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Just received an email from memory express who I have my preorder with.
You’re receiving this email because you’ve expressed interest in the Asus Transformer Prime, Asus next-generation quad core high performance tablet. We just received word this morning directly from Asus Vice President for North America Sales and Distribution that the production on the Transformer Prime has been temporarily delayed. Asus focus has always been on high quality and with the Transformer Prime being their flagship tablet product they’re spending some additional time and resources to ensure that the Transformer Prime reflects that at launch. We have also been informed that the gold version will not be available in Canada at launch.
At this current moment we don’t have a solid ETA on when pre-order stock will be arriving, as Asus updates us I will forward the information your way.
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Wonder if there really is some sort of delay/problem or they just decided to screw over memory express and using that as an excuse?
UPDATE:
emailed memory express for clarification on the delay.
Originally we were supposed to get them on the 6th of December. According to Asus they are shipping on the 15th which means in theory we should have them on or after Christmas day.
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memory who?
but really, i'm almost expecting gamestop to pull out on like, the 18th or something.
Canadian electronics store in the west
If I don't have my tablet in hand by the 19th I am cancelling my pre-order.
Wow. I would really be upset if that was the case.. I got everything set up (skin, microsd card with movies and music, screen protector and notebook case) its hard enough waiting until just the 19th for this device through gamestop online preorder..
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Actually, if this is true, then I'm tempted to cancel my pre-orders, period. I certainly don't want a unit that has manufacturing/design issues, which would explain the delay.
Could the few that ship have been hand-picked to not have the problem, or are they initial units that simply slipped through the cracks?
i would think news like that would spread like wildfire on the internet. I've seen nothing of the sort. Ever since my pre order I watch the web constantly for prime news!
markimar said:
i would think news like that would spread like wildfire on the internet. I've seen nothing of the sort. Ever since my pre order I watch the web constantly for prime news!
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I've been surprised that there's no reporting whatsoever on all of the confusion. I think maybe the original Amazon pre-order cancellation was reported on a few sites, but since then, nothing. I mean, this whole story is newsworthy (at least as far as the sensationalist tech media goes)...
I GOT AN EMAIL TOO! From NCIX (Canada)! I asked if I was on the first shipment with my pre-order and this is what they sent me:
Yes your should be, but we got more bad news yesterday. Apparently the wifi signal was very weak from these units so they have delayed this even further. We will be mass emailing everyone shortly with a temporary solution for the holiday season.
Best Regards,
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SOOOOO my guess is that there are wifi issues with the first batch... They might not send them out, they might. By the sound of this email it seems like they MIGHT ship the bad units out anyways and give us a "temporary" fix, OR by temporary fix they mean "we'll delay it and give you something so you don't cancel over the holiday season and buy an iPad 2 instead".
I'm guessing they're really delaying the devices past Christmas. Sucks...
Oh and in the meantime on the ASUS Twitter page, everything is perfect! Yay!
MSNBC having WAY too much fun with the @ASUS #TransformerPrime: http://goo.gl/dyOku
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Were the cancellation/notice of "wifi issues" from official launch partners? (Sorry, I don't know who the Canadian launch partners are)
If not, then I'd expect this is the justification they were given for there not being stock for non-official launch partners and what they're passing on.
The wifi thing, though, does make sense. I remember at least one review (the link evades me) where the guy was having serious wifi issues, and then got a replacement tablet which didn't have them.
So my guess is there's some sort of production issue seen on SOME tablets, and they're catching it in QC and sending them back, meaning the stock they have to ship for launch is cut way down (which would also jive with the Amazon excuse for their cancellations).
...then again they may be shipping them all and letting the early adopters do the QC, like what I seem to remember hearing with the original transformer. But that seems a bit unlikely given the excuses/stock underruns that have been going around.
Edit: Ahh, it was the Anandtech review -- http://www.anandtech.com/show/5178/an-update-on-transformer-prime-battery-life-wifi-issues
yes both NCIX and memory express were listed by asus as places to preorder the prime
I'll let you guys know what's up when they send out the mass-email. I'd be interested in knowing what kind of release date/window they give me with this whole delay thing. Oh and PRAYING for a free dock or something.
SwissyChief said:
Oh and PRAYING for a free dock or something.
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The squeaky wheel gets the grease... if this isn't an across the board delay a bit of complaint might get you something, if not quite your wildest dreams.
At least B&H seems to be unaware of this or their support just does not know.
Chris : Hey! Do you know anything about Asus notifying sellers about technical problems with upcoming Transformer Prime? Apparently launch partners of Asus in Canada stated that they got a message from Asus yesterday: "We got more bad news yesterday. Apparently the WiFi signal was very weak from these units so they have delayed this (release) even further." Has B&H gotten such delay notification? Thanks!
Mark S: Hello Chris. My name is Mark, and I will be glad to assist you. Please give me a few moments to begin working on your inquiry.
Chris: According to forum post this notification came from 'Asus Vice President for North America Sales and Distribution'.
Mark S: We have not received similar notices from ASUS
Chris: Alright, thank you.
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Interesting how this is happening with the preorders in Canada but the device has been selling in Taiwan (Wasn't the release date 1 of December there, I think a few people have already got their hands on the Prime in Taiwan).
I would have expected the production issues to be present everywhere, including on the Taiwanese Primes.
Well to be honest I don't think we'd hear too much about problems with this device in Taiwan... For all we know there's a recall going on right now. Where would we even get that info?
I don't think this effects the u.s. Batch.. Seems to inky originate from Canadian preorders.
Hmm I will have to check my order with NCIX also
avinash60 said:
Interesting how this is happening with the preorders in Canada but the device has been selling in Taiwan (Wasn't the release date 1 of December there, I think a few people have already got their hands on the Prime in Taiwan).
I would have expected the production issues to be present everywhere, including on the Taiwanese Primes.
