To buy or not? - Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

I am very interested with the Prime. I heard there are some problems with it. I long do you thing it will take asus to fix the GPS problem? I heard there are also some small bugs.

I'd say buy it ASAP. yes, first batch did have a minority of users who had some issues. Across the board, GPS is weak. the true reason has yet to been announced from Asus. hopefully a software issue update can fix that. other than GPS, which I don't use anyways, My Prime is a great built device. majority of people don't suffer all the issues being thrown around. take a look St the various polls in here. almost all of them, execrable GPS one shows the Prime being mostly defect free and people completely satisfied with it. My display, performance, and wifi all work great great. so if you want the best out right now and for at least the next few months, get the prime. its the best deal out right now. Sift through all the b.s. n threads and make a decesion. as for me, I've been enjoying my Prime nonstop since 12/22. Nest tablet ever by far in almost all categories.

Simply put, no way to tell. If it can be fixed (unless this is how Asus intended it to work, which is doubtful) it will be fixed via RMA or software update, but there is no eta at this time. Hell, they just started to admit that things aren't as they should be.

Thanks. I am still considering to buy it. I dont live in the USA, and I would send the device using my friend in the USA to my home in Israel, so I dont have warranty and I must know if those problems are software issue.
I have heard about Asus international warranty, do you know about that?

I would say buy it there's no other tablet that can come close to it match this one you will love it

I think pretty much every gadget made today by anyone--very much including Apple--has build issues during the first month or so of production. Margins are so tight and timing is so important (yes, ASUS really, really wanted to be first out the door with a Tegra 3 tablet) that things do happen. Early adopters help manufacturers work out the kinks--it's pretty much the price of admission in being an early adopter.
So, if you want the best chance of getting a perfect tablet, wait at least a month before buying it. Let all of the kinks get worked out first. That's true for the Prime, and it'll be true for whatever tablets come out over the next few months.
I have a Champagne unit that's perfect as far as I can tell EXCEPT it has a wonky haptic feedback mechanism (i.e., vibrator). The thing makes a pretty loud noise for very little actual vibration. However, I'm going to keep it, because 1) I like the Prime that much and don't want to go a few weeks without it and 2) I know the chances are that if I get another one right now I'll probably have some other issue.
So, I'm willing to make a compromise (turn off haptic feedback) to have an otherwise "perfect" Prime right now. My wife thinks I'm crazy--she'd just wait for the chances to improve of getting a unit without any issues, but then she'd go those weeks without actually enjoying the use of a device. Different strokes, really.

If I could go back in time, even with my defective screen, broken GPS, loose paneling, I would still have preordered the prime. I love it. If my replacement prime from Amazon doesn't fix the screen issues, I'll be singing a different tune.
My advice, buy it. BUT MAKE SURE you order from a retailer that is absolutely no-hassle about returns or exchanges. Same advice for any product, but especially expensive new models.

Depends. The GPS isn't working and probably isn't gonna work. WiFi has shorter range and doesn't seem to be too stable.

I'm having a hard time recommending buying this tablet considering the WIFI. It's pretty bad. I mean, it's fine if you're always going to be near a strong signal and are merely browsing the web, but I can confirm that it is SLOW (and others have said that the range is poor too). This is based on some tests I've performed (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20908801&postcount=19). I have 30 days to return mine to Newegg, and although I really love everything else about the tablet, I don't think I can justify keeping a tablet with such crappy wifi, as that's kind of important for a tablet.

>I dont live in the USA...so I dont have warranty
You've answered your own question.
>and I must know if those problems are software issue.
Suggest you browse through the discussions here and determine for yourself if the issues mentioned are hardware or software. If you can't determine this on your own, it's probably best not to buy an item that can't be returned.

Given your geographic obstacles to warranty service, it would seem prudent to wait a month or two and track the company's progress on correcting the most significant issues (e.g., GPS and WiFi). If you buy now, you really have no one but yourself to blame if you have trouble.

OK, guys, Thank you. I will wait a few weeks and I follow this forum to see if the issues are fixed. Its not smart to order a product that is not a 100% when you live across the ocean.

bar_rodoy said:
OK, guys, Thank you. I will wait a few weeks and I follow this forum to see if the issues are fixed. Its not smart to order a product that is not a 100% when you live across the ocean.
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Acer and Lenovo are announcing Teg3 tablets in a couple of days. They both have very good international warranty support and have their own repair centers in Europe and the ME where Asus relies on third parties. I remember a friend in Tel Aviv saying it took three months to get an Asus notebook repaired. If that's important to you, check out all three websites and see who offers the least amount of hassle should you have a problem.

people love to rag on Asus. lol as far as 3 months to get back notebook goes, that's one of the few defaulty devices. hands down Asus is still known as having the most realiable PCs and computer components. they break down less than all others. tests n polls from Pc world n magazine confirmed that. Acer and Lenovo near the middle to top of having most issues. go to Acer section of forum n u will see all the manufacturing gripes amd issues with their devices. Lenovo hardly ever updates their firmware for Android.

demandarin said:
people love to rag on Asus. lol as far as 3 months to get back notebook goes, that's one of the few defaulty devices. hands down Asus is still known as having the most realiable PCs and computer components. they break down less than all others. tests n polls from Pc world n magazine confirmed that. Acer and Lenovo near the middle to top of having most issues. go to Acer section of forum n u will see all the manufacturing gripes amd issues with their devices. Lenovo hardly ever updates their firmware for Android.
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You can talk about your own expereinces all you want. Unless you've had an Asus product repaired in the ME, you're not speaking first hand. I shared an experience a friend had that could effect the OP. The fact that Asus has a much smaller international support base than larger companies shouldn't surprise you. The delay was due to a third party service center waiting for parts from Taiwan. In this particular instance, your defense of Asus is way over the line.

BarryH_GEG said:
Acer and Lenovo are announcing Teg3 tablets in a couple of days. They both have very good international warranty support and have their own repair centers in Europe and the ME where Asus relies on third parties. I remember a friend in Tel Aviv saying it took three months to get an Asus notebook repaired. If that's important to you, check out all three websites and see who offers the least amount of hassle should you have a problem.
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Thats sounds good.
The problem with Asus in Israel its not the warrenty, its the price. Actually the price is not only high on Asus products, its high about any electronic devices because the importing costs.

demandarin said:
people love to rag on Asus. lol as far as 3 months to get back notebook goes, that's one of the few defaulty devices. hands down Asus is still known as having the most realiable PCs and computer components. they break down less than all others. tests n polls from Pc world n magazine confirmed that. Acer and Lenovo near the middle to top of having most issues. go to Acer section of forum n u will see all the manufacturing gripes amd issues with their devices. Lenovo hardly ever updates their firmware for Android.
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Lmfao lenovo updating their firmware is a joke....

Related

A question to first generation prime owners on xda....

