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Transformer Prime Champagne Gold impressions
Well, as karma has it, I was able to get a 32GB Champagne Gold Transformer Prime, with the dock, last Friday and played with it over the weekend.
I was worried about many of the problems people were reporting and I was slightly afraid when starting up the device, I did not want to see bad light bleeds or dead pixels and so on. While the tablet itself ended up being perfect, I was still hit with a crippling bug of the keyboard dock not being able to be used for typing at all.
I found it almost ironic that I ended up with a serious flaw like that. I really thought that forums give a wrong impression about ASUS quality control, but reality is that it really is very, very bad. It is almost like gambling, chance that you'll get a functioning device without flaws that will annoy you from the very beginning, are very low.
I'll get the device replaced and essentially add to the pile of devices that are being returned to ASUS. But that aside, here are my impressions about the tablet, since I did use the tablet without the keyboard quite a bit.
Champagne Gold is absolutely beautiful in real life. It is a really attractive looking device, it's not as 'white' as Apple's aluminum devices are and is so much better for it with the slight golden gue making it look less clinical. Pictures don't do it justice, Champagne Gold Transformer Prime is the best looking tablet I've held in my hands.
The build is also very sturdy. I am glad I did not go for one of the plastic built tablets of yesteryear as I really love the feel of the tablet when I hold it. It is slightly heavier than I expected but only because I've never used tablets this extensively before.
Of course this design has its drawbacks, such as very weak GPS, but I tend to use my phone for GPS due to assisted GPS from cell towers, which is just much quicker. As for WiFi issues, I did not notice any, but I also did not run any speed tests. I mostly make the tablet use my phone as source of internet and it didn't have any problems doing so.
The first bootup ran Honeycomb and I immediately noticed that it simply did not run smoothly despite quad-core processing power driving it. But I liked the screen and after wiping the screen properly, touch responsiveness was good.
A mere 15 minutes later the device had updated itself to Android 4.0 and I had no stutter or lag issues anymore when moving around the menus or using the browser.
The screen is really beautiful and bright with good contrast. And the external sound is better than I expected. I watched the new 30 Rock episode with girlfriend on a couch and it was a nice experience, much better than trying to hold a laptop comfortably while watching a show. MX video player works very well on Prime, I watched Boardwalk Empire on my way back home on a train and it is a great device for extended viewing. It is amazing how much more natural it feels to watch series or movies on a tablet device like this as opposed to laptop.
Most apps seem to run quite well on Prime. But Android has its drawbacks on tablets, a lot of really great looking games do not have HD versions, making them look less attractive on the screen. Some of my favorites such as truly amazing World of Goo and Cut the Rope worked well on Prime, but their beautiful art was stretched to full screen, making the games look less magical than they felt when I was playing them on my Galaxy Nexus phone (which has a similar resolution to Prime, but far smaller screen).
I tried to use my tablet as a netbook, but without working keyboard I coould not really give it as much of a go as I hoped. But browsing around in the internet was fast and smooth and I really like Android for a tablet OS.
Battery lasted less than I hoped, but I cannot say it was bad since I did not charge it enough times for it to live up to its full potential. But I did not have to charge it while I was using, so it did not cause any battery stress.
I also liked that ASUS does not enforce its things on the user. Majority of pre-installed apps can be disabled and ASUS own enhancements are good for the device. They did not add anything that felt like bloatware.
As for the screen, yes it is certainly a fingerprint magnet. It does not bother me until I start watching a movie or whatnot. Makes me feel like I should clean it up because it simply is dirty (even when hands are less oily and have recently been washed).
Is this the best tablet I have ever used? Not really, iPad 2 is still a better media and content consumption device and I find Prime a much less comfortable to use when held in portrait mode as opposed to iPad 2 (but of course widescreen videos are much better on Prime as a result). But I can really see how the keyboard dock can enhance the Prime experience enough for me to never consider iPad 3, even if it comes out with HD screen and even better battery life.
I should also make additional note about the keyboard dock. I don't find the build of the keyboard dock to be as good as I hoped, it angles up really awkwardly on the Prime when screen is lifted, the back hinge is basically the thing it starts 'resting' on and differently from the rubber it rests on in front of the dock, the back rests on plastic knob-thingies, which have less grip. So on a less sturdy surface or when typing, the device is prone to move a lot more than you'd expect.
To sum things up, ASUS did a good job at everything except quality control and body design for GPS. If it had 3G, better WiFi and functioning GPS I would easily grade it the best tablet ever, but right now I don't see iPad 2 being actually dethroned before the end of this year where Google's rumoured tablet and possibly another Transformer can really kick things up a notch.