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well it is possible it was one specific batch that came out bad and what they decided to do was screw over a few retailers completely and ship to other retailers as opposed to being short with everyone.
BongoBong said:
well it is possible it was one specific batch that came out bad and what they decided to do was screw over a few retailers completely and ship to other retailers as opposed to being short with everyone.
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It might have been only one color but that's bull if they do that!
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Was it less than 10,000? This is utterly ridiculous.
I remember back when the PlayStation 2 debuted in 2000 and Sony shipped only half of their projected 1 million units for launch, and it was mad crazy trying to find one, you had to be at the right store at the right time that wasn't taking only pre-orders to get one.
Fast forward to today with Asus Transformer Prime it's like barely any store have one. Worst launch of a new product in history IMO.
I swear had this not be the only Android tablet with the highest specs I wouldn't be clinging on to wanting one this long. But sadly all the other alternative tablets fall short on the specs.
Idk probably that number!
But idk anyone who has gotten a 64gb they are saying January (amazon)
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I dont think its time to go "OMFGWTFBBQ" over this yet. Asus's statements have always said things to the effect of "we plan to start shipping units on the X day." They never said anything about fulfilling every kids want and need across the planet by day 1 of product launch.
Yes, it does suck that its not overstocked everywhere ready to go for everyone and their brother with enough extra supply for everyone to buy a second unit as a fallout backup unit, but they never really got all crazy with it. I think their aim has been to make sure the product stays quality, and to start opening the product flow pipelines this week, which they are doing.
the_game_master said:
Was it less than 10,000? This is utterly ridiculous.
I remember back when the PlayStation 2 debuted in 2000 and Sony shipped only half of their projected 1 million units for launch, and it was mad crazy trying to find one, you had to be at the right store at the right time that wasn't taking only pre-orders to get one.
Fast forward to today with Asus Transformer Prime it's like barely any store have one. Worst launch of a new product in history IMO.
I swear had this not be the only Android tablet with the highest specs I wouldn't be clinging on to wanting one this long. But sadly all the other alternative tablets fall short on the specs.
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I am Right there with you its down right shameful how this has been handle ..et alone turning would be buyers away i thought long and hard yesterday about just getting another tablet but my Gf told me to stay with it because ive already been waiting so long
Yup I feel the exact same way.
I really don't want to get something else. This is my first tablet because I've been waiting for something I really like.
But with a seriously flawed release plan, Asus has pretty much told me, "Sorry, we're not interested in your business."
I will NOT cancel my order until there is no more hope for me getting it before I leave back overseas on Dec. 29.
Come on people, its not like Asus doesn't want you to have the device before Christmas. I'm sure they tried their hardest to get these things out, but ran into lots of issues on the way. I do agree that Asus should of been more upfront about what was happening. Asus certainly isn't saying they're not interested in your businesses and they will be shipping these things out as quickly as possible.
If I wasn't so Anti-Apple, I would have cancelled this order a long time ago. How can the Android tablet market possibly ever grow in numbers with a launch like this??? Things like this really make me question my judgement in choosing a tablet, but I still think Android as a tablet platform would be more preferable for my needs than going with Apple, and its locked down platform.
I just am concerned for the future of the Android tablet market... If future launches from other companies go like this one, Apple will be laughing its way to the bank, even more than it is doing right now.
This would be a shame.... the Asus Transformer prime, and all of the Android Tablets coming out next year, have the potential to definitely compete against whatever apple brings. Let's hope Asus gets these out quickly, and in large quantities.
I think they shipped 4
no wait 3
yes 3 is the number.
also holy crap you people complain like woah. These are what they call "white people problems"
veggicide said:
Come on people, its not like Asus doesn't want you to have the device before Christmas. I'm sure they tried their hardest to get these things out, but ran into lots of issues on the way. I do agree that Asus should of been more upfront about what was happening. Asus certainly isn't saying they're not interested in your businesses and they will be shipping these things out as quickly as possible.
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Gotta agree with you. They obviously seriously screwed up by not making a pre-Christmas release of a decent size and you can be sure that they're not happy about it.
The problem I have with them is the almost complete silence on the matter. For that there is no excuse. They knew that many of us were purchasing this for Christmas so they should have been up front when they knew they weren't going to be able to fulfill pre-orders.
Update: Pre-orders for the #TransformerPrime starting to be fulfilled this week. Inventory set to reach normal levels in January
http://twitter.com/ASUS
the_game_master said:
Was it less than 10,000? This is utterly ridiculous.
I remember back when the PlayStation 2 debuted in 2000 and Sony shipped only half of their projected 1 million units for launch, and it was mad crazy trying to find one, you had to be at the right store at the right time that wasn't taking only pre-orders to get one.
Fast forward to today with Asus Transformer Prime it's like barely any store have one. Worst launch of a new product in history IMO.
I swear had this not be the only Android tablet with the highest specs I wouldn't be clinging on to wanting one this long. But sadly all the other alternative tablets fall short on the specs.
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you said it yourself, its the only tablet with the highest spec. why do you think other manufactures aren't making them? they are, but none of them can release them yet, theres not even an official statement yet, because of the time constraint. The fact the asus is able to release them before the Xmas is impressive enough. I know its dissapointing to have an expected release date and got pushed back, i know it sucks when their first shioment fall short. But should them wait till they have enough for everyone and release people are gonna complain that its too late.
Falhawk said:
Update: Pre-orders for the #TransformerPrime starting to be fulfilled this week. Inventory set to reach normal levels in January
http://twitter.com/ASUS
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Again, that could mean late January which is another 5-6 weeks. Amazon says that they won't be able to fulfill new orders for another 4 weeks at minimum.
andyxover said:
you said it yourself, its the only tablet with the highest spec. why do you think other manufactures aren't making them? they are, but none of them can release them yet, theres not even an official statement yet, because of the time constraint. The fact the asus is able to release them before the Xmas is impressive enough. I know its dissapointing to have an expected release date and got pushed back, i know it sucks when their first shioment fall short. But should them wait till they have enough for everyone and release people are gonna complain that its too late.
