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Curious what your opinion is on changing a 11in MacBook Air for a Prime with the keyboard ?
I have a Galaxy Note 5.3 and a 10.1 Galaxy Tab, and have been a fan of galaxy series for a while so apple is not really my thing. However the browsing experience on the Macbook is amazing. I have Opera Mobile and the Go Browser on the galaxy note and i like those, however chrome on the macbook is pretty fast and does a great job. Plus the nice screen and comfortable keyboard, this makes it for a nice browsing device.
To enlighten the topic, i'll mention that i have already placed an order today for the Prime and should get it by the end of this week. Just wanted to get a feeling on the anticipation and hear your input on my question.
I have the dock and the prime and i love it the battery life is great experice is an all round great device i use it for notes videos i just got shadowgun for it but the only thing that my laptop can do is play games alot better and thats about it i think your gonna enjoy it. im not an apple person myself either
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MEPEH said:
Curious what your opinion is on changing a 11in MacBook Air for a Prime with the keyboard ?
I have a Galaxy Note 5.3 and a 10.1 Galaxy Tab, and have been a fan of galaxy series for a while so apple is not really my thing. However the browsing experience on the Macbook is amazing. I have Opera Mobile and the Go Browser on the galaxy note and i like those, however chrome on the macbook is pretty fast and does a great job. Plus the nice screen and comfortable keyboard, this makes it for a nice browsing device.
To enlighten the topic, i'll mention that i have already placed an order today for the Prime and should get it by the end of this week. Just wanted to get a feeling on the anticipation and hear your input on my question.
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Click to collapse
Alright, first of all, you're going to hear a TON of *****ing on here about the Prime and plenty of people telling you not to get it. I ordered mine from HHGregg when they were $399. I got it on the 16th of January. I got my dock about a week ago. I have had one SMALL issue and that is it. I filled entire homescreen with apps and transition to and from that page was skippy. I put everything into folders and moved things around until it wasn't skippy anymore and no more issues. I have an Evo 3D and my wife has an Evo 4G so GPS is not anywhere near an important feature to me. I could care less if they completely removed it tomorrow. My wifi is on par with the Evo 3D and Evo 4G. I have very slight light leakage, which I even have on my Evo 3D. I just don't care. A brand new product will have some small issues and I totally expect some small issues here and there.
I'm not saying that these people don't have issues, I just expected them. My launch day iPhone 4, Motorola Atrix, Evo 3D and my Prime received on the 16th have all had some sort of issue. It should be expected of a BRAND NEW product. If you get one and it has an issue that you can't live with, exchange it.
I absolutely love my Prime and wouldn't trade it for anything else on the market. I use it everyday docked and not docked. I have even shown people at my work who have never even had a smartphone and they are now thinking about buying a Prime with the dock. I have been streaming Pandora, playing games and web browsing since about 9:00am and it is now 10:30pm here, my dock is at 82% battery and my Prime is at 73% battery. I love it, I don't have to charge my phone all day at work anymore because I use this now.
I even just typed all of that from my dock. It took a little while for me to get used to the finger travel and trackpad sensitivity but it doesn't bother me at all now. I'm sure if you're coming from an Air that finger travel won't be too much different.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Really appreciate your input. I don't care that much about GPS and WiFi is always within 1ft. I expect issues with it, but i also anticipate ICS will give a boost by the time i discover ALL the flaws.
MEPEH said:
Really appreciate your input. I don't care that much about GPS and WiFi is always within 1ft. I expect issues with it, but i also anticipate ICS will give a boost by the time i discover ALL the flaws.
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No problem. My wifi is always within ten feet or so, except at work and even then I don't notice any issues. ICS is nice. I like it a lot. I don't mind sense on my phone now that I have ICS on the prime. A lot of people said I wouldn't use the tablet as much because the OS is so similar to my phone but I find myself using my phone a ton less now.
Sent from my ICS lovin 3D!!!
If I've helped you in any way... hit the "Thanks" button.
As an owner of both it, could be done but it will depend on what you use the MacBook air for. For browsing, checking the web, etc... the prime will replace the air fine. You will lose out on a lot of other features though. Polaris office is not a replacement for office for Mac, neither are any of the other office apps I have tried to date. Light editing is fine but try and do work on a moderately complex document and it shows its limits.
Audio work is also not going to be done on android either. Finally I find network access (mounting shares and such) is easier on there Mac.
On the other hand I have a number of small apps that make administration actually easier to do from the prime than the air. Opinions will vary and again a lot will depend on what you are using the Mac for.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
I use Mac OS X 10.7 and Windows 7 a lot. And we all know Android and iOS aren't that great for productivity.
What I did was downloaded Splashtop HD (the one we already have does not use the dock's trackpad correctly) and have my server running whatever OS I need (Hackintosh).
I get an awesome OS and with zero lag on my Prime but I get its portability and battery life too.
I did a lot of programming right on the Prime on Mac OS X and everything works great. I should mention that when I am at my campus, it is pretty laggy because of the slow wireless network there.
Here is my opinion-
First of all i have always been a windows owner but used plenty of macs when i was in high school.
But the the big difference is web browser as you said. On a mac/pc the web browsers work just how they should, no layout flaws and it seems a lot faster. This being said i do believe the android browsing community will start seeing a lot more tablet optimized websites, or just realizing you are using a tablet and not a phone and sending you directly to the mobile site(of course you can change the user agent).
If i had the choice, in my current situation i would ditch the macbook and get the atp. Sure the web browsing might not be right at the moment but the mouse prevents most inaccurate clicks. Also you can customize everything! This is not a knock on apple but thats just what I want-customization. The docks keyboard takes getting used to but that wasn't a big problem for me.
Not sure about apples battery life but i love my primes battery life.
My current stats are(with the dock):
Unplugged from wall:3 days 14 hours 12 mins
Prime(not charging from dock):11 hours 51 mins
Battery left: 12% dock 85% prime
I'd say this is with moderate usage brightness at in the middle. and i am rooted.
