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Hey all,
I've been looking around trying to decide what to get for on-the-go work since my last laptop died. I want something more portable (weighs less) than your normal laptop, and I really don't need the power. The Transformer Prime definitely has the power, but I'm not sure if it has the same or adequate functionality and so I'm thinking maybe I should get a netbook or ultrabook instead.
I'm a computer science major, and I also do web development and work on apps in my spare time. Here are the things I would be using the tab for:
-Textbook replacement: Biggest reason for going with the Transformer, I'm sick of paying for textbooks and since I can download them, I'm going to forego the $500 fee for my education.
-Coding: I'm currently studying C++, so I would need to be able to write and (possibly) compile relatively small programs (largest would probably be a few thousand lines.)
-Web Development: I write in html/css/php/js and I add more languages as I go. I generally don't need to do more than manipulate files, code in a basic text editor, and preview files in a browser (this is a big one, I need to be able to see what is going on when I display it.)
-Image Editing (optional): I have a desktop which I rely on for image processing and other intensive tasks, but sometimes being able to edit an image really quickly can be helpful. Not necessary, but would be a plus.
Other than those functions, I'm going to be using the device for media consumption a lot, browsing the net and such. So, what would you recommend? And are there any things that a comp-sci major such as myself may need to do on the go that I forgot? (Honestly, I may be missing something here, would like to hash this out as much as possible) An ultrabook seems like overkill, and a netbook would definitely fill my needs (+more ram is really nice) but the battery life and dual functionality of the Transformer Prime as a tablet could be very useful, I might end up using it more than I would a netbook, in which case I'd want it.
Also, I've heard you can boot ubuntu on the Prime. Would this be a better way to create my ideal programming/webdeveloping/textbook reading tablet/laptop?
The Prime will be able to do function #1 easily enough, but functions 2-4 will not happen, IMO. You need a laptop/ultrabook for those. The Prime does not have enough processing power or memory ... besides, your C compiler and image editors will not be available for the Prime. I did see a demo of Ubuntu running on the original Transformer ... it was really, really slow. I do not expect the Prime to be that much faster.
Many folks who expected the original Transformer to be a laptop replacement were sorely disappointed -- the same will be true for the Prime. These are still consumption devices, for the most part. I do expect the Prime will replace my laptop for many of my tasks, but for development, I have my high-powered (dual boot: Win/Ubuntu) laptop.
Yeah, I'm not expecting it to do all the same things as a netbook/laptop. Obviously its less powerful and functional (at least for development purposes) but the thing is I never used my laptop for more than text-editting and the OCCASIONAL image processing job (very rare, I prefer working at home on my desktop for that.)
If I get a Prime and end up using it more than I used my laptop, then I'd consider it worth it. If I can code on it (especially with preview, very important feature) then the rest should be ok. And being able to read textbooks e-reader style would be very nice.
Its not easy to weigh the pros and cons, thats why I'm posting here, trying to get different perspectives.
Some users have been able to make some serious adaptations and use the Transformer really well. It's just so limited, that I think you will be disappointed ... I think you are forgetting that you are a computer science major! Just teasing...
Besides all that ... this is NOT a cheap device by any means. For the money you would pay for the Prime you could get a pretty good laptop that will last you quite a few years. Then, you can buy a cheap consumption device that fulfills the needs of consumption rather well. Of course, I am one to talk ... I bought the Prime. I do, however, have a good laptop and desktop, so it is a little different.
Very true, I think I'll definitely feel the squeeze of inferior hardware if I do get it which is unfortunate =/
As for getting a laptop, I really am done with them. Weighs too much, hurts my back while running around, generally bulky and again, I don't use them all that much. I think the Transformer style laptop/tablet combo is the way to go in the future, so much more functionality for the same amount of hardware (As opposed to having two devices). I think when similar devices have >2GB ram and can run a more powerful platform like Windows 8/Linux, they will definitely be full fledged enough to compete with laptops.
