After having the Prime for slightly over two weeks, I can give you my first impressions, review, and overview of this hyped up tablet. I must say, finding one of these really was hell for me. It took me almost 3 months for a local shop to get stock for reasons unknown. And oh, I'll also be doing a slight comparison between the Prime and the iPad(chill iPad and Android fan boys). Now I must apologize if this is a rather long winded. I'm no professional reviewer. I'm just here to voice out how I feel and to help whoever that is deciding whether or not to buy this tablet. If you disagree with me, it's alright.
First Impressions
Screen
One of the the concerns I had for the tablet was the screen. You might wondering, why I had this concern. After using a Galaxy Note, I was accustomed to the really vibrant and saturated screen known as Super AMOLED. And I had quite a hard time deciding between this or the next Samsung Galaxy tablet(probably a successor to the Galaxy Tab 10.1?). But in the end, I chose this over the latter. I'm glad to say that the screen is actually quite okay. You won't get the crazy saturation and vibrance levels of any Super AMOLED screen, but instead you'll get natural and frankly quite vibrant colours. If you already have or used an iPhone, this screen should be quite similar other than the high pixel density. Talking about pixel density, when I first looked at the screen, I could(almost) see the individual pixels. Uh oh. As I used it, I sort of got used to it. I often wondered why Asus couldn't have used a higher pixel density especially because it's a 10.1 inch screen we're talking about. Visibility under sunlight is rather; disappointing. You can try using Asus's 'Super IPS+ mode' for outdoor viewing but it only makes it slightly more visible. I'm not sure whether Super AMOLED Plus suffers from this too so I can't say much about it. Compared to the Prime, iPad 3's retina display isn't as sharp as I thought it would be. It could be due to the matte screen protector that I applied on it, but the same screen protector on my iPod 4th gen. still looks sharper and more crisp.
Performance
I'll give you a head's up whoever that is not so familiar with the specs of the Prime - it's running on an Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad Core processor chip clocked at 1.4GHz(yes, you read that correctly), a more than sufficient 1GB of RAM and a choice of 32GB or 64GB of storage space expendable up to 128GB with an SD card. Oh, and it comes with a keyboard dock as well. Seeing all those specs, it's definitely an iPad killer, right? No, not really. Until apps and the right software comes, it'll perform like any other dual-core tablet. What a shame. And that's what I felt when I first used it. Ice Cream Sandwich, Google's latest Android operating system performed rather well. I'll be honest and say, that everything wasn't exactly snappy. Even when set to 'Performance mode', the browser crashed every now and then. I downloaded and used Dolphin Browser HD too, same thing happened. I actually came to a point of thinking of selling it for something else since I was so disappointed. I tried searching for solutions and ended up doing a cold boot. That partly solved the performance issues. I guess I'll just have to wait until the next update. Until that update comes or I just feel like flashing a ROM on this, iPad just seems like a faster tablet to me even though it's only the GPU that is quad core.
Battery Life
Advertised of having 18 hours of battery life docked to the keyboard, battery life isn't exactly as impressive as I thought it would be. First off, after using the tablet for internet browsing, Facebook, Instagram checking every now and then for a mere hour and a half, the tablet consumed almost 70% of the tablet's battery. But after using it for a couple of days, it improved significantly. Last night I tested Asphalt 6 for about an hour plus, the battery went down by 18%. As I'm typing this review from my Prime, it has drained about a good 35% in an hour and a half. After reading several forums, I'm pretty sure it's because of the latest update by Asus that caused this, not the tablet itself. iPad has a similar battery consumption rate.
Apps
As we all know, Apple's App Store was the king of all application stores/markets when compared to Google's Play Market(formerly called Android Market) when it started. As of now, the tables have turned. Day by day, I see the number of apps and games for Android tablets increasing steadily. Of course, some might think generally Apple's apps are more robust and premium. And while that is true, I also personally think that Android developers improve over time and learn from mistakes. Comparing the preinstalled applications, I say Android owns the YouTube app hands down. But when comparing browsers, I think Apple's Safari has a slight edge when it comes to the looks and feel of both browsers. Generally, I'd say Google's Apps like GMail, YouTube and Google Play are better on Android.
Overview
I think this is a great tablet despite the flaws I mentioned. It's all just a matter of getting used to. Battery life, the bloat ware and performance issues can be taken care of with future updates or flashing a custom ROM. As for the speakers, investing in a pair of compact speakers or headphones will take care of that. The keyboard dock feature is actually one of the main reasons for getting this tablet. And support for mice and flash drives mean this might be a replacement for your Windows device. Of course, not everything can be done on it but for casual users this is more than sufficient to take care of your browsing, gaming and socializing needs.
And oh, the comparison with the iPad 3. I would say they both have their own flaws. The more apparent question you should ask yourself is not the specs of the tablet, but the operating system they are running on. Is it the open source that Android offers? Or is it the closed, but simpler, but more refined that Apple offers?
Pros
killer hardware
Ice Cream Sandwich
comes with a keyboard dock
good viewing angles
able to hook up a mouse and external flash drives and hard disks! Solves my problems with a tablet
SD card and micro SD card slots
HDMI ports
Cons
battery life
surprisingly sluggish despite hardware
weak speakers
ergonomics were a little weird at first
quad core doesn't really mean a thing until apps support it.
has a fair bit of bloat ware
Here are some pics:
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Yeah, they're all on Instagram more pics coming soon.
Click here for the official product page.
Twice you stated that the Prime comes with a keyboard dock. That's not true. The keyboard dock is a separate purchase. Also you are a little late to the party. There are thousands of reviews and opinions concerning the Prime. I've had mine since December 20th.
Eddie Hicks said:
Twice you stated that the Prime comes with a keyboard dock. That's not true. The keyboard dock is a separate purchase. Also you are a little late to the party. There are thousands of reviews and opinions concerning the Prime. I've had mine since December 20th.
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yeah no offense to the OP but this review is about 4-5 months late
I don't share your preference, but it's precisely that, a personal preference.
On the Apps section, you barely scratched the surface. Sheer quantity of apps not a useful measure. Also, have you seen the Overskreen Browser or Stick It! ? The iPad apps are not necessarily more robust, nor are they necessarily premium. They just cost more (considerably in some cases for the same app on both platforms). What about Amazon's Android app store? They give away a free app every day (some are crap, some are not).
There's a pretty significant difference in cost between the two, relative to what you get. The TP is simply more bang for the buck. Apple likes to sell a Toyota for the price of a Lexus and make you think it's a Ferarri. Any shortcoming is the fault of the reviewer, not the product (you're holding the phone wrong).
Your battery life sounds terrible.... where is your brightness and Super IPS+ on?
And for visibility in the sun, I never had a problem and I've tried to sit in the brightest areas to see how much the IPS affects visibility and it does a pretty good job.
I can't say I aggree with your review really, your issues and critizism just sounds a bit far fetched to me. Your pros kept mentioning features found on the keyboard doc not the tablet. SD card slot, attachable to HDDs, mouse, flashdrives, require USB slots which is on the keyboard.
A review of a tablet, but giving 50% of the pros to just the attachment, Kind of wrong don't you think?
Wow, a lot of negative comments. I thought it was a nice review. If you already own the device and you're not interested in the comments of a new owner...don't read the thread.
bedoig said:
Wow, a lot of negative comments. I thought it was a nice review. If you already own the device and you're not interested in the comments of a new owner...don't read the thread.
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as an owner of one, i was very interested to read a new review. But the review itself just didn't seem very accurate.
yoursexyhero said:
as an owner of one, i was very interested to read a new review. But the review itself just didn't seem very accurate.
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Reviews of a review. Nice.
yoursexyhero said:
as an owner of one, i was very interested to read a new review. But the review itself just didn't seem very accurate.
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Sorry, your post popped up just before mine. I wasn't referring to either of the two comments immediately preceding my own.
bedoig said:
Wow, a lot of negative comments. I thought it was a nice review. If you already own the device and you're not interested in the comments of a new owner...don't read the thread.
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It's part of building concensus. His review was fine. Better than most, but he opened himself up for ridicule with his unsupported statements about the apps and the app store. Twice, bloatware was mentioned, yet no detail of what this bloatware is. I don't recall seeing AOL, Compuserve, nag-ware Anti-virus trials, or 90-trial versions of productivity apps installed on my TP when I got it.
Many are interested in the comments of a new user, but few will take a Mulligan when it comes to inaccuracies or other unsubstantiated criticism.
Great review...Looking forward to your next review on the Motorola Xoom!!
Just messing with you man, but yes you are just a little late.
I question your battery life results.
An hour and a half of web browsing, Facebook & Istagram shouldn't use up 70% of your battery, especially if you are using the Prime with it's keyboard dock.
Even if you had the brightness turned all the way up, IPS+ turned on and were running on High Performance mode, I don't think it is possible to use up 70% of the Prime's battery in 90 minutes with the usage you described.
I have played highly demanding games like Dead Space, Dark Meadow and Modern Combat 3 for 2-3 hours in a row on my own Prime and I almost always have slightly less than half of the Prime's (tablet only) battery remaining when I stop playing.
When doing light stuff like web browsing an Instagram for a few hours a day, it is common for me to go two or 3 days between charging.
almightywhacko said:
I question your battery life results.
An hour and a half of web browsing, Facebook & Istagram shouldn't use up 70% of your battery, especially if you are using the Prime with it's keyboard dock.
Even if you had the brightness turned all the way up, IPS+ turned on and were running on High Performance mode, I don't think it is possible to use up 70% of the Prime's battery in 90 minutes with the usage you described.
I have played highly demanding games like Dead Space, Dark Meadow and Modern Combat 3 for 2-3 hours in a row on my own Prime and I almost always have slightly less than half of the Prime's (tablet only) battery remaining when I stop playing.
When doing light stuff like web browsing an Instagram for a few hours a day, it is common for me to go two or 3 days between charging.
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When I had my Prime, I tracked battery life pretty closely. I've posted about it elsewhere on this forum, but basically my battery life was about like this (balanced mode, screen brightness about 30%, non-IPS+ mode):
1. Video: Prime was great here, burning about 7%/hour. I think the 5th core was being used exclusively for Netflix, etc.
2. Ebook reading, email, etc: use was about 10%/hour.
3. Browsing: for some reason, browsing was a little more battery-intensive, at about 15%/hour. This included any app that used the browser engine, like RSS readers.
4. Gaming: heavy gaming burned between 20-30%/hour.
So, even with intense gaming, the Prime should last at least 3.5 hours. And, I'd have considered that decent enough, all considering. Toss it in the dock, and you could game for over 5 hours.
wynand32 said:
When I had my Prime, I tracked battery life pretty closely. I've posted about it elsewhere on this forum, but basically my battery life was about like this (balanced mode, screen brightness about 30%, non-IPS+ mode):
1. Video: Prime was great here, burning about 7%/hour. I think the 5th core was being used exclusively for Netflix, etc.
2. Ebook reading, email, etc: use was about 10%/hour.
3. Browsing: for some reason, browsing was a little more battery-intensive, at about 15%/hour. This included any app that used the browser engine, like RSS readers.