In my opinion if you are here on xda you have general knowledge about android, rooting, multiple devices and development in general. I also believe that you probably know the tech industry decently well and follow the lifeline of a multitude of devices including android..So i pose this question to all you brand new xda prime owners...
Why would you buy a first generation transformer prime when you know it will probably have major defects that will be corrected in the second generation? I find it ridiculous that you complain about all these problem like you didnt know there would be hiccups in both design and software. We all know that when a new device launches the chances of it being "perfect" are slim to none in the first generation. This is why we wait until the second generation so all the flaws of the first are corrected.
So why is it when ever a new device launches all you smart, educated and sensible xda members turn into ignorant, over-enthusiastic tech noobs that blow their money on a device they end up RMA'ing within the first week? Does all your experience with new devices just fly out the window when ever a new one is launched? I honestly would like to know because i really do not understand...
...just wondering
What an extremely interesting thread start!
I just want to thank you for this very interesting question and I hope it's plenty of them to come! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
[/irony]
There s a very simple answers to that.
We buy early product cause we love new stuff and are ready to pay the annoyance of returning 3 defective units just to be able to test those ourself.
Thoses issues have to be raised somewhere, by people that know what they re talking about: that's XDA.
Manufactures will also try to fix up known problems without thousands of rma send-ins. And "if" there would be a different model, i could imagine that they would completly remove the gps hardware - for example....
For me, the prime is a great step forward. I sold my TF101. Yes, its still far from beeing perfect, but thats just like the TF101 was at the beginning...
kokusho said:
There s a very simple answers to that.
We buy early product cause we love new stuff and are ready to pay the annoyance of returning 3 defective units just to be able to test those ourself.
Thoses issues have to be raised somewhere, by people that know what they re talking about: that's XDA.
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...while i see what your trying to say i dont agree. Im pretty sure on every thread i have read members here are not happy having to return defective units. Im pretty sure they would have preferred getting a good one the first time. Unfortunatey that leads back into my original question of why buy a first generation in the first place?
thomascook said:
Manufactures will also try to fix up known problems without thousands of rma send-ins. And "if" there would be a different model, i could imagine that they would completly remove the gps hardware - for example....
For me, the prime is a great step forward. I sold my TF101. Yes, its still far from beeing perfect, but thats just like the TF101 was at the beginning...
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Exactly my point! I own an original transformer and knew that the first generation would have problems. This is why i bought one after a couple months. Although i realy wanted one when it first came out i knew it was not smart. Sure enough, withing the first week i start hearing about power button issues, gps signals issues and keyboard dock issues.
Now dont get me wrong, the prime is amazing leap forward in tech and android. But my problem is not with the prime itself but with people buying the product literally the day its launched without allowing time for asus to fix any problems that come up.
I would expect people not really versed is android and tech, not members here on xda, to be early adopters and complaining about not getting simple functions like gps to work.
For me its a combination of awesome specs on paper, and the chance to get a unit that IS perfect (apparently there are some! )
Sokonomi said:
For me its a combination of awesome specs on paper, and the chance to get a unit that IS perfect (apparently there are some! )
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Haha true the specs do look awesome, but from the reports im seeing no one has a unit that is completely free of the gps issue. This is a complete design flaw that is currently being corrected for the second generation.
Well, based on Asus history, there won't really be a 'second generation Prime'. Next generation prime will be their next Transformer, possibly released in second half of this year.
The only difference so far has been the very first Primes that were recalled due to WiFi antennae issues. That's the only change we'll see.
Of course I may be wrong, but it is very unlikely that Asus will redesign current Prime's to work better with GPS and have less screen issues. It just isn't what they have done in the past.
That is not completely true. I bought first generation of GTAB 7, GTAB 10.1 and Galaxy Note among many other things in the past. I dont recall any hardware defects. Maybe some firmware or software glitches. Companies do through tests, prototypes and final tests before releasing products. We know that in business sciences every few units in the production line ( the first and the last ones) tend to be defective due to human faults. Tiredness, lack of attention, etc... That is said, this is the first time a company as big as Asus released a product without noticing that metal can prevent GPS signals. That is a first time in the recent past.
kristovaher said:
Well, based on Asus history, there won't really be a 'second generation Prime'. Next generation prime will be their next Transformer, possibly released in second half of this year.
The only difference so far has been the very first Primes that were recalled due to WiFi antennae issues. That's the only change we'll see.
Of course I may be wrong, but it is very unlikely that Asus will redesign current Prime's to work better with GPS and have less screen issues. It just isn't what they have done in the past.
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Thats not true at all. Based on asus history they probably will have a second generation. Look at the original transformer. The dock was completely changed from the b50 models to the b60 to address the power drain issue ( could not be fixed with OTA update on models before). ALso to address the power button issue the design was tweaked in later models to avoid power button failures
peare said:
That is not completely true. I bought first generation of GTAB 7, GTAB 10.1 and Galaxy Note among many other things in the past. I dont recall any hardware defects. Maybe some firmware or software glitches. Companies do through tests, prototypes and final tests before releasing products. We know that in business sciences every few units in the production line ( the first and the last ones) tend to be defective due to human faults. Tiredness, lack of attention, etc... That is said, this is the first time a company as big as Asus released a product without noticing that metal can prevent GPS signals. That is a first time in the recent past.
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Im not sure about the galaxys as i have not owned any but im sure there were defects on some of their units as well. Yes you were probably one of the lucky consumers to purchase a product first generation and not have an issue. But you yourself just awknowledged that flaws are seen at the beginning and end of production lines. SO why would you take the risk of buying a first generation when you know thats when you are most likely to get a defective unit? Thats my question...
Its kinda like when you meet a woman .... you would do almost anything to get in her knickers ... regardless of her defects and instabilities.
After time you notice the defects and they start to piss you off ... the initial buzz you got subsides a bit untill a new update / model comes out that sets you off again ...
Tis the lure of something you dont have m'lad ... the grass is always greener on the other side n all that.
P.S. ... my mrs will never read this lol
Danny-B- said:
Its kinda like when you meet a woman .... you would do almost anything to get in her knickers ... regardless of her defects and instabilities.
After time you notice the defects and they start to piss you off ... the initial buzz you got subsides a bit untill a new update / model comes out that sets you off again ...
Tis the lure of something you dont have m'lad ... the grass is always greener on the other side n all that.
P.S. ... my mrs will never read this lol
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Hahahahaha awesome post. Almost woke my mrs up reading this. But right you are sir...right you are!
thomascook said:
And "if" there would be a different model, i could imagine that they would completly remove the gps hardware - for example....
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No they won't. Google requires GPS.
I buy first generation anything, then I buy second generation, then third, etc etc. It's all about having the latest and greatest to me, and money is no object. I frankly don't care about some of these issues, nor ***** about them. The prime is still an amazing tablet, and if I need GPS I use my phone. I will never use a tablet for GPS.
For me, I will always have the best that's out.
chugger93 said:
I buy first generation anything, then I buy second generation, then third, etc etc. It's all about having the latest and greatest to me, and money is no object. I frankly don't care about some of these issues, nor ***** about them. The prime is still an amazing tablet, and if I need GPS I use my phone. I will never use a tablet for GPS.
For me, I will always have the best that's out.
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Then why do you have the HTC EVO Shift 4G? That's not a really new phone..
chugger93 said:
I buy first generation anything, then I buy second generation, then third, etc etc. It's all about having the latest and greatest to me, and money is no object. I frankly don't care about some of these issues, nor ***** about them. The prime is still an amazing tablet, and if I need GPS I use my phone. I will never use a tablet for GPS.
For me, I will always have the best that's out.
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uh huh...so you buy 3 generations of the same device? Cant argue with frivolousness...
JoeyLe said:
Then why do you have the HTC EVO Shift 4G? That's not a really new phone..
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haha good point
pierrekid said:
In my opinion if you are here on xda you have general knowledge about android, rooting, multiple devices and development in general. I also believe that you probably know the tech industry decently well and follow the lifeline of a multitude of devices including android..So i pose this question to all you brand new xda prime owners...
Why would you buy a first generation transformer prime when you know it will probably have major defects that will be corrected in the second generation? I find it ridiculous that you complain about all these problem like you didnt know there would be hiccups in both design and software. We all know that when a new device launches the chances of it being "perfect" are slim to none in the first generation. This is why we wait until the second generation so all the flaws of the first are corrected.
So why is it when ever a new device launches all you smart, educated and sensible xda members turn into ignorant, over-enthusiastic tech noobs that blow their money on a device they end up RMA'ing within the first week? Does all your experience with new devices just fly out the window when ever a new one is launched? I honestly would like to know because i really do not understand...
...just wondering
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Android, meet Pierre, because you clearly haven't met yet. Android doesn't have a "perfect" device. Perfect means old and antiquated. Apple makes perfect devices that are always technologically behind for the sake of "stability".
If you have watched the progression of Android you will know that they don't really make "second-generation" devices. It's always onward and upward with newer CPUs and GPUs and SoCs and FMLs .
"What we've got here is (a) failure to communicate". You are right that we on XDA are not the normal consumer. We are not who companies ::cough:Apple:cough::, excuse me, market their "perfect" devices to. In fact, for the sake of rooting/unlocking we rely on imperfections so the best among us can open our devices and let the games begin.
Technically, the Prime is a second generation device as it is the second of it's line. Following the original Transformer. TF201, meet your slower overweight older brother TF101. We love him just as much as you ::cough:bull****:cough::. As such I was certainly expecting this device to be exactly on par or better than the TF101 in every single regard. It is supposed to be better, faster, stronger and it fails in the better and the stronger. The biggest problem is that these problems should have been caught in the design phases.
I get the image of some incredulous electrical engineer looking around the table during R&D just waiting for someone to say "Hey ****tards, ALUMINUM BLOCKS RF FFS". I imagine this was a colossal blunder caused by group diffusion of responsibility allowed to go so far that ASUS had no way out. The initial supply issues were likely due to the real world tests showing the mistake. They decided to ship the device out and pray that they made enough money from people who didn't notice the problems. This seems unlikely in some regards, but I look at what happened. I pray that my limited understanding, I used to work as and electrician so I know more about light switches than chipsets, is wholly incorrect and they can fix this stuff in software. I don't suspect the bluetooth killing wifi can be attributed to bounce back from the aluminum rear panel but that doesn't rule it out.
Basically what has happened here is not the growing pains of bleeding edge technology. We are seeing a major fiasco that will go down in history. It will be listed in some book one day next to the iPhone Deathgrip.
EDIT: To be clear, I couldn't give two ****s about GPS. I use maps on the tablet to look things up when I have and idea where they are and need to manipulate the map, but I have my phone and a Garmin unit for navigation. The tablet is too big and beautiful to waste on GPS anyway. My problem is that I cant use it to play music on my car stereo via Google Music because the second I turn on bluetooth my WiFi tethered from my Galaxy Nexus fails within 2 minutes at the longest. This is while the Original transformer works in the same condition for hours. Unacceptable.
JoeyLe said:
Then why do you have the HTC EVO Shift 4G? That's not a really new phone..
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keyboard says it all

