Transformer Prime Owners To Get A Free GPS Dongle From Asus

[Spider]

by Rajesh Pandey | Sunday, 08th Apr 2012 |

The Asus Transformer Prime, launched late last year, is un-arguably the best Android tablet in the market right now. Not only does the device run on the latest version of Android – Ice Cream Sandwich – it also packs in a powerful quad-core Tegra 3 processor from Nvidia. The build quality, battery life and the camera of the device, and most importantly, its