4. Gaming: heavy gaming burned between 20-30%/hour.
So, even with intense gaming, the Prime should last at least 3.5 hours. And, I'd have considered that decent enough, all considering. Toss it in the dock, and you could game for over 5 hours.
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browsing will always be a heavy battery burner on prime. with or without flash on. same goes for my Ipad. web browsing is very RAM intensive. it can burn up alot of ram fast. so therefore its going to burn battery at a faster rate. now ddr3 ram would probably make web browsing burn up less battery since its more energy/power efficient. but even web browsing on my Ipad burns battery faster.
As for the op battery claims, it seems way off to me. never heard of battery burning up that fast with the little bit he said he did.
Battery is something I dont even worry about on the Prime. Asus got the battery department right
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Here's a fast and dirty for anyone looking at a prime :
For the love of GOD, wait until they release the .25 update. Staying stock on .21 is just asking for suffering. The bloat is there, no doubt, mostly from ASUS putting it's own widgets in - a task killer sounds like a nice plan until you find out it's more likely to CAUSE problems than it solves.
Right now there's definitely something up with the way the kernel interfaces with the Teg 3 chipset, the .25 update apparently will cure this, which will in turn result in better stocklike releases and some inlining of new kernels for the AOSP crowd.
If you're okay with toasting the warranty, there's budding dev support, and there's some genuinely good reworks of Stock available, or for those looking for the pure AOSP experience, there's more than enough excellent choices to cover you.
It's a genuinely excellent tablet, but ASUS, no offence, but you need to make with the chop chop on getting this tablet up to full speed. B- for your software, when even single developers with some time, motivation and a working build environ can outdo what you supply.
There, by now everything else that IS worth discussing regards hardware and the android ecosystem has been covered, what I've given is a quick skinny as to the Prime's current position.
Eddie Hicks said:
Twice you stated that the Prime comes with a keyboard dock. That's not true. The keyboard dock is a separate purchase.
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Now you see that all depends on having a narrow world view and continuing the belief that the only country in the world is the USA. There are some global territories where the only option is with a dock. Like the UK for example.
Apologies, and a little more elaboration.
My apologies to everyone for doing this review so late. I'm pretty sure many of you have already gotten it. But there are friends of mine who haven't, and are still deciding. Once again, I'm no pro in this so I'll take any criticism as lessons. I'm just letting people know how I felt of this tablet. Yes, of course, I've listed many pros of the keyboard, because it's one of the main reasons why I got it. I'm pretty sure you already know that it has the killer hardware etc. but that doesn't mean everything. Usability, is. As far as I know, trying to play a movie when I was in the car was rather uneasy. I could see the movie, but it's rather unadvisable if you'd ask me. I am not sure whether my copy is faulty or whatsoever, but I hope not. I just find it kind of ridiculous that even though I purchased a high end tablet, there's still tweaking to do to make it perform as it should. I will follow up a more complete continuation of the review in the near future. To whoever that disagrees with me; you're entitled to your opinions and so am I. I find it ironic whenever some argument happens because of something so small like this. As f now, until another update becomes available or I flash a custom ROM on this, I'm not 100% satisfied with this tablet.
Eddie Hicks said:
Twice you stated that the Prime comes with a keyboard dock. That's not true. The keyboard dock is a separate purchase. Also you are a little late to the party. There are thousands of reviews and opinions concerning the Prime. I've had mine since December 20th.
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It is. It came with the dock for me. Yeah, already noted. The whole point of this review is not for the already existing owners of this tablet, but for the ones for who are deciding.
almightywhacko said:
I question your battery life results.
An hour and a half of web browsing, Facebook & Istagram shouldn't use up 70% of your battery, especially if you are using the Prime with it's keyboard dock.
Even if you had the brightness turned all the way up, IPS+ turned on and were running on High Performance mode, I don't think it is possible to use up 70% of the Prime's battery in 90 minutes with the usage you described.
I have played highly demanding games like Dead Space, Dark Meadow and Modern Combat 3 for 2-3 hours in a row on my own Prime and I almost always have slightly less than half of the Prime's (tablet only) battery remaining when I stop playing.
When doing light stuff like web browsing an Instagram for a few hours a day, it is common for me to go two or 3 days between charging.
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Click to collapse
Hmm, I'll get back to you on the battery life. Maybe it just needs time until the battery will learn my usage like some reviews I've read from others. But I do notice that whenever browsing takes place, the draining becomes worse. Gaming now seems fine, and I think it'll last for about 4 hours? I've also read there has been some complaints about the latest update .21 bringing battery drain when using WiFi. Oh, and btw it's 70% drained from the keyboard's battery, not the tablet's.
Nice review!
Hopefully the next update will fix the sluggish performance and improve battery life.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Related
Prime first Impressions. Well gang I have had this since the 23rd and played with it over the holidays. I am sorry to report that so far I am not very impressed with this tablet.
First, While I guess thin is good in some ways, it presents problems in others, especialy when the back is smooth metal. This tablet is REAL hard to hold onto. I just can't beleive that none of the initial early reports out there mention this. Everyone that has held mine has the same comment about being hard to hold onto and afraid of droping it. Also the edge is rather abrupt and not rounded or smooth, which is not pleasant. I get hand craps trying to hold it while laying in bed reading at night. You will need a cover for this thing just to make it "Holdable"
The next big let down is the the keyboard. There are two options and they both are very lacking in my optionion. Niether of them have push to hold keys with special characters so that is a real PIA always having to switch modes when you want a special character. No cursor movement keys which is nuts on a big keyboard like this. They have a light version of swype, but that is missing some of the better features that normal swype has. Of couse you can get another keyboard on the market. I am sort of liking HACKER keyboard at the moment.
The biggest let down is performance. I can't tell a bit a difference between this and my Toshiba Thrive. In fact, I suspect my Thrive is equal to or faster than the prime. I will have to run some timing tests and get back to you on this to verify, but the impression says it all. I base this comment on Web Browsing, which to me is one of the primary attractions to using tablets. This think can't hold a candle to IPAD2 in WEB performance I am sorry to say. Even general tablet navaigation speed is not impressive, again, not noticably different than my Thrive. I am really let down by the QUAD CORE hype because I see no noticable speed improvements. Even screen touch responsiveness seems to be slow. Thinking back, many of the early video reviews showed the user having slow response or tapping twice at times to get the tab to respond.
Lastely, the battery life is not impressive at all. It seems to be about 5-6 hours. I can run all day on my Thrive. This unit needs to be recharched before the day is over.
I really hope either updates or ICS come out and fix some of this because I am not happy that I just paid $500 for this tablet.
Sorry for the negative report, but I suspect you are going to start seeing a lot of them unless maybe I just got a lemon, which I doubt. I am not sure anyone should be upset about missing this for XMAS, or at all. I may even sell mine if anyone is interested. It is just not that much better than my Thrive. It is smaller and lighter, but you can't hold the darn thing so that ruins that, and general performance is not noticably better. I am afraid this tablet is mostly hype from what I am seeing and does not deliver much over existing dual core tablets.
1. I don't find it too terribly hard to hold, but I suppose if your hands get sweaty easily you may have to get a cover. Easy fix.
2. Stock keyboards usually suck, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Fortunately on Android you have a metric ton of options for keyboards. Again, easy fix.
3. Performance, with HC it seems to be the same old song and dance...slow. I agree there isn't anything groundbreaking about the interface fluidity. Browser sucks, it's no iPad (and never will be due to the Andorid framework) and everyone knows it as it has been mention umpteen times before. There are alternatives to the stock browser such as Opera that make things smoother but they all have their own shortcomings.
--As far as comparing it to the Thrive, performance could be similar or night and day depending on what you're doing with the device. For example, with simple media consumption you won't see much difference, but I've yet to see the Thrive play 1080p. Additionally, like it or not, but the Thrive is a dead platform as far as development (I'm sure you've seen the forums).
4. Battery, I cannot make a fair observation yet as my battery hasn't been broken in yet. But so far I'm averaging 6-7 hours of good use.
Asus has some serious bugs to work out, there is no denying that. But, in my opinion the biggest issue with the Prime is the level of hype this thing has received,which led to unrealistic expectations.
Oh dear... I just sold my TF101 because of browser lag and general sluggishness, and pre-ordered one of these. looks like I may be disappointed when it turns up (3x weeks here in UK).
So let's summarize:
_ The form factor is a copy cat of the ipad2 which is praised by everyone but for the Prime it's not a good thing.
_ The virtual keyboard, which can be change whenever with whatever in a blink of an eyes, isn't good enough for you.
_ Perfomances of Tegra 3 are egal or worse than those of Tegra 2. Yeah right.
_ Battery life doesn't hold more than 6 hours.... Are you stuck in Super IPS+ mode ?
I don't have the prime, sure, but strangely enough I have a hard time believing you.
I'm not particularly bothered by stock keyboards, since you can install others, and the battery life sounds a little low compared to what I've heard before?
But as for performance, as I was just writing in another thread, I think that the problem is that people who already have dual-core tablets were looking for an instant speed boost here and not finding it. If you already have a dual-core tablet, I'd stick with that for now and see what comes out in the coming year. For now, Tegra 3 has at least as much power as Tegra 2 in applications which are not highly multithreaded, while using less power. Hopefully we will see threadedness become more of a priority as more devices with more than two cores come out, and more of the dormant power of the Prime will be realised.
(This is just what happened on desktops, of course: when quad-cores came out, people were divided on whether it was worth having two extra cores or having a faster-clocked dual-core chip. Faster dual-cores were winning at the time, because most applications couldn't make use of a quad-core. The balance has been tipping in favour of quad-cores ever since, and they're now essentially standard on the desktop, and my quad-core Q6600 has aged much better than the "faster" dual-cores of the time.)
kokusho said:
So let's summarize:
_ The form factor is a copy cat of the ipad2 which is praised by everyone but for the Prime it's not a good thing.
_ The virtual keyboard, which can be change whenever with whatever in a blink of an eyes, isn't good enough for you.
_ Perfomances of Tegra 3 are egal or worse than those of Tegra 2. Yeah right.
_ Battery life doesn't hold more than 6 hours.... Are you stuck in Super IPS+ mode ?
I don't have the prime, sure, but strangely enough I have a hard time believing you.