GO for the prime imo
Hope this helps
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
lyon21 said:
Alright, first of all, you're going to hear a TON of *****ing on here about the Prime and plenty of people telling you not to get it. I ordered mine from HHGregg when they were $399. I got it on the 16th of January. I got my dock about a week ago. I have had one SMALL issue and that is it. I filled entire homescreen with apps and transition to and from that page was skippy. I put everything into folders and moved things around until it wasn't skippy anymore and no more issues. I have an Evo 3D and my wife has an Evo 4G so GPS is not anywhere near an important feature to me. I could care less if they completely removed it tomorrow. My wifi is on par with the Evo 3D and Evo 4G. I have very slight light leakage, which I even have on my Evo 3D. I just don't care. A brand new product will have some small issues and I totally expect some small issues here and there.
I'm not saying that these people don't have issues, I just expected them. My launch day iPhone 4, Motorola Atrix, Evo 3D and my Prime received on the 16th have all had some sort of issue. It should be expected of a BRAND NEW product. If you get one and it has an issue that you can't live with, exchange it.
I absolutely love my Prime and wouldn't trade it for anything else on the market. I use it everyday docked and not docked. I have even shown people at my work who have never even had a smartphone and they are now thinking about buying a Prime with the dock. I have been streaming Pandora, playing games and web browsing since about 9:00am and it is now 10:30pm here, my dock is at 82% battery and my Prime is at 73% battery. I love it, I don't have to charge my phone all day at work anymore because I use this now.
I even just typed all of that from my dock. It took a little while for me to get used to the finger travel and trackpad sensitivity but it doesn't bother me at all now. I'm sure if you're coming from an Air that finger travel won't be too much different.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Aside from this fanboy post. I had about 2 primes. All had significant problems. Buyer beware
Pubnum said:
Aside from this fanboy post. I had about 2 primes. All had significant problems. Buyer beware
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What kind of problems? I really don't understand why so many people on this forum have faulty Prime's. Mine has no issues other than a faulty GPS but I don't care. My previous TF101 had a ton of issues but it seems quality control improved for the new one.
Where did you get yours and when?
I was actually deciding between the two recently and really it comes down to what you plan to use it for.
Really sit down and figure that out and the choice will be clear. For me, I have an old laptop that I use for word processing or excel and it's generally rather light.
So all I wanted was a portable machine that browses, does email, fun gaming, high battery life and video/audio out capability. That pretty much makes the prime the winner for me.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA App
I got the prime, loved it. It is sleek, fast, excellent quality. However, I ended up switching to a MacBook air 13"/4/128. For ~$400 more than the prime + dock, I get almost the same portability, worse battery life (5-7 hrs), but way more usefulness.
Even general 'entertainment' stuff, like watching streaming flash is better on the air since you can switch between programs and have the stream running in the background.
The one downside is that you can't use the air in tablet mode, so reading in bed is a no-go. Air + cheap tablet (playbook etc) might be a much more useful combo than just a prime. The prime is an excellent tablet, but a less than average laptop. Just prioritize your purchases based on this.
Buying new, I'd pick the Prime, probably even at the same price point. If I already had the Mac, I'd only upgrade if the battery life or tablet capability was.
For me, the battery life versus e.g. my Eee PC 1015, was.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
I just went whole-hog from an 11" MacBook Air to the prime plus dock in preparation for beginning graduate school later this month. Thoughts:
You notice the added weight because of the smaller physical size. That's *notice* not *suffer from*.
I plan on writing and reading with it. It has any one of a number of ways to write or take notes, and the kindle and google books apps are both loaded and ready. I have yet to see how many of my textbooks I can get through those options; either way, I'm pretty well covered, I think.
The complete lack of Java (not javascript, Java itself) in a browser is a downfall. I am going to deal with this by using RDP and my work computer, which is a windows machine, because it presents a better security system from out in the field. Splashtop is not encrypted at all, which probably means it'll run faster if I connect to my Mac while I'm at home, but I wouldn't expect it to be a good solution over two VPN connections (work computer to work server, work server to prime). Other browser-related issues come up every now and then, some of which you can get around by using the native browser's "request desktop site" option, but I had to go through native, firefox, dolphinHD, and finally Opera before I found a browser that would work with my university's trouble ticket system. That's almost 100% likely to be the university's fault for implementing a bad system, but whatever... I can't change that.
I am getting used to switching apps the android way and copy/paste in ice cream sandwich. It really isn't taking very long at all. Once I exchange my dock for one that's not bent, I think I'll be really happy with the point and click interface asus has come up with. I tried the gesture mode and it wasn't very intuitive, but I didn't try it for very long. I will say the only thing I really miss about pointing and gesturing is that I got used to the gestures for forward and back and expect them to work for everything on the tablet. Most of what I did with the MBA was web-based, so using forward/back gestures made a lot of sense. Now they're gone and I'm struggling a little to remember to use the keys.
Battery life is definitely a hell of a lot better than the Air. Mine had something like 140 battery cycles on it and was down to about 4 hours max, give or take, at minimum brightness. I definitely can get two nights of internet out of just the tablet itself, but with the keyboard dock, I think a whole day of library research isn't out of the question. The one thing I don't like is the length of the charger cabling and the seemingly frail construction of the sync plug.
I was initially worried about the sound output from the prime versus what I had in the MBA, and I can tell you the volume level I get is more than enough for what I watch, especially considering you can hold the tablet a lot closer to your head. The only problem I have is that if you rest it against stuff in horizontal mode, either your blanket and sheets will muffle the speaker a little bit or the power button will be pressed every once in a while. Minor problems, really.
I'm happy so far, just under a week into owning it!
I own both..
I own both and I would never be able to trade my MBA for TP.
Do not get me wrong. First of all I exclusively use Android phones and tablets and I am fairly anti-apple, but as much as I love my transformer prime, if it was my only computing option I think I would go nuts.
MBA is better for so many technical situations but the main thing that it crushes the TP in is web-browsing, ergonomics, backlit keyboard, multi tasking - I feel like I could make the list very long if I took the time.