2012 is the year of 4G and HD screens on tablets, but I must say I did not really think Prime needs a HD screen. It is not because it would not look more beautiful - it would and I can easily see pixels when reading the web on Prime - but I just think that Android market won't catch up to HD apps before 2013. Today most apps look stretched and the apps that don't, do not seem to need HD anyway.
But yes, a wonderful device, just make sure to not throw away the box and other items so you can quickly refund, since chance has it that it might come with a hardware flaw or two.
Nice well written review.
Got it exchanged and keyboard works now! By the way, those wishing to buy it in Estonia, it seems to be sold downtown in both Euronics and Klick stores. Can't be bought online yet and seems to be only the champagne gold 32gb model.
Thx for the review man
On thing i want to add though: You have to compare the transformer prime to the ipad2 wifi only. If you want to compare it at all. And that device has no gps module at all, so a more or less working gps is still better than none at all.
But those comparisons are fundamentally flawed imho. I buy a device because of its features. iPad and TP offer very different things which results in the situation that there are fans of one device (because it has everything they wish for) and fans of the other one debating which one is better...
In the end there is only "whats better for you" and never "whats better for everyone". For me its clearly the Prime.
Dude i get carried away again. My Prime shall arrive! NOW!
I'm with you with the Champagne Gold color.
The photos online do not give justice to the Champagne Gold color as it is absolutely beautiful in real life.
The Gold hue does not overpower the Aluminum Color and has a rather subtle hint to it.
Excellent review. A good model for all to follow!
My "purplish" grey one is to arrive tomorrow....wish I could have ordered the champagne colour. I'll probably end up putting a skinomi skin on the back as I'm not really into the purple tones...plus, I heard the aluminum scratches easily.
i haven't read the full review... but you found a gold dock in stores? or online? where? i didn't even think it existed.
oasis9389 said:
i haven't read the full review... but you found a gold dock in stores? or online? where? i didn't even think it existed.
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+1. Where is this mythical gold dock? Surely not the one I've had on BB preorder since late November? lol <bangs head into wall>
I'm using a Champagne Prime mated with a Gray dock. I actually like the look better than a matched set. Something to think about if you can't find a Champagne dock...
wynand32 said:
I'm using a Champagne Prime mated with a Gray dock. I actually like the look better than a matched set. Something to think about if you can't find a Champagne dock...
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can you post some pics?
Just as an FYI, your prime screen is capable of 720p hd video playback, just not 1080p. still HD, just not the best HD. Great review though.
oasis9389 said:
i haven't read the full review... but you found a gold dock in stores? or online? where? i didn't even think it existed.
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ASUS is selling 32GB Champagne Gold TF201's in Estonia, it's the EU version (tablet and dock in one). And it is also localized, with local adapter and US keyboard that has russian letters in the corner (we also have a large number of russians living here).
irishtexmex said:
+1. Where is this mythical gold dock? Surely not the one I've had on BB preorder since late November? lol <bangs head into wall>
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It seems that ASUS did not just do a UK launch, it was an EU launch and a lot of tablets are being sold in various countries, often without advertisements. Here we have Champagne Gold one, sold 2-in-1, dock and tablet. I haven't seen Amethyst Grey being sold anywhere here (and we seem to have two chains selling TF201's without ads at the moment).
It just shows how little this tablet is really known outside these forums and tech world. People don't know about it. Stores don't even know that they have the hottest Android tablet on their shelves.
clouds5 said:
Thx for the review man
On thing i want to add though: You have to compare the transformer prime to the ipad2 wifi only. If you want to compare it at all. And that device has no gps module at all, so a more or less working gps is still better than none at all.
But those comparisons are fundamentally flawed imho. I buy a device because of its features. iPad and TP offer very different things which results in the situation that there are fans of one device (because it has everything they wish for) and fans of the other one debating which one is better...
In the end there is only "whats better for you" and never "whats better for everyone". For me its clearly the Prime.
Dude i get carried away again. My Prime shall arrive! NOW!
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Well, true, but it is worth a comparison simply because you would not own a Prime and an iPad 2 together, they overlap in functionality. I will still recommend iPad 2 to anyone who is not a tech person as I believe that today it is a better device for content consumption and don't believe Android will catch up in app-market with HD apps and experience at least until 2013.
I am really neutral in that opinion here, I own an Android 4.0 phone and tablet now, I love Android. But today iPad 2 is a better tablet for an average person even if you don't consider GPS, WiFi quality or 3G existence important.
I would not buy Android for my grandparents, if I had to choose I would buy them iPad 2.
But anyways, I love it. Those of us who know tech and prefer Android, this is a brilliant device if your device does not have issues resulted from bad quality control.
Conduitz said:
Just as an FYI, your prime screen is capable of 720p hd video playback, just not 1080p. still HD, just not the best HD. Great review though.