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Kokusho,
Beleive me or not, start reading other posts and you will see similar reports already. If you think I broke my butt stalking my local gamestop daily to spend $500 hard erned money to bash it, think again. Your response it rather aggressive considering I took time to document my impressions to help people
To answer your points:
Form factor - the metal back is slick and of course glass is slick. You will see for yourself if/when you hold one. It is not horrible, but very much something that gets noticed buy everyone that has held this.
Keyboard - My keyboard on my HTC phone is better than this. You would just think that when you pay $500 for a nice tab, and the keyboard is the primary interface to it, they manafacturer would spend some effect to make sure it is a good experience and not drive us to search the market for something better.
Performance - I SPECIFICALLY said in my post that this was a WEB observation. I am sure that for other more CPU intesive apps like games, this will perform better. I have Shadowgun on my Thrive and will compare as time permits. Again, the title here is INITIAL impressions
Battery Life - Screen brightness is about 1/2 and I have had it mostly in balanced mode and then go to power saver when I see it getting real low. Again, this is new and the battery has not come to life yet so that may improve.
The camera is also pretty good which was important to me. The other thing I really wanted was the SUPER IPS to read in the sun (I can barely see my Thrive in the sun) since I now use tablets for my book reading and want to be able to read outside. I still have to test this later today.
To be clear to all, I am not trying to bash this unit. To the contrary I am trying to talk myself into it was worth all the effort and cost to get it. It is probably is the best tablet out there at the moment, but it is just not living up to the hype. Also, is it that much better than the dual cores out there? Maybe if you are a gamer it would make a difference. For an average user, I would recommend saving the cash and getting a Thrive or previous ASUS TF101 model. Maybe ICS will make a difference.
From my one day use of the Prime:
I got the smart cover for prime, so holding does not seems to be an issue. But, then I again it is not a drawback as such. Anything which is thin and wide will be difficult to hold. Comparison to iPad2 is not accurate it would seem, because holding it in portrait mode seems pretty fine, but landscape mode may be difficult owing to the width of this thing.
Keyboard is a non-issue. you can always switch to honeycomb keyboard, which is way better than the Prime's default properitay keyboard, in which for some reason I dont feel the keys are placed properly, more often than not I end up hitting wrong letter. But, as I said it is a non-issue, Thumb keyboard works perfectly.
Did not have much experience with the browser yet, as I was busy installing apps mostly. But, from what I saw little bit, it seems to be fine, if you dont draw comparison against any other tablet. Should wait for ICS to really judge its performance.
Battery, since I inadverently left it at power saving mode, it was left with 50% charge after about 4-5 hours with screen on and playing and browsing.
I would rate it as 4/5 pre-ICS. But with the scope of getting ICS sooner, which will make the best use of Tegra 3, it might end up with 4.5/5.
And let's not forget why Prime is still a great tablet even without taking advantage of Tegra 3:
+Awesome build quality
+Great display with super IPS
+Gorilla glass panel to protect
+ 8 MP camera
+32GB for the sub $500 price range
I was paying for the hardware, more than the software and I am not disppointed. If I say, this is the best 32GB tab you will get for under $500 in 2011 or in Q1 of 2012, can anyone object it?
these negative first impressions are really getting old and annoying.
hard to hold? really? thing is ligher than a feather with a nice bezel for your thumb.
your thrive is faster? really? lol the thrive? lord.. this thing navigates through honey comb like butter while every other first gen tablet with more than 20 apps on it can't handle it
your keyboard stinks? and you are an android fan? just get a new keyboard. first thing i did was install swiftkey.
I appreciate the honest review.
For the average consumer, sure, the stock keyboard should probably be really good. But given you're on XDA, you should know how to install a *much* better keyboard... issue solved.
As far as speed - did you test out Opera browsing speed? Very smooth. Yes, there are quirks with it, and still probably not as smooth as an iPad, but it works great.
I haven't had any laginess in my interface speed at all (i.e. screen transitions, app drawer opening, etc.), even with HD live wallpaper on.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - to me, iOS and Apple products work much better straight out of the box if you don't want to fool with anything. Android devices require a little work with downloading third party keyboards, different roms, etc. But when all is said and done, that IS the fun part of Android for me! Maybe not for the average consumer, but jus' saying.
About performance - HC browser has some huge bug which causes it to sleep for a moment sometimes. Solution: use any other browser (Dolphin or Opera work best for me). Don't judge the tablet on HC browser - if it lags on Tegra2 device it will lag on Tegra3 device too, just for a shorter time (still noticable though, on my Transformer HC browser lags sometimes for 10 seconds, haha, that is why I don't use it).
About keyboard - I prefer the stock HC, I agree that the one from Asus is quite horrible. All of this could be fixed by you in 1 minute and the browser will almost certainly be fixed by ICS update.
Why do people keep complaining about the keyboards in TP, is this your first Android devices? Just go the market and download a ton of keyboards.
And same with the browsers.
yumms said:
why do people keep complaining about the keyboards in tp, is this your first android devices? Just go the market and download a ton of keyboards.
And same with the browsers.
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+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
yumms said:
Why do people keep complaining about the keyboards in TP, is this your first Android devices? Just go the market and download a ton of keyboards.
And same with the browsers.
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Click to collapse
First of all, sure you can download a ton of keyboards. But a strong majority of them simply are not good. I don't like Swype or Swift-X and I gave both of them a good run. I've liked HTC's keyboard the most, but on phones. And I do like stock Android keyboard on ICS, which will come to Prime at some point.
Same with browsers? Don't think so. I prefer the original browser in that it is not bloated at all compared to Opera or Dolphin. I want bare-bones browsing that is fast, I don't want to be cluttered by features I don't use.
Simply because you can get another browser or keyboard for Prime does not mean that the other one is necessarily better for you or without problems.
kristovaher said:
First of all, sure you can download a ton of keyboards. But a strong majority of them simply are not good. I don't like Swype or Swift-X and I gave both of them a good run. I've liked HTC's keyboard the most, but on phones. And I do like stock Android keyboard on ICS, which will come to Prime at some point.
Same with browsers? Don't think so. I prefer the original browser in that it is not bloated at all compared to Opera or Dolphin. I want bare-bones browsing that is fast, I don't want to be cluttered by features I don't use.
Simply because you can get another browser or keyboard for Prime does not mean that the other one is necessarily better for you or without problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can download the ICS keyboard from the market.
What makes you say that Opera or Dolphin browsers are bloated?
yumms said:
You can download the ICS keyboard from the market.
What makes you say that Opera or Dolphin browsers are bloated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure he knows that.. he is a 'tech wizard'...
@OP yup battery life really sucks #sarcasm. Stick to ur thrive then
kristovaher said:
First of all, sure you can download a ton of keyboards. But a strong majority of them simply are not good. I don't like Swype or Swift-X and I gave both of them a good run. I've liked HTC's keyboard the most, but on phones. And I do like stock Android keyboard on ICS, which will come to Prime at some point.
Same with browsers? Don't think so. I prefer the original browser in that it is not bloated at all compared to Opera or Dolphin. I want bare-bones browsing that is fast, I don't want to be cluttered by features I don't use.
Simply because you can get another browser or keyboard for Prime does not mean that the other one is necessarily better for you or without problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Each person has their own needs, so it's totally fair to say that the prime is not what you expected. I'm a little disappointed myself at the fact that there are no good academic research paper organizing apps for Android tablets.
However, saying the stock browser is not bloated compared to Opera... come on. I wouldn't expect my parents to download third party browsers, keyboards, etc. to make their device satisfactory - but you're clearly somewhat of a tech person, so your comments are kind of strange to me. You can download just about any keyboard possible. If you aren't satisfied with ANY of them, I don't think you're trying hard enough, or you are just set on being unhappy with the stock keyboard. And that's fine. Each to his own.
yumms said:
You can download the ICS keyboard from the market.
What makes you say that Opera or Dolphin browsers are bloated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stopped using Dolphin once they let this eZine (or whatever it was called) happen to my browser. I like Opera much more and the mini version is not bloated, but Opera mobile browser does not listen to 'Enter' key as the submitting command on forms that do not have separate button on websites for it. As a result I found myself jumping back and forth between native browser and Opera one, which obviously sucks.
After using Galaxy Nexus for a while and since I use Chrome at home, the bookmark and other sync options natively are much preferred as well.
flak0 said:
@OP yup battery life really sucks #sarcasm. Stick to ur thrive then
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
damn! lmfao is that on battery savings mode? no other tablet has even touched that kind of battery life. I just switched from normal to battery savings mode to see if I can pull those numbers. actually thrive has one of the worst batteries of any tablet. its replaceable but very small. that was the main gripe about the thrive, its horrible battery life and that it was the thickest and heaviest of all tabs. now the newer 7 inch is very thin and light but still plagued by dismal battery life.
flak0 said:
@OP yup battery life really sucks #sarcasm. Stick to ur thrive then
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh? You barely used it mate. Look at the battery drop while you actually used the device. Of those 14 hours you did not use the device for 11 hours. According to that graph your actual 100% in-use battery time is about 7-8 hours.
demandarin said:
damn! lmfao is that on battery savings mode? no other tablet has even touched that kind of battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please pay attention to what the graph actually says. It shows that he had the device inactive for 11 hours. He only used it for 3 hours.
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
My Prime has only one flaw: the GPS. Other than that, I have no light bleeding, no dead pixels, the wi-fi works well, etc.
You may want to read the following article to get some perspective:
edit: Apparently I am too new on this forum to provide you a link. Do a Google search for "cnet putting the transformer prime in perspective" and you'll get the link to the article.
In the end, I would suggest that if you really want the Prime, go ahead and buy one from a vendor with a good return policy. If you end up not liking it, simply return it.
OmniLemur said:
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately it is plagued with issues. What proves this is the many people that have had multiple tablets all with the same problems. I've had three alone myself, all displaying BT/Wifi issues.
I dont use GPS at all- Ha- one reply telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, one exactly what Im dreading. I really dont know what to think.
I love mine. (Yes I have an iPad 2 to compare it to). Only issue is GPS. It works but not consistently. Other than that its perfect. Wifi is the same if not better than my Droid x. And can't ask for a nicer screen, especially for outside
Sent from my Droid X using xda premium
I suppose my biggest worry is screen issues- whats the chance I can get a perfect screen? I mean- does anyone have a flawless screen?
OmniLemur said:
I suppose my biggest worry is screen issues- whats the chance I can get a perfect screen? I mean- does anyone have a flawless screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm an N of 1 but my Amazon.com Prime was riddled with issues. Most notably several groupings of bright white pixels on the panel that were unforgivable defects. I returned it for a full refund and grabbed a cheap used TF101 w/dock (locally) that I love. There's nothing it can't do compared to the Prime. I am 100% happy using it for a while as I sit on the sidelines to see what shakes our over the next 6-12 months. Its pretty awesome.