If you value the future of Android

EDIT: I have some new information. Check the following thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1439582
BELOW is the original Thread.
RETURN YOUR TF201!!!
I am. Granted I have not just the GPS issue, but BT/WiFi fail as well. But you guys know that ASUS released this device knowing full well that the GPS was not going to work and I can't imagine they didn't catch the BT issue prior to release too. The only way they missed the BT issue is if the BT issue is caused by whatever quick fix they used to solve the initial BT issues reported by a reviewer(s).
By acquiescing, you are telling ASUS and every other manufacturer that this behavior is okay. That when faced with a choice of scrapping a device in the manufacturing stage for a significant loss, or releasing it to the public and letting the cards fall where they may for less of a loss, that they should screw the consumer. Depending on the extent of the issues with the TF201, they would have had to replace the backs of all TF201s at the least, perhaps more. If everyone, or enough people return the device then you are sending a message that this is unacceptable. We Androids know that we aren't getting perfect Apple devices, but we don't accept such blatant insults. I am also going to be reporting this issue to the Better Business Bureau and I think you should as well. Their response to the GPS issue is nothing short of a case of bait and switch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch said:
Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud, most commonly used in retail sales but also applicable to other contexts. First, customers are "baited" by advertising for a product or service at a low price; second, the customers discover that the advertised good is not available and are "switched" to a costlier product.
The goal of the bait-and-switch is to persuade buyers to purchase the substitute goods as a means of avoiding disappointment over not getting the bait, or as a way to recover sunk costs expended to try to obtain the bait. It suggests that the seller will not show the original product or service advertised but instead will demonstrate a more expensive product or a similar product with a higher margin.
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Without internal documents I can't truly prove that they intentionally sold a flawed TF201 with the intent to recover costs incurred before the problem was identified. But one of two things happened.
1. They caught the issue and upon determining it to be unfixable they released the device anyway to recoup whatever costs they could.
2. They are so stupid, which is possible because they released and ALL-ALUMINUM back in the first place, that their testing methods failed to catch the fact the GPS was so **** that even standing in the middle of a road with no obstructions it can take FOREVER to find your location. Until the fix to download GPS coordinates over WiFi, in a week of delivering pizzas the tablet never managed to figure out that Las Vegas wasn't Toronto.
I favor the first possibility because as bad as GPS is for me, I can't see it being possible that they didn't catch it.
For now I am back to my TF101 which works flawlessly for my uses.
EDIT: Now I've gotten my valid raging out of the way. I admit that were I only victim to the GPS issue, I would probably keep the tablet. But I still urge those of you keeping your tablets to file a report with the Better Business Bureau over ASUS' handling of the GPS issue. They advertised a feature and now they simply act as if it never happened and have offered nothing as recompense.
cool post bro..but sorry I can't care less about the GPS and I love prime so no way I'll return it
magicpork said:
cool post bro..but sorry I can't care less about the GPS and I love prime so no way I'll return it
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You sir, are part of the problem. I don't care about GPS either. It's the principal of the matter and the precedent it sets. Your 500+ dollars is 500 reasons for ASUS and the next company that has a choice to release a knowingly broken device because people like you will just accept the lubed up rod they have for you.
I am giving ASUS a chance to send me a replacement unit. If they send me one and it doesn't have the BT/WiFi issue my faith will be restored and I will not report them to the BBB and any tech blog/news site that will listen to the story and read/post the correspondence between ASUS and myself. I like my TF101. I want ASUS to make this right
What exactly does this have to do with the future of Android? I can see your point (sort of), but this is a technology issue and has nothing to do with Android. Companies, regardless of their operating system, have done this sort of thing for years. I'm not saying that it's right, but it has nothing to do with the future of Android or any other operating system. Yes, Asus probably should have held this product a little longer for more tests, but they did release the first quad-core device running ICS to the world. It has a few minor defects, but those are to be expected for the first run of products like this. I say, if you're so upset, do the only thing that you can do as a consumer...don't purchase the product. That tells the company that YOU are not happy with it. Posting in a forum like this saying that we need to return a device because you're not happy with it is kind of pointless. Just take it back and get something else.
WasabiWa83 said:
What exactly does this have to do with the future of Android? I can see your point (sort of), but this is a technology issue and has nothing to do with Android. Companies, regardless of their operating system, have done this sort of thing for years. I'm not saying that it's right, but it has nothing to do with the future of Android or any other operating system. Yes, Asus probably should have held this product a little longer for more tests, but they did release the first quad-core device running ICS to the world. It has a few minor defects, but those are to be expected for the first run of products like this. I say, if you're so upset, do the only thing that you can do as a consumer...don't purchase the product. That tells the company that YOU are not happy with it. Posting in a forum like this saying that we need to return a device because you're not happy with it is kind of pointless. Just take it back and get something else.
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Yea in my rage I forgot to get to my central point. I refer to what these kind of events do to the future of Android. Imagine where the iPhone would be if the iPhone 3G had an identical issue. Imagine all those happy iPhone 2G users selling their iPhone, and going home with a shiny new iPhone 3G only to find out that the GPS didn't work and that they couldn't browse the internet if they were playing music to a set of BT headphones or to some BT setup routed through their home/car stereo. Then if Apple decided to say that it's a phone, not a personal navigation device. Then they announced a new phone 2 weeks later and just released the iPhone 3Gs with the problems solved.. 3 or 4 months later.
Apple would likely have not survived such a fiasco since Apple is built on the premise of things just working and of having a superior end to end service. I blame ASUS for this problem. But the masses, the ones who go to Best Buy and buy a random tablet, would return this and from then on they would think Android was a bad platform. They would likely never learn that it was just the particular device that is bad. These kinds of things can't be allowed to happen if Android is to remain a viable alternative. The issues with this tablet are not your regular first run issues. First run issues are usually few and minor. GPS is all but useless, and for me and many others bluetooth is also useless. Is ASUS going to throw up their hands in another few weeks and say that this is not a dedicated MP3 player and take bluetooth off the spec sheet? If ASUS doesn't find me a tablet with working bluetooth I will be returning it. The point is that if the rest of you just accept the GPS problem, and the BT problem if you have it just because you don't use those features you are going to have the problem with the next device and the next one, or similar ones.
Last. STOP CALLING THIS A FRIGGIN EARLY ADOPTER OR FIRST GEN DEVICE. This is the TF201. The 2 differentiates it from the TF101. This device brings changes to the TF101. It is not an entirely new device.
My hands are itching to type "TL;DR", but unfortunately, I have in fact read all of the thread.
From where I'm sitting (Prime is in preorder, getting it this week), you're a frustrated user, venting your frustration the wrong way.
What did you expect when you created this topic? Did you think people would agree with you en-masse, and send their devices (which many people have been waiting a long time for) back straight away?
The reason I'm asking this question is that I think you didn't stop to think about it. If the product doesn't do what it's advertised to do, you're entitled to return it. If you feel you need to share your experience with the world, you can write a review. Be it to "protect" others, or simply express your outrage, a well written review gives everyone (you, others and the manufacturer) a chance to see your point more clearly.
Thus, I advise you to refrain from going on about this in here and write a comprehensive review, noting both the pro's and the cons. Then let other people decide what they do, instead of telling them what they should.
setite said:
Yea in my rage I forgot to get to my central point. I refer to what these kind of events do to the future of Android. Imagine where the iPhone would be if the iPhone 3G had an identical issue. Imagine all those happy iPhone 2G users selling their iPhone, and going home with a shiny new iPhone 3G only to find out that the GPS didn't work and that they couldn't browse the internet if they were playing music to a set of BT headphones or to some BT setup routed through their home/car stereo. Then if Apple decided to say that it's a phone, not a personal navigation device. Then they announced a new phone 2 weeks later and just released the iPhone 3Gs with the problems solved.. 3 or 4 months later.
Apple would likely have not survived such a fiasco since Apple is built on the premise of things just working and of having a superior end to end service. I blame ASUS for this problem. But the masses, the ones who go to Best Buy and buy a random tablet, would return this and from then on they would think Android was a bad platform. They would likely never learn that it was just the particular device that is bad. These kinds of things can't be allowed to happen if Android is to remain a viable alternative. The issues with this tablet are not your regular first run issues. First run issues are usually few and minor. GPS is all but useless, and for me and many others bluetooth is also useless. Is ASUS going to throw up their hands in another few weeks and say that this is not a dedicated MP3 player and take bluetooth off the spec sheet? If ASUS doesn't find me a tablet with working bluetooth I will be returning it. The point is that if the rest of you just accept the GPS problem, and the BT problem if you have it just because you don't use those features you are going to have the problem with the next device and the next one, or similar ones.
Last. STOP CALLING THIS A FRIGGIN EARLY ADOPTER OR FIRST GEN DEVICE. This is the TF201. The 2 differentiates it from the TF101. This device brings changes to the TF101. It is not an entirely new device.
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Instead of your iPhone 3G 'imagination', why not look at antennagate.... and as seen then, no one gave a damn (as seen by sales figures) even when it was a critical component, GSM being disrupted due to poor signal and even so Apple claimed that you were 'holding it wrong'. Asus has done no such thing, that imo already raises it far above Apple.
As for first-gen, I agree with the way Angelusz uses it because after all, this is the first Tegra 3 device, fullstop. There have to be kinks to be ironed out and all with a new SoC and there's no device before it using Tegra 3 so the usage is perfectly valid.