The transformer prime excels in that it is Android which is cool and customizable, it has great battery life when docked, it plays games better (although I wish there were more available).
Essentially I love my TP but if I could only have one, I do not think you can replace a full fledged laptop with the TP yet.
Pubnum said:
Aside from this fanboy post. I had about 2 primes. All had significant problems. Buyer beware
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Click to collapse
Ok, I don't know how this is a "fanboy" post but whatever. All I did was say that issues with launch devices are expected and stated my experiences but if you want to take that as a "Fanboy" post, that's cool. I consider a "fanboy" post, the ones that iPhone/iPad users post that say:
iPhone user) "My iPhone is the best phone in the world"
Android user) "Really, why do you say that?"
iPhone user) "Because it's an iPhone and has more apps plus wifis and I got the one with bigger GeeBees!"
lyon21 said:
Ok, I don't know how this is a "fanboy" post but whatever. All I did was say that issues with launch devices are expected and stated my experiences but if you want to take that as a "Fanboy" post, that's cool. I consider a "fanboy" post, the ones that iPhone/iPad users post that say:
iPhone user) "My iPhone is the best phone in the world"
Android user) "Really, why do you say that?"
iPhone user) "Because it's an iPhone and has more apps plus wifis and I got the one with bigger GeeBees!"
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Click to collapse
I love my prime, but I must admit I do think that it merits some of the criticism it is getting. The last update vastly improved things for me, but I was 30 seconds away from returning it and I AM an android fanboy.
I got my prime a couple of days ago as much as i love it, its going to be returned because wifi is too weak. I will buy another one in hope it will be flawless but its annoying having to return it and wait again. Gps is also non existent but that isn't important to me.
Spurs027 said:
I got my prime a couple of days ago as much as i love it, its going to be returned because wifi is too weak. I will buy another one in hope it will be flawless but its annoying having to return it and wait again. Gps is also non existent but that isn't important to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's another good point. Although I find the Wifi as acceptable since latest update, the antenna still doesn't get near the speeds my MBA does.
restinbeast said:
Essentially I love my TP but if I could only have one, I do not think you can replace a full fledged laptop with the TP yet.
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Click to collapse
Completely agree with the majority of posts on here.. TP isn't strong enough as a laptop replacement. But it's perfectly fine when used to complement another device.
The best productivity aspect of the TP is the battery life!
If you've got WiFi you can RDP/Splashtop/Citrix to another OS for the productivity software.
If you're without WiFi you can write notes in evernote, do some light editing, save stuff in dropbox, etc etc and have it all sync up later.
As long as you're able (and willing) to adjust your work flow to make the most of the tools at your disposal you'll be fine.
Here is my question, I'm looking for a really good tablet with great battery life and I wanted to get the Vibrant community's opinion as to which is the best.
Please refrain from posting about apple products I simply do not like apple as a company and refuse to give them my business.
I would appreciate it if in addition to your selection you could tell me your reason for feeling why its the best.
- Cheers
I picked up an Asus Transformer (OG-not the Prime) a few weeks ago at Best Buy for $399 (Bob Shute almost convinced me to get the Nook Color though). It was the 32gb on sale for the same price as the 16gb (so why not) + it has external, so i have 64+/-gb of storage. I had lurked in a bunch of forums checking out support, ROMs, rootable, "official" ICS and general attitude of the forum members.
When I got it out of the box it was running 3.1 and I had known that it had an OTA update waiting. Within 30mins of getting it, I had upgraded, Rooted and was on my way to being a tablet owner. It was real easy to do too. The battery life on 3.2.1 was really good. Granted I am not using it all day long but I was getting about 2-4 days out of it. Kids would play games, watch Netflix, I would surf and my wife would do her coupon spreadsheets (yes she is one of those ladies and we do have a stockpile).
Fast forward to the ICS update. We got the OTA update and for some reason there is an issue with the kernel and people are getting random reboots. I am not sure if it is just me knowing what I am doing from so many tweaks with this phone and past ones or I just got a good tablet, but I messed with the governors and it has been 3 weeks since upgrade and I haven't had one yet. Knowledge is Power. Felt you should be aware of that though. Battery life on ICS is outstanding. I get 4-6 days out of it easily. Might cut it down now that baseball spring training has started and I can stream live video to it.
Conclusion- A few things. The Transformer (tf101) is just as good as the Prime (tf201) and actually I think it is better b/c the Prime has wifi, GPS and other hardward issues, but its bootloader can be unlocked whereas the tf101 is still lock for now. Another things is that you have to remember that these are seconday devices to most people and some of the redundant questions you see are rediculous.
My suggestion is to lurk in the Acer, Transformer, Galaxy, Xoom forums and see what is going on in them. Plus there are a bunch of smaller tablets coming out soon with Tegra3, Quad-core, low price,...
HTH and let me know if you have any Q's and sorry for the long post.
what do you want to do with this tablet?
I know you said not to mention any apple products but...
seriously dude even the iPad 2 is better than any android tablet out right now. iPad (third generation) just killed everything else. I know you don't like apple as a company but the iPad is pretty much the tablet market, the only tablet one should be getting. You're going to regret it if you don't get an iPad...
junglerumble said:
what do you want to do with this tablet?
I know you said not to mention any apple products but...
seriously dude even the iPad 2 is better than any android tablet out right now. iPad (third generation) just killed everything else. I know you don't like apple as a company but the iPad is pretty much the tablet market, the only tablet one should be getting. You're going to regret it if you don't get an iPad...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't get an ipad and I don't regret it one bit
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Ill be using the tablet for school mostly. Ill have about 100 lbs of books that id rather not have to carry with me everywhere. Ill also be using the tablet for light gaming just to keep me entertained from time to time as well as serving to replace my laptop for day to day tasks. Granted i know not everything can be accomplished by a tablet so ill still have my laptop at my apartment but need something light and portable but capable so i was thinking tablet.
As far as no apple products, they seem to hate me, i touch one and they seem to break they dont function properly and im honestly not convinced that they are the best product on the market. Their Marketing department tries to convince you of that but i hardly agree. (i wont get into it i don't want this to turn into a flame thread) regardless thank you for your input.