Still, right now is right now... I guess it really depends on what I'll be using it for more than anything else. If my primary use is taking notes and reading textbooks, and coding is more on the side, then the Prime is probably the better choice. So the question is, is using the Prime as an e-reader for textbooks that much better than opening them up in a pdf and reading them on a netbook/laptop?
hmm, need to think about that...
if you have a desktop, you could jsut remote log-in to that via splashtop, teamviewer or logmein.
that's probably the best way to get access to the things you need for 2-4. Other things you could do well on your prime.
worst case, hold out for an ultrabook ie mac book air, or acer aspire s5?
I'd actually never heard of splashtop before, thank you for that info! This definitely changes things, since I rarely use photoshop/other features that a laptop would be able to have. If that's the case, I can just remote login when I need those functions and go with a basic text editor for on the go coding!
I'm definitely leaning toward the Prime now, I think it'll support what I need without sacrificing too much functionality.
Textbooks-As others have said, you can definitely use the prime for #1. If you would like to use it for the other tasks, here are a few helpful apps.
Web- Android web editor pro. What I use for web development, should do everything you are looking for.
C++- check out C4Droid. It is a C compiler for android, that supports C++ with root. Can't vouch for it though, I use mostly Java.
Image editing- adobe has launched a whole mobile design suite specifically for android tablets not to long ago, Photoshop touch being the main feature. I use it fairly often, it is quite good, not on par with regular Photoshop but a big step up from average image editors.
Hope you find something useful out of my ramblings.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Splashtop HD is really good. Probably the best. Another great thing is that The Prime comes with this built on so no need to buy the app.
If you have a desktop just sitting around while you are out, Splashtop is a great way to remote desktop in, particularly on wifi (as with the prime). Think of it almost like a thin client connecting to the mainframe servers... which is how I got my CompSci degree. You get all the power of your desktop with all the portability of your tablet.
Personally, I'm hoping to find a way to write android apps FROM an Android device... seems like a logical programming environment, considering all the libraries and such are already present. Who needs an emulator when you're holding the real thing.
webin said:
If you have a desktop just sitting around while you are out, Splashtop is a great way to remote desktop in, particularly on wifi (as with the prime). Think of it almost like a thin client connecting to the mainframe servers... which is how I got my CompSci degree. You get all the power of your desktop with all the portability of your tablet.
Personally, I'm hoping to find a way to write android apps FROM an Android device... seems like a logical programming environment, considering all the libraries and such are already present. Who needs an emulator when you're holding the real thing.
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Best thing would be some remote desktop software indeed.
I run Teamviewer on all my PCs/Laptops and there is a client for Android too. Works like a charm, even through internet connections.
I have C4Droid on my phone and ATP, and can say that it works wonderully. I'm a comp sci major too, just like OP. I code in c++, C4Droid is awesome. the only downside to it is the inability to do multi-file projects.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App
I'm trying, (probably lot many people) to decide between the current dual core tabs and the quad core.
I will be using this tablet for most anything you can use a tablet for - lots of art applications, streaming movies and music (flash required), some sort of g-sensor/accelerometer, and bluetooth, as I already have a good bluetooth keyboard that pairs nicely with my Android Phone.
I currently own the Acer A500 but I'm still within my return period. I'm strongly leaning towards returning it and getting a quad-core tab but I like the features such as the full size usb port and I want to be able to use that for an external HD for movies, music, etc. Of course, a lot of web surfing will be included. I will be using it for some office features but mostly through Google Docs, as that's what I use on my current mini-notebook (which I'll probably get rid of once I have the tablet decided on for sure). Price is a thought but I want a 10" inch screen and front facing camera so I can use internet video chat, etc. which I think means I'm in the $500 dollar general price range.
I find the Asus Prime intriguing but I'd like to have a USB port without having to have the dock to get it. I read somewhere about either Toshiba or Lenovo coming out with a quad-core with full size usb but I can't find the release date on it now. I'm willing to wait a bit, but also know there is always something better around the corner and at some point I need to just pull the trigger as they say. Some people want to know about basic computer literacy...I'm comfortable with Android and some basic rooting etc - have had an Android phone for 2 years and followed the development closely for some time prior to that. I've rooted my phone & my husband's from about the first week we had them. In addition, I used to run a triple boot laptop with two linux distros and a Windows install so I'm fairly comfortable with the ins and out of doing something like that.