I reccommend doing the same. If you are intoxicated by the Prime you'd better make sure you can return it for a full refund just in case.
Best.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
Accidental post that I deleted
OmniLemur said:
I dont use GPS at all- Ha- one reply telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, one exactly what Im dreading. I really dont know what to think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I returned mine today, both TFP and the dock.
I am into technical adventures, especially when it goes against mainstream.
I own a Zune HD - it is a great device, and there is probably nothing better if one is after an MP3 and Video player.
But this is not why I got it - it was supposed to be an all-in-one device, similar to iPod Touch,
but it never became that - after 2 years of disappointing support and mediocre updates Microsoft just killed it.
Let's call it an unfulfilled promise
I also own a G Tablet - and it is a great device too, viewing angles aside,
but what makes it great is (1) being a very solid in terms of hardware and (2) unbelievable support from XDA and other forums,
from the online community.
The manufacturer - well, it is not really manufactured by Viewsonic, it is pretty much Malata ZPad with a Viewsonic logo on it
- so the "manufacturer" turned its back on it within a year or so after the "release".
Let's call it another unfulfilled promise
I am happy with what I learned about Android while NVFlashing this thing back and forth,
but I would be just as happy having a fully functional and supported device and a whole set of accessories and updates
- even a dock for it I had to order from China.
I purchased TFP because I told myself - no more experiments; I want something from a well-respected company
- for as long as it is not Apple, because that would be too mainstream
- something well designed and well executed, and functional, working fine right out of the box, and TFP seemed to be it.
I have heard about the GPS issue, but I thought that either it was a minor software bug that would be taken care of soon, or those unfortunates got faulty chips, and I would be luckier.
Well, I was wrong - while beautiful and with a lot of great functionality, the device has a number of hardware and/or software issues,
namely GPS, WiFi versus BT, playing 1080P - I named those my tablet had, but others complained about battery life, sleep of death, reboots and lockups.
What is upsetting is not even a number of issues but perceived weakness of ASUS to identify, admit, and PROPERLY FIX them.
For example, I never had WiFi versus BT thing on OTA .13, but I started having it as soon as I upgraded to OTA .14.
The same upgrade killed GPS completely and worsen 1080P video playback.
This tells me something is wrong not just with hardware and software, but also with ASUS development/QA/release management processes.
And the fact that the development community cannot really develop ROMS for the device because of the locked bootloader is not making things easier.
Yes, ASUS promised an unlock tool, but when will we see it?
And even then - so we will rely on the online community not just for getting brilliant ROMs to play around in leisure, but even for basic necessities the manufacturer is supposed to take care of?
I do believe that at the end ASUS will fix all the bugs and the signal strength aside will make it into a bulletproof device.
I just do not want to be a beta tester once again, I do not want to add another unfulfilled promise to my collection.
So as soon as I see that TFP is stable - I will buy it again... or that newer 1080P version with fixed GPS ASUS recently announced.
Hope this will help,
Okay- so- its looking like the TP isn't going to be my tablet of choice- I suppose I'll continue fruity choices!
Thanks for your help, I guess *dissapoint*
I have a prime right now...and it's not usable......I would say "wait"
OmniLemur said:
Okay- so- its looking like the TP isn't going to be my tablet of choice- I suppose I'll continue fruity choices!
Thanks for your help, I guess *dissapoint*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remember, selection bias. People who have problems with their prime are 1) more likely to be on XDA searching for solutions and 2) more vocal in their opinion.
From that CNET article, about .5% of primes have been returned for some reason.
I haven't gotten mine yet, but I have heard from lots of people who have a Prime and love it.
+1 on love my prime, no issues getting great wifi and my gps locks fine.
Love my Prime. Rooted and laid out with the Hubs Nav. Works great. Wifi is sometimes spotty but other than that it's quite excellent. Got the dock too, never looked back.
I leave my laptop at home now.
Dunno, maybe I just got lucky but I don't really see the issues that others do. Screen is flawless. There is a -slight- light bleed on the right side upper corner but not so noticeable that it's offensive or anything.
Overall I love my Prime, it's a great piece of engineering.
OmniLemur said:
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-----------------------------------
Buy Ipad 2 if you want a good working tablet, buy ATP if you want the best working tablet.
had my prime for 3 weeks now.
never had any wifi or gps or screen issues.
rooted fine, battery life with the .13 firmware was a little iffy but .14 is
much much better.
a very happy ATP owner.
(I had won an ipad and still gave it away to pay for prime tablet. best thing I ever did tablet wise.)
I agree with thenuge.
I've had a Prime for over a month now and I'm absolutely in love with it. I don't think I can go back. I should probably give a little background -- I've owned an iPhone since first gen through to the 4S. Owned a 4S for about a month but, after being sickeningly disappointed in how slow iOS is evolving, I took the plunge over to Android and bought the Galaxy Nexus (custom ROM / kernel, etc)... I had been waiting for ICS before making the switch (for both tablet & phone).
The prime replaced my iPad 2 within a few hours (the LiveWallpapers, I'm a sucker for them... especially the Phase Beam one!) and the Galaxy Nexus had my iPhone up on eBay within about a week.
When I first got the Prime, I upgraded to ICS right away. I then waited a week thinking I could do without rooting, but, like an addict, that commitment didn't last. Rooted, threw on Sixaxis, bought a mini-HDMI cable, and now I play a lot of games on the TV... and, sadly, at work.
There have been many days where I've been sent to different sites for 8-11 hours and, with the dock, I'll come home after literally the entire day with the screen on doing something, with 0% dock and ~30% prime battery levels. This thing is an absolute beast.
My prime just has a lack of GPS, which doesn't bother me... That's what my Nexus is for. I never purchased a tablet wanting GPS, so... I guess it's just a waste of a chip in there.
At any rate, that's my positive story for the device.
When I'm at home, my MBP often sits unused as the Prime does a lot just as well... especially browsing or laying around watching TV episodes.
Obviously, it doesn't have Skyrim, Saints Row, etc. on it, but as that sofa computer where you can sit with your gf and read the news (News360 is epic, btw... so is Pulse), it can't be beat.
Also, I agree -- I'm a little bit weirded out about a tablet with a higher resolution than my computer's monitors (1080p) -- yet with far less hardware to move those pixels. I think I'll believe it when I see it running smoothly in a game like Infinity Blade, until then, I have this sneaky feeling something's going to need to drop (like hq shadows or hq reflections and the like) in order to maintain 24-30fps in high quality games. I wonder if an iPad2 will still look better than the iPad3, in some cases (obviously not stills)? Nothing worse than lag.
EDIT:
I just wanted to add one thing: The aspect ratio. Coming from an iPad2 to the TP, I was really kind of... eh, about using it in widescreen or with such a slim portrait. However, in the last month (my gf still has an iPad2), I've found myself actually very much enjoying the 16:10 ratio. Even in portrait, I find it easier to use.
OmniLemur said:
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works fine, even GPS isn't an issue. No random reboots. no manufacturer flaws. C10K serial # if that helps.
Take a look at this n you'll easily see most don't suffer from issues or more than satisfied with device:
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Also look at this thread. All various testimonials of happy Positive prime owners. People with issues can't muster up these kinds of numbers
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1409910
Answer easily clear what's the best out right now.
I love my prime. I'd recommend it to anyone. But you should ask yourself what you want to use it for. The prime really shines in gaming (full gamepad support) also with fully working Emulators. It's also totally awesome for watching videos, with the perfect screen size and format (16:10). You can also watch high quality flash streams...
And then there's the dock, which takes it to a whole other lvl. I use it as a full laptop replacement, even able to use it for presentations with the HDMI-VGA adapter.
But if you just want to use some dedicated tablet apps and some browsing i guess the ipad will suffice.
About the issues? I have none. GPS is not the strongest but i always got a fix when i tested it. WIFI/BT are fully working and i got max speeds on my network. Screen is perfect as well. No bleeding or anything.
+ Asus is very fast with updates! + Bootloader is gonna be unlocked. I dont see any tablet being better than the Prime.
This is for the people Satisfied with their device. People that are happy with device. THE ones who were glad to make their purchase and would do it all over again. Basically for those with a more Positive outlook on life n doesn't let little things get to them
This thread will be an expansion of the Positive Transformer Thread going in a more detailed direction. I'm sure a majority of you, like myself are tired of all the complaint threads about what Prime doesn't do well or not at all. Soo.....
This thread is to list "What does work great on your Prime". Also how does Prime help you in day to day functionality? Like examples of the Prime being very useful or coming in handy in everyday scenarios. How do your friends, family, and peers react when showing off the power of Prime? What are some standout features on Prime? Positive stories n testimonials fully welcomed. All others will be Charbroiled! Lol
So you can see the direction this thread is trying to take. To expand on the great form factor and functionality of a device that works well for you. With so many issue threads, its time to expand on the flip side, the Majority side, that most here in Xda actually love their device and keeping it.
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There's more than enough complaint threads as there is. This is another way of letting new people know that things on the surface aren't always what it seems. There's a flip side to every story.
"EVERYTHING IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT SEEMS AND EVERYTHING NOT AS BAD AS IT SEEMS, SOMEWHERE IN-BETWEEN, REALITY FALLS" Remember that with anything in life
Update: We now have Official Bootloader Unlock Tool. More reason to be happy to own a Prime. Custom roms will be here b4 you know it!
Everything works on my prime except GPS. Serial # BC, still running .11 stock.
I sit at a computer all day for my job, so I really just wanted a device that I could plop into bed with to surf the web and watch videos. In that respect, the Prime is perfect. Web browsing is as fast or faster than my netbook, and I really like physically interacting with web pages - a touch interface is the way to browse the web, IMO.
Considering I have yet to use my prime while not laying in bed, functional GPS is obviously a non-issue for me. This is a good thing, since the GPS on mine is entirely broken.
My biggest concern was WiFi performance, but I have to say I've never noticed a problem. I sit fairly close to my router in my small studio apartment, so it's possible I've never gone far enough away from it to notice signal degradation. However, I can routinely achieve speeds of > 15Mb / 5Mb down/up anywhere in my apartment, which is more than sufficient for my means.
Gaming was another big selling point for me, and not much needs to be said about the Tegra 3. Thing is a beast. We all know Android doesn't even fully utilize that horsepower, so I'm pretty excited to see what the dev community comes up with after we unlock the BL
Finally, I love the form factor. The thinness and lightness of the TP astounds me every day. And signal attenuation aside, I love the spun aluminum case. It looks and feels premium, durable and high quality. I may be an Android fanboy, but I have to give Apple props for their solid build quality - now I have to give Asus props as well, because the TP is probably the prettiest piece of Kit I've seen in the Android world so far.