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Yea, i seriously doubt Asus is sitting on a stockpile of these things and saying, "Let's ruin everyone's Christmas." They are doing the best they can. They are a business, they want to sell these things. I am grateful that they caught the wifi problem and then decided to do something about it. Other companies would have just shipped and not said anything (i.e. Apple and the many bugs that their devices have come out with ala Siri, iphone 4 radio fiasco, and 4GS battery life). Asus wanted the product to be the best possible before shipping and it makes me feel like the device I get will be of the highest quality, even if I don't get it before Christmas.
Yea, I'm dissapointed. But I'm not going to come on XDA and throw a childish hissy fit about it. I do really really really want mine, but come on people, this is a "first world problem."
Go ahead and cancel your orders out of anger. I will happily bump up in the line.
2 Waves, 12/23 and 1/11/2012
htowngator said:
Again, that could mean late January which is another 5-6 weeks. Amazon says that they won't be able to fulfill new orders for another 4 weeks at minimum.
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Just got off the phone with Gamestop where I have my pre-order, the January date is for the 2nd wave of ordered inventory. If you already have a pre-order out there, you "should" as of now, get yours the 23rd, at least this is the word at Gamestop and I assume other retailers are on the same or close to the same schedule.
---------- Post added at 11:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:52 AM ----------
Years ago when I was working for IBM, we came out with a very hot Thinkpad/Laptop right before Christmas, the VP massively underestimated the demand, he was fired over it, the money on the table that was lost. I think we can say Asus under estimated the demand. To bad to, the numbers they could have achieved. To have done this right, the pipeline should have been full on 12/1. So here we are, we wait, my last best hope is Gamestop saids my pre-order will be available the 23rd, the first wave, if they don't have it, I think I will default to a new laptop instead.
Those of us who bought the original transformer know ASUS had similar problems with the launch of that product and many feel they didn't learn anything. I think they did but what they forgot was instead of one color with two memory size variations they now have two colors with the same two memory variations, so all the revised plans based on the previous screw up didn't work when they doubled the options. So you get cancelled from one retailer, Amazon because they took too many orders for one color and you cover yours bets by getting the opposite color with another retailer, Best Buy and bam, you lose that one because they had the opposite problem. The introduction of two colors and the missing 64GB versions are the prime, excuse the pun, factors in this screw up. IMHO.
The big test for me now with this shipping fiasco is how well and how quickly they get ICS out.so much for all the "worlds first" claims!
I think we can say Asus under estimated the demand. To bad to, the numbers they could have achieved.
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I don't think it's under estimating demand, it's not like 10K+ users are happy and have their Primes, and countless others are waiting for the 2nd/3rd batches.. they just failed to deliver the product, logistical, technical, marketing, lack of communication with consumers, etc. First batch obviously got pulled back to be reworked.
I'm not certain the demand is outrageous for this product. Maybe just the people who pre-order them (like myself). Stir crazy wanting the device before Christmas. Rightfully I guess, most of the expectations have been set by the retailers and not ASUS. ASUS seems to be trying to "ignore" the problem and not communicate except through third parties and rumor mill. This is 2011, you have to be engaged directly with your customers through social media, twitter, facebook, etc.. but they are 'mostly' silent.
My 2 cents -
If they could of got it in B&M store by Black Friday, week after Thanksgiving, etc.. they'd be selling like hot cakes probably. Horrible launch planning, they tried to hit a date and failed, and it'll cost ASUS with all the upcoming announcements at CES, Ipad 3 rumors, etc..
I'm sure quite a few jobs will be lost over this, marketing/PR, QA, Product Management, etc... they can't be successful if they can't learn how to launch a product. These aren't motherboards, or GPUs where the specs will sell the product, they need to market to the average consumer, and they are failing. Maybe it's different in other regions, but in the US, you gotta really knock it out of the park.
Conduitz said:
I dont think its time to go "OMFGWTFBBQ" over this yet. Asus's statements have always said things to the effect of "we plan to start shipping units on the X day." They never said anything about fulfilling every kids want and need across the planet by day 1 of product launch.
Yes, it does suck that its not overstocked everywhere ready to go for everyone and their brother with enough extra supply for everyone to buy a second unit as a fallout backup unit, but they never really got all crazy with it. I think their aim has been to make sure the product stays quality, and to start opening the product flow pipelines this week, which they are doing.
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Overstocked? Try just "stocked at all'. None of the stores have them.
It's obviously on Asus's end -- probably with their supply chain management. This isn't the first failed launch so no, they don't get a free pass.
See, I don't think consumers would have minded if Asus made a public announcement BEFORE release about delay issues. They left costumers in the dark and even now, we're getting conflicting reports.
A week or so ago they stated 19th was still a go, but that clearly was a bust.
This isn't a small start-up we're talking about -- they have over 110,000 employees! Not one of them could make a public announcement and communicate more effectively? No, that's ridiculous.
jwigginton said:
I don't think it's under estimating demand, it's not like 10K+ users are happy and have their Primes, and countless others are waiting for the 2nd/3rd batches.. they just failed to deliver the product, logistical, technical, marketing, lack of communication with consumers, etc. First batch obviously got pulled back to be reworked.
I'm not certain the demand is outrageous for this product. Maybe just the people who pre-order them (like myself). Stir crazy wanting the device before Christmas. Rightfully I guess, most of the expectations have been set by the retailers and not ASUS. ASUS seems to be trying to "ignore" the problem and not communicate except through third parties and rumor mill. This is 2011, you have to be engaged directly with your customers through social media, twitter, facebook, etc.. but they are 'mostly' silent.