Ive been looking alot at the Transformer and TF Prime as well as the 10.1 inch samsung variants, but since i have ICS running on my Vibrant id very much like to have it running on my Tablet, i intend to run stock for a while until stable versions of either CM9 or AOKP are released for the device since i will be using it in a more productive than leisurely role.
@ woodrube thank you for the length of your post i appreciate the time you put into your response
@junglerumble thank you for your input, tho i whole heartily disagree with you (to each their own)
does anybody have an idea of the android tablets that are coming out in the first half of this year and when? I want to get a tablet but not at the moment. I'm waiting till more tablets come out to make up my mind but it would be nice to have some foresight.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA
asus transformer is what i hear and read.
junglerumble said:
what do you want to do with this tablet?
I know you said not to mention any apple products but...
seriously dude even the iPad 2 is better than any android tablet out right now. iPad (third generation) just killed everything else. I know you don't like apple as a company but the iPad is pretty much the tablet market, the only tablet one should be getting. You're going to regret it if you don't get an iPad...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use an iPad 2 exclusively for classwork and I half regret the purchase, even after the jailbreaking and app searching. It's a good tablet, but it's not a deity.
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Transformers have the keyboard dock too with independent battery in case you want that laptop thing going on. I love my TF and am happy I bought it. There are a couple of us who have the TFs like Alex9090, Mveksler, Gorealmighty and Manus I think.
I would wait til the Asus 3 comes out tegra 3 for the price of the og transformer
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium
I used several different Android Honeycomb tablets, but gave up on all of them because I felt the software weren't advance enough for my purposes, so I got a Windows tablet instead. Then sold that and got the Galaxy Note (international version) which I think is the best consumer portable device made so far, since it acts as a phone and tablet, has the same resolution as the tablets (1280x800, and is even (much) faster than Tegra2, yet pocketable, has Wacom pen, can make phone calls and ultra fast GPS locking, awesome camera), although I didn't keep it since it doesn't support T-Mobile 3G.
Out of the Honeycomb tablets, I liked the Acer A500 and Toshiba Thrive most since it has fullsize USB connector, which works with flash drive and gamepads. I think the Asus Slider should be better since it has fullsize USB and keyboard as well, just a bit heavier. I do not feel tablets with Tegra2 is fast enough to handle 'higher' bitrates HD contents and MKV videos, although other purposes are fine, regular HD video should be okay. I also feel all Android tablets are overpriced for their present software features, unless at refurb price, if it were Ubuntu or some full fledged linux distro I'd be more interested. Which is why I think Windows 8 tablets will have some success, even though I'm not interested in Windows 8.
+1 OG Transformer. Great device
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I want to thank everyone for their responses, after spending some time playing with the devices in store and reading through the developer forums I have decided on getting the TF prime, just seemed to blow everything else outta the water once all the tablets had 100+ apps installed and running live wall papers. Luckily i was able to find one at a local retailer since everywhere else was sold out.
I was so close (money in hand) to buying the Galaxy 10.1 but after reading this I decided on the TF201.
Darn near ever place Ive looked is out of stock though.
addition:
It didn't take much for me to switch. After this phone and its total lack of support, I try to stay clear of anything that has Samsung on it.
Thus far I have to say that my impressions of the tfp are extremely favorable so far I have experienced none of the recorded issues with the tablet save maybe the GPS but I have yet to test it outdoors the stock ics keyboard is far better than I expected on the tablet
I will update more as I have more time and experience with the tablet if so desired
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
I saw that due to the GPS issues they no longer advertise the tab has a GPS. Imagine if Samsung was forced to do the same for our phone's crummy GPS.
Id expect similar GPS to our phones. I ended up buying a real nice Tom-Tom GPS for my car so the phone GPS is bout always off now.
Moped_Ryder said:
I saw that due to the GPS issues they no longer advertise the tab has a GPS. Imagine if Samsung was forced to do the same for our phone's crummy GPS.
Id expect similar GPS to our phones. I ended up buying a real nice Tom-Tom GPS for my car so the phone GPS is bout always off now.
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Click to collapse
Well I tested gps on the unit over asbestos buy, the one they had on display, gps worked down to 40m accuracy.. I was surprised but yes gps is no longer one of the advertised features most likely i will end up using my by gps receiver for better accuracy like I have been
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
If and when it comes time to Root your device (I did it within 30mins of having it) You can use ViperMod and install Supercurio's OTA Rootkeeper and any updates you get, just open the Rootkeeper up and restore root. Handy little app if I do say so.
I recently purchased a Transformer Prime with the keyboard doc and I have no regrets. It's awsome. I've not experienced any of the GPS/hardware issues mentioned either.
I am 12 days into my 14 day return window for my Sony Tablet S. I am dissapointed with the build quality of the Sony (kind of shocking for a Sony product) so I went to best buy today just to look around and saw the prime for the first time. I was blown away by how well constructed it felt and the ui seemed blazing fast. Screen looked great.
However, I have read about a lot of discontent with the device re wifi, gps, general availability, etc. It doesnt seem like a "no brainer". Some flaws are to be expected, but is this device plagued?
It is more than I want to spend, but I would also like to get into a device that I could grow into and I could convince myelf that spending $500 on a quad core device is a lot better investment than $400 on a dual core.
What do you all think? Would you jump again?
I would buy the Prime again.
Note that GPS will never be good enough for navigation use, which is why Asus removed it from the features list. So if you really wanted to use your WiFi tablet for navigation you might not like the Prime.
Other than GPS I have had no issues at all with my Prime. It works great and has replaced my laptop as my go-to device for browsing the web or playing games.
I've found that no manufacturer is immune from releasing crap from time to time. Even Apple made the Powermac G4 Cube, the Pippin, and the iPhone-4 antenna (you're holding it wrong). Sony made TERRIBLE hard disk drives back in the early 90s.
