a fulfilling click. However, it is still very, very hard to fold the dock latch down if the tablet isn’t connected. One peculiar issue is the ASUS Transformer Prime will be top heavy. Since all of the actual processors and components are in the tablet, when this thing is docked it’s very easy to flip that over.
Whenever docked and used like a laptop, you definitely don’t desire to put this near the edge from the table. One slight bump can cause your ASUS Transformer Prime to topple over. DISPLAYAs mentioned above, the Super IPS+ display is very bright. Just like the very first generation Transformer, the Prime’s screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass – a very strong glass that’s resistant to just about anything. Throwing the Transformer Prime into your bag with your keys or whatever other junk you have in there should not be an issue… though of course, try not to abuse it if you can. The viewing angle of the screen is by far the very best I’ve seen on any tablet so far. ASUS advertises a 178-degree viewing angle display, and they aren’t exaggerating. There is very small color or contrast loss even though viewed at an angle… pretty awesome when multiple people will be looking at the same screen. ASUS advertises the new screen as fingerprint-resistant. They claim that these people used some special coating or treatment on the screen to prevent fingerprint grease. However from using it for 2 weeks, I would say this is just a marketing trick. My fingerprints were throughout the screen, just like with the rest of the tablets. I am sure ASUS applied some kind of coating though, because I can clear off my fingerprint easier than I could compared to other tablet screens. However, it’s not really “resistant” for each say. Camera There is a 1. 2MP camera on leading of the tablet with regard to video chatting. Nothing exciting here, just standard equipment. The 8.0 MP camera on the back, however, has an f2. 4 aperture for elevated light capturing. ASUS claims it has a 30% better color enhancement when compared to the competitors. While I can’t say the exact percentage, the image quality is unquestionably better than any some other tablets I’ve seen to date. Keep in mind, this still doesn’t compare to a number of the cameras from smartphones, such as the beast the iPhone 4S has. But I can say that the ASUS Transformer Prime has got the best 8. 0MP shooter for the tablet. 1080p video recording? Silky smooth. SPEAKERI demoed the speaker around the ASUS Transformer Prime to a couple people, and everyone was amazed at how good the particular sound quality is, considering this is coming from a tablet. It really has the best tablet speaker in the marketplace right now. ASUS’ investment in its SonicMaster sound technology has definitely paid, as the sound is actually both loud and clear. While the Transformer Prime isn’t going to be powering your following disco, it certainly has enough oomf for a small house party. The only complaint I’ve is there is just one single speaker on the right side from the tablet. So while holding it in normal usage, the sound is only going to be taken from one side. Not a big package, but takes sometime to adjust to. MOBILE DOCKJust like the initial Transformer, the ASUS Transformer Prime also has an optional mobile pier accessory; this is actually what provides the “Transformer” name. The mobile dock offers separately for $149, making it a relatively pricy accessory. However, the mobile dock will add around laptop. 6 hours of extra battery life and offer a 95% full-sized computer keyboard. There is also an USB port plus a SD card slot around the dock for added expandability.