My 2 cents -
If they could of got it in B&M store by Black Friday, week after Thanksgiving, etc.. they'd be selling like hot cakes probably. Horrible launch planning, they tried to hit a date and failed, and it'll cost ASUS with all the upcoming announcements at CES, Ipad 3 rumors, etc..
I'm sure quite a few jobs will be lost over this, marketing/PR, QA, Product Management, etc... they can't be successful if they can't learn how to launch a product. These aren't motherboards, or GPUs where the specs will sell the product, they need to market to the average consumer, and they are failing. Maybe it's different in other regions, but in the US, you gotta really knock it out of the park.
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Couldn't agree more with this. I too don't think that there was that much demand for the Prime in terms of pre-orders (compared to the Ipad for example). After all, I haven't heard a thing about the Prime in the mainstream media. I think ASUS just completely missed their launch target and for some reason thought that if they ignored everyone it would just go away. Not in this day and age.
I think that they could have avoided ALL the negative reaction if they had just communicated with people. I'm fine with the fact that my Prime is late, it's the complete lack of communication by ASUS and all the rampant speculation about release dates that's driving me nuts. The Prime will be ready to ship when it's ready to ship but I would REALLY like to hear from ASUS when it's going to come out. We don't even have a release date for the Prime in Canada....it's become a joke.
jwigginton said:
I don't think it's under estimating demand, it's not like 10K+ users are happy and have their Primes, and countless others are waiting for the 2nd/3rd batches.. they just failed to deliver the product, logistical, technical, marketing, lack of communication with consumers, etc. First batch obviously got pulled back to be reworked.
I'm not certain the demand is outrageous for this product. Maybe just the people who pre-order them (like myself). Stir crazy wanting the device before Christmas. Rightfully I guess, most of the expectations have been set by the retailers and not ASUS. ASUS seems to be trying to "ignore" the problem and not communicate except through third parties and rumor mill. This is 2011, you have to be engaged directly with your customers through social media, twitter, facebook, etc.. but they are 'mostly' silent.
My 2 cents -
If they could of got it in B&M store by Black Friday, week after Thanksgiving, etc.. they'd be selling like hot cakes probably. Horrible launch planning, they tried to hit a date and failed, and it'll cost ASUS with all the upcoming announcements at CES, Ipad 3 rumors, etc..
I'm sure quite a few jobs will be lost over this, marketing/PR, QA, Product Management, etc... they can't be successful if they can't learn how to launch a product. These aren't motherboards, or GPUs where the specs will sell the product, they need to market to the average consumer, and they are failing. Maybe it's different in other regions, but in the US, you gotta really knock it out of the park.
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When you said: "If they could of got it in B&M store by Black Friday, week after Thanksgiving, etc.. they'd be selling like hot cakes probably"
The key word is IF. Not meaning you, but anyone who has been saying "Asus blew it. They should have had this thing out (insert date here) and it would have been a HIT, is just being naive. a) It IS a hit, if not on the scale of Apply or Sony releases. b) ASUS has been busting their ass trying to get this out, and in spite of several setbacks (the wifi issue in one place reported 300 units were recalled, which is a ridiculous number.. more like 3k units I would guess, or possibly ALL unites to test, and reship unaffected tablets) and if ASUS could have had thousands of these ready for Black Friday, you can bet they would have.
I am personally pissed at all the outright LIES that Bestbuy CSR's were telling folks, when they OBVIOUSLY kept selling Pre-orders beyond any commitment of what they would receive. If everyone else could pull the pre-orders, theres only ONE reason Bestbuy didn't - out & out greed and ^%$# the customer business methods.
I have communicated to ASUS that they can NOT compete with the like of Apple, Samsung, or even Motorola when they don't even get the english tranlastions correct in their marketing materials. I personally saw them change the WebStorage Portal page and add corrections I sent in an email.... Small time operators, they don't get that they are peeing in the tall grass with the big dogs now. They need to hire a top Advertising Agency, and Marketing consulting to provide someone with a degree in Language to proffread their silly statements.
I have a Motherboard here that has this on the box: "Rock Solid" Heart Touching" ??? Heart Touching? WTF does that have to do with a high spec motherboard? LOL
Recently Clove Technology managed to grab hold of some stock of the Asus Prime and with all the issues surrounding the model they decided to carry out extensive tests on the stock they held.
The end result is they are not happy with the overall result and have concluded they will not be selling the Asus Prime at this moment in time.
Personally I think it is a bold and solid message they will send back to Asus and a credit that here we have the only seller who will stand up to Asus by showing although they are not an Asus Sales Partner they do have a louder voice in the selling of Mobile devices. That message will be picked up by the mobile industry at large... A message a lot of us want to pass back.
Great B***s Clove.
Here below is the message Clove are sending to all who pre-ordered the Prime with Clove:-
We are contacting you regarding the interest you expressed in the ASUS Transformer Prime 32GB model.
Stock supply has been a real issue and good levels of stock are not expected until late February/March.
However we have been able to obtain some stock sooner than expected; but because of complaints of faults with the model we took the decision to thoroughly test stock before fulfilling any orders.
We are at this time not satisfied that all units we could provide you with are working correctly, and performing to the standard we expect of the unit.
We have therefore taken the decision until further notice stop selling the ASUS Transformer Prime.
If in time we feel that the situation has changed and we are happy to sell the Prime, we will email you to let you know that we are once again accepting orders.
We apologise that this is the situation but trust you understand our reasons for doing so.
The Clove Technology Sales Team.
Got this too, been waiting for ages, was a bit disappointed but the more I think of it the better...
Didn't want my Prime delivered all the way to Gibraltar for it be a faulty product because returning it/RMAing it is a nightmare from Gibraltar.
I plan to wait till the issues iron themselves out, like that I will be able to save up my money better and not end up skint when I buy it
Bravo for Clove!
It's a tough decision to make when there's such a feeding frenzy over a new device. They've certainly earned my respect by doing this.