On my Prime, I'd buy it again with no reservation. IMHO, it's substantially more feature-rich than Apple's alternative. I can't figure out why the Apple faithful look down on having an SD card slot (or TWO, if you get the dock), and a USB. They say they prefer the smooth lines. I say they've had too much Kool-Aid.
Flash is on the decline, but it's STILL ominpresent. I sort of like actually HAVING flash compatability. The Apple fans say that they don't need Flash since it's dead... It'd be more accurate to say, "they don't HAVE Flash because of resource/security issues, it's on the decline, and it's the will of Landrew (too obscure?), but it's still all over the place."
I'm sure the screen on the new iPad will beat the snot out of the TP, but I would NOT make the tradeoff. For me, it's not worth it. For some, I understand that it is... I still look forward to real-world testing between
I guess it depends on the situation. As a tablet, it rocks and I love it. But now, my current gadget list is this:
Main Windows 7 PC (file/media server)
Dell Windows 7 Laptop with Dedicated Graphics (do most work on this, including gaming when I have time)
XBOX 360 (Mainly for media streaming and netflix)
Android Smartphone (Samsung Skyrocket)
ASUS Transformer Prime
Windows Phone 7 (work issued)
I feel totally over "gadgeted" and I am so looking for more of a united ecosystem. No, not so much like Apple (which is not as united as they like you to believe) but I get most of my work done on my laptop but I enjoy my tablet. Perhaps Windows 8 tablet with keyboard may be in my future. Just want to cut down on the number of gadgets I have.
id buy it again in a heartbeat. best tablet out in the market right now. even once new Ipad releases, it'll still be best in market, IMO. too many things the prime can do that the new Ipad doesn't. right out the box. I'd say buy a prime. very fast n no lag. plus we have great developer support so far.
I would buy it again, and in fact I am buying it again. My wife is dumping her ipad 1 since Apple F#^%$d it up with the ios 5 update and won't patch to fix it so I'm getting her one as well.
Oh and just an fyi:
It's a 5 core device not 4 core.
There is a "ninja" core as well that doesn't get a lot of press but from what I read is mostly i/o tasks to ensure no lag to screen / key inputs etc...
I know, the number of cores doesn't really matter if the software isn't written to support all of them anyway but it's still fun to pick on anything SONY and say mine is better.. stick that in your 40 page PS3 EULA, rootkit CDs... etc... lol
hint hint.. dump the SONY and get a TFP.
I think if there was other tegra 3 alternative out there right now I think some of the yes will be no lol.
I'd buy again anytime. One of the best purchases i made in the last years.
robber said:
I am 12 days into my 14 day return window for my Sony Tablet S. I am dissapointed with the build quality of the Sony (kind of shocking for a Sony product) so I went to best buy today just to look around and saw the prime for the first time. I was blown away by how well constructed it felt and the ui seemed blazing fast. Screen looked great.
However, I have read about a lot of discontent with the device re wifi, gps, general availability, etc. It doesnt seem like a "no brainer". Some flaws are to be expected, but is this device plagued?
It is more than I want to spend, but I would also like to get into a device that I could grow into and I could convince myelf that spending $500 on a quad core device is a lot better investment than $400 on a dual core.
What do you all think? Would you jump again?
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Go buy ipad, u hv same problem. And yes, i would buy the prime again.
Ask me 2 weeks ago I'd have said yes. Now I'd just tell you I'd wait for the Pad Infinity if I lose or have to return my Prime for any reason.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
This thing has been great for me. VERY versatile. Extremely happy with it.
wifesabitch said:
This thing has been great for me. VERY versatile. Extremely happy with it.
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Thanks. Love your username!
I would buy it again for sure. Great tablet and ics...just screams "buy me"
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727
ROM: Nexusmod4
I would buy it again as well. Has also replaced the need I had for a fully fledged laptop on the go. Between the weight, keyboard dock and battery life it is just perfect for my use case as a masters cs student, again on the go only, I still need a full computer of course but have multiple desktops for that.
Everything works fine for me on the tablet, tested gps once to see if it worked and it did at least standing still, haven't needed it since in three months almost now but won't count on it either as its proven flaky. Everything else is perfect even my wifi has connected everywhere I have needed it to so far.
I like mine. It does what I want to do very quickly and smoothly.
Bye.
Flash is on the decline, but it's STILL ominpresent. I sort of like actually HAVING flash compatability. The Apple fans say that they don't need Flash since it's dead... It'd be more accurate to say, "they don't HAVE Flash because of resource/security issues, it's on the decline, and it's the will of Landrew (too obscure?), but it's still all over the place."
STTOS
WhateverGetsTheJobDone said:
STTOS
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Nice! (Wasn't that tough, really.)
Since it doesn't have any real droid competition there's going to be mostly yes's. The power, screen, and battery life rocks but the wifi is meh, GPS sucks, and bluetooth has issues. I'm a little pissed at asus for pushing a product on us that was known to have problems. My wife is the main user of it and is happy but I did what I could to fix the short-falls. I'd never jump on another asus product until it was out for a while.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk
Absolutely love mine, I would for sure buy it again, I like it better than my original tf101
Yes I would buy again. My Prime with Dock was mainly purchased for my Wife to use at Nursing Conferences which requires WiFi for Webpage access and the ability to have USB access for File Transfer. The Prime has worked GREAT for this with No Problems at all, my GPS does even work some. I can get GPS lock Outside(no inside GPS at all) in about 15-20 seconds and I can drive in Car and get "some" GPS. GPS no big deal to me though since I have a Garmin for Travel.
Hi everyone,
I in the market looking for a tablet. I'm new in this business of the tablet world but been searching a lot for the best experience. I'm a heavy computer user (personal and professionally) and past experiences thought me that if you want something good you got to pay!
Not a fan of iPad because of several limitations like iTunes sync, no USB, no expansability like microSD. I think it makes it putting files in or out very tiring...
With that in mind, I really enjoyed the Transformer series idea, and prime (in comparison with tf101) really looks and have the horsepower of an high-end product.
But I'm really worried about giving 600€ (or pounds or dollars) for a product with poor wi-fi performance, GPS I don't care much, but wifi is the main connectivity tech nowadays. Is it really a deal breaker? Are there different series (like groups of SN's) in stores, some worse than others?