No...........
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda premium
pandaball said:
Instead of your iPhone 3G 'imagination', why not look at antennagate.... and as seen then, no one gave a damn (as seen by sales figures) even when it was a critical component, GSM being disrupted due to poor signal and even so Apple claimed that you were 'holding it wrong'. Asus has done no such thing, that imo already raises it far above Apple.
As for first-gen, I agree with the way Angelusz uses it because after all, this is the first Tegra 3 device, fullstop. There have to be kinks to be ironed out and all with a new SoC and there's no device before it using Tegra 3 so the usage is perfectly valid.
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Click to collapse
However, if they 3 days after that released a iPhone 4F(ix) then everyone would..
Unfortunantly many of us are unable to return our devices due to Retail return policies for tablets. I could get mine exchanged but that gets me nowhere.
They are getting mine back too.
I was willing to overlook GPS, but then Wifi turned sour and as a kick in the balls,
asus has announced a new tablet by advertising it as "an improved TF201".
Well Asus, funk that! You lost me!
That we're bringing up Apple devices is interesting, considering that the TF201 has better Wi-Fi performance than the original Wi-Fi iPad according to tests by a user here - Apple, too, made a device with an aluminium back (and the little window doesn't seem to have made much of a difference). How's that iPad's GPS reception? Oh, Apple doesn't put them in Wi-Fi iPads at all. Of course, the original iPad benefited from not having a previous, plastic device to compare it to, but there were still a lot of complaints:
As of late Monday, the thread titled "Weak wifi" led all others with more than 130 messages, and nearly 13,000 views.
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http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9174858/Wi_Fi_issues_dominate_iPad_user_complaints
So Apple made the same decision as Asus, didn't even give the option of GPS, got a lot of complaints, and... the iPad was a massive success. Apple devices, eh?
I do think that it was a bad idea for Asus to announce the TF700T now though. It's going to affect sales of the current device. It would have been better to wait until the end of Q1.
I think this young man makes a great point. Some of you have no use for GPS, I understand, but some of us that spends 500 would like to get our money worth. That means things should work as advertise. It is a bait and switch really. I'm not pissed that Asus came out with a new tablet, I'm pissed that my tablet is compromised and they're not doing anything about it. I can't take mine back because they don't refund. If you let these company do that, they'll continue to do that next time. Rush to release a product and hope that they can update it later, or if they can't, release a new model and let the customers suffer. Also, the hardware and the OS are almost synonymous, if you got a bad device, people will perceive the OS as bad as well. I know this is going to turn many people to getting an ipad even.
Now just as a devils advocate: is anyones gps COMPLETELY NON FUNCTIONING? I don't wanna hear weak, not good, sometimes, NON FUNCTIONING. If it is, you can get it replaced through RMA. Is it working at all? Then Asus didn't lie or make something up that wasn't true. I'm trying to think about this like a lawyer. Since the gps chip is functioning, it does get a signal and can handle most location acquisition tasks. I understand its not a Garmin but there was never a promise of this. GPS was a listed spec. It never made any claims as to its ability as a gps. This is where I see a problem with the Bait and Switch Argument.
Also, if everyones so damn smart here, then why didn't anyone think that the aluminum backing would have problems with signals? I think people are just a little mad maybe because they're so brilliant that overlooked something that everyone already knew would be a "problem"
In a week, my GPS has found exactly one satellite, promptly lost it and never did locate me. Left it in the car all day in a parking lot to see if it could sort itself out, all it did was drain the battery. Willing to look past it however, for the dock and battery life, and otherwise it was satisfactory (haven't tried BT/wifi yet, though, might be a deal killer)
Last night's ICS update gave me banding and market won't finish downloading anything, even post-wipe. Obviously fixable via software, but nonetheless the experience continues to fade. Plus, it's almost a doorstop while I have to sideload everything. Even my hacked-to-death Pandigital novel that I got at Kohls with some socks and 30% discount coupon is more stable than this.
There is no way that this product was conceived solely to make high schoolers pee themselves over frame rates on XDA. Businesses are going to begin equipping employees en masse with tablets of some sort, and thus far this was Android's best shot at heading off Apple, because it is a familiar form factor that Apple doesn't yet offer. I am in a role where I get to have some input on this issue for my Fortune 500 company, and I simply can't imagine showing this mess to the IT stakeholders like I had originally hoped. Keeping mine for now, but I see the OP's point of this being a strike against Android for enterprise, which is where the money has barely been tapped.
setite said:
Yea in my rage I forgot to get to my central point. I refer to what these kind of events do to the future of Android. Imagine where the iPhone would be if the iPhone 3G had an identical issue. Imagine all those happy iPhone 2G users selling their iPhone, and going home with a shiny new iPhone 3G only to find out that the GPS didn't work and that they couldn't browse the internet if they were playing music to a set of BT headphones or to some BT setup routed through their home/car stereo. Then if Apple decided to say that it's a phone, not a personal navigation device. Then they announced a new phone 2 weeks later and just released the iPhone 3Gs with the problems solved.. 3 or 4 months later.
Apple would likely have not survived such a fiasco since Apple is built on the premise of things just working and of having a superior end to end service. I blame ASUS for this problem. But the masses, the ones who go to Best Buy and buy a random tablet, would return this and from then on they would think Android was a bad platform. They would likely never learn that it was just the particular device that is bad. These kinds of things can't be allowed to happen if Android is to remain a viable alternative. The issues with this tablet are not your regular first run issues. First run issues are usually few and minor. GPS is all but useless, and for me and many others bluetooth is also useless. Is ASUS going to throw up their hands in another few weeks and say that this is not a dedicated MP3 player and take bluetooth off the spec sheet? If ASUS doesn't find me a tablet with working bluetooth I will be returning it. The point is that if the rest of you just accept the GPS problem, and the BT problem if you have it just because you don't use those features you are going to have the problem with the next device and the next one, or similar ones.
Last. STOP CALLING THIS A FRIGGIN EARLY ADOPTER OR FIRST GEN DEVICE. This is the TF201. The 2 differentiates it from the TF101. This device brings changes to the TF101. It is not an entirely new device.
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Click to collapse
this did happen with the iphone 4 and the botched antenna. apple just gave out free bumpers and they're doing fine
Mithent said:
That we're bringing up Apple devices is interesting, considering that the TF201 has better Wi-Fi performance than the original Wi-Fi iPad according to tests by a user here - Apple, too, made a device with an aluminium back (and the little window doesn't seem to have made much of a difference). How's that iPad's GPS reception? Oh, Apple doesn't put them in Wi-Fi iPads at all. Of course, the original iPad benefited from not having a previous, plastic device to compare it to, but there were still a lot of complaints:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9174858/Wi_Fi_issues_dominate_iPad_user_complaints
So Apple made the same decision as Asus, didn't even give the option of GPS, got a lot of complaints, and... the iPad was a massive success. Apple devices, eh?
I do think that it was a bad idea for Asus to announce the TF700T now though. It's going to affect sales of the current device. It would have been better to wait until the end of Q1.
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Thx man finally someone who thinks. Was just about to suggest to the thread started to get an ipad. You wont get a better product but marketing makes you believe that everythings fine.
TF700T? I dont see why I should pay another 100-150$ to have some more pixels that i only see when i hold the device 1cm before my eye.
Also the plastic thing on top looks bad.
blah blah blah blah "I'm miserable, so you should be miserable too."
If you're unhappy about how ASUS has handled the situation, then go ahead and go to the BBB...call ASUS....Call the retailer you bought it from. Complaining about it on a forum isn't going to do anything but allow you to vent. After that, it just turns into crying and whining. Sitting here day after day after day complaining about the same thing isn't going to fix a damn thing. If you're that upset about it....do something worthwhile about it.
Believe it or not, some people are not having BT/WiFi issues. I'm not. I really like my Prime....and frankly, I don't want to send it in just to wait for something else that may or may not be coming out in a couple months and may or may not be any better. Maybe they're rushing the next one out as well and it'll have it's own slew of problems. So please, stop telling me if I should be happy with my Prime or not and what I should do with it just because you are having problems.
It's not going to destroy Android. It's not going to hurt Android. If anything, It'll hurt ASUS.
clouds5 said:
Thx man finally someone who thinks. Was just about to suggest to the thread started to get an ipad. You wont get a better product but marketing makes you believe that everythings fine.
TF700T? I dont see why I should pay another 100-150$ to have some more pixels that i only see when i hold the device 1cm before my eye.
Also the plastic thing on top looks bad.
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+10000000000000000000000000000
Cant wait til the trolls are gone
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
HuskerWebhead said:
blah blah blah blah "I'm miserable, so you should be miserable too."
If you're unhappy about how ASUS has handled the situation, then go ahead and go to the BBB...call ASUS....Call the retailer you bought it from. Complaining about it on a forum isn't going to do anything but allow you to vent. After that, it just turns into crying and whining. Sitting here day after day after day complaining about the same thing isn't going to fix a damn thing. If you're that upset about it....do something worthwhile about it.
Believe it or not, some people are not having BT/WiFi issues. I'm not. I really like my Prime....and frankly, I don't want to send it in just to wait for something else that may or may not be coming out in a couple months and may or may not be any better. Maybe they're rushing the next one out as well and it'll have it's own slew of problems. So please, stop telling me if I should be happy with my Prime or not and what I should do with it just because you are having problems.
It's not going to destroy Android. It's not going to hurt Android. If anything, It'll hurt ASUS.
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'VALUE THE FUTURE OF ANDROID' is like saying returning your Prime will save the world lol. I'm with this guy, if you don't like it call the BBB, Asus, and your retailer and make them take it back but you're *****ing at the wrong people. Even though I've had to RMA mine for screen bleed, I'm still highly impressed with Prime