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Thank you for the correction.
I am about to order one, so how is it compared to a laptop? i wanna sell my laptop and use Prime all the time insted, btw how did you use you phones internet? thats called tethering? or some bluetooth function ?
vitalero said:
I am about to order one, so how is it compared to a laptop? i wanna sell my laptop and use Prime all the time insted, btw how did you use you phones internet? thats called tethering? or some bluetooth function ?
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Think you might struggle to use this as a laptop replacement - depending on what you use your laptop for.
Yes, it's called tethering - setting your phone up as a wifi hotspot then connecting your tablet to it. No bluetooth needed. However, some Prime users report issues with this since the ICS update.
And more opinions!
I've had the chance to use the keyboard dock for a while, as well as test out a variety of apps. Some apps are much better in HD on a tablet, this surprised me quite a bit. For example IMDB app is really good on tablet and gMail (and really, all Google apps) is very high quality.
Apps run quickly and without problems. I also haven't noticed any problems with the tablet I got for exchange, no dead pixels. There's faint backlight bleed near one corner but I can not notice it while using a tablet unless brightness setting is too high and screen itself full of black colors.
As for the keyboard. I really love that it is Android focused keyboard. The keys make sense and are intuitive. It really is the first time I've felt comfortable with a keyboard that is similar to old school Windows keyboards, while never making me feel like it is one of those 'modified' PC keyboards. The top row buttons are all very useful, there are no bloated keys.
At first I wished there was 'recent apps' key, but there isn't. Alt+Tab does exist, but since there is no Alt key on the left hand side of the keyboard, you have to use two hands for it (I always Alt+Tab with left hand on my PC). So that's a bit annoying.
Keyboard itself is comfortable to write on if you've used smaller netbooks before. It takes a short time getting used to since at first you expect keys to be further apart, but adjustment does not take long. Feel of the keys is really good and they are well built, I like that spacebar, while long, goes down on both sides if you only press on one side. While it seems simple and does not look as expensive as Macbook Air keyboard, it feels really well built.
The dock also protects the tablet really well. The keys are not elevated on the dock, so they don't touch or get close to tablet screen and leave marks of any kind on the screen in the long run (this happened with my nice Compaq netbook 311C that had a beautiful LED screen that just looked worn thanks to keyboard after a while). Dock is also separated from the tablet with little rubber knobs
The touchpad is basically pointless, I am not sure why it is even needed, but I like that it is there in case I ever would need it. Using screen touch is simply faster, since apps are usually built keeping that in mind. Touchpad is just slower in comparison. I did however find it helpful when writing a lot of text and needing to correct something. It is also great that you can turn the touchpad off so it doesn't activate by accident while you are typing.
Certain apps are also less-keyboard friendly. While typing is supported all around, certain apps are less friendly when it comes to common usability features such as tab key changing selected input field (like going from username to password). You cannot really use the tablet without resorting to touching the screen every now and then, but I must admit that it is better than I originally expected. I actually like having the keyboard on, since on-screen keyboard is really something I don't like to resort to.
I did notice that capacitive pens are not very good on Transformer Prime screen. I have cleaned the screen very well, but capacitive pens are not sensed unless brushing them more noticably against the screen. The pen is a high quality one originally built for iPad 2 by Bamboo, worlds leading company when it comes to graphic tablets. I guess the non-air-pad type capacitive pens would work better though.
For some other things that are not as perfect as they could be, there is a very tiny amount of lag in the system at times when using the keyboard. It is certainly not as responsive as a keyboard should be if you, say, played competitive first person shooter games. But it doesn't really annoy and some apps are better than others at it. This will possibly improve even further with newer Android or firmware updates since it is not a hardware issue at all.
One thing I can tell you though is that TF201 makes quite an impression. I've shown it to two friends and the dock really makes the tablet. It takes away one of the most uncomfortable things about tablets - typing on that awkward screen - as well as offers natural protection without needing a case to protect the screen. Two of my friends who played with it were very impressed. If there's an Android device to wow people who only really know about iPad, it is not good to show the tablet without the dock - since it is just too similar - but the dock helps it really set it apart.
vitalero said:
I am about to order one, so how is it compared to a laptop? i wanna sell my laptop and use Prime all the time insted, btw how did you use you phones internet? thats called tethering? or some bluetooth function ?
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When using it as a replacement for a netbook, the device works really well. But one has to keep in mind that it is a content-consumption device. You can draw sketches here or write essays, but it is really something that you should consider as a replacement for netbook if you mostly watch movies or surf the internet on your netbook. You are still faster with a netbook if you need to do more intensive work.