But mainly, are these "problems" gonna be solved by the next products like the tf700 (Infinity) or the tf300? And are they worth the wait to see?
thnks
The upcoming Transformers are supposed to fix all these issues so I'd recommend waiting for the 700T if you're patient enough.
Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
Pizza4Breakfast said:
The upcoming Transformers are supposed to fix all these issues so I'd recommend waiting for the 700T if you're patient enough.
Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
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^ This or wait for the supposed killer Samsung flagship tab (Galaxy Tab 11.6), with its Dual Core Cortex A15's and a gorgeous 2650x1600 Display it will match if not out shine the new iPad's but then again its pure speculation.
transformer prime is worth getting now. only small numbers suffered from weak wifi. my wifi works great and had my device since 12/22. only took me 1 purchase to get a good unit
there will ALWAYS be something better coming out in the upcoming months. The prime was a huge leap (IMO) from all the other tablets out there, so I got it. For what I use it for it's ran everything with no issues at all, 1080p Movies, Interwebs, Apps, Games, ect. The only thing i've seen it have any issues with is Go Launcher, but thats really not a big deal. ...
I would recommend anyone get this, unless they just want to wait a few months and get the next latest and greatest, but like I said there will always be something better coming out.
If you are going to wait for the next tablet to be released you are never going to get one hehe. There is a new "killer tablet " being released every month or 2.
Just get the one that best fits your needs now.
My Transformer P. Works wonders, is indeed fast... got today 50mbit down 20 up at college.
GPS is not the best one i have used, but i do get locks and it does works.
I know that there will be always something better coming out, I just read in here so many people returning their devices that I got the feeling that I'm buying a malfunctioning device.
I also haven't decided on wanting a tablet with or without 3G (since I already have Internet on my phone samsung nexus S, in which I can tether or something). But thats another discussion...
I'm happy with mine, which I bought last month. I haven't had any problems at all with wifi. I don't need GPS, so I haven't even bothered to test it.
I was a little bummed to find out afterwards that a new model with a higher-res screen was coming out later, the T700, but since I've been able to get so much more done with this device than the iPad, stuff like actually writing papers on the go, I actually don't mind. If you want something primarily as an ebook reader, you might want to hold out for the devices with a better screen or just buy the new iPad.
I would wait til the next best thing unless u need a tablet now then tp in my option the best tablet on the market now
I don't know about the waiting because, I don't need it now as I will probably never REALLY need it.
It would be fun and handy to have and use as a on-the-go bases or weekend trips or play some video in the tv. I actually think It can replace partially my laptop, especially with the myCloud desktop thing.
well it sounds like you about to purchase a transformer prime then seems to fit all your needs. for the record its not a malfunctioning unit. very small number of users here returned it for good.
remember, nothing is as good as it seems and nothing is as bad as it seems. Somewhere in between Reality falls. So in saying that, stop waiting and go get you this great device you gonna love it and be like you don't even know why you worried so much about it. I do commend you doing your research on the product first. I'm sure you'll make the best decision that fits your needs. plus if you have phone with tethering, don't waste extra money on a 3g unit. it costs alot more for device itself plus you have to add a data plan. tethering is more then good enough. my tethering is fast and good enough to play games online with no issues or slowdowns.
Hey guys,
I own a sensation with stock JB and LOVE android and google's interface to death. I need a laptop for school to take notes and the transformer fits the bill. I keep reading about the wifi bug and am wondering how bad it is? Is it just some devices or all, will I have trouble connecting to networks like a busy library or somewhere weak/loaded with users. I dont really care about GPS, I have my phone with a data plan for that. I was thinking of the tf300 but am worried about breaking the glass and I get the feeling it is fragile as it is not gorilla glass. The infinity is a little out of price range although I am considering trying to buy a used prime from futureshop with extended warranty(owned by bestbuy) and return it and hope for the prime
I dont know about custom roms but Get the Prime only if you're satisfied with casual gaming or browsing, using the prime for school work is just like placing yourself at the edge of a cliff, you'll never know when it'll crash, screen glitch or have a random reboot. File transfers rate using a thumbdrive is dirt slow. The best advice is to wait for the jellybean release and to examine the results and make a decision from there
I love my prime its my 6th but I've finally got a good one. If u get one check the screen very carefully...
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
People who use a custom rom with some tweaks are very happy with it. I use stock and wait for JB. If that does not fix things - I will just install a custom ROM.
Rooted user with ATPTweak and Browser2RAM here. I am very satisfied with my device, using it for college classes and it didn't fail me once. It is great to take notes in SuperNote. Combine that with a camera that is actually good enough to "screenshot" the board from afar and you've got yourself the perfect educational device.
I don't have any of the issues described by other users, except for the occasional ANR when updating apps and using the tablet at the same time.
Very Happy
I bought a second hand one from Craigslist that came with the keyboard. I could not be more satisfied. I know the GPS does not work but I have never needed it. It may reset itself or have an ANR a few times a week, but I game, surf, watch videos all on stock with no problems. I constantly put new ROM's on my phones, so I am sure it could do it on the Prime, but I have never had the need. As to the wireless, it is a little weaker to pick up than say my HTC Sensation, but not so much that it is a problem. My daughter has the Nexus 7 with JB and I think the Prime will only get better with JB.
DeKubus said:
Rooted user with ATPTweak and Browser2RAM here. I am very satisfied with my device, using it for college classes and it didn't fail me once. It is great to take notes in SuperNote. Combine that with a camera that is actually good enough to "screenshot" the board from afar and you've got yourself the perfect educational device.
I don't have any of the issues described by other users, except for the occasional ANR when updating apps and using the tablet at the same time.
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Exact same situation here. I'm not sure that I would still buy it at the same full price today, seeing how close in specs the Nexus 7 is, but it's still a really nice device.