I've been very happy with my unit so far. I know I got lucky by avoiding many of the most serious problems - lockups and whatnot - but in many ways I'm impressed that ICS has as few problems as it does, what with being brand new and all that. In contrast, I had to engage in a much greater level of hackery with my Epic 4g to get it to a workable condition, and that was after Froyo had already been out for almost a year.
Picked up my C1-serial Prime end of January at BestBuy.
Mine basically has no usable GPS to speak of. It works outdoors for geo-location to about 50', but loses lock as fast as it gets it. Navigation is impossible. But, I knew that going in and didn't care that GPS might be problematic. I looked at it as a "value added feature that might not work". My box doesn't state GPS as a feature anyhow, so I can't complain too loud.
Beyond that, everything else is pure awesome. I have a 17" widescreen laptop that is more of a desktop replacement than a laptop, and it's definitely not that portable (The battery dies in about 90 minutes of use without being plugged in, even on the "power saving" setting in Win7) so having the prime for web surfing and reading on the couch or in bed is awesome.
I haven't come across a task that I couldn't perform on the Prime that I could on my laptop. Sure, some things are more difficult to accomplish on the tablet (Especially since I don't have the keyboard dock for it ... yet) but I could still do them in a pinch. I even used TurboTax online on it and managed to get my taxes done.
I like that Polaris Office is installed as well, as it gives a quick way to view MS office documents out of the box when needed. I usually just import them to my Google Docs, but if I'm even in a location without 'net access, it's nice to have something that works offline.
The other thing I REALLY appreciate is OTA updates. My Galaxy S phone never had that until I migrated to CM7, and I'm missing OTA horribly on it too since I moved to CM9. Not having to tether to keep it updated is pure awesome.
I can't say enough good things about this device.
anti09 said:
Everything works on my prime except GPS. Serial # BC, still running .11 stock.
I sit at a computer all day for my job, so I really just wanted a device that I could plop into bed with to surf the web and watch videos. In that respect, the Prime is perfect. Web browsing is as fast or faster than my netbook, and I really like physically interacting with web pages - a touch interface is the way to browse the web, IMO.
Considering I have yet to use my prime while not laying in bed, functional GPS is obviously a non-issue for me. This is a good thing, since the GPS on mine is entirely broken.
My biggest concern was WiFi performance, but I have to say I've never noticed a problem. I sit fairly close to my router in my small studio apartment, so it's possible I've never gone far enough away from it to notice signal degradation. However, I can routinely achieve speeds of > 15Mb / 5Mb down/up anywhere in my apartment, which is more than sufficient for my means.
Gaming was another big selling point for me, and not much needs to be said about the Tegra 3. Thing is a beast. We all know Android doesn't even fully utilize that horsepower, so I'm pretty excited to see what the dev community comes up with after we unlock the BL
Finally, I love the form factor. The thinness and lightness of the TP astounds me every day. And signal attenuation aside, I love the spun aluminum case. It looks and feels premium, durable and high quality. I may be an Android fanboy, but I have to give Apple props for their solid build quality - now I have to give Asus props as well, because the TP is probably the prettiest piece of Kit I've seen in the Android world so far.
I've been very happy with my unit so far. I know I got lucky by avoiding many of the most serious problems - lockups and whatnot - but in many ways I'm impressed that ICS has as few problems as it does, what with being brand new and all that. In contrast, I had to engage in a much greater level of hackery with my Epic 4g to get it to a workable condition, and that was after Froyo had already been out for almost a year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Tegra3 is a beast.
m3t4lw01f said:
Picked up my C1-serial Prime end of January at BestBuy.
Mine basically has no usable GPS to speak of. It works outdoors for geo-location to about 50', but loses lock as fast as it gets it. Navigation is impossible. But, I knew that going in and didn't care that GPS might be problematic. I looked at it as a "value added feature that might not work". My box doesn't state GPS as a feature anyhow, so I can't complain too loud.
Beyond that, everything else is pure awesome. I have a 17" widescreen laptop that is more of a desktop replacement than a laptop, and it's definitely not that portable (The battery dies in about 90 minutes of use without being plugged in, even on the "power saving" setting in Win7) so having the prime for web surfing and reading on the couch or in bed is awesome.
I haven't come across a task that I couldn't perform on the Prime that I could on my laptop. Sure, some things are more difficult to accomplish on the tablet (Especially since I don't have the keyboard dock for it ... yet) but I could still do them in a pinch. I even used TurboTax online on it and managed to get my taxes done.
I like that Polaris Office is installed as well, as it gives a quick way to view MS office documents out of the box when needed. I usually just import them to my Google Docs, but if I'm even in a location without 'net access, it's nice to have something that works offline.
The other thing I REALLY appreciate is OTA updates. My Galaxy S phone never had that until I migrated to CM7, and I'm missing OTA horribly on it too since I moved to CM9. Not having to tether to keep it updated is pure awesome.
I can't say enough good things about this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The constant OTA updates is a luxury we enjoy more compared to other makers or devices. We have seen more updates n a lil over a month compared to others in a whole year..lol. always good to have tthe latest firmware and drivers on device. It is good we have a way to roll back to a previous version if needed.
The battery life is great on Prime and will only get better as more updates roll out and custom roms arrive. Even overclocked prime gets good battery life. Plus like you said, there's nothing out there to really even make the Prime bust a sweat yet. So power of Tegra3 hasn't even been really tapped into yet. As far as these newer more powerful chips on the way, I'm not worried or pressed at all. As long as i have overclocking, we can easily match or surpass power of those chips.
The mobile scene may about to change up big time with the Announcement of Ubuntu Desktop OS being introduced into Android. Plus it will be officially supported and brings a true desktop experience to mobile devices. This might be the start of the home PC disappearing. Can't wait till we get this integrated into Prime. Its not even a hack. Ubuntu officially supporting Android and hopes this will integrated into 2012 and later mobile solutions. So Win8 better watch out. Android about to officially have Ubuntu desktop support and experience.
Some might say the constant updates are a symptom of a problem at Asus. I say they are a company trying their best to fix users problems.
I really don't believe there's some grand conspiracy going on.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
What i REALLY like on my Prime + dock:
- Great battery life
- keyboard very usable
- Fast
- I am able to print and scan on my Canon Pixma (using PrinterShare and Canon apps)
- Instant on (awesome)
- Bright and colorful screen
- Comes with some good useful apps (Backup, MyNet, Polaris, etc)
- Thin and lightweight
- Android ICS and Google Market (definitely not an iOS fan here)
- I can use my QNAP torrent with the QGET app
Unfortunately my unit has a bright spot on the LCD and I am sending it back to the store. Also has weak WiFi and BT+WiFi dropout. I don't need offline GPS.
Things that could be better on Prime:
- Speakers, trackpad must be disabled to avoid cursor jumps
Things that need improvement on Android:
- Chrome, Docs.
I love the screen on my prime. During bootup I can see a couple spots of light bleed but during any use it is completely invisible. The screen is bright and clear and just looks generally amazing. I have zero dead or stuck pixels, no bright spots or any discernable defect whatsoever when using it.
I love its abilities to play video, it has chewed up and swallowed absolutely everything I have thrown at it so far including 14gb 1080p move files without a single problem.
I love its portability and take it with me to the university and use it all the time. Locks onto wifi without a hitch in the multitude of places I use it there. With it and the dock it is very useful for SSH into the universities Linux system to do some light Java and c programming in VI. I do wish there was an eclipse ide available for android and cannot wait for it to be available.
I also love to use its Bluetooth abilities to sync up my PlayStation controllers and play all my favorite oldschool games through its amazing ability to run many emulators. It also plays new games built for android some of which have tegra 3 specific versions and simply look amazing.
Lastly, I love how fast I can type on a screen holding it in portrait view and using thumb keyboard. The touchscreen is extremely responsive and I can type long posts, such as this very one, with speed and ease.
There are many other things use it for that i cannot recall from my very taxed brain at the moment but it goes without saying that I have no need for a laptop since I can carry this around and easily vnc into my home desktop Linux for any heavy lifting and use dropbox to easily get to any powerpoints or documents I may need on the go.
One last thing, its pure contentment for me to lay back on the couch while the wife does her thing and I can sit and browse the web with ease using boat browser. Never have I had a more satisfying way to consume the ol www.
rand4ll said:
I love the screen on my prime. During bootup I can see a couple spots of light bleed but during any use it is completely invisible. The screen is bright and clear and just looks generally amazing. I have zero dead or stuck pixels, no bright spots or any discernable defect whatsoever when using it.
I love its abilities to play video, it has chewed up and swallowed absolutely everything I have thrown at it so far including 14gb 1080p move files without a single problem.
I love its portability and take it with me to the university and use it all the time. Locks onto wifi without a hitch in the multitude of places I use it there. With it and the dock it is very useful for SSH into the universities Linux system to do some light Java and c programming in VI. I do wish there was an eclipse ide available for android and cannot wait for it to be available.
I also love to use its Bluetooth abilities to sync up my PlayStation controllers and play all my favorite oldschool games through its amazing ability to run many emulators. It also plays new games built for android some of which have tegra 3 specific versions and simply look amazing.
Lastly, I love how fast I can type on a screen holding it in portrait view and using thumb keyboard. The touchscreen is extremely responsive and I can type long posts, such as this very one, with speed and ease.
There are many other things use it for that i cannot recall from my very taxed brain at the moment but it goes without saying that I have no need for a laptop since I can carry this around and easily vnc into my home desktop Linux for any heavy lifting and use dropbox to easily get to any powerpoints or documents I may need on the go.
One last thing, its pure contentment for me to lay back on the couch while the wife does her thing and I can sit and browse the web with ease using boat browser. Never have I had a more satisfying way to consume the ol www.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I love about my TP...
Screen > clear, sharp and very bright
Battery > Outstanding especially when you combine it with the dock
Design > clean, light and sturdy. I love the choice of colors
ICS > runs smoth and quick... the only issue so far after upgrading to ICS is the flickering screen
GPS/Wifi > Works very well and consistent... I don't understand all the hoopla surrounding the issues with GPS... if I really need to use GPS I use my Thunderbolt
Apps > Polaris Office, Backup, Cloud
My TP is like my Amex... I don't leave home without it!
I really hope Gary and Asus can fix the flickering screen issue
Well, I've had my Prime since 12/21/11, and to this day I have no complaints. In fact, I look back on the HC days and realize how killer this thing runs on ICS. Good support from Asus with consistent updates too.
Tegra3: Lag? Never heard of it. Impressive graphics, what more could you want from a tablet.
Screen: IPS+ is great, even in the sunlight (much better than I expected!) and is not fatiguing after extended use. I personally leave it on IPS+ mode with Auto Brightness and it's perfect.
Form Factor: This thing is so well conceived and executed. Quality build, everything just fits so well, especially with the dock.