ASUS Technical Support - why bother?

I ordered my TF201 32GB from Office Depot and received it in early January. Unboxed it, turned it on, installed some apps etc. then left charging overnight. Next morning noticed unit was not charged and down to 25% or so. Used another outlet but no improvement. Then froze the power unit as suggested in the forum. Called Asus Technical Support and troubleshooted the unit. CSR convinced it was the unit itself; asked me to ship unit to Texas facility (at my dime of course). 2 weeks later unit was shipped back (took 9 days since it was Fedex Ground from CA to NY!).
Unboxed unit and noticed that battery at 5%! Plugged in and... Nothing. Not charging!! Called ASUS - probably same idiot with whom I spoke the first time. Asked me to ship it back (on my dime) again to Texas but different RMA! Had no explanation as to why the RMA number should be different but I guess whoever they outsourced repairs to does not want to report to ASUS that they did not fix an issue the first time..CSR told me to only ship unit AGAIN. I challenged him that it may makse sense because, god forbid, it may be charger at fault! He said "ok" ship it back too.. thank you very kind of you to keep an open mind MR. ASUS CSR... I also mentioned that it seems unfair I pay for shipping again... so he sent me a Fedex label.. ground of course so 3-4 days to Texas (no ground pick up on weekends) and then another few days for the geniuses at whoever does the repair to figure it out and another 5-6 days to ship back.. so all in all 6 weeks since purchase and I have not used my Prime.. I had bought my wife an ASUS UX21 since she travels a lot for work but I returned it to Amazon for a refund within the 30 day window.. had to pay a fee to return but hey probably saved her (and me) a lot of aggravation.. her Toshiba ultrabook is working just fine thank you very much. Totally frustrated by idiots at ASUS. I cancelled the dock purchase at Office Depot too. As much as I do not like Apple products at least you can find an Apple Store everywhere and get a replacement and/or a technician to take a look and troubleshoot.. and iPads cost the same as a PRIME.. I am done with Asus.. once this is fixed it goes on Craigslist or eBay. Not sure what else I'll get.. anyone want to order my ASUS? It will be cheap.. once I get it back.
This reminds me of an experience we had with an Asus RMA, it was one of their eeePC models (back when they were the hot thing to get). We had to send the device back a total of three or four times before the issue was finally properly repaired. Asus can be kinda poor when it comes to some more obscure RMA situations, I totally understand your frustration.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Sounds completely understandable on your stance. Unacceptable customer service. Damn Asus, is the RMA place really that bad. Not all are bad experiences but there's been too many bad stories popping up lately. Good luck on choosing new device. As much as i like my Prime, if I had to go through what some people have, I'd give up on them also.
@OP
Why didn't you take it back to Office Depot in the first place? That's why retailers exist, to deal with the customer.
My 14-day return window is up today. I'm bringing back the TFP.
Even though I've had no problems with mine, I've heard too many stories like this. Too much negativity surrounding this device to allow me to enjoy it. I will downgrade my specs requirement and will go with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
senatorxmg said:
My 14-day return window is up today. I'm bringing back the TFP.
Even though I've had no problems with mine, I've heard too many stories like this. Too much negativity surrounding this device to allow me to enjoy it. I will downgrade my specs requirement and will go with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
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Click to collapse
Have I read this right? You have a perfectly fine functioning tfp, but are returning it because others have had bad experiences, and you have heard too many stories!
This sounds like you give more credence to other peeps woes rather than go by your own
Experiences. I had better not mention all the negative stories I have heard about the galaxy tab as I would hate to ruin your enjoyment of that tablet!!!
What
Is wrong with enjoying the ..perfect tfp that you have? Remember that peeps are far more likely to moan than praise, for every negative issue on this board there are many many more happy punters who have not posted anything anywhere
slef2003 said:
Have I read this right? You have a perfectly fine functioning tfp, but are returning it because others have had bad experiences, and you have heard too many stories!
This sounds like you give more credence to other peeps woes rather than go by your own
Experiences. I had better not mention all the negative stories I have heard about the galaxy tab as I would hate to ruin your enjoyment of that tablet!!!
What
Is wrong with enjoying the ..perfect tfp that you have? Remember that peeps are far more likely to moan than praise, for every negative issue on this board there are many many more happy punters who have not posted anything anywhere
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Click to collapse
Yes...you heard it right. I previously had the Galaxy Tab and was fairly happy with it's performance (sans ICS). Really wanted to try the TFP...so I returned the GT and got one to try myself even with all of the negativity expressed here. While I encountered no real issues myself...I couldn't help think about whether or not the TFP would become but a blip on the radar for ASUS support and dev efforts. Sure, the TFP is newer technology than the GT....perhaps I'm just not willing to be one of their beta testers. The GT has been out long enough now to iron out a lot of the wrinkles...plus, ICS is still to come which will almost certainly improve performance.
I'm not slamming the TFP...just wasn't impressed enough with it over the GT to risk being subjected to Asus' tech support should that have been required.
senatorxmg said:
My 14-day return window is up today. I'm bringing back the TFP.
Even though I've had no problems with mine, I've heard too many stories like this. Too much negativity surrounding this device to allow me to enjoy it. I will downgrade my specs requirement and will go with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
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Click to collapse
Really,
Yours works but you're going to return it because other people have had issues?
Well.. I love my current Prime and I'm waiting on my second to get here next week along with my dock!
Newegg won't even accept my return because the serial number sticker next to the charging port is gone....
They don't care to turn it on and check the serial in settings to match it with the box and warranty papers.
Looks like a lot of us have had bad experiences because of this tablet. I'm waiting for the TF700T but I might be going with another company.
senatorxmg said:
While I encountered no real issues myself...I couldn't help think about whether or not the TFP would become but a blip on the radar for ASUS support and dev efforts..
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Click to collapse
THIS^^^is a follower. Worried too much about what others are thinkn instead of making decisions based on hour own thinking. PLUS the comment about not sure about further Asus support or developement is ignorant at the least. ASUS has been constantly pumping out updates. Name one other company who released as many OTA updates as the Prime received. WE had ICS. We had root already out the box basically. We Had overclock in less than a month. We had Ubuntu n Linux n other flavors lf it already n less than a month. We already have extra drivers n such being added by dev. In less than a month. We already have root for ICS. We already have some minor theming going on. All this without even having bootunlocker tool yet. For you to make such a statement is kinda disrespect to hard work developers have been doing already here. Name another tablet as new as this one thst had so many things developement wise in its first month of existence. You forgetting its still barely over a month since people first started receiving their primes.
I COULD CARE less you returned it, that's your right to. But your reasoning is plain silly. You said although my prime runs perfect, I got frustrated at seeing all the negative stuff surrounding it. DO you know how many of us had our devices way before you n been dealing with all negative stuff? My prime works great also but not gonna return just because someone else dislikes theirs. Sounds like someone needs their hand held when choosing tablet or making any major decisions. GOOD THING THE other poster didn't mention horror stories he heard about the Galaxy tab or you might just throw a hissy fit.
DONT mean to sound harsh but JUST saying....it would be different if you were like OK I'm returning it because it performed poorly for me. Or I had a personal bad experience with Asus support. Not, well ima return it because Tom,****,n Jane dont like theirs...lmfao
Well good luck with new device anyways.