I guess my questions are, has anyone heard of any release dates for quad-core tabs beyond the Asus Prime? Are there any other tabs that you'd say "forget the quad core and go for... instead?" Any info on release dates (other than the general sometime in 2012 would be uber cool to hear).
Oh, I'll also be using it in the hospital quite a bit with multiple surgeries coming up and digital magazines and e-books are definitely part of what I'll be using it for.
Thanks so much in advance! I look forward to your advice!!
Rae
You DEFINITELY don't need a quad-core phone if you are mostly looking for reading books and watching movies.
Look for tablets with extended battery life (larger batteries).
Also you might want to take a look at eReaders on which CyanogenMod has been ported, allowing you to run Android on devices with awesome displays for extended reading.
GoodLUCK!
Ainol Elf II. 'Nuff said.
Hi, folks!
I am seriously thinking about buying a TF201 to repace my Vaio. The main obstacle for me seems to be the way to handle my mail. I am used to keep my mail locally (with pop3) and backing it up later. Can anyone, please, clarify a few moments:
1. Is there any decent email application that would be able to handle about 25-30 Gb of email, show it with threads, use Android addressbook, etc? I hear about K9 but this one seems to be rather rudimentary in comparison to a full blown desktop client. Don't suggest a GMail app beuase it's a cloud based app.
2. Did anyone try to use a wired network on a Prime, say with USB-to-Ethernet?
3. Did anyone try to use a 128 Gb flash drives on a Prime?
Thanks a lot in advance,
I'm right in the same boat! I have an HP Touchsmart TM2-2057sb and I'm deciding right now to sell it and just run with the Prime. All of my tests seem to line up that way!
1. Touchdown is a good email client. On my A500, I used that to get my work email and it's probably your best bet.
2. Yes, the latest .21 update has given the ability to do this. Check the herehttp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1581824 for the Prime for several threads describing which ones work the best.
3. Not sure. But hard drives yes. Considering the SD can handle 64 and the microSD 32, plus the ability to connect a portable hard drive. I think you're safe.
I'm still going to keep my laptop for another few weeks just to make sure I can do everything I need to but the real test will come on our next vacation somewhere.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
rorytmeadows said:
I'm right in the same boat! I have an HP Touchsmart TM2-2057sb and I'm deciding right now to sell it and just run with the Prime. All of my tests seem to line up that way!
1. Touchdown is a good email client. On my A500, I used that to get my work email and it's probably your best bet.
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Can it import emails from another client? Say, from an mh folder structure?
vomus said:
Can it import emails from another client? Say, from an mh folder structure?
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Not sure as I wouldn't store my emails that way.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
rorytmeadows said:
Not sure as I wouldn't store my emails that way.
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I looked at the program but it seems to be an Exchange client only. No "normal" pop3/imap mode of operation. Would not work for me this way.
vomus said:
I looked at the program but it seems to be an Exchange client only. No "normal" pop3/imap mode of operation. Would not work for me this way.
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I thought it could handle that. The default Android email app handles POP3/IMAP. What do you have in your email folders that's so precious? Upload it to a cloud based email service and call it a day. Then you'll never have to worry about questions like these ever again.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
I have been using GMAIL routing all my accounts to it and have not had any issues. Also have been using OWA on chrome beta with no issues to get my work email. I think it is a great replacement for a laptop
Droidmail and advanced email both have the option to store your emaail locally.
The TFP is a terrible laptop replacement as far as productivity is concerned. I tried really hard to use it in that capacity, but despite my best efforts, Android in general just isn't up to that task yet.
Granted, if your idea of a laptop replacement is nothing more than something to check/store email on, you should be able to get by. It's when you roll into making presentations and spreadsheets that you begin to feel the pain. Anything beyond the most basic of tasks is either impossible or at best, a chore.