Connectivity: Especially with the dock, having the USB and SD. HDMI out has turned out to be a better alternative than the built in USB on my TV, better image and sound quality.
Is it perfect? Maybe not, but as close as I could have really hoped. The things that matter to me are: 1) Highly useful day in and day out; 2) I enjoy using it day in and day out.
I was one of the lucky guys getting a solid TP since day 1, I honestly don't have complaints, this is a wonderful piece of technology in every aspect, it has everything I wanted on a tablet. The GPS isn't great yes, only performs outdoors, but hey, I don't really care, as I only used it to test for feedback here on XDA, I own a specialized navigation device for my car and a smartphone when walking in case I need, therefore, I don't need a tablet for such tasks. I wanted a Prime for other things, email, notes, video, surfing and most of all, a portable yet powerful machine to carry around. The flexibility is incredible and the battery life ridiculous, please name a device on the market with this characteristics?! Yep, the TP is unique, enough said...
Cheers
Another happy camper. I have not had any problems with my prime at all. I've used it 60' from my router with BT enabled and disabled. Made no difference.
It works great for me, no matter where I take it as long as there is a wifi signal.
I just wish my keyboard dock would show up after being on backorder for over two months.
I use my Prime mainly for watching worldwide cams, listening to radio/police scanners in my local area, reading emails, cloud printing, drop box, remote access to my PC and other client PC's.
I wouldn't trade this Tablet for any other available on the market at this time. I love it. It's fast, great resolution, handles every app that I've thrown at it. I'll hang onto it until ASUS comes out with a 6 or 8 core Tablet.
I love my TF PRime!
demandarin said:
This is for the people Satisfied with their device. People that are happy with device.
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Click to collapse
I have my prime since the 4th of January, and just recently found a dock in stock. Mine is one of the early BCO* machines. (BCOKAS005) but works like a charm. No screen bleed through, the speakers after rooting and applying the help here are far better.
First, I absolutely love ICS and the ASUS' screen quality. It's outstanding! The GPS on my unit has the usual issues, but why would I want to lug around a tablet for GPS! I also looked at is a value-added feature. It works, good. It doesn't, that's fine too.
What astounds me is the sleek design of the slate. I have mine Docked most of the time and love the "netbook" look. It's the center of conversation whenever people come by.
I've used it as a VNC client and server. I ran FTP servers, IRC clients, even a bittorrent client. I absolutely love it's ability to not only stream from DLNA, but actually run as a DLNA server. There's so much this little piece of kit can do, and so elegantly, it daily points out to me just how far personal computers have come from their humble beginnings in the late 70s.
I LOVE MY PRIME. If I was to change something, I would get the 64gig model, but I spent a few minutes moving large media files to microSD and USB connected drive, and have much more memory for software.
Long posts like this one would be difficult using the virtual keyboard. I touch type and the base's keyboard, even though it's chicklet is more than enough to type well.
This slate was a gift from my wife. I bought the dock; and have been loving my little netbook ever since
I love my Prime, like no other
I love my Prime, like no otherself, really. I use it CONSTANTLY, pretty much most of the day at work (I had to justify the cost by doing SOME work with the thing) I basically take all my meeting notes with it, and I have all my company appointments come through using Google Sync to Outlook on my desktop.
Thank God for ICS we use a Cisco VPN solutionat work, and on Honeycomb, getting a VPN connections was never gonna happen. I knew the solution was in ICS, so I was super happy that Asus got it out even earlier than scheduled.
I do get pissed about GPS, and will never let Asus off the hook for that screw up, but that does not negate the fact that My Prime is a stellar device. I take it down to breakfast at work and read news (News 360, News Republic, Pulse, PressReader, USA Today and Google Currents. That enough NEWS for ya?
The only current issues are that .15 blew away whatever GPS I had (it comes and goes with these frequent updates.) While that makes me a bit grumpy, as I don't have any major issues, it's a necessary evil, as Asus busts their collective butt to fix the serious issues that affect some users. These are almost a "rite of passage" for the first Tegra 3 Tablet in existence.
The other issue I see is stuttering/freezing on Riptide and Shire Runner. I am still trying to get a fix for that. Best I can do is reboot just before playing as a workaround for the present.
Why mention these things in a "What works great on your Prime" thread? Easy one. BALANCE.
It's not all a bowl of cherries running at the bleeding edge, sometimes the teething pains are quite dreadful, but a small price to pay to "boldly go where no tablet has gone before".
And no stealing my slogan there, Demandarin! Excuse me while I go see about rolling back to .14. Maybe. I have to decide on that still.
SmartAs$Phone said:
I love my Prime, like no otherself, really. I use it CONSTANTLY, pretty much most of the day at work (I had to justify the cost by doing SOME work with the thing) I basically take all my meeting notes with it, and I have all my company appointments come through using Google Sync to Outlook on my desktop.
Thank God for ICS we use a Cisco VPN solutionat work, and on Honeycomb, getting a VPN connections was never gonna happen. I knew the solution was in ICS, so I was super happy that Asus got it out even earlier than scheduled.
I do get pissed about GPS, and will never let Asus off the hook for that screw up, but that does not negate the fact that My Prime is a stellar device. I take it down to breakfast at work and read news (News 360, News Republic, Pulse, PressReader, USA Today and Google Currents. That enough NEWS for ya?
The only current issues are that .15 blew away whatever GPS I had (it comes and goes with these frequent updates.) While that makes me a bit grumpy, as I don't have any major issues, it's a necessary evil, as Asus busts their collective butt to fix the serious issues that affect some users. These are almost a "rite of passage" for the first Tegra 3 Tablet in existence.
The other issue I see is stuttering/freezing on Riptide and Shire Runner. I am still trying to get a fix for that. Best I can do is reboot just before playing as a workaround for the present.
Why mention these things in a "What works great on your Prime" thread? Easy one. BALANCE.
It's not all a bowl of cherries running at the bleeding edge, sometimes the teething pains are quite dreadful, but a small price to pay to "boldly go where no tablet has gone before".
And no stealing my slogan there, Demandarin! Excuse me while I go see about rolling back to .14. Maybe. I have to decide on that still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good post. Last part made me grin..lol.
I think you should just stay on .15. The stuttering in games not caused by update. I had that happen randomly even on honeycomb and early ICS builds. Not sure what exactly causes it. I know once it goes away or I get it to go away, it usually doesn't come back. I had same deal happen with 9mm game. As soon as i started up the stage, I could play for a few seconds then screen/game would stutter n start flashing. Happened several times in a row. I was about to give up on it but tried a few things first. First I made sure I had no b.s. apps or anything running. To make sure game had as much ram as possible to run with. Then I rebooted the tablet. Issue went away and has been good ever since. Even beat the game. Similar thing happened with my shadlwgun THd that came with prime, since I bought it at Gamestop. I could play for a while then game would stutter n freeze. I just exited out the game completely then relaunched it and everything was well. All my games play very good now n i have alot of them.
Have most of all the heavy duty, good graphics games. Like 9mm, Asphault6 HD, Dead space, Madden 2012, new sonic(not b.s. sonic cd..lol), Sprinkle, Backstab HD, Samurai 2 vengeance, Shine runner THD, Riptide GP THD, air attack HD, Grabitron, Osmosis HD, Sentinel, Neo Geo emulator, PlayStation emulator, Snes emulator, genesis/Sega master system emulator, OnLive....and lotz more...lol
Gaming is a blast on this device. I have the iControlPad a bluetooth gamepad for mobile devices. Works beautifully, and the popular emulators work just 100% perfect on the tegra3 while having great battery life.
I can even output it to a TV and play all those great classics like FF7, Zelda OOT, Tony Hawk 2, Starfox in HD.
Also i think point and click adventures are perfect for a touchscreen device. I hope devs see this as well and release lots of them to the market
My wife and i really love to play stuff toghether cuddled up on the couch, and adventures are the perfect games for that.
Browsing of course is superb and i like it even more than on a regular PC.
And its just something else to watch movies wherever i want. I mean yeah i could hook up a laptop to my TV before, but ah its always a hassle. Then the battery runs out after you're half way through, you need to look for a cable, then the cable is not long enough etcetc. Having the screen just in your hands, is something else.
Oh btw i dont have any issues so far. GPS works as i expected - gets a lock everytime but wont be usable for navigation. Wifi is strong all over my place.
Oh and a little bonus - my electric bill is cheaper because i dont use my PC all that much anymore
And when i'm using the prime it feels like the future has arrived. If you know what i mean
Most of you probably don't recognize my name because I only posted while we were waiting for the release of the Prime.
I generally don't post because almost everything I would post about already has a thread. And we all know how congested this forum is with useless posts.
This time I was prompted to post because I wanted to share a nice experience I had, albeit small compared to what others have posted in this thread.
This morning I spent two hours playing Riptide GP. I usually play this on balanced mode, but today I forgot to change the setting and it was in power saver mode as I played. To my surprise the game functioned great, even in power save mode! I played for a good two hours straight and I took less than 20% of my battery.
Like I said this is a small thing but as I use my Prime more and more I am realizing just how premium this device is. I'm soooo happy with my purchase.
Dock is on its way to me is a couple if weeks! Icing on the cake at that point.
desert_mouse said:
Most of you probably don't recognize my name because I only posted while we were waiting for the release of the Prime.
I generally don't post because almost everything I would post about already has a thread. And we all know how congested this forum is with useless posts.
This time I was prompted to post because I wanted to share a nice experience I had, albeit small compared to what others have posted in this thread.
This morning I spent two hours playing Riptide GP. I usually play this on balanced mode, but today I forgot to change the setting and it was in power saver mode as I played. To my surprise the game functioned great, even in power save mode! I played for a good two hours straight and I took less than 20% of my battery.
Like I said this is a small thing but as I use my Prime more and more I am realizing just how premium this device is. I'm soooo happy with my purchase.
Dock is on its way to me is a couple if weeks! Icing on the cake at that point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recognize the name but yes, games play great on prime in power savings mode also. I think I remember seeing that the power settings doesn't exactly apply 100% to playing games or watching movies. The processor will scale as needed to push the games. That's why you played game with no issue on power savings mode. Also why you can throw any type of HD movie at prime and it'll play fine even on lowest power setting. I've seen it actually recommended to play movies in that mode for the longest battery life.
No experience is too big or too small. Glad this thread made you come out and post on the experience. We need more positivity or good experiences being let known to others. Lots of people tend to think its just issues surrounding this device. Which is far from the truth. We have this thread and the Positive transformer thread to show the flip side to this madness.
demandarin said:
I recognize the name but yes, games play great on prime in power savings mode also. I think I remember seeing that the power settings doesn't exactly apply 100% to playing games or watching movies. The processor will scale as needed to push the games. That's why you played game with no issue on power savings mode. Also why you can throw any type of HD movie at prime and it'll play fine even on lowest power setting. I've seen it actually recommended to play movies in that mode for the longest battery life.