I had a wonderful experience with them. with a new working Prime delivered before I sent mine back.
But then again, I didnt demand a fix or talk like a privileged anus.
demandarin said:
THIS^^^is a follower. Worried too much about what others are thinkn instead of making decisions based on hour own thinking. PLUS the comment about not sure about further Asus support or developement is ignorant at the least. ASUS has been constantly pumping out updates. Name one other company who released as many OTA updates as the Prime received. WE had ICS. We had root already out the box basically. We Had overclock in less than a month. We had Ubuntu n Linux n other flavors lf it already n less than a month. We already have extra drivers n such being added by dev. In less than a month. We already have root for ICS. We already have some minor theming going on. All this without even having bootunlocker tool yet. For you to make such a statement is kinda disrespect to hard work developers have been doing already here. Name another tablet as new as this one thst had so many things developement wise in its first month of existence. You forgetting its still barely over a month since people first started receiving their primes.
I COULD CARE less you returned it, that's your right to. But your reasoning is plain silly. You said although my prime runs perfect, I got frustrated at seeing all the negative stuff surrounding it. DO you know how many of us had our devices way before you n been dealing with all negative stuff? My prime works great also but not gonna return just because someone else dislikes theirs. Sounds like someone needs their hand held when choosing tablet or making any major decisions. GOOD THING THE other poster didn't mention horror stories he heard about the Galaxy tab or you might just throw a hissy fit.
DONT mean to sound harsh but JUST saying....it would be different if you were like OK I'm returning it because it performed poorly for me. Or I had a personal bad experience with Asus support. Not, well ima return it because Tom,****,n Jane dont like theirs...lmfao
Well good luck with new device anyways.
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Click to collapse
Thanks...a follower? At least you didn't call me a fanboy. ;-)
I care about my investment and how I feel about it. It's all speculation right now as to how much develpment will occur for the tfp at this point...guess I'm just bowing out as I don't wish to be part of the guessing. I do know the Galaxy Tab has been rewarded.
As far as me not experiencing any earth-crushing issues, I'd say that's true. However, I'm sitting here inside my home typing away on my GalaxyTab with a lock on 8 satellites. And wifi range is excellent EVERYWHERE in my home (and I am talking about a significant difference)...I now get my expected 22-24Mbps down from anywhere in my house whereas before would only achieve these speeds right beside my router and would get 4-6Mbps down further away. Still useable...but pale in comparison to the speeds I get with the GT.
I tested both the TFP and the GT within a month period....I feel better with the sammy and went back to it. How is that being a follower? I tried both extensibly for myself to arrive at a decision I felt comfortable with. As far as the negativity being a factor in my decision...hell yeah. Why shouldn't it be? Had I not been offered the chance to return the TFP easily, I never would have bought it based on what I've read here...some would say that's part of the research done when considering a purchase. After testing it out, I wasn't blown away...for my needs, there was nothing that the GT couldn't do just as well plus with gps and wifi working much better. For sure, it only has 2 cores...maybe I'm good with that.
I do hope everyone feels good about their purchase. I didn't and did the logical thing.
demandarin said:
Easy as you are right. That is what i said n still feel the same. I ran by serial number by Gary n he told me it was from an early batch n someone would call me. Ill easily take the new hardware revision over older one. Especially if it might mean might GPS might finally work. I never said "I want them to repair mines". Plus although no dropped signals or anything, wifi signal still fluctuates alot. SO if older hardware was never really meant to be shipped out then people on older batch entitled to the upgrade, or sorts. I did pay for this device, Cash, and I do have a warranty. I never had an issue like others been posting. SO ILL TAKE THE MINI UPGRADE IF OFFERED. That's all. Plus from hearing the horror stories from returns like guy with device smashed, I'm not sure if I would even send mines in yet. Especially since overall having no problems. GPS aside. Remember, they are people out there that have GPS working to some extent one way or another. I having seen a lock yet, although I never tried for more than 5 mins n was indoors everytime. I haven't taken my prime outdoors yet. Plus based on my date of final purchase 12/22 I'd be entitled to any possible hardware fixes for GPS since mine is clearly shown to be purchased before they took GPS spec down.
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Heck...looks like you'd opt for a fully functional tablet, too. Guess you're just braver than I to wait around for Asus to fix it for you...although, it appears you may be somewhat skeptical of their customer service yourself? ;-)
***Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1***
HB861 said:
.. and iPads cost the same as a PRIME...
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Actually iPad's are $120 more.
received it in early January. so all in all 6 weeks since purchase and I have not used my Prime..
My question is how you figure 6 weeks? How many weeks are there in January if today is the 28th?
On a serious note, why not try to find a charger from Frys or OD or Staples. The ones for the OG TF 101 work and determine if the problem is the charger or not?
senatorxmg said:
Thanks...a follower? At least you didn't call me a fanboy. ;-)
I care about my investment and how I feel about it. It's all speculation right now as to how much develpment will occur for the tfp at this point...guess I'm just bowing out as I don't wish to be part of the guessing. I do know the Galaxy Tab has been rewarded.
As far as me not experiencing any earth-crushing issues, I'd say that's true. However, I'm sitting here inside my home typing away on my GalaxyTab with a lock on 8 satellites. And wifi range is excellent EVERYWHERE in my home (and I am talking about a significant difference)...I now get my expected 22-24Mbps down from anywhere in my house whereas before would only achieve these speeds right beside my router and would get 4-6Mbps down further away. Still useable...but pale in comparison to the speeds I get with the GT.
I tested both the TFP and the GT within a month period....I feel better with the sammy and went back to it. How is that being a follower? I tried both extensibly for myself to arrive at a decision I felt comfortable with. As far as the negativity being a factor in my decision...hell yeah. Why shouldn't it be? Had I not been offered the chance to return the TFP easily, I never would have bought it based on what I've read here...some would say that's part of the research done when considering a purchase. After testing it out, I wasn't blown away...for my needs, there was nothing that the GT couldn't do just as well plus with gps and wifi working much better. For sure, it only has 2 cores...maybe I'm good with that.
I do hope everyone feels good about their purchase. I didn't and did the logical thing.
Heck...looks like you'd opt for a fully functional tablet, too. Guess you're just braver than I to wait around for Asus to fix it for you...although, it appears you may be somewhat skeptical of their customer service yourself? ;-)
***Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1***
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Click to collapse
OK, completely understandable then. I see where you really coming from from this post.
As far as your second quote,I'm not really waiting for anything. I was just told my device is one of early one built. Device still works great but if I'm offered an opportunity to upgrade it to newer parts, then why wouldn't I. Lol. It'll make it even better, I would hope. I still love this device and has done everything I've asked of it n more. Only complaint I would have is GPS. I know that's very important to some people and deciding factor whether to keep it or not. For me, its no big deal. Everything is great aside from GPS. Just thankful I don't have issues some others been describing. Kinda makes it hard to believe when your device working so well. But its a given.
One thing though, Asus better step their game up with the quickness. I have a feeling if they don't address the possible issues on prime, their new upgrade model will be a fail LR do worse. As Prime n t-700 basically share all the same internal components. It'll be in Asus best interest to attack these issues head on. ASUS Losing people everyday. They gaining also but still. People with issues want to keep device but won't since some are riddled with issues. Can't be mad for someone wanting to return a device that's not working properly for them.