Web browsing utterly blows as well. Soooooo slow, and crashes/freezes frequently. My phone slaughters the TFP as a browser, and I only consider it tolerable. (Galaxy Nexus)
Even Google's own services offer sub-par experiences on Android compared to what you can get on Mac/Win PCs. Try editing a spreadsheet in Google Docs' Android app. Activate an entire row of cells for editing, enter values, save row? No thank you! Google Hangouts? Good luck finding how to start one, much less getting it to actually work. My wife's TFP always fails to connect to the other party--unless she opens the Hangout session on her laptop, leaves, and then joins on the TFP.
The gmail app crashes constantly for some as well, so even something as basic as email is finicky. (but you can get around that by using other apps at least)
imho, the only way this would be a decent laptop replacement is if all you do is check email, keep a calendar, and read pdfs. (It's like, the best PDF reader ever). Maybe if you type up Word docs occasionally that contain nothing but text.
My prime is my 'tabbook'. A netbook in concept is not really intended for the 'locally' bit so much as the cloud bit, hence the 'net' part in the name.
Although in reality a netbook is just a compact laptop with low end hardware, so people use it like a regular laptop instead. Android tablets are closer to how Netbooks were originally intended, and lack powerful software by comparason. Things like MS Office, full Photoshop, etc. That's the big difference. Access to the most powerful tools on this device requires going closer to bare Linux, and that is most easy at terminal level.
1.) I'm only familar with stock email applications (Froyo - ICS) and gmail. Storage space matters aside the principal problem is attachments. The clients can be pissy about opening certain types of files. I think K9 lacks tablet friendly UI but it does say, it's intended for large mail chewing. When I need to go outside the stock email/gmail, I've always just reached for mutt. Simply put, the device is cloud oriented. I rely on "Caching" such as having a months worth of e-mail stored and sync when Internet access becomes available again.
2.) Some threads have existed, between TF101/TF201, and I've considered getting one of these. When I get my tablet back from RMA, I want to try the adapter that came with the Zenbook.
3.) I've only tried 4GB flash drives formatted in FAT32. You should have no problems AFAIK as long as the file system is supported. That can vary by kernel/rom setup on any such device.
punitenshu said:
The TFP is a terrible laptop replacement as far as productivity is concerned.
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All of the issues you point out are software issues. And why e.g. you can use a Windows/Linux/Mac netbook as a laptop, but you cannot (so easily) use an Android anything as a laptop. E.g. you won't get MS Office unless you remote to a PC.
Browser wise, speed seems to leave a lot to be desired on the 10" transformers. I think either the software isn't tuned for Tegra 3 properly, or there is just not enough power being devoted. I'm curious about how the Kait powered models are gonna do later in the year. I really would like to know what the hell is with the GMail app too.
Sadly, stuff like Google Docs while decent on a PC, is not so good on mobile. Microsoft's solution was crippled off Windows Phone last I looked at reviews, and Android apps offer much more features than Google Doc's mobile clients.
These are issues people should look at when deciding if a device like this is right for them. For me, all the heavy duty software I need can be run from a Debian chroot and a terminal emulator, so I'm good lol.
Personally, I don't feel productive on a notebook to begin with. I need 2+ screens, a real keyboard with number pad, and a real mouse. So, for me, the Prime is indeed a notebook replacement. I just don't consider a notebook to be a desktop replacement
bedoig said:
Personally, I don't feel productive on a notebook to begin with. I need 2+ screens, a real keyboard with number pad, and a real mouse. So, for me, the Prime is indeed a notebook replacement. I just don't consider a notebook to be a desktop replacement
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All of which can easily be had in a normal person's laptop setup even without resorting to the "desktop replacement" class laptops. (I'm typing right here with my spare monitor, mouse, and number pad-sportin' Samsung Series 7).
I'd say the term "desktop replacement" when applied to laptops is leagues closer to being a realistic term than "notebook replacement" when applied to an Android tablet. Heck, even a sorely-underpowered Ion Netbook is better for productivity.
But, yeah, you're right--it's a great laptop replacement for people that don't really do anything with their laptops, sort of like how a microwave is a great oven replacement for people who eat out every day.
punitenshu said:
All of which can easily be had in a normal person's laptop setup even without resorting to the "desktop replacement" class laptops. (I'm typing right here with my spare monitor, mouse, and number pad-sportin' Samsung Series 7).