No experience is too big or too small. Glad this thread made you come out and post on the experience. We need more positivity or good experiences being let known to others. Lots of people tend to think its just issues surrounding this device. Which is far from the truth. We have this thread and the Positive transformer thread to show the flip side to this madness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah I remember reading about that as well, regarding the scaling when gaming. More important was the battery life it took while playing. Impressed that it didn't suck away more.
I'm one of the very pleased with this Prime who doesn't post much but reads almost everything here. I'm annoyed that GPS doesn't work and principally I think Asus should be accountable for this. With that being said, at no time have I ever considered returning my Prime. This thing blows away anything out there.
I wish it were bigger..
My primary goal for a tablet is to read technical PDFs and its just a tiny bit
too small for my old eyes. close though and better then my ipad.
But that aside everything works great on this beast. My device never had
any wireless or gps issues. It can see as many gps satellites as my phone
does. Playing games is fabulous on it. I stream my media collection to it with
'emit'.
battery life is great with .14 and .15, no complaints at all with the thing.
Have noticed the occasion game stutter but only in "stupid zombies"
everything else even graphically intense games dont have the issue.
still need a jabber client that supports muc..
Serial BCOK - bought online at office depot mid January update .14
My biggest complaint is that the TFP has WiFi connectivity issues. I go to the university and there are areas where other android tablets and the iPad have signal allowing people to use the internet and mine simply refuses to connect or has random slow connections.
I'm on the hunt for a nexus 10 at a local staples - the majority of posts I see in here are people *****ing about performance issues and light bleed or other build quality problems. Meanwhile I do see posts about people absolutely in love with the N10 (rightfully so)
The light bleed thread seems like a nightmare - although people who RMA a device 6 times should really get a life and move on to a different product. Is the light bleed really a major issue or should I go ahead and buy one?
Sorry for the junk thread but I didn't see very many threads in here where people are actually giving credit to the N10 and singing praises. hard to guage the "fringe" vs "the average person's experience"
Alrighty...my Nexus 10 is fantastic. Staples followed through on their promised two-day delivery, I have no light bleed, and the thing hasn't crashed or rebooted once. I immediately installed Paranoid Android on the thing, didn't even once boot the stock JB it came with. Couldn't be happier.
I love mine, i have not had any issues. My battery life is really great, works awesome and i am on stock, with multiple users running.
I love my Nexus. I had a Xoom WIFI (that is now the girlfriend's) that I loved and my Nexus blows it out of the water. I have Task650 and KToonsez's AOKP on there with KToonsez's KT Manta kernel and it's a beast. Combined with ES File Explorer, Netflix and Hulu the tablet is the ultimate portable media device as well as great for browsing and e-reading.
Love it. I have a little light bleed and it doesn't bother me at all. I don't get why it matters I guess.
I love mine. It is flawless. 16GB from Google directly
I really like mine (32gb, stock rom). The screen is amazing, especially with pages that have good text renderers. The tablet also has state-of-the-art performance in day-to-day use. No light bleed at all in mine. Native resolution apps are scarce on the ground, which is a bit of an issue but one that should be resolved shortly (I hope) as Android tablets seem primed to explode in popularity.
One annoying problem I've run into is Chrome's instability. Chrome has crashed at least once per day since I got it. When I say "crash", I mean full system lock-up, requiring a hard reboot. I've resorted to using Dolphin and Firefox with no problems. Google needs to fix tablet Chrome, though.
I'm not too impressed with the (inevitable) thermal throttling that basically makes the advertised 1.7GHz dual-core speed, a lie :/ But, to be fair, most of what I do on the N10 works fine and performs just fine
But still... essentially not being able to run a demanding game for too long isn't impressive...
Hiro11 said:
One annoying problem I've run into is Chrome's instability. Chrome has crashed at least once per day since I got it. When I say "crash", I mean full system lock-up, requiring a hard reboot. I've resorted to using Dolphin and Firefox with no problems. Google needs to fix tablet Chrome, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used Chrome for a while now on my tablet, with 0 crashes or system lockups, but have heard many stories of people mentioning Chrome crashing and etc. Not really too sure what I might be doing different though...
Best tablet I've ever used. Screen quality is astounding, everything about it as as smooth as butter, web browsing with Ocean works like a dream, gaming on it is great, no lightbleed, and it's been stable as a rock. I literally couldn't be any happier with this tablet.
I have to admit I"m only on day 2 of ownership so that may skew some things, but I absolutely adore mine. Its fast, the screen is amazing, and the build quality is quite good. Its easily the best tablet I've ever owned in every single category except battery life, and even there its not bad at all.
Do I have light bleed? Yes. However, I've gone through absolute hell with warranty repairs trying to get my previous HP Touchpad's light bleed fixed which eventually resulted in them cracking the screen and my successfully suing them in small claims court (For the crack which they claimed was my fault and warranty voiding, not the light bleed). Following that, I went through four Transformer Infinities, of which three had light bleed. Its just a defect common in IPS/PLS displays, through the three tablets I've owned (all of different manufactures) I've learned its completely unrealistic to expect a perfect one. If its not an absolutely horrible amount, live with it. If you cant, get an iPad or realize that tablet computers are NOT for you.
Do I have the creaking back plastic? Yes. Every tablet made of plastic is going to have some problems. The speakers on the touchpad are notorious for cracking spontaneously. The Note 10.1 is so thin you can actually see it flex. With devices this big made of plastic, its unrealistic to not expect some sort of cheap feel. The Nexus 10 has it pretty good compared to some of the other tablets, so live with it if you can. If you cant, get a metal tablet or realize that tablet computers are NOT for you.
Do I have the thermal throttling? I dont know yet. But realize you're running a 1.7Ghz processor in something slightly thicker than a ball point pen. Look in ANY desktop or laptop computer of equivalent speed (yes, I know x86 and ARM are not directly comparable, but go with it for this) and you'll find a massive heatsink and fan. The Nexus 10 does not have a fan because nobody would buy a tablet with such, and the heatsink is quite thin to keep the dimensions down. You still have one of the fastest tablets on the market. Think of the 1.7Ghz not as a top sustainable speed, but like the "Turboboost" mode on modern Intel i3/5/7 CPUs where it'll ramp up to that speed to complete a task as quickly as possible and then dial back to something more easily sustainable. I'll admit that Google should add something to Android where if it knows a game is running it limits its top speed to prevent this very throttling, but that's on Android and not the device itself. Throttle the CPU back yourself, live with it, or realize that tablet computers are NOT for you.
TL;DR: This is a good tablet computer. Like all tablet computers, or like anything really, you shouldn't have unrealistic expectations.
Its very good. I think Google still has a ways to go though in the tablet world but its getting much better. Still the best android 10 inch out there.
I absolutely love mine. It is lightning fast, runs more games than my Infinity, the screen is incredible and the tablet has given me zero trouble. The battery life/slow charging is only a small ding for me.
Having had mine since release, I still love it. Easily better than my iPad 3 was, and massively better than any other android tablet. So powerful. The screen is so sick. The front speakers.
I agree with those saying chrome is a pos, the aosp browser is so much better! Weird as chrome works well on my n4. There is a tiny bit of "light bleed" in the bottom right cover, but as others have said this is a fundamental characteristic of backlit screens. My TV has much worse light bleed than my tablet!
I've been using mine for 2 weeks now, this is my first and only tablet.
I love the feel and form factor of the 10. It's lightweight and easy to use with one hand or two, but it still feels sturdy to me. I love that I can pack it around the house with me, or lay down in bed and prop it up in my arms and comfortably watch some YouTube or TV shows on Hulu. The overall mobility is great, and I especially look forward to traveling with it.
I'm happy with the media content. I've been with Android since day 1, so I didn't want to leave behind all the apps and content I've purchased up to now. From what I can tell I won't be missing out on any of my core apps, magazines, movies, etc... I will concede that right now many developers seem to just be blowing up their apps to fit the 10, instead of optimizing the app to fit. I'm hopeful this will improve in 2013.
Performance wise it's been a mixed bag for me. I'm running stock and unrooted with Nova Launcher. 95% of the time navigation and usage is buttery smooth, but it's not completely perfect. I have had issues with Chrome freezing up and causing the tablet to restart, so I'm using dolphin. I've had just a few other times when it's rebooted randomly. Gaming on the 10 is overall a superb experience, however I do have issues with lag and stutter in NFS Most Wanted and on rare occasions in Sword & Sorcery. I am sort of bugged that the gaming experience is superior on an Ipad, but I couldn't bring myself to buy one just for that. All of these things are annoyances at worst - not deal breakers for me. It's embarrassing though to have the system I love have issues like these right out of the box. Again, this is my first tablet so I'm unaware of what the experience is like on other tablets and OS'es and if this is a common thing or not. The positives are that I can use this thing for 3 days and have 6 hours of screen time without having to charge it. I like that.
The screen is fantastic! Prior to receiving my tablet I'd been lurking in the "Damnit, my Nexus has light bleed" thread and had myself half scared to death that that light bleed would ruin my experience with the 10. I do have pretty severe yellow bleed in my corners, but surprisingly it doesn't really ever become noticeable in my day to day use. It bugs me that it's still there and I have requested a replacement on the basis that I expect a near mint copy if I'm paying $400 for it, but I think you can get by most of the time without ever noticing that it's an issue. YMMV. If my next one is bad I might even keep mine because I don't think I have any other issues with it.
My overall experience is very positive. I do wish that the screen bleed issues weren't there and that Samsung actually would have taken the time to calibrate the color and gamma on the panel as well. I'm a perfectionist in my work, so it dumbfounds me to thing that 2 companies like Samsung and Google could release a flawed product, but this seems to be the best choice available to me so I've taken it. My nexus is basically a $400 bedside toy right now, but I love it! Eventually I will transition to getting a bluetooth keyboard and purchase one of the office suite products and use it for true productivity purposes.
I like the device but I hate the state that it's in right now. I can't believe they released this to the public with the not only the software issues that are well known, but the usb charging to top it off.
This thing should still be in final beta stages, not out in the public for nearly 2 months already.
Well my nexus legacy will continue - just ordered the 16gb on google play (what are the chances it becomes in stock as I make this thread heh)....
It will be a battle between this and the acer w510 tablet I picked up (x86 windows 8 tablet). Definitely need to get a bluetooth keyboard case ordered though.
I really liked it when it worked. I did have the hard freezes which required reboots. they were always caused by Chrome. When I unistalled Chrome and put in the AOSP Browser it was much better. The one thing I couldn't get over was the light bleed on all 6. For the money I spent on it, I couldn't justify just having to deal with it.