[Q] Should I...?

There are so many previous thread that I could possibly post this in but they are all too busy and maybe my post would just get lost and this could be likely with this one too. I really want the Prime, but am really sent back after all the issues I see. The WiFi, bt, gps, screens cracking, light bleed, random restarts and I don't know how much else there is. My budget probably wont allow me an Infinity and I if I don't get the Prime I will be forced into the 300 series which has less battery and is slower. I don't really care about the plastic back or lack of Super IPS+ screen. So the real question is, are the new batches getting better? If I took the risk, would it be relatively risk free if it was really bugged and I could return it or would it be costing me?
Thanks, Andrew
Sent from my laptop using a keyboard (I have no fancy devices, that's why I want a Prime)
Issues not as major as it seems on the surface. Especially with wifi and screen cracking. I had my prime since 12/22 with no case or anything and never scratched or cracked screen. The few cases I've seen more likely due to user error.
Just check the link out in my signature, Positive transformer thread. That'll give you a new perspective on Prime. Well worth the purchase. I have one of the very first units and mines work great. Plenty of people like you who saw the various issue threads and got scared. Then they went for it and saw it was no where near as bad as some particular users make it seem.
Make your own choice from research. Look at the good and the bad. The Good easily outweighs the possibilities of the bad. Good luck!
mdemons12 said:
There are so many previous thread that I could possibly post this in but they are all too busy and maybe my post would just get lost and this could be likely with this one too. I really want the Prime, but am really sent back after all the issues I see. The WiFi, bt, gps, screens cracking, light bleed, random restarts and I don't know how much else there is. My budget probably wont allow me an Infinity and I if I don't get the Prime I will be forced into the 300 series which has less battery and is slower. I don't really care about the plastic back or lack of Super IPS+ screen. So the real question is, are the new batches getting better? If I took the risk, would it be relatively risk free if it was really bugged and I could return it or would it be costing me?
Thanks, Andrew
Sent from my laptop using a keyboard (I have no fancy devices, that's why I want a Prime)
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Click to collapse
I find it amazing at how many of these threads like this there have been lately. People wanting to know if the latest batches are better than the old one and if it is now 'safe' to buy a Prime. Problem I have with this is there was never anything 'wrong' with the old batches. Something is only a problem if YOU perceive it as being a problem. For example, some people are completely fine with a small amount of light bleed as this is a very common problem for LCD screens, while others think light bleed is completely unacceptable and wish ASUS would just burn and rot in hell for having such a terrible QA department for not catching the light bleed issue.
Fact of the matter is, you can buy the Prime completely risk free from several retailers and if you are unhappy, then return it and get %100 of your money back. There is no risk involved. Best Buy for example has a 14 day return policy. If you use the Prime for two weeks and decide you can't live with some 'problem' (whether it be light bleed, dead pixel, WIFI doesn't meet your needs, or whatever) then return it.
My personal experience with my Prime:
1) It has a small amount of light bleed (doesn't bother me)
2) My GPS does not work %100 (I don't care b/c I don't need GPS in a tablet)
3) My WIFI works fine for my needs (does it fall off after a certain distance from the router? I don't know b/c I have never tried. I don't care because where I sit in my house and use it on a regular basis the WIFI is fine)
4) Does the WIFI throughput drop when bluetooth is on and streaming? I am sure it does but I have never tried. I don't use bluetooth headphones so this is something that would not and does not concern me.
5) I have experienced random reboots in the past but do not any more. One of the latest firmware updates fixed the issue
I understand why people come on these forums and get other people's opinions before making a big purchase, but don't let other people's perceived problems become your problems too. Buy the thing and make your own decision.
Edit: Best Buy now has a 30 day return policy on all electronics (so this is even better as you get a longer test drive period)
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Help-To...es/pcmcat260800050014.c?id=pcmcat260800050014
jordache16 said:
I find it amazing at how many of these threads like this there have been lately.
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Click to collapse
I find it amazing that within minutes of anyone posting such a question, demandarin is in there before anyone else with his canned response. I was actually going to reply, but then just had to wait and see. Sure enough.....
not to thread jack but im in kind of the same boat im looking to get a tablet mostly for djing (touch osc etc) fanbridge and browsing (maybe some gaming if my daughter is visiting) i want something highpower durable fast and bright i shutter at the thought of an ipad... (bad enough i broke down and bought a macbook pro) i want to keep it below 1k$ was waiting for the infinity but now i'm hearing rumors its not getting released this year.. can anyone recommend either a tablet coming out in the next few months or something that wont be obsolete in a year (lol like my thunderbolt) thanks
jordache16 said:
I find it amazing at how many of these threads like this there have been lately. People wanting to know if the latest batches are better than the old one and if it is now 'safe' to buy a Prime. Problem I have with this is there was never anything 'wrong' with the old batches. Something is only a problem if YOU perceive it as being a problem. For example, some people are completely fine with a small amount of light bleed as this is a very common problem for LCD screens, while others think light bleed is completely unacceptable and wish ASUS would just burn and rot in hell for having such a terrible QA department for not catching the light bleed issue.
Fact of the matter is, you can buy the Prime completely risk free from several retailers and if you are unhappy, then return it and get %100 of your money back. There is no risk involved. Best Buy for example has a 14 day return policy. If you use the Prime for two weeks and decide you can't live with some 'problem' (whether it be light bleed, dead pixel, WIFI doesn't meet your needs, or whatever) then return it.
My personal experience with my Prime:
1) It has a small amount of light bleed (doesn't bother me)
2) My GPS does not work %100 (I don't care b/c I don't need GPS in a tablet)
3) My WIFI works fine for my needs (does it fall off after a certain distance from the router? I don't know b/c I have never tried. I don't care because where I sit in my house and use it on a regular basis the WIFI is fine)
4) Does the WIFI throughput drop when bluetooth is on and streaming? I am sure it does but I have never tried. I don't use bluetooth headphones so this is something that would not and does not concern me.
5) I have experienced random reboots in the past but do not any more. One of the latest firmware updates fixed the issue
I understand why people come on these forums and get other people's opinions before making a big purchase, but don't let other people's perceived problems become your problems too. Buy the thing and make your own decision.
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Click to collapse
+1
This pretty much summarizes my feelings on this tablet. Mine has a few (minor) problems, which are pretty similar to those listed above. Overall I think that the pluses far outweigh these and I am delighted with it.
jordache16 said:
I find it amazing at how many of these threads like this there have been lately. People wanting to know if the latest batches are better than the old one and if it is now 'safe' to buy a Prime. Problem I have with this is there was never anything 'wrong' with the old batches. Something is only a problem if YOU perceive it as being a problem. For example, some people are completely fine with a small amount of light bleed as this is a very common problem for LCD screens, while others think light bleed is completely unacceptable and wish ASUS would just burn and rot in hell for having such a terrible QA department for not catching the light bleed issue.
Fact of the matter is, you can buy the Prime completely risk free from several retailers and if you are unhappy, then return it and get %100 of your money back. There is no risk involved. Best Buy for example has a 14 day return policy. If you use the Prime for two weeks and decide you can't live with some 'problem' (whether it be light bleed, dead pixel, WIFI doesn't meet your needs, or whatever) then return it.
My personal experience with my Prime:
1) It has a small amount of light bleed (doesn't bother me)
2) My GPS does not work %100 (I don't care b/c I don't need GPS in a tablet)
3) My WIFI works fine for my needs (does it fall off after a certain distance from the router? I don't know b/c I have never tried. I don't care because where I sit in my house and use it on a regular basis the WIFI is fine)
4) Does the WIFI throughput drop when bluetooth is on and streaming? I am sure it does but I have never tried. I don't use bluetooth headphones so this is something that would not and does not concern me.
5) I have experienced random reboots in the past but do not any more. One of the latest firmware updates fixed the issue
I understand why people come on these forums and get other people's opinions before making a big purchase, but don't let other people's perceived problems become your problems too. Buy the thing and make your own decision.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, the OP should be his own judge of how it performs for his needs.
b1n4ry said:
not to thread jack but im in kind of the same boat im looking to get a tablet mostly for djing (touch osc etc) fanbridge and browsing (maybe some gaming if my daughter is visiting) i want something highpower durable fast and bright i shutter at the thought of an ipad... (bad enough i broke down and bought a macbook pro) i want to keep it below 1k$ was waiting for the infinity but now i'm hearing rumors its not getting released this year.. can anyone recommend either a tablet coming out in the next few months or something that wont be obsolete in a year (lol like my thunderbolt) thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well buddy, ill tell you this. If you looking for a tablet that won't become obsolete or overtaken in specs after a year, YOU WILL NEVER FIND IT..lol. all tablet and tech devices have a life cycle that is getting shorter and shorter in life span cycle. Even the best selling Ipad is overtaken by its newer versions in a year or less. Just find something powerful, like the prime, that has good developer support and will make it go longer than usual life span. Meaning with developer support, its specs being tweaked and overclocked will easily make it hold its own against newer devices down the line. PRIME or maybe one of the Acer or Toshiba tablets coming out is your best bet. 300 doesn't fit your bill, because it has lower specs and is already overtaken by prime and other tablets to come. So If you want the high end most powerful Android device out now, Prime is your best bet. If you can wait, see how the new tegra3 Toshiba and Acer tablets perform. Toshiba might finally get some developer support here because its 3 new tablets coming out are all tegra3 powered. Developers seem to be very impressed with how Nvidia implemented tegra3 and there's alot of gains to be made with it on the developement side.
OP, I say get it, but ONLY from the shops with good returns policy. After getting it, test wifi, browser lag and hot spots and dead pixels. Whatever your test results, if it's okay with you then it's no brainer. If not, just return.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
I'm glad I bought my Prime when I did. Price matching w/ Best Buy... getting free Express shipping... the savings!
My Prime's display has so little screen bleeding that I honestly feel it's nonexistent. My display is as near perfection as I imagine any Prime could be.
However... WiFi + GPS + updates that have inconsistent impacts on battery life have been drawbacks that I'm happily living with.
Heheh sure I'll toss in my 2 bits. There are two categories of issues with the Prime: hardware and software.
HW: The major problem has been weak wireless (wifi/BT/GPS). Reportedly, the latest rev (serial starting with C3) has improved wifi. BT interoperability is still an unknown, but isn't a major use-case. Write off GPS, unless you like using a dongle. As another said, buy from a retailer with good return policy.
SW: The Prime is an enthusiast product, and this place is an enthusiast forum. Prime is currently undergoing beta-testing for ICS, although it's not said as such. Enthusiasts are fine with this; regular users, not so much. Since this is your (OP's) first post, you're likely among the latter. If so, wait until the ICS updates get more stable.
To sum: Buy Prime now if you're an enthusiast and can weather the beta-test process, else wait. The latter will also ensure you get the latest version. If/when you buy it, stress test wifi to make sure it works adequately for your setup, whether home or travel. Do it within your return period, and only deal with the retailer, never the manufacturer. If you need to send it back for RMA, then it's already a bad buy. The weeks you lose waiting for its return is lost opportunity cost, and lost money.
The Prime has its issues, but it's still the only high-end Android tablet for the foreseeable future. The risk/reward ratio is something only you can decide.
The best way to deal with your concerns is to test the Prime.
For that purpose I will suggest that you take advantage of the Best Buy return policy. Be it a store purchase or an online purchase from Best Buy web site you have a month (and not 2 weeks as somebody mentioned) to decide if it is for you or not. One month to return it if you are not satisfied.
A lot of Forum members have decided that the minor issues like bleed, wifi, gps, customer service lapses or non existant in some parts of Europe are not a deterrent.
Some consider that a dongle shows how Asus is a marvellous (indeed) and caring business.
Judge by yourself not through the eyes (or lack of) or the comments you read.
I like the Prime. The GPS issue but more importantly the very poor Customer Service, in my opinion, convinced me to get my money back.
I might wait for the Infinity or go for another manufacturer product.
In any case, good luck
gunner1937 said:
The best way to deal with your concerns is to test the Prime.
For that purpose I will suggest that you take advantage of the Best Buy return policy. Be it a store purchase or an online purchase from Best Buy web site you have a month (and not 2 weeks as somebody mentioned) to decide if it is for you or not. One month to return it if you are not satisfied.
A lot of Forum members have decided that the minor issues like bleed, wifi, gps, customer service lapses or non existant in some parts of Europe are not a deterrent.
Some consider that a dongle shows how Asus is a marvellous (indeed) and caring business.
Judge by yourself not through the eyes (or lack of) or the comments you read.
I like the Prime. The GPS issue but more importantly the very poor Customer Service, in my opinion, convinced me to get my money back.
I might wait for the Infinity or go for another manufacturer product.
In any case, good luck
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Click to collapse
Good catch. Apparently Best Buy recently changed their return policy. It used to be 2 weeks for most electronics (including tablets).
http://www.tuaw.com/2012/02/27/best-buy-to-simplify-return-policy-30-days-all-products-inclu/
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Help-To...es/pcmcat260800050014.c?id=pcmcat260800050014
Thanks for all the replies! Unfortunately I live in Australia and plan to be purchasing from a place called Officeworks where I can get a 20% discount. I will make sure that they have a decent return policy when they get them in stock. There hasn't been any stock in there for a while and I hope they get some more in. For those experiencing very minimal light bleed, if possible would you be able to get a picture up or describe what its like?
Thanks,
mdemons12 said:
Thanks for all the replies! Unfortunately I live in Australia and plan to be purchasing from a place called Officeworks where I can get a 20% discount. I will make sure that they have a decent return policy when they get them in stock. There hasn't been any stock in there for a while and I hope they get some more in. For those experiencing very minimal light bleed, if possible would you be able to get a picture up or describe what its like?
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, it is unfortunate that you live in Australia
The best places to live right now are Afghanistan, Iran, Irak, Pakistan, and Syria.
Unfortunately, if I may say so, the Prime is not yet available in those countries. There is a problem with the wifi: it is not islamist
Hahaha Well the most unfortunate thing living here is that our dollar is actually better than the Americans, yet to get a Prime and Dock it costs nearly $200 more than it would in the US. Annoys me ):
Just found out that Officeworks do have a pretty good return policy so it looks like its a go ahead from here! That's only if they get them in stock. I will believe from most of the talk around here that the prime won't reach EOL anytime soon and more stock should arrive.