I'd say the term "desktop replacement" when applied to laptops is leagues closer to being a realistic term than "notebook replacement" when applied to an Android tablet. Heck, even a sorely-underpowered Ion Netbook is better for productivity.
But, yeah, you're right--it's a great laptop replacement for people that don't really do anything with their laptops, sort of like how a microwave is a great oven replacement for people who eat out every day.
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Woah, relax. I'm just saying I find the notebook form factor limiting. Of course you can add peripherals to a notebook to duplicate a traditional "desktop" environment. But as long as we're adding peripherals, let's add external monitors, a keyboard, and a mouse to the tablet along with an external PC to VNC into...
Edit - I just realized I may have been reading some combativeness into your post that wasn't really there. If so, my bad
punitenshu said:
All of which can easily be had in a normal person's laptop setup even without resorting to the "desktop replacement" class laptops. (I'm typing right here with my spare monitor, mouse, and number pad-sportin' Samsung Series 7).
I'd say the term "desktop replacement" when applied to laptops is leagues closer to being a realistic term than "notebook replacement" when applied to an Android tablet. Heck, even a sorely-underpowered Ion Netbook is better for productivity.
But, yeah, you're right--it's a great laptop replacement for people that don't really do anything with their laptops, sort of like how a microwave is a great oven replacement for people who eat out every day.
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I agree with this. My tm2 is really just a mobile desktop for checking email, looking up things on the web, FB, looking up eateries/attractions while travelling. I would never use this as anything for productivity.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
bedoig said:
Woah, relax. I'm just saying I find the notebook form factor limiting. Of course you can add peripherals to a notebook to duplicate a traditional "desktop" environment. But as long as we're adding peripherals, let's add external monitors, a keyboard, and a mouse to the tablet along with an external PC to VNC into...
Edit - I just realized I may have been reading some combativeness into your post that wasn't really there. If so, my bad
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No problem...I'm used to coming across that way on the interwebz, just don't want to confuse the TC by being unclear about what each of us actually thinks constitutes "laptop replacement".
Where I work (university) most people actually do commonly use laptops in "desktop environments"--and having a desk with a second monitor/mouse isn't really excessive considering you'd need even more than that for an equivalent desktop setup. As far as I'm concerned, I just exchanged two static pieces of hardware for one and gained portability in the process.
Hi all, I've been thinking about getting an android tablet to play around with, especially now that my laptop's getting less and less portable due to its battery.
It would be nice if I could take the tablet around for notes, word processing and using googledocs - just wondering what people's experiences of using it as a productivity device has been - like is it easy to switch between apps - word processor/pdf/browser (does alt + tab work on the keyboard dock?), does googledocs work okay, is it convenient enough to carry around etc.
Thanks for your time.
gasterfire said:
Hi all, I've been thinking about getting an android tablet to play around with, especially now that my laptop's getting less and less portable due to its battery.
It would be nice if I could take the tablet around for notes, word processing and using googledocs - just wondering what people's experiences of using it as a productivity device has been - like is it easy to switch between apps - word processor/pdf/browser (does alt + tab work on the keyboard dock?), does googledocs work okay, is it convenient enough to carry around etc.
Thanks for your time.
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Yes it is good for all of those things. The form factor is really quite perfect. However there are well documented issues with the Prime which you should take into consideration. Bad I/O and the BT/WiFi issues being my main gripes.
Alt-tab works fine except they put the Alt key on the right which means it takes two hands to actually do it! I solved this simply by editing the key map file to swap the Search and Alt keys, as well as swapping the actual physical keys but really I have no idea what they were thinking.
Hope this helps
I advice getting the Asus Eee pad Infinity (TF700) which should have the issues mentioned above resolved and is the same price ($499 + $150 for dock) and a much better screen, faster memory and slightly faster SoC.
It's an excellent productivity device in my opinion, even stock it's plenty fast to do all the things you'll want. Try different word processors to see which ones you like, and be sure to install CloudON and OnLive Desktop for when you absolutely need MS Office. They're both free and work great with a good connection. I currently use my prime as my primary device and have absolutely no regrets.