But pay attention that I said 'netbook', not laptop. Laptop is still a better device, if you don't have a desktop PC, then I suggest keeping laptop around, since at times it is simply needed to 'create' more than consume. You cannot develop on Android, really edit videos or photoshop pictures or do extensive office work.
When it comes to sharing the internet then yes, I have an unlimited data plan on my phone so I can easily tether my 3G connection. It is not as fast as tablet itself having a 3G, but it is still quite good. I don't stream videos on my tablet usually or if I do, I have a better WiFi connection somewhere. For on-the-go use, it works really well.
-
Some people also requested I post a picture of the dock that has Russian letters. It is a US dock, but if you select Russian as Android language, you can easily use the dock as well, since it shows where the letters are located. For Estonians (if any of you are out there), there is no Estonian layout supported sadly and from what I was told, there won't be one. Contents of the TF201 box however are Estonian, it has Estonian manual and everything.
Why was this thread moved to 'accessories'?
kristovaher said:
Some people also requested I post a picture of the dock that has Russian letters. It is a US dock, but if you select Russian as Android language, you can easily use the dock as well, since it shows where the letters are located. For Estonians (if any of you are out there), there is no Estonian layout supported sadly and from what I was told, there won't be one. Contents of the TF201 box however are Estonian, it has Estonian manual and everything.
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Thanks for this info. But I have a question, sorry my stupidity. What does "it shows where the letters are located" mean? There is no secondary letter set on a US keyboard dock (you said it is a US dock). And the only way in my opinion is - to have a Russian phonetic layout added to ASUS keyboard, so it will be possible to use US dock and type in Russian for those do not remember by heart location of Russian "QWERTY" layout ("ЙЦУКЕН"). I am looking desperately for this possibility - with Russian phonetic layout for ASUS keyboard life will be perfect . I can type Russian using on-screen keyboard but this is not nice when using dock. If you have any info about this - it will be very helpful.
Thanks
EugeneR said:
Thanks for this info. But I have a question, sorry my stupidity. What does "it shows where the letters are located" mean? There is no secondary letter set on a US keyboard dock (you said it is a US dock). And the only way in my opinion is - to have a Russian phonetic layout added to ASUS keyboard, so it will be possible to use US dock and type in Russian for those do not remember by heart location of Russian "QWERTY" layout ("ЙЦУКЕН"). I am looking desperately for this possibility - with Russian phonetic layout for ASUS keyboard life will be perfect . I can type Russian using on-screen keyboard but this is not nice when using dock. If you have any info about this - it will be very helpful.
Thanks
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In the keyboard dock picture he attached you can see the actual Russian phonetic layout on the buttons, so it's not exactly the US dock, but like a US dock with Russian phonetic layout added to the buttons.
Someone is offering me $450 for my Transformer Prime with the Keyboard dock. I am tempted to accept it, and wait for the prime or another tablet.
My problem with my tablet are the very weak wifi connection (for example, I cannot play HD videos on my TP whereas my EVO 4G plays the same videos with no problem at all, 3mb download while my computer gets 12mb), the lack of GPS connectivity (I have never been able to view a single satellite using GPS test), and I hate that ASUS chose to put only one speaker, which makes listening not really pleasant.
Do you think I should accept it or should I hope that ASUS will find a way to amke things better on the TP?
I don't know what kind of issues you have had, but I guess the question is do they make the tablet unusable for you, or do they just irritate you because you paid a premium for a high end tablet and (quite rightfully) expect it to work as advertised ? I ordered my Prime back in December, Amazon was out of stock and I had to wait, during the wait I read up on all the issues and seriously considered cancelling my order, but decided to give it a chance, Amazon's no hassle return policy helped a lot in this regard. I'm glad I decided to give it a whirl because the Prime meets my needs and is going to allow me to lighten up the gadget load while travelling, by replacing one of my laptops, my Kindle and potentially my iPod.
I have had my Prime for all of 8 days and so far I am pleased. The thing OTA'd itself to Sammich and presumably applied the wi-fi and GPS patches at that time. From what I have seen the wi-fi range isn't stunning, but it's more than adequate. The Wi-Fi King at my house is my little Toshiba NB201, it out ranges every other device we have in the place and it typically runs 3-8 db stronger than the Prime. But the Prime is right there with my iPod Touch, and seems a bit stronger than my wife's Toshiba laptop. GPS is so so, and that's not a real issue for me, but it'll lock up pretty quickly outside, and within 30 seconds in the house. I can't complain much about that. I have seen some of the other issues that people complain about, the browser was pretty dodgy for a couple of days after the Sammich update, I also noticed screen flicker after playing Spirit off the Market, but both those issues appear to have either fixed themselves, or the Prime pulled a fast one and updated without telling me. Either way they are fixed. I'd be hard pressed to take a $250-$350 hit unless the tablet was just unusable for my intended purpose. I hope this helps and good luck with your Prime, if you keep it make sure you hold Asus feet to the fire to get it fixed.