More ppl should visit the +tf201 thread...

So I've had my ups and downs with this tablet. My GPS has been borked since day 1, no biggie to me but I don't like that fact. They gave me an adapter that works, for free. Never use it...
I'm on my 3rd free RMA, it is being shipped back to me now even though I wanted to pick it up...anyway, each free RMA was definitely caused by my own actions. So they have fixed my prime 3 times now when I have been the problem. Of course, I don't state it that way to them and I am very polite...
Each RMA has been super fast too, never more than 3 days!
I have my gripes with this tablet, like: why the hell was it so laggy after the JB update?! or why the hell couldn't I connect to my adhoc wifi originally?! Which made it useless to me to begin with. So, I have had serious issues with my tf201 from day one, but Asus & SMS Infocomm has resonded quickly and exceeded my expectations every time. I straight up told the guy (same guy that has taken my tablet all 3 RMA's) this last time, that it was my fault the tablet is bricked. Told him it is unloacked and I messed it up. Asus, still warranted it and no charges to me.
With all that being said, I don't think there are enough positive experiences being posted on here. I would like to see more positivity.
Also, this is making me seriously consider getting an Asus Transformer Book i7 when they are available!
true that tf200 sucks big time especially for its price tag at time of release.
1. gps doesn't work
2. wifi is piss poor
3. slow i/o
4. dead camera within 9 months
5. volume is soft
1+2 is alleviated with dongle which is goodwill on asus side.
3 is a downer. my sgs2 can install apps much quicker.
5 i use loudness app
To answer your lack of positive threads in this forum, i believe most tf200 like me are satisfied with our mainstream usage. People with negative experiences are much much more likely to voice out their opinions.
androwookie rom is amazing. you shd give it a try.
in short, tf200 is beta product. some HW flaws can be fixed by rma. SW lag can be improved by custom roms.
Given a choice, if I had perfect information, I would have skipped the Prime or Asus tablets entirely and bought Windows 8 Tabs.
mystril said:
true that tf200 sucks big time especially for its price tag at time of release.
1. gps doesn't work
2. wifi is piss poor
3. slow i/o
4. dead camera within 9 months
5. volume is soft
1+2 is alleviated with dongle which is goodwill on asus side.
3 is a downer. my sgs2 can install apps much quicker.
5 i use loudness app
To answer your lack of positive threads in this forum, i believe most tf200 like me are satisfied with our mainstream usage. People with negative experiences are much much more likely to voice out their opinions.
androwookie rom is amazing. you shd give it a try.
in short, tf200 is beta product. some HW flaws can be fixed by rma. SW lag can be improved by custom roms.
Given a choice, if I had perfect information, I would have skipped the Prime or Asus tablets entirely and bought Windows 8 Tabs.
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Click to collapse
I think it's a good deal more profound than that, consider: what sort of person goes to a modding forum to ask for help? someone who is happy with the device? or someone who is unhappy and wants to change it ?
I bought my TF201 in Jan of last year and it has been rockin' the whole time, The only issue I have noticed of those listed is that there are some minor lag issues with JB, but only when I use certain apps. (firefox mobile lags, dolphin does not.
In that time I have not been very active on XDA at all, thus have not posted my positive review- I haven't had a reason to come here
The only reason I'm here now Is that I'm bored today and don't have much else to do.
I work tech support and we see this all the time- we get calls from about 10% of the users, and they are unhappy. No one else calls tech support because they don't break their computers
Good points.
I just like tinkering with these things and have had no problems with my phones when rooting, unlocking, and installing custom roms. I am, however, having hell with this thing. I follow steps to the tee and brick it every time. So I'm done messing with it now. It's not as laggy now as when I sent it in. Maybe there was yet another update between the time I bricked it and they re-flashed it.
I would like to say that SMS Infocomm has been fast as hell fixing this thing for me and it has always been free of charge to me. Although they scratched it once the 2nd time, and scuffed it up this time (3rd rma). Very unhappy about the scuffing. You pay $600 for something............rant avoided.
Anyway, my experience with the rma process has been extensive and I'm very happy with the turn around time.
Anybody have any thoughts on the transformer book tx300?
Its good to hear that story!
I am right there with you... rooted and unlocked tons of devices; LG, Samsung, and HTC, and ive never had any issues. The TF201 i managed to brick with hardly any ROM'ing at all.. And I am ridiculously careful!
Anyways, I ALMOST posted mine on Ebay for parts, but decided to pull it and just try an RMA first, even though i was fully aware it had no warranty anymore and I had personally bricked it. Its been about two weeks now (much longer than I had expected) and the status is still "product is being repaired." Its been that way for about a week now. Hopefully since I wasnt already contacted about the cost, they are indeed fixing it under warranty. If so, I will be more than delighted.... but I will be selling that mother for a Nexus 10 straight away
veive said:
In that time I have not been very active on XDA at all, thus have not posted my positive review- I haven't had a reason to come here
The only reason I'm here now Is that I'm bored today and don't have much else to do.
I work tech support and we see this all the time- we get calls from about 10% of the users, and they are unhappy. No one else calls tech support because they don't break their computers
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Click to collapse
I agree. I bought mine right when they came out in December and never had any problems until the JB update, and that was just a little lag. I didn't post anything on here because I didn't have any problems, so i was just lurking around on here. Any questions I had I asked on a transformer specific forum that I was already a member of. I think the prime gets a worse reputation that it deserves because the people posting are the minority of owners, and the silent majority are content with their purchases. I only returned mine because getting a full refund for a year old tablet was too good to pass up, so I returned it and got a new laptop.

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