Hello!

[Makinnard]

Hey guys and gals, my names magnum and im looking in to buying my first android tablet. =]

I have been researching tablets for a few weeks now and i was wanting some opinions. i have looked at all kinds of tablets and i have found one that i believe would be the best one for me and my needs.

I am looking at purchasing a ASUS EEE Transformer. i have read all the specs and it is in my price range of $300-450 (im looking at the 16GB model)

If any one has one or that has been looking at them i would appreciate any feed back from any one who has got one and any one with any info.


Thanks

 

[Spider]

Hello Magnum, welcome to Android Tablets. Nice to have you as a member of the forum. The best place to get help or information on the Transformer is the Asus Tablets section, so I'm moving your thread over there to see if the folks who own that tablet can help you out. Good luck!

 

[pbrauer]

Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here!

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[TheCentauress]

I have the TF 32Gb, but the only difference is the internal storage; so, I'll give you my lowdown.

I find that the TF is, internally, a solidy designed and impimented tablet. It has everything dialed in to work with very little problems when used alone. True, the built-in speakers are somewhat quiet and buzz a bit, but you can hear them; A pair of headphones work really well on it, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The keyboard, however, has a mix of positives and negatives that make it a possible crap-shoot on whether you may want it.

Pluses:
1) USB slots. 2 slots that can be used for usb keys/drives, keyboards or mice. No, you can't put on a usb modem; but if you have a hotspot-capable phone, you don't need it.
2) Physical Keyboard with a row of function hotkeys. If you use Windows Office, this can let you use Polaris on the tablet to compose/edit docs etc. much easier on the go. Plus, it makes a nice nettop-like look.
3) Extra battery inside. This one is the usual 'bingo' point. As long as the tablet is docked, the keyboard will keep it topped off until it runs out of juice to do it. Convenient, no?

Minuses:
1) Lag using the keyboard. Don't expect to be able to speed-type unless you're REALLY good at not needing to see what you wrote.
2) Plastic-y. This is also a problem with the tablet, which I'll get to later.
3) Odd weight distribution. You will need to get used to grabbing the closed combo over the center of the hinge, unless you want to feel like you're going to drop it at any time.
4) The latch. It's a solid mechanism, but you'll need to learn exactly HOW to slide it in easily and, even after a month myself, I still wince a bit at the pressure I need to use to get the latch to lock - because of Minus number 2.

As I said above, my own major gripe about the exterior construction is the case backs of the tablet, as well as the one on the keyboard. While the tablet face is Gorilla Glass and the keyboard/tablet frames are milled aluminum, it seems that ASUS decided that toy-quality plastic was the way to go with the rear covers. it's flexy and not too textured. Since pretty isn't my main concern, I just treat it with a touch more care that normal.

All in all, I find that the price makes up for a lot of the downsides. For the cost of one tablet a la Fruit; you can get the TF, a keyboard AND enough USB drive Gigs to insure that you WON'T be disappointed.

 

[Walkop]

Overall, I loved my Transformer. The performance was great, and the Keyboard Dock really adds a lot of functionality and expandability.

The Keyboard dock also worked really well. I would like to point out, however, that the keyboard does not lag for normal applications. It only tends to lag in the web browser, where even the touch-based keyboard has trouble. I had absolutely no trouble with the latch - you just can't be afriad of putting a bit of pressure on it (and, in the end, it doesn't need that much). Just center the tablet, make sure it's lined up by giving it a bit of pressure, and push. Snapped in and ready to go. The latch is most definitely very solid once its in.

The USB slots worked perfectly, for USB gamepads, mice, USB sticks, etc. Speaking of gamepads, Tegra 2 works quite well for tablet-optimized games - super fluid, fast, and great graphics. It all is pretty seamless. The SD card slot also works quite well, although most cards do stick out a few millimetres.

As for weight distribution, I don't find it that troublesome. I never carry a laptop by the bottom end anyway for the same reason; the hinge area is almost always more sturdy.