Asked them if they were going to blog about the tests they made and the results, they replied and said that at this moment they won't be revealing anything.
neoghio said:
Asked them if they were going to blog about the tests they made and the results, they replied and said that at this moment they won't be revealing anything.
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I wonder why?
Absurd! Asus has said that it is mostly your imagination! Remember unless you got some of the first shipments, the boxes dont say GPS,! And who would ever use wifi on a wifi only tablet? Anyone who uses wifi should just go buy a laptop. Tablets aren't meant for wifi.
... and soon they will have to label it "Single Core Tegra 3 chip*"
*with a random possibility that maybe the chipset will supoort operating the other 3/4 cores
I'm not sure I agree with all of this. Not having a go a Clove but just playing devil's advocate here:
- Clove blog about lack of stock and build issues
- ASUS post on FB to ignore Clove and that they are not an official supplier
- Clove can't get stock (either because they have been pushed down the list or because they were never on the 'list')
- Clove email people saying we can't deliver because we're unhappy with the quality. We might deliver next month...
Clove have no responsibility for testing. If buyers have a problem they can return for full refund, or if Clove were too concerned by this they could hold back 20% of stock to cover returns of faulty units.
They also state that they might supply them in time. What will time give them? - ASUS aren't going to rebuild the thing so any faults will be permanent ones.
Sounds to me like sour grapes or a lack of supply that they aren't owning up to.
PS No disrespect at all intended to the OP.
If I were a reseller of any product and I would be made aware of possible issues with the product I would definitely run my own investigation and decide whether I want to carry the product or not.
It's not just ASUS taking the hit on returns, it's also resellers having to deal with the logistics and the dented image.
PS I am not a customer or representative of Clove's, they don't have shops in my country, and I am not certain they actually did what they said but I would encourage all resellers, big and small, to test the Primes prior to dispatching to customers... as best they can.
remics said:
If I were a reseller of any product and I would be made aware of possible issues with the product I would definitely run my own investigation and decide whether I want to carry the product or not.
It's not just ASUS taking the hit on returns, it's also resellers having to deal with the logistics and the dented image.
PS I am not a customer or representative of Clove's, they don't have shops in my country, and I am not certain they actually did what they said but I would encourage all resellers, big and small, to test the Primes prior to dispatching to customers... as best they can.
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Except that they won't be revealing anything.
Secret tests with secret results? Our protector or sour grapes?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
I, too, would love for them to publish their results. I am a firm believer in the fact that the number of faulty Primes out there (processor, wifi, gps, screen etc) is far greater than Asus would like us to believe. Considering the various polls on this forum it is my own estimation that at least half of the Primes suffer from one or a combination of manufacturing/parts defects.
If a reseller with a decent stock were to carry out extensive tests over 100-1000 units and post their findings I think it would really ruin Asus' claims of "only a small percentage of units display this behavior".
I guess if we bombard their twitter/facebook/google+ we might pressure them to reveal what they did?
Bravo for Clove?
Not really, unless they won't sell because of weak GPS, majority of TF201's work relatively well. Sure they are not perfect devices, but they work.
I wonder if there's some other reason why Clove is not selling, such as simply not having enough stock.
Col.Kernel said:
Bravo for Clove!
It's a tough decision to make when there's such a feeding frenzy over a new device. They've certainly earned my respect by doing this.
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Quoted for Truth!
Great to see a site standing up and more worried about their Reputation, than selling a hot, but flawed, product. I know some people will swear they have a perfect unit (or one with only minor issues) but many of these devices have shipped with many issues (light bleed, GPS, WIfi, Serial Number Unknown, ICS Rebooting, lockups, etc). If I were a company, I wouldn't sell it right now either.
Life goes on. Asus will still sell primes. They will continue to make money. Everything isn't always what it seems. Might be ore to this story than people think.
remics said:
I, too, would love for them to publish their results. I am a firm believer in the fact that the number of faulty Primes out there (processor, wifi, gps, screen etc) is far greater than Asus would like us to believe. Considering the various polls on this forum it is my own estimation that at least half of the Primes suffer from one or a combination of manufacturing/parts defects.
If a reseller with a decent stock were to carry out extensive tests over 100-1000 units and post their findings I think it would really ruin Asus' claims of "only a small percentage of units display this behavior".
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Not likely a big enough sampling to reflect the amount of primes produced. I'm assuming there are 40,000 to 100,000 primes out of the factory already, and will be real mad if it's only 10k
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Haha. Good for Clove. Asus just got ***** slapped, and they deserve it.
kristovaher said:
majority of TF201's work relatively well. Sure they are not perfect devices, but they work.
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You hit the nail on the head. All of the returns and exchanges are costing resellers a fortune. Why should Asus or the Prime be given any special consideration when compared to other devices? They're all supposed to perform the same and within very narrow tollerances. Something went horribly wrong with the Prime: trouble meeting production targets, spec changes after sales start, devices performing differently from each other in the same lot, display issues (dead pixels, screen bleed, varying color temperatures), random reboots, failed updates, and the list goes on. Clove's profit margin is narrow and if 1/3 of the devices they sell end up returned they'll barely break even. If the return and exchange rates continue in the U.S. I'd expect similar responses from resellers here too.
P.S. - I've bought tons of stuff from Clove. They're one of the best UK resellers to deal with for importing devices to the U.S. They typically do analysis on hot devices and are staffed by people that are really in to electronics. They've never done anything like this before so it would be hard to understand why they would suddenly single out one device unless something's really wrong.
Well god bless the capitalism of the USA (cronnie or not...LOL). Let me decided what to do with my money.