Put reddit.com/r/aaw on the screen and it's also a chick magnet.
waltthizzney said:
Hey guys,
I own a sensation with stock JB and LOVE android and google's interface to death. I need a laptop for school to take notes and the transformer fits the bill. I keep reading about the wifi bug and am wondering how bad it is? Is it just some devices or all, will I have trouble connecting to networks like a busy library or somewhere weak/loaded with users. I dont really care about GPS, I have my phone with a data plan for that. I was thinking of the tf300 but am worried about breaking the glass and I get the feeling it is fragile as it is not gorilla glass. The infinity is a little out of price range although I am considering trying to buy a used prime from futureshop with extended warranty(owned by bestbuy) and return it and hope for the prime
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Click to collapse
As for your original question there is no WiFi bug. On many primes there is a physical manufacturing issue where they did not get proper contact between the antennas that are on the glass side of the device and the ground points with the backplate. Is causes the signals to attenuate at fairly short distance from the router. Don't buy it if they don't let you test it against another tablet unless you plan on opening it up and fixing the issue.
As for what everybody else says, yes stock software is buggy and annoyingly unstable. Jelly bean seems to fix most of what ails the prime. Again I wouldn't buy one unless you plan on voiding the warranty and unlocking for a custom ROM.
Your last sentence bothers me about getting the prime cheap and trying to exchange for what I assume you meant to say was an infinity. Why not just switch the price tags in the store or even easier, steal one?
Its the keyboard
waltthizzney said:
Hey guys,
I own a sensation with stock JB and LOVE android and google's interface to death. I need a laptop for school to take notes and the transformer fits the bill. ....
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Click to collapse
One thing I didn't see anyone mention is the keyboard dock and how its (to my knowledge) unique among Android tablets. The keyboard dock has a usb port that works with everything I've thrown at it including flash drives, track balls, external hard drives, mice, usb card readers, and a usb wired Ethernet adapter. I can also use multiple usb devices at the same time using a small usb hub. About the only issue I've had is if I try to use the wired Ethernet and the external hard drive at the same time. Both work individually and also when used together with a mouse, but I'm guessing they draw too much juice to use at the same time - but that's hardly a limitation. As far as usefulness for school work/note taking etc, I would think the dock and its capabilities offers a huge advantage
As far as buggy software, many or most of the complaints I see seem to revolve around the built in browser - which I have basically never used anyway. I use Chrome and Dolphin and don't have any problems.
My WiFi also works more than adequately. I don't get as good a speed as I do with my Dell laptop but I get better WiFi speed than I do with my Droid 3 phone. So it falls in the midrange of my devices. At work, my office is on the other side of the building from the wifi router with an elevator shaft and a bank of metal file cabinets between me and the router. No device gets a very good signal at my desk. But even in that worst case environment, my prime gets a good enough signal to get my email and do light web surfing - which is as good as any device can do in that location. Its not a problem at home at all. It's not a speed demon by any means but I'm not trying to download huge files with it either (as some have said they do). Since I have a variety of devices available including a desktop and a laptop, I'm not sure why I would choose to do things like that using a tablet anyway. For a big download I'd probably do it on my desktop while I do other things with the tablet. Also, I'm guessing you probably don't need to be doing bit torrents and take notes in a class both at the same time?
Which brings up the question of weather its going to be your only device? If you have a regular computer (either laptop or desktop) I would not worry. IMO there are some tasks that tablets are just not well suited to and I don't see how a student could get away with any tablet as their only computer anyway.
All that said, here are a couple of points:
1. buying it specifically for the purpose of returning it is reprehensible. Don't do it. This sort of behavior is part of the reason electronics are as expensive as they are for everyone else.
2. Given that the Transformer Infinity is out and offers all the same advantages as the Prime, the only reason to go with a prime now is if the price is really, really good. I would say that to be reasonable, a used prime would definitely have to cost less than a new TF300 - since the new TF300 would have a full warranty. Unfortunately Amazon has $324 as the cheapest used prime while I would say no more than about $250 would be a good price for a used one (not including keyboard)
3. You could consider a TF300 which once again offers the keyboard dock with all its advantages for around $300 not including the keyboard.
ratman6161 said:
One thing I didn't see anyone mention is the keyboard dock and how its (to my knowledge) unique among Android tablets. The keyboard dock has a usb port that works with everything I've thrown at it including flash drives, track balls, external hard drives, mice, usb card readers, and a usb wired Ethernet adapter. I can also use multiple usb devices at the same time using a small usb hub. About the only issue I've had is if I try to use the wired Ethernet and the external hard drive at the same time. Both work individually and also when used together with a mouse, but I'm guessing they draw too much juice to use at the same time - but that's hardly a limitation. As far as usefulness for school work/note taking etc, I would think the dock and its capabilities offers a huge advantage
As far as buggy software, many or most of the complaints I see seem to revolve around the built in browser - which I have basically never used anyway. I use Chrome and Dolphin and don't have any problems.
My WiFi also works more than adequately. I don't get as good a speed as I do with my Dell laptop but I get better WiFi speed than I do with my Droid 3 phone. So it falls in the midrange of my devices. At work, my office is on the other side of the building from the wifi router with an elevator shaft and a bank of metal file cabinets between me and the router. No device gets a very good signal at my desk. But even in that worst case environment, my prime gets a good enough signal to get my email and do light web surfing - which is as good as any device can do in that location. Its not a problem at home at all. It's not a speed demon by any means but I'm not trying to download huge files with it either (as some have said they do). Since I have a variety of devices available including a desktop and a laptop, I'm not sure why I would choose to do things like that using a tablet anyway. For a big download I'd probably do it on my desktop while I do other things with the tablet. Also, I'm guessing you probably don't need to be doing bit torrents and take notes in a class both at the same time?
Which brings up the question of weather its going to be your only device? If you have a regular computer (either laptop or desktop) I would not worry. IMO there are some tasks that tablets are just not well suited to and I don't see how a student could get away with any tablet as their only computer anyway.
All that said, here are a couple of points:
1. buying it specifically for the purpose of returning it is reprehensible. Don't do it. This sort of behavior is part of the reason electronics are as expensive as they are for everyone else.