Very happy with mine and even with the couple things that irk me, I am glad I got it! Great title for this thread, because I wondered the same thing.
LOVE IT! Nuff said!
I love mine and have had no reboots or freezes, but I do get some lag during hard gaming. Fingers crossed that can be fixed with updates or a new trinity/other kernel.
I currently have an iPad 4 and a Nexus 7. Both of which perform very well and I'm very happy with.
I am looking at this tablet for one reason - Waterproof. I bought a Lifeproof case for my iPad and it turned it into a bulky monster that sucks to use. Mostly because I have a hot tub and like to listen to music and browse the web while in the tub.
I understand that battery life isn't that great, it's not the fastest or best processor, doesn't run the latest Android version and doesn't have the sharpest screen - does this at all become an issue in day to day use?
So, have there been any issues with the waterproofing of this device?
I've done some searching and it's hit and miss on what people think. I find it's a pricey tablet compared to the specs, but like I said, waterproofing is the feature I really life.
Thanks all.
cwepruk said:
I currently have an iPad 4 and a Nexus 7. Both of which perform very well and I'm very happy with.
I am looking at this tablet for one reason - Waterproof. I bought a Lifeproof case for my iPad and it turned it into a bulky monster that sucks to use. Mostly because I have a hot tub and like to listen to music and browse the web while in the tub.
I understand that battery life isn't that great, it's not the fastest or best processor, doesn't run the latest Android version and doesn't have the sharpest screen - does this at all become an issue in day to day use?
So, have there been any issues with the waterproofing of this device?
I've done some searching and it's hit and miss on what people think. I find it's a pricey tablet compared to the specs, but like I said, waterproofing is the feature I really life.
Thanks all.
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I think you should not buy it, unless you have lots of money for no good use. The Xperia Tablet Z is a great device. The battery is great. It lasts a whole day for me, including heavy WiFi usages and reading many pdfs. The processor indeed isn't the best, but I rarely have any slowdowns.
The latest Android version isn't much needed on it, and it behaves without a single bug whatsoever. It is coming soon, though... The screen doesn't have the biggest resolution and thus the biggest PPI, but it is really sharp and great. I don't have any problems with it, and the viewing angles are great... It is just a bit too reflexive under direct sunlight, but I use it a lot on low brightness, so that's the reason.
The waterproof is a great feature, and works perfectly, but because of the touchscreen technology (capacitative), it goes crazy with water on it. Dropping water on it makes it think you are touching the screen, and submerging it makes it crazy, as pressure is being applied all the screen.
The speakers are muffy when they have water on it, so unless you hold the device the other way around and does not submerge the other half, you're good. If you are going to use headphones, get some waterproof ones and connect them via Bluetooth, because you can risk both the tablet and the headphones by putting the cables underwater as when the covers are opened they aren't waterproof.
Thanks for the info. it wouldn't be submerged for use, just in my hands in the tub (and it's lighter than an iPad, so that's a bonus). I use my iPad with the case and I know what you mean about going crazy when wet. Every now and then, I just dip it to get some of the puddles off it and that seems to help.
I'd also likely sell the iPad to recover some cost (and the lifeproof case was $130 - ouch).
I've read a ton of reviews and they tend to mirror the issues I mentioned. Did the 4.2 update improve things like wifi reception or any other improvements?
cwepruk said:
Thanks for the info. it wouldn't be submerged for use, just in my hands in the tub (and it's lighter than an iPad, so that's a bonus). I use my iPad with the case and I know what you mean about going crazy when wet. Every now and then, I just dip it to get some of the puddles off it and that seems to help.
I'd also likely sell the iPad to recover some cost (and the lifeproof case was $130 - ouch).
I've read a ton of reviews and they tend to mirror the issues I mentioned. Did the 4.2 update improve things like wifi reception or any other improvements?
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I can't say much about 4.1.2 and any of their issues because I bought the device and it shipped with 4.1.2, but I was in NY for a few days and the hotel's WiFi wasn't good, so couldn't test it. First thing I did when I got home was updating it. But i have no signal problems whatsoever. Mine is a SGP311, if that makes any difference...
I'll just chime in here with the same info that's already been provided by others; battery life in use is decent. I use mine only periodically, but when I use it I rarely pay the battery any attention, and never have had any trouble with WiFi reception. I don't have the biggest house, but I have used it all over the house without any problems. I've also used it outside without any trouble where my mobile phone will not pick up any WiFi signal.
My main gripe with the tablet is that it seems to use quite a bit of battery when I'm not using it. But that is probably caused by something I have installed. Haven't really bothered investigating.
-KJ
I have the same thing on my mind with cwepruk. I'm planning to buy this tab also and have a lot of research with the pros and cons. In fact I have a lot of vids downloaded from youtube about comparisons and reviews. But because of the six months period since its release, I have second thoughts of buying and afraid that maybe in few days/weeks, better tablet is coming. (Sigh) i just don't know....
fjevel said:
I'll just chime in here with the same info that's already been provided by others; battery life in use is decent. I use mine only periodically, but when I use it I rarely pay the battery any attention, and never have had any trouble with WiFi reception. I don't have the biggest house, but I have used it all over the house without any problems. I've also used it outside without any trouble where my mobile phone will not pick up any WiFi signal.
My main gripe with the tablet is that it seems to use quite a bit of battery when I'm not using it. But that is probably caused by something I have installed. Haven't really bothered investigating.
-KJ
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I'm in the same spot as you, new note seems a great deal though just a bit expensive considering I want to buy a new phone in Q1, what about Kindle hdx 8.9?
Sent from my XPERIA S using XDA app
tel033 said:
I'm in the same spot as you, new note seems a great deal though just a bit expensive considering I want to buy a new phone in Q1, what about Kindle hdx 8.9?
Sent from my XPERIA S using XDA app
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I purchased the kindle fire hdx a couple days ago. It has great hardware, feels a bit flimsy, but overall a nice build. The blinding problem is the software. I didnt realize how much I missed not having the Google play store. Sideloading apps works, but its a pain considering how much easier the Google play store is.
Even after I rooted the kindle, it still was not a lot of fun to use.
Anyways, I returned the Kindle and got the Sony Z instead. I'm very happy with the choice. The Sony has a nicer feel and build, the screen is comparable, and the software is superb.
The Kindle is grest if you use Amazons services, otherwise I would go with the Sony.
Sent from my SGP311 using Tapatalk 4
tel033 said:
I'm in the same spot as you, new note seems a great deal though just a bit expensive considering I want to buy a new phone in Q1, what about Kindle hdx 8.9?
Sent from my XPERIA S using XDA app
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Yes I read about that, without prime it's just not a very good choice, and I think amazon prime is 80 dollars a year right?
My problem with z is that it is already a bit old, and do you feel a difference between s80p and s4 pro?
Sent from my XPERIA S using XDA app
tel033 said:
Yes I read about that, without prime it's just not a very good choice, and I think amazon prime is 80 dollars a year right?
My problem with z is that it is already a bit old, and do you feel a difference between s80p and s4 pro?
Sent from my XPERIA S using XDA app
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nope.no difference between s800 and s4 pro.every game plays without lag and there is no noticeable difference.if you can notice 1 millisecond difference on app opening then congrats for your eyes
pangiotis24 said:
nope.no difference between s800 and s4 pro.every game plays without lag and there is no noticeable difference.if you can notice 1 millisecond difference on app opening then congrats for your eyes
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The difference between both is bigger than that, but the S4 Pro works like a champ. Didn't had any problems with it. Putting my XTZ next to my Xperia S with a S3, the difference is huge...
Sent from my SGP311 using Tapatalk
So I went ahead and bought it. Like I said, the main reason was because it's waterproof and I can use it in the hot tub (browsing, music, etc.).
It was on sale, so $400 instead of the usual $500. IMO, it's about a $350 tablet hardware wise, but it's the only one that is waterproof. The new Android tablets do have better screens and faster processors and some of them are running 4.3. I'm not a big gamer, so I don't really get into pushing the limits on graphics.
That said - after one day of use, I'm pretty happy. Initial thoughts:
Pros -
- Even though it's not the best screen, it's quite good and better then I expected after most reviews.
- Light and thin
- While not the most current hardware, it's definitely respectable. It doesn't feel super fast, but it also never felt slow. It's comparable with my iPad 4.
- Decent battery life. Heavy use this weekend yesterday including streaming audio, browsing, setting everything up, it lasted from Sat night until this (Mon) morning with about 7 hours of on screen time.
Cons
- It's flimsy. I took the first one back because it creaked and the screen would distort and have phantom touches. The replacement was a bit better, but will still have phantom touches if you hold it by the corner.
- Too many notifications from the tablet itself. I don't want to use stamina mode, stop reminding me.
- For all the hype about the camera, it's pretty mediocre - not a big deal for a tablet though.
- No Wireless charging. Would be great and eliminate the need to use that flap over the micro-usb
I've tried other Android tablets, the first Galaxy Tab and the Asus Transformer Infinity and I didn't like either and both had some bugs, so far, not the case with the Sony.
cwepruk said:
So I went ahead and bought it. Like I said, the main reason was because it's waterproof and I can use it in the hot tub (browsing, music, etc.).
It was on sale, so $400 instead of the usual $500. IMO, it's about a $350 tablet hardware wise, but it's the only one that is waterproof. The new Android tablets do have better screens and faster processors and some of them are running 4.3. I'm not a big gamer, so I don't really get into pushing the limits on graphics.
That said - after one day of use, I'm pretty happy. Initial thoughts:
Pros -
- Even though it's not the best screen, it's quite good and better then I expected after most reviews.
- Light and thin
- While not the most current hardware, it's definitely respectable. It doesn't feel super fast, but it also never felt slow. It's comparable with my iPad 4.
- Decent battery life. Heavy use this weekend yesterday including streaming audio, browsing, setting everything up, it lasted from Sat night until this (Mon) morning with about 7 hours of on screen time.
Cons
- It's flimsy. I took the first one back because it creaked and the screen would distort and have phantom touches. The replacement was a bit better, but will still have phantom touches if you hold it by the corner.
- Too many notifications from the tablet itself. I don't want to use stamina mode, stop reminding me.
- For all the hype about the camera, it's pretty mediocre - not a big deal for a tablet though.
- No Wireless charging. Would be great and eliminate the need to use that flap over the micro-usb
I've tried other Android tablets, the first Galaxy Tab and the Asus Transformer Infinity and I didn't like either and both had some bugs, so far, not the case with the Sony.
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The filmsy touch is a software related issue. I've solved mine after a software update in a mn after I bought it.
Sent from my SGP321 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I'm on the latest software and it still does it.
how about the front cam? I want to ask because I use skype a lot. What can you say?
Zidan25 said:
how about the front cam? I want to ask because I use skype a lot. What can you say?
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