Like thousands of others I am perfectly happy with my Prime, and I am really happy I had the opportunity to get one. I heard all the horror stories at my time of purchase, but thank god i was allowed to decided for myself,
I can understand that maybe they didnt want to deal with ANY returns, and I feel for any of you guys that were waiting for one,
Sent from my fully functional TF201 Transformer Prime
You see in business, the last thing you want is returns. Sure you need it to survive, so customers think it's a good business/store and all, but with returns, it's always a hassle. So I can understand clove not wanting to deal with this as it seems a good number of primes have problems. Hence a lot of returns.
$1 gets you a reply
Prime still flying off the shelves, how many do you think have been sold? Also it's interesting that nowinstock indicates that only Amazon and Gamestop have been receiving shipments lately.
In fact, for the last almost week . . . the only company that seems to have any significant stock has been GameStop. Maybe Amazon is getting a bunch and selling them on preorder and they never make it to the rest of the public.
Still, does the lack of stock not seem strange? We are now 3 months post launch and they are still hard to find. It must mean that either they are selling so fast that no one can keep up . . . or they are slowing production until they can figure out how to make them reliable.
I am inclined to believe that it is a combo of the two with more emphasis on the latter at this point.
It is very strange. I have been looking at Best Buy.com every day. If they get any more in before my final Return Date, I am going to get a new one. If they do not, I am still up in the air.
I always search all of the Best Buy stores in the Indianapolis area, and only a couple of stores have had any at all in the past 30 days. This is nearly 3 months after these started hitting US shelves, and you still cannot buy one.
That is very strange and weird to me. Anyone, by now, should be able to walk into a store and get a Transformer Prime. Heck, I bet you will be able to walk into a store and buy one of the new Transformer Prime models before you can the Prime Tf201.
This far into production, these things should be everywhere. If the sales are so good, and if the Satisfaction rate is REALLY below 1% (which I would have to see actual valid data, cause I do not believe it) why can't I go buy one in a store?
3rdamention said:
It is very strange. I have been looking at Best Buy.com every day. If they get any more in before my final Return Date, I am going to get a new one. If they do not, I am still up in the air.
I always search all of the Best Buy stores in the Indianapolis area, and only a couple of stores have had any at all in the past 30 days. This is nearly 3 months after these started hitting US shelves, and you still cannot buy one.
That is very strange and weird to me. Anyone, by now, should be able to walk into a store and get a Transformer Prime. Heck, I bet you will be able to walk into a store and buy one of the new Transformer Prime models before you can the Prime Tf201.
This far into production, these things should be everywhere. If the sales are so good, and if the Satisfaction rate is REALLY below 1% (which I would have to see actual valid data, cause I do not believe it) why can't I go buy one in a store?
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Have you tried going in the store and asking them if you can do an "OMS order" and provide them the SKU# of the prime? Thats what I did when I did my prime exchanges but after the 3rd I decided to cancel my order and got a refund. And my local Bestbuy never had any primes in stock nor will they have it. Its pretty much a straight from warehouse to you or to the store of your choice even if they are out of stock online.
I'd say... OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!!!!!!!!
Sent from my tablet thing with XDA Premium.
Whoa it looks like Walmart got some in stock this morning
jdeoxys said:
I'd say... OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!!!!!!!!
Sent from my tablet thing with XDA Premium.
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Was waiting for this >.>
Anyway, no telling.
I'd say lack of supply is certainly not because everybody's running out to grab them... I'd go with option two, they slowed production after the holidays and aren't ramping it up again at all. They'll keep them crawling out until the next two models are out.
175,000. Just a guess. It's probably much less since the damn thing has been out of stock forever. It's not that they are selling out of a lot of stock fast because clearly with the trackers they come in and go out of stock so quickly that each place is only receiving a handful at a time.
They have basically sold all of them since no one has them in stock.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
buxtahuda said:
I'd go with option two, they slowed production after the holidays and aren't ramping it up again at all. They'll keep them crawling out until the next two models are out.
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I think this is probably the case, but not for the reason you're thinking. While it is certainly the case that manufacturers ramp up production for the holiday season and slow it down afterward, we have to remember that these units can take months to reach store shelves after being built. Asus has said repeatedly that they vastly underestimated demand for the TP, and that's probably because the batch that was supposed to be sufficient to weather the holiday rush was ordered months beforehand, before all the pre-orders were even in. I speculate that the current lack of supply has to do with a mad holiday rush that they weren't prepared for, still haven't recovered from, and is exacerbated by the (presumably) large number of units they've been forced to ship to replace defective first batch units.
I'd say easily over 175,000-200,000+. Watch what I tell ya lol
Tactics such as this might also have a part to play as asus might well be seeking alternative assemblers to look for ..I have a feeling that the TFP was assembled by wistron (but my memory is shyte and it was most probably someone else lol)
If the Prime has sold that many... I guess my question is how many of that was returned back to Asus?
In Australia since they first arrived at JB Hi Fi, it seems like it is a combination of not enough stock and they are selling like hotcakes when they do come in. The Whirlpool Australia forums "where to buy" threads seem to have random posts about them being in stock somewhere and then out of stock not long after. In Japan when I was there recently, the TF101 and the Slider were the Asus tablets on display , no sign of the TF201 so I have no idea what is going on...
junrider said:
If the Prime has sold that many... I guess my question is how many of that was returned back to Asus?
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As the cnet article stated, less than 1%.
chamberc said:
As the cnet article stated, less than 1%.
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I dont believe that since its coming from a biased source. Id believe it if it was coming from the retailers themselves, but that was never included in the article.
We know Asus' tablet sales were down 24% in Q4 from their earnings report so there weren't a lot sold then. This came out today which shows Q1's pretty much tanked for tablets with Apple and the KF projected to sell 12.5MM of the 15MM tablets to be sold in Q1. So clearly there's not a lot of demand for Market-capable Android tablets, Asus' or anyone elses, with 2.5MM in projected sales for the quarter. Asus held 10% market share before the KF and NookC were released so that would amount to 250K in sales (TF101 + TF202) from January through March.