Oh! And get a screen protector. Gorilla glass or not, the constant rubbing against the keyboard dock (when closed) leaves some slight marks on the screen. They're not terrible, but noticeable in the right light and when the screen is off.
hi all, in general i'd say the tablet is worth to buy. but for word processing i tried some apps, my opinion on that is, that you can sometimes edit your things quick, but some features are missing in the apps, e.g. marking text via shift + cursor buttons (some apps can, some don't).
especially when editing power point slides i had problems switching between apps. alt+tab worked fine but sometimes when the app or android itself decided to terminate the office app my work was lost. same for browsing, the stock browser does not safe the tabs over sessions and chrome often stops working and you have to restart it.
at all i would say its good for small things but i wouln't be able to work as productive on the tablet as on a PC.
but things are quite different if you flash linux on the prime - even if it is in testing state it work well and working is much more like on PC
If your looking at using google docs then the office functionality on the prime should be fine. As people say, if you want some complicated docs then the tablet can be a bit limiting.
I find using one it's very good for 80% of what you want to do. Then you have to jump back to a PC to complete it. I start word docs while on my travels, manage everything in Evernote, task lists with Toodledo and it's great. All the cloud tech and google drive now makes it so very easy to manage. But I love getting back to a full keyboard and my dual screens
I found that the native Google Docs (now called Google Drive) app sucks for editing documents, especially spreadsheets. However, I really like OfficeSuite Pro, which can connect to your Google Docs account. OfficeSuite Pro has good keyboard shortcuts and a pretty good feature set. I've tried a few different office suites for Android and I like this one the best. And yes, alt-tab works great. You can also plug a USB mouse into the keyboard dock and log into your PC remotely from your tablet. As someone else mentioned, you may want to consider the Infinity tablet at this point. I know I would if I were shopping for a tablet now.
gasterfire said:
Hi all, I've been thinking about getting an android tablet to play around with, especially now that my laptop's getting less and less portable due to its battery.
It would be nice if I could take the tablet around for notes, word processing and using googledocs - just wondering what people's experiences of using it as a productivity device has been - like is it easy to switch between apps - word processor/pdf/browser (does alt + tab work on the keyboard dock?), does googledocs work okay, is it convenient enough to carry around etc.
Thanks for your time.
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The problem I run into is that when using it in the keyboard dock with my usb trackball attached, I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not in Windows and some of my habits from Windows work against me. The Alt key being on the other side of the keyboard is a good example. When I want an Alt-Tab my fingers just automatically go to the place where those keys are located on a Windows machine. Right clicking with my mouse or trackball also doesn't work the same way it does in Windows and the procedure for selecting text is different. All of these sorts of things don't add up to bad however - they are just different. Its just that when I'm sitting there typing and using the mouse, it's very easy to forget that I'm not on Windows and the habits acquired over many years aren't right for this device. But that's just a matter of getting used to the device.
A couple of items I have not seen others mention:
1. The right shift key is only half sized and has the up arrow right next to it. When I'm going for the shift, its very easy to hit the up arrow by accident - guess I will get used to that too.
2. Cntrl-C for copy and Cntrl-V for paste work just like they do in Windows which I find very useful.
Prôductivity wont be good until we have an actual windows like multi tasking system
Hey thanks for the reply guys. And yeah, I was considering the infinity but I'm from the UK and it hasn't been announced there (okay that's not true anymore - it was announced today) and I couldn't find the infinity forum on xda.
So yeah, I'm thinking of either getting the infinity or getting the nexus 7 with a wireless keyboard for a bit cheaper, and then perhaps look into the Surface when it comes out?
What do you think, nexus 7 or the infinity? I don't know how good a 7" screen would be though.
If you decide to go with a Nexus 7 and bluetooth keyboard, you may want to research and make sure that the keyboard will support alt-tab. If not, you can still use the recently used apps icon to pull up a list of apps, but sometimes the keyboard is more efficient than reaching up to the screen to touch that icon. Another thing, at least for me, a 7" tablet would probably be too small to do a lot of productivity work. I'm more comfortable with a 10" tablet for productivity.
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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Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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)