Really, my only complaints are the build quality and sound. The tablet itself is relatively thick (12.98mm), and the rear is made of a textured plastic that isn't too grippy and does flex, as TheCentauress mentioned. The side bezeling of the TF is anodized aluminum, as is the faceplate of the keyboard dock, which is good. The screen is also Gorilla Glass. However, the corners on the tablet are quite sharp (not knife-blade sharp, but annoyingly so). However, the Transformer Prime coming in December fixes all that - all metal construction (brushed aluminum), thinnest tablet on the market, SonicMaster technology (which is supposedly pretty great) and incredible specs. Only $499 for 32GB, too.

 

[Walkop]

Edit: That's weird...I was replying to one of your posts regarding the Prime (at least I thought I was)...and now it's gone. Strange.

If you can pay the $499, the Prime takes everything that is bad about the original Transformer and fixes it/makes it best-in-class. Then, it takes everything that was great about the original TF and perfects it!

For instance, as I said, it uses SonicMaster sound tech, a standard developed by ASUS in cooperation with ICEpower (a division of Bang & Olufson). Below is a demo of the SonicMaster specification on a laptop-sized SonicMaster speaker assembly compared to a regular laptop speaker. Incredible, IMO; and that tech is in the Prime. It'll be a different speaker, of course, but it IS SonicMaster!


Then, of course, they made it the thinnest tablet on the market - 8.3mm thin, and 586g light. Not as light as Galaxy Tab 10.1, but lighter than iPad.

You also can't forget that the Prime only comes in 32GB and 64GB models, eliminating the 16GB. Why is this good? Well, the 32GB size original Transformer costs the same as the 32GB Prime; meaning that for the size, they are the same cost. You just don't have the option of a $399 16GB model

It also has extremely improved touchscreen response time (<50 milliseconds) and it also has the best-in-class display brightness in Super IPS+ mode (>600 nits).

It looks to be a really great tablet.

 

[Makinnard]

nice video and thanks for the info but now here's a question. 1. do i buy the 16GB TF or should i just save the extra money and go buy a Prime? (note this would be my first android tablet)

upgrading from a Ipod touch =/

 

[Walkop]

nice video and thanks for the info but now here's a question. 1. do i buy the 16GB TF or should i just save the extra money and go buy a Prime? (note this would be my first android tablet)

upgrading from a Ipod touch =/

Weird...that's exactly what I did to get my original Transformer, sold my iPod Touch 32GB

In my opinion, the Transformer Prime is a much better piece of hardware, with the best specs of any tablet device on the entire market as of it's release. If you are willing, I would definitely recommend saving your money for it. Besides, you will also get the additional 16GB of space with the Prime that you wouldn't otherwise get with the original Transformer. Not the the original is bad, but the Prime is just amazing so much as I've seen. Save for it, and I doubt you'll regret it.

You'd definitely be treating yourself to a great first experience with Android

 

[Frederuco]

I have a 16 GB Transformer. I think it is plenty of space. I keep Apps on my TF and have a 32 GB microSD card for movies. Music is on the Google Music Cloud.

Also, it is possible to use a USB 3G modem if you root and use a ROM that has 3G drivers in it. For what it is worth, a MiFi or tethering with a smartphone is much more practical IMO.

My keyboard lag is only in the browsers, the stock browser being the worst. Opera Mobile - Zero lag. Non-Browser apps - Zero lag.

If I was in the market for buying a tablet right now, here is what I would do:
If I could find a 1st Gen 16 GB (new) Transformer for less than about $300 USD I would get that and try to snag a keyboard for around $100.
If not, I would wait for the Prime (which I am drooling over) for $499 for the 32 GB version.

 

[Makinnard]

Weird...that's exactly what I did to get my original Transformer, sold my iPod Touch 32GB

In my opinion, the Transformer Prime is a much better piece of hardware, with the best specs of any tablet device on the entire market as of it's release. If you are willing, I would definitely recommend saving your money for it. Besides, you will also get the additional 16GB of space with the Prime that you wouldn't otherwise get with the original Transformer. Not the the original is bad, but the Prime is just amazing so much as I've seen. Save for it, and I doubt you'll regret it.

You'd definitely be treating yourself to a great first experience with Android

ha yea im going from a 8GB ipod to tablet but i was[FONT=arial, sans-serif][/FONT]unimpressed with the iPad then i came across the TF. but with the Prime coming out the original TF would drop in price significant due to the New prime. but with it coming out im thinking about just getting the original TF to get the best of Android for my buck.

and hanks for the info, it has been very helpful