Tablet Sales Suffer Holiday Hangover, iPad 3 To Bring Relief
Trefis Team, Contributor
Tablet sales this quarter could be suffering from a hangover from the holiday season. According to a DigiTimes report, the global tablet shipments will decline by 30% in Q1 2012 compared to Q4 2011.
The report also mentioned that out of a total of expected 15 million tablet shipments in Q1, Apple’s iPad 2 and iPad 3 share will be 11 million, and Amazon’s Kindle Fire share will be 1.5 million.
Such a large decline is not good news for the tablet industry, especially Apple, because the iPad accounts for about 13% of our $550 price estimate for Apple stock.
The launch of the iPad 3, expected to be introduced later this quarter, however, could help boost the tablet industry and be part of the reason why buyers might hold off from making purchases in the beginning months. Our price estimate for Apple stock is about 10% above the current market price.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatsp...ffer-holiday-hangover-ipad-3-to-bring-relief/
junrider said:
I dont believe that since its coming from a biased source. Id believe it if it was coming from the retailers themselves, but that was never included in the article.
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Ah, one of those moon landings didn't happen kind of guys...
This is what Amazon is showing for my shipment
Shipment Date: February 23, 2012
Destination:
Estimated Arrival: December 31, 1969
chamberc said:
Ah, one of those moon landings didn't happen kind of guys...
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Can you prove that there has only been less than 1% of the sold primes have been returned? Do you thinks an Asus personnel would actual tell you the truth of primes returned even if it would make them look bad? They already mentioned the aluminum back was a problem and do you think adding that they have for an example a 10% return rate would help? Look at the xda forum and all any polls taken about the prime, do you see any that was 1% or below not satisfied owners or returned tablets? Thats why third parties are much more believable than ones numbers released by the company themselves.
I was browsing around change.org today and I came across this. A petition to recall the prime and give users a full refund or an upgrade path to the 700. Not sure why no one but the person who started it signed it. I know if you ***** enough asus will refund your $ so maybe that's why the poster didnt pursue the petition?
http://www.change.org/petitions/asustek-recall-the-transformer-prime
edit: I just signed it for ****s and giggles.. I doubt anything will come from it especially since it doesnt seem the person who posted it is really pushing it.
Probably because it was created yesterday.. I believe.
Oh god, here we go again.
detta123 said:
Oh god, here we go again.
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what do you mean?? I was just asking if anyone has seen it... so oh god yourself.
actually, there was one created with exact same theme a long time ago. it never really gained any traction as the path to upgrade wasn't realistic from a business point of view. I'm not sure if the one you have linked to is the same one. But I've seen a petition just like that made several months ago. I think when we all first heard of the Infinity Pad. Made alot of people mad..lol
demandarin said:
actually, there was one created with exact same theme a long time ago. it never really gained any traction as the path to upgrade wasn't realistic from a business point of view. I'm not sure if the one you have linked to is the same one. But I've seen a petition just like that made several months ago. I think when we all first heard of the Infinity Pad. Made alot of people mad..lol
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yeah I doubt anything will come from it, Just was wondering if anyone else came across it.
But I do know they are offering really unhappy users refunds (my friend was told by gary he could get a full refund for the tablet and dock)
My way of looking at that is this:
If they refund everyone who is extremely unhappy they have to refund them for the full retail price of the tablet and the dock(and I'm guessing tax?). So they have to dish out the retail price of it when we all know it cost them a fraction of that amount to produce them. I honestly think from a business stand point and upgrade path would be better because then they would only have to replace the tablet(assuming the docks are compatible) which is much cheaper for them then refunding the full retail purchase amount. Even if they didnt upgrade the tablet to the 700 and just replaced the backplate on the prime and maybe the wifi/bt and gps modules it would also be cheaper for them than having to refund the purchase price.
And just let me say again.. I was just asking if anyone has seen it or heard of the one I linked. Not trying to promote, have it gain momentum or start a WW3. Just simply wanted to know if anyone else stumbled on it like I have.
These petitions are always worthless.
You bought a consumer product. If you don't like it or it doesn't meet your expectations, return it to where you got it within the return period.
I have never seen a return period that is less than 14 days, and if it takes you more than two weeks to realize that the product doesn't meet your expectations, there is something obviously wrong with you.
If you waited months for an update to be released in order to make the device meet your expectations, I am sorry but you are a fool. You should always buy a device for what that device is NOW, not for what is may become in the future.
In any event, if you want an "upgrade path" here it is:
Sell the Prime on eBay. If you have taken good care of your device you should get at least $400 for it. Use that $400 to help pay for the Transformer Infinity.
almightywhacko said:
These petitions are always worthless.
You bought a consumer product. If you don't like it or it doesn't meet your expectations, return it to where you got it within the return period.
I have never seen a return period that is less than 14 days, and if it takes you more than two weeks to realize that the product doesn't meet your expectations, there is something obviously wrong with you.
If you waited months for an update to be released in order to make the device meet your expectations, I am sorry but you are a fool. You should always buy a device for what that device is NOW, not for what is may become in the future.
In any event, if you want an "upgrade path" here it is:
Sell the Prime on eBay. If you have taken good care of your device you should get at least $400 for it. Use that $400 to help pay for the Transformer Infinity.
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I think you need to read my post again.. did I say anything about being unhappy? No.. Did I say I wanted an upgrade? No. All I did was ask if anyone came across it... gessh..
I even signed it with this comment:
"I agree there have been many issues with the prime. Not all users have issues but it seems more have them than not have them. I will support this as I do feel the prime wasnt ready to be released. I had issues with my first 2 units. The only issue I have with my current unit is some backlight bleed but my tf101 has worse BL bleed than my prime"
And I do feel the device wasnt ready for prime time. I'm pretty happy with mine. the only issue I really have is the screen bleeding and that's not even that bad and since I have squaretrade I'm thinking of popping it open and fixing that myself.