tablet and keyboard for $450 and you still thinking about it. Even if you don't want to keep it you can make profit out of it
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Yep, I'd buy it off of you for that too. Why don't you throw in a SquareTrade warranty in and make this a perfect deal?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
I was considering accepting because I am right now disappointed by the fact that I cannot watch HD videos on the net and, frankly, if a device is wifi only, the wifi connection should not suffer any weakness, and in my case, it makes me feel I have a useless device if I cannot do my favorite things on it. Also the fact that ASUS is releasing a new version of the transformer with a different back plate makes me think they now there is a problem with the current device and they are not able to fix it. But on second thought, I will keep it and hope ASUS does something to improve my experience.
Wendemixda said:
I was considering accepting because I am right now disappointed by the fact that I cannot watch HD videos on the net and, frankly, if a device is wifi only, the wifi connection should not suffer any weakness, and in my case, it makes me feel I have a useless device if I cannot do my favorite things on it. Also the fact that ASUS is releasing a new version of the transformer with a different back plate makes me think they now there is a problem with the current device and they are not able to fix it. But on second thought, I will keep it and hope ASUS does something to improve my experience.
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Lol the TF700 is just hteir "next" product that won't be out until the summer. People have also proved that hte case isn't what caused the issue. It's a bad connection to the antennas.
That said, the tablet plus dock cost $650. Are you saying you'd accept $200 less than what it costs???
nhshah7 said:
Lol the TF700 is just hteir "next" product that won't be out until the summer. People have also proved that hte case isn't what caused the issue. It's a bad connection to the antennas.
That said, the tablet plus dock cost $650. Are you saying you'd accept $200 less than what it costs???
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Someone would have to be a fool to accept that kind of loss....lmfao device still brand new...
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
With all the complaints in this forum, you'd think this was a bad device.
I'll tell you, over in the tf101 forum there was no where near as many complaints and the tf101 wasn't the perfect device either.
The prime is an improvement in alot of ways.
The tf101 had backlight bleeds, I went through 3 of them before I settled.
The tf101 was sluggish, no one here can fully respect the power of the tegra 3 processor without experiencing the tegra 2. The boot time was like 4 minutes, it was slow in alot of areas that the prime isn't.
It had to use honeycomb up until 2 weeks ago, that's about a year - prime owners got it asap with a slew of support from asus for the gps/wifi issues.
The tf101 had keyboard dock issues, alot of the docks had to be sent back in.
It was fat and plastic. It was brown. It collected dust under it's camera.
It wasn't perfect.
But what device is? Galaxy tabs are diet vanilla, nothing really special or innovative about them. The follow the ipad status quo. Toshiba tabs are jokes on battery life. Acers are humongous. Ipads use proprietary apple garbage and are extremely limited by their OEM.
When I got my prime I would grip this thing tightly and say to myself "I own a ****ing transformer prime".
I waited for this thing for months through using my tf101, when everyone was hoping Q4 release meant October, but october stretched on to november, and then december when it finally came out.
But this exceptional tablet gets overshadowed by a couple of it's faults, rather than how great it's advantages are.
We own the world's first quad core tablet, it's thin, it's beautiful, it get's ridiculous battery life with it's incredibly well designed keyboard dock. We have usb connectivity, micro sd, full sized sd, hdmi, etc. Some devices don't have any of those, let alone all of them like we do.
Sure something better will come. Maybe you want a more expensive Ipad 3 with a redundant screen resolution, slower cpu, thicker design to compensate for it's thirst of excessive battery life, and lack of expansion. It's not perfect and the devices after it won't be either...
It's time we be happy prime owners. Asus did design a good device, and they don't receive credit where credit is due. I'm proud to own this tablet.
@OP: The Church of Primetology seeks chaplain
!Hail to you, oh holy Prime, father of connection lacking communication specialists!
Forgive me that I don't see your creators wisdom as he provided you also with that microsd slot so this shall be your door to the world.
Just let your green light shine and don't punch the xcsd out again because I will not find it in the sewage where I would be looking for my missing GPS if you hadn't already disappeared somewhere on a shelf of the ASUS repdep. Thank you for having enlighten my life longer than a week. Which is exceptional or was it the rule?
Give me a thank or another tablet will you.
I endorse the OP post. I ran out of thanks. good viewpoint/angle on the situation. preach on my brother thrash all those who committed sins against the prime. they need redemption NOW! lol
lolololololololol
Agree w the OP. I ranted about its short comings when I first got it, but after using it for a few weeks, I love it. It really is a beautiful device and fast. Its my first tab so maybe my expectations were too high at first.