2. Given that the Transformer Infinity is out and offers all the same advantages as the Prime, the only reason to go with a prime now is if the price is really, really good. I would say that to be reasonable, a used prime would definitely have to cost less than a new TF300 - since the new TF300 would have a full warranty. Unfortunately Amazon has $324 as the cheapest used prime while I would say no more than about $250 would be a good price for a used one (not including keyboard)
3. You could consider a TF300 which once again offers the keyboard dock with all its advantages for around $300 not including the keyboard.
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thanks guys..... Why I am buying it is because I want something to take notes on at school in class and when reading chapters in books. I use to have a macbook pro that got destroyed taking it to school on my bike everyday, now I own a Levano Y580... (beast of a laptop btw for a great price) but do not want to lug it around and want to just keep it at home. my last two questions are with note taking apps like the one mentioned, Can you save these notes as DOCS then open them on your windows pc in word? also can you use google docs offline like you can on windows on your prime?
also what are the common issues I should inspect in regards to hardware issues?
waltthizzney said:
thanks guys..... Why I am buying it is because I want something to take notes on at school in class and when reading chapters in books. I use to have a macbook pro that got destroyed taking it to school on my bike everyday, now I own a Levano Y580... (beast of a laptop btw for a great price) but do not want to lug it around and want to just keep it at home. my last two questions are with note taking apps like the one mentioned, Can you save these notes as DOCS then open them on your windows pc in word? also can you use google docs offline like you can on windows on your prime?
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Well, that's getting to more a matter of what software you want to use and how you want to take your notes. Handwriting recognition does not work for me...not on the prime and not on anything else I've tried. Even things that work for others don't work for me. My handwriting is so terrible that it just doesn't work. So I can't speak to that. And I absolutely despise on-screen keyboards as well for anything other than web surfing etc. So the keyboard dock is the biggest reason I chose the prime in the first place...though what works for you is for you to decide.
As to typing notes (which I assume is OK with you since you said you used to do this on a laptop) there are a number of options. You mentioned knowing Android well so I will leave it to you to pick apps that do the job for you. As far as what is on the machine as it comes out of the box, there is Super Note which I don't particularly like. There is also Polaris Office which handles Microsoft Office documents quite well in my opinion). Any 10 inch screen is not going to be that great (once again for me) to do detailed editing, but matched with the keyboard dock it works great for typing notes to be saved as Word docs and transferred to the PC later. However I mostly use Polaris office for reading documents others have sent me.
What I actually use for notes most of the time is Ever Note so that my notes get auto synced to my desktop PC. These can be easily copied and pasted to Word Documents if I wanted to though I rarely actually do that.
As far as Google Docs, I don't really use them but I don't think you can get at them off line (i.e. with no internet connection)
As far as carrying it around every day, well, the tablet can get broken too. So if your Mac Book got "destroyed" then I'm not sure a tablet will fare much better...a lot of it is made of glass after all. But if you are set on a tablet, I don't think the Prime is any more fragile than any other.
---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 PM ----------
waltthizzney said:
also what are the common issues I should inspect in regards to hardware issues?
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That's a question that will typically generate a flame war on this forum between the people who have had problems and those who have not. I'm one of the ones who hasn't had any problems getting it to do the things I want it to do.
But I'll leave it to you to browse the forums and decide for yourself.
ratman6161 said:
Well, that's getting to more a matter of what software you want to use and how you want to take your notes. Handwriting recognition does not work for me...not on the prime and not on anything else I've tried. Even things that work for others don't work for me. My handwriting is so terrible that it just doesn't work. So I can't speak to that. And I absolutely despise on-screen keyboards as well for anything other than web surfing etc. So the keyboard dock is the biggest reason I chose the prime in the first place...though what works for you is for you to decide.
As to typing notes (which I assume is OK with you since you said you used to do this on a laptop) there are a number of options. You mentioned knowing Android well so I will leave it to you to pick apps that do the job for you. As far as what is on the machine as it comes out of the box, there is Super Note which I don't particularly like. There is also Polaris Office which handles Microsoft Office documents quite well in my opinion). Any 10 inch screen is not going to be that great (once again for me) to do detailed editing, but matched with the keyboard dock it works great for typing notes to be saved as Word docs and transferred to the PC later. However I mostly use Polaris office for reading documents others have sent me.
What I actually use for notes most of the time is Ever Note so that my notes get auto synced to my desktop PC. These can be easily copied and pasted to Word Documents if I wanted to though I rarely actually do that.
As far as Google Docs, I don't really use them but I don't think you can get at them off line (i.e. with no internet connection)
As far as carrying it around every day, well, the tablet can get broken too. So if your Mac Book got "destroyed" then I'm not sure a tablet will fare much better...a lot of it is made of glass after all. But if you are set on a tablet, I don't think the Prime is any more fragile than any other.
---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 PM ----------
That's a question that will typically generate a flame war on this forum between the people who have had problems and those who have not. I'm one of the ones who hasn't had any problems getting it to do the things I want it to do.
But I'll leave it to you to browse the forums and decide for yourself.
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thanks for the reply...... Trying to decide between the tf201 which has a nicer screen vs the tf300 which has most bugs fixed and will not get as scratched!
I just got a new Prime on ebay for $300. Did I pay too much considering some of the problems I've been reading about?
kosenn said:
I just got a new Prime on ebay for $300. Did I pay too much considering some of the problems I've been reading about?
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just think you got it $200 cheaper than most of us and if you dont care about warranty all can be fixed or worked around other than (as far as i know) bt/wifi dropout http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1443868&highlight=dropout.
I just got my Prime 201. I tried to upgrade from 3.2.1 and it shows no updates available. The build number is HTk75.us_epad-8.8.3.33-20111223.
kosenn said:
I just got my Prime 201. I tried to upgrade from 3.2.1 and it shows no updates available. The build number is HTk75.us_epad-8.8.3.33-20111223.
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so go to asus and download one if its available. they have instructions there too. This is of course not in the least bit applicable to the thread you have posted in. (OMG listen to me, I have become my father)