Hell I was outside yesterday and tried gps for the first time on this unit without the dongle and I got a 12/13 sat lock. Today I tried and I got 8/9. I was pretty surprised by that
graffixnyc said:
I think you need to read my post again.. did I say anything about being unhappy? No.. Did I say I wanted an upgrade? No. All I did was ask if anyone came across it... gessh..
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Dude, take the bug out of your ass!
Did I say anything specifically about you?
Did I mention you in any way?
My comment was 100% focused on the futile nature of these online petitions, which generally go ignored by manufacturers and which are generally started by people who don't exercise the procedures that already exist that allow customers to gain compensation for purchases that do not meet expectations.
almightywhacko said:
Dude, take the bug out of your ass!
Did I say anything about you?
Did I mention you in any way?
My comment was 100% focused on the futile nature of these online petitions, which generally go ignored by manufacturers and which are generally started by people who don't exercise the procedures that already exist that allow customers to gain compensation for purchases that do not meet expectations.
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ok fair enough..lol But the fact that asus is offering refunds to people really unhappy says something as well. It says the company knows they kinda screwed up. Because in most cases: yeah, it is your problem and they dont have to offer you a refund at all. Like you said you have at least 14 days(if not longer) to return to the store. But the fact they are offering refunds to people who ***** enough does say something. Some companies no matter how much you put up a stink wont issue you a refund. A replacement? yes, but how often do they offer full refunds?
Asus should offer a upgrade and make Nvidia pick up the tab for the not ready for prime time T3
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
graffixnyc said:
ok fair enough..lol But the fact that asus is offering refunds to people really unhappy says something as well. It says the company knows they kinda screwed up. Because in most cases yeah it is your problem and they dont have to offer you a refund at all. like you said you have at least 14 days(if not longer) to return to the store. But the fact they are offering refunds to people who ***** enough does say something.
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I think any company that is serious about their customers does the same kind of thing. At least, HTC replaced my malfunctioning EVO 4G no questions asked. Samsung has replaced televisions and refunded me for broken televisions with no problems.
Some companies give you the run around when it comes to this kind of stuff (Looking at you Sony) but for most companies it isn't worth the negative press, especially in this day and age of internet blogging and twitter.
almightywhacko said:
I think any company that is serious about their customers does the same kind of thing. At least, HTC replaced my malfunctioning EVO 4G no questions asked. Samsung has replaced televisions and refunded me for broken televisions with no problems.
Some companies give you the run around when it comes to this kind of stuff (Looking at you Sony) but for most companies it isn't worth the negative press, especially in this day and age of internet blogging and twitter.
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you must be good. haha I've never been offered a refund. Replacements I have been offered but never a full refund. Hell I just dealt with an issue with Dell. They replaced my laptop with a refirb(accidental warranty) and started having issues with it two months later. They sent a tech to fix it, he fixed those issues but didnt send him a preloaded HD just a blank one so I have to load everything myself, and after the repair the keyboard didnt fully work. So they come again to fix that, they fix that then one speaker dies.. It took me filing a BBB complaint to have them contact me to give me a brand new system. No matter how much I *****ed before they just wanted to keep trying to fix it.
almightywhacko said:
I think any company that is serious about their customers does the same kind of thing. At least, HTC replaced my malfunctioning EVO 4G no questions asked. Samsung has replaced televisions and refunded me for broken televisions with no problems.
Some companies give you the run around when it comes to this kind of stuff (Looking at you Sony) but for most companies it isn't worth the negative press, especially in this day and age of internet blogging and twitter.
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Oh and sorry for being a little snippy.. It's hot and humid as hell in NYC today and all the garbage is out for collection tomorrow so you can imagine the streets just smell like roses
Technically, refunds aren't given to just any and everyone who asks for it. you have to meet specific criteria for them to even consider it. Mostly just early adopters or people who bought prime before they removed GPS From their official spec, like beginning or first week of January, are eligible. but even then terms have to be met and not all of them can get it. just wanted to clear that up so everyone don't get their hopes up thinking they can get a refund. there's already several reported cases here in xda of people being denied.
I'm still waiting to hear back on certain info that'll clear up alot of things. I think Asus knows even people who have good working tablets might try to get a refund just because infinity pad right around the corner..lol. so they trying to eliminate refunds that have no real basis for getting one. Chances are very high that if you never sent your tablet in for an RMA, then try to come out the blue wanting a refund, they will deny it. They will just say send it in for RMA.
graffixnyc said:
ok fair enough..lol But the fact that asus is offering refunds to people really unhappy says something as well. It says the company knows they kinda screwed up. Because in most cases: yeah, it is your problem and they dont have to offer you a refund at all. Like you said you have at least 14 days(if not longer) to return to the store. But the fact they are offering refunds to people who ***** enough does say something. Some companies no matter how much you put up a stink wont issue you a refund. A replacement? yes, but how often do they offer full refunds?
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I was just about to comment on this ... I purchased my Prime on December 24th and after trying to, more or less, put up with horrible WiFi, completely non-functional GPS, and a proposed dongle solution that was not satisfactory, I was able to return my Prime (and dock) to Asus for a full refund. As a matter of fact, I just shipped it in last week, so I am still waiting on the refund, but I don't foresee any issues. The reason they let me return it was due to GPS issues, and probably legal ones on their part since GPS was a feature when i bought, but did not work, was removed from the spec list, and the solution was not satisfactory. I said all that, to say that the petition is not necessary. If you have a legitimate reason for requesting to return you TF201, they will probably work with you. On the other hand, people trying to get a refund just to get an upcoming model just need to learn some patience, and not jump on the first generation of something (ie. tegra 3). With that said, if your reason for requesting a refund has to do with the GPS issue, I was finally able to get someone with the authority to authorize one in what he said was the "Transformer Prime GPS issue department."