BTW, what do you mean by redundant screen?
This a great device once you get it to work without crash. Everything's stable for me on .15 nd the browsing is super fast thanks to OC 1.6ghz ... its perfect for what I do
Honestly looking at benchmark (I'm at 13162) scores its the best android device out now by far
Sent from my HERO200 using xda premium
I really like it. I'm not an Asus fanboy, in fact I try as hard as possible to not be a fanboy of anything.
That being said, there were and are shortcomings. But over time the bugs will get ironed out, CM9 and other ROM makers will do some wonders.
I don't know, when I use the Prime (especially with the new floaty browser!) I feel more like I'm using a computer, not an appliance. You know, file management is in my hands, I can f*** around with the OS, break it if I want. Whenever I use my friends' or coworkers' iDevices they just feel like appliances with a shallow OS.
But I'm not trying to sell anyone on it. Some people like it, some people don't. I like seams, I like tinkering. I learn more from it. All those folks complaining about their wifi, gps, screen issues; I guarantee you they have learned MUCH more about those aspects of mobile computing because of those faults.
demandarin said:
I endorse the OP post. I ran out of thanks. good viewpoint/angle on the situation. preach on my brother thrash all those who committed sins against the prime. they need redemption NOW! lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol how do you run out of thanks?
nhshah7 said:
lol how do you run out of thanks?
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Click to collapse
the thanks button underneath a post. you only have 8 per day.
NastroGlide said:
BTW, what do you mean by redundant screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OP probably means retina display shows everything so cristallclear now you can look at it through a microscope...
Give me a thank or another tablet will you.
this is kind of weird and hard to understand how you guys settle with a device that has a lot of design flaws on both hardware and software. Asus transformer prime was my first tablet. And to be honest the one I got had nearly no light bleed, an okay wifi, kind of working GPS and fairly stable device in comparison with the horror stories that we all know through the forum. I made the though call return my transformer prime one day before my return window. The idea I had was wait a little until Asus get the problems fixed and buy a great one. However, I realized that I have to have a tablet as waiting for a fixed transformer. So I went ahead and bought a Samsung galaxy tab from Costco which has a 90 days return window. Here is my impression out of my first 10 days
-way stable. Had to reboot only one time due to firmware upgrade.
-no hiccups as I use or browse. It is dual core but performs way better than the balance mode of transformer
-screen readability is better than transformer
-wifi, GPS and Bluetooth works in a way it is suposed to be
- Form factor way comfortable than prime. No sharp uncomfortable edges. Way better feeling in your hand. I don't believe I would have written this.
-battery last way longer than prime
There are a few benefits that prime has over.
super ips display is better for outdoor use
Tergra 3 may be better for tegra optimized games. But I am not a game person and use my tablet for business.
prizm74 said:
this is kind of weird and hard to understand how you guys settle with a device that has a lot of design flaws on both hardware and software. Asus transformer prime was my first tablet. And to be honest the one I got had nearly no light bleed, an okay wifi, kind of working GPS and fairly stable device in comparison with the horror stories that we all know through the forum. I made the though call return my transformer prime one day before my return window. The idea I had was wait a little until Asus get the problems fixed and buy a great one. However, I realized that I have to have a tablet as waiting for a fixed transformer. So I went ahead and bought a Samsung galaxy tab from Costco which has a 90 days return window. Here is my impression out of my first 10 days
-way stable. Had to reboot only one time due to firmware upgrade.
-no hiccups as I use or browse. It is dual core but performs way better than the balance mode of transformer
-screen readability is better than transformer
-wifi, GPS and Bluetooth works in a way it is suposed to be
- Form factor way comfortable than prime. No sharp uncomfortable edges. Way better feeling in your hand. I don't believe I would have written this.
-battery last way longer than prime
There are a few benefits that prime has over.
super ips display is better for outdoor use
Tergra 3 may be better for tegra optimized games. But I am not a game person and use my tablet for business.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Galaxy tab smoother than the prime, that's cute haha. I can see how those sharp rounded corners would be a pain seeing as how they would break the laws of physics and all, can't be having that.
I'm just meeting with you though, to each his own
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
prizm74 said:
this is kind of weird and hard to understand how you guys settle with a device that has a lot of design flaws on both hardware and software. Asus transformer prime was my first tablet. And to be honest the one I got had nearly no light bleed, an okay wifi, kind of working GPS and fairly stable device in comparison with the horror stories that we all know through the forum. I made the though call return my transformer prime one day before my return window. The idea I had was wait a little until Asus get the problems fixed and buy a great one. However, I realized that I have to have a tablet as waiting for a fixed transformer. So I went ahead and bought a Samsung galaxy tab from Costco which has a 90 days return window. Here is my impression out of my first 10 days
-way stable. Had to reboot only one time due to firmware upgrade.
-no hiccups as I use or browse. It is dual core but performs way better than the balance mode of transformer
-screen readability is better than transformer
-wifi, GPS and Bluetooth works in a way it is suposed to be
- Form factor way comfortable than prime. No sharp uncomfortable edges. Way better feeling in your hand. I don't believe I would have written this.
-battery last way longer than prime
There are a few benefits that prime has over.
super ips display is better for outdoor use
Tergra 3 may be better for tegra optimized games. But I am not a game person and use my tablet for business.
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a few things i hate about the galaxy tab 10.1 wifi was the newton rings on the screen...it gets worse and worse over time.
also it did not have a microsd slot nor a micro hdmi.
those were the deal breakers for me
less people complained about Toyotas having brakes that didnt work than have whined like babies about this TOY. and look at that, Toyota's still the #1 car manufacturer. so when people say we ''settled'' for our Primes, they are sorely mistaken. my Prime had to settle for ME as a user, as it is FAR beyond anything i can hope to do. I love my Prime, best gadget I ever bought
agree with the OP
I completely agree with the OP.
This device is really top notch.
Build quality is amazing, quad core is very nice (definitely will be more utilized in the close future, thank you xda ), multitasking is just awesome.
Converting from an ipad, I can safely say BYE APPLE!
Yes the "new ipad" has an amazing screen, I'll take the TFP thank you.
NastroGlide said:
Agree w the OP. I ranted about its short comings when I first got it, but after using it for a few weeks, I love it. It really is a beautiful device and fast. Its my first tab so maybe my expectations were too high at first.
BTW, what do you mean by redundant screen?
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Yeah...........wouldn't want to expect what was advertised !
Design? Who else designs a micro sd card slot that once a card is inserted, it can "Self" eject at any time !
The only thing ground breaking with this tablet is Tegra 3 and an all metal back............but I think we all know why no one else uses an all metal back, by now!
stretchwookie said:
less people complained about Toyotas having brakes that didnt work than have whined like babies about this TOY. and look at that, Toyota's still the #1 car manufacturer. so when people say we ''settled'' for our Primes, they are sorely mistaken. my Prime had to settle for ME as a user, as it is FAR beyond anything i can hope to do. I love my Prime, best gadget I ever bought
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I hate to correct you, but Toyota lost 16% of sales last year and is now no.3 after GM and VW (by a wide margin). Having said that I also have only good things to say about my lovely Prime, but it`s certainly important to note, that I don`t really use the GPS, since that duty is up to my GN. In any case I also respect other opinions, but life is sometimes nicer looking at a glass that is half full compared to viewing it as half empty
Coming from the Acer Iconia A500, I can honestly say that the ATP is WAY better in every way but one. The wifi is slightly poorer than on the Acer. That one was far from perfect either when coming to wifi. And the ranting in the Acer forum is way way less than on this forum.
I am simply AMAZED that some people expect their tablet to have a functionel GPS INDOORS!!! I can´t even get satelite lock indoors with my Garmin car gps.
I fixed the wifi problem quite simply by adding a second wifi router in the house using the house wires. And people complain about not getting a signal when they are other places than home... I just bring my own wifi in the form of a Huawei E586 (Search on Ebay)
On my Acer I had poor wifi, sluggish scrolling and browsing, squicky body, and a front and back part that did not want to stay together down in the left corner, Heavy, FAT, poor battery compared to the ATP, no alternatives regarding dockingstation.....the list just goes on.
And worst of all compared to ATP... Acers EXTREMLY POOR customer service. If you think that ASUS has bad service...try Acer!!!
Updates took forever compared to other tablet makers. I think the tf101 and Xoom got HC 3.2 about 2 months before any Acer tablet did.
I think that Acer A500/501/200 users still have to wait yet another couple of months before they get ICS.
When the A500 came out it had HC 3.0 and people had to wait several months to even get the HC 3.1. If you have ever tried the HC 3.0 you would be reluctant to even so much as try to complain about the ATP.
So if you think that ASUS works slowly to fix things.... THINK AGAIN!!
prizm74 said:
this is kind of weird and hard to understand how you guys settle with a device that has a lot of design flaws on both hardware and software. Asus transformer prime was my first tablet. And to be honest the one I got had nearly no light bleed, an okay wifi, kind of working GPS and fairly stable device in comparison with the horror stories that we all know through the forum. I made the though call return my transformer prime one day before my return window. The idea I had was wait a little until Asus get the problems fixed and buy a great one. However, I realized that I have to have a tablet as waiting for a fixed transformer. So I went ahead and bought a Samsung galaxy tab from Costco which has a 90 days return window. Here is my impression out of my first 10 days
-way stable. Had to reboot only one time due to firmware upgrade.
-no hiccups as I use or browse. It is dual core but performs way better than the balance mode of transformer
-screen readability is better than transformer
-wifi, GPS and Bluetooth works in a way it is suposed to be
- Form factor way comfortable than prime. No sharp uncomfortable edges. Way better feeling in your hand. I don't believe I would have written this.
-battery last way longer than prime
There are a few benefits that prime has over.
super ips display is better for outdoor use
Tergra 3 may be better for tegra optimized games. But I am not a game person and use my tablet for business.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HAHA your funny!!!! I have both sitting right in front of me and I can tell you the galaxy tab doesn't even come close to the performance as our primes. I have to test on both with our applications at work and I cringe every time I pick it up. Even the ipads 1's perform better then that brick.
I'm thinking about getting a tablet for about 300 bucks, I dont want to really spend much more than that. Do you guys suggest the Prime or the TF300? Is there any other I should look at for this price range that have a quad core w/ microsd and hdmi? I was looking at maybe the refurbs on newegg, does anyone have experience with their refurbs? Thanks for any suggestions.
Don't buy another Asus
Sent from my ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 using xda app-developers app
I honestly wouldn't recommend it, I'd say the least to go for a Nexus 7. This thread doesn't necessarily need to be a other long winded rant about the dreadful i/o speeds that creates lag coupled with the horrible wifi problems that come along with the aluminium back cover which can be solved using a stretch of aluminium foil pasted on your prime. Buttttttt! If typing is your kind of thing the Transformer series as a whole does seem to be the best package although there are other alternatives like a N7 or your phone coupled with a blue tooth keyboard
Honestly the Transformer Prime is a damn good tablet....if you get one of the later versions where Asus 'fixed' a few things. My WiFi isn't terrible. I can get nearly full bars all around my house which is decently sized with an excessive amount of walls. I even get service through the wet-wall (the one with all the pipes for the toilets and such) and 2 other normal walls. I/O isn't truly terrible if you don't use stock kernels. Asus fudged an amazingly powerful tablet. People that use my Prime always say "I can see why you paid $500 for that thing. It's AWESOME!". But it's up to you man. The N7 is great but has it's issues too (maybe Asus fudged another tab? who knows).
Well.. Not to say that everyone is having a bad experience with the Prime but if you're going to make a purchase, no one can say for sure what you're in stall for
McJesus15 said:
Honestly the Transformer Prime is a damn good tablet....if you get one of the later versions where Asus 'fixed' a few things. My WiFi isn't terrible. I can get nearly full bars all around my house which is decently sized with an excessive amount of walls. I even get service through the wet-wall (the one with all the pipes for the toilets and such) and 2 other normal walls. I/O isn't truly terrible if you don't use stock kernels. Asus fudged an amazingly powerful tablet. People that use my Prime always say "I can see why you paid $500 for that thing. It's AWESOME!". But it's up to you man. The N7 is great but has it's issues too (maybe Asus fudged another tab? who knows).
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Good assessment. I have an early S/N Prime (STOCK - NOT ROOTED or UNLOCKED) and it still WOW's people who play with it. Mine has decent WiFi, I can stream music from my house to my detached garage (about 40 feet from the house) with no problems. Every device will have problems; it's just the nature of the technology right now. My wife's iPad has had some issues connecting and staying connected to our network at home (old Linksys router) so maybe a lot of WiFi problems people reported right after the Primes launch was due to older wireless routers being used. Is the Prime perfect? No but it is still one of the fastest tablets so far. I received the dock this Christmas and it truly "TRANSFORMS" the whole user experience. I'm not a big fan of touchscreen keyboards so the dock was a must when I was considering a device like this. Plus the extra battery, full size USB port and full size SD card port on the keyboard set the Asus Transformer line apart from the competition IMHO. I recommend the Prime all the time.
I have to ask, aren't the nexus 7s made by Asus? I don't quite understand why you'd tell someone not to buy a prime because Asus sucks and then suggest to buy a nexus 7 if they are both manufactured by Asus.
I have had my prime since Christmas. I bought it used on swappa and at first was not impressed as it came with CM10 and on ics firmware. I did the nvflash and updated it to jellybean and loaded hairybean. I absolutely love this thing. It's fast, responsive, and all around not what people complain about on here. Did I just get a good one? Am I not as picky as other people? I don't understand what the problem is. I guess it could be worse, you could have bought a Samsung galaxy tab and not had a sd slot or jellybean. The prime blows it out of the water. I have also done side by side with ipad2 and the prime out performs it as well.
End rant. Just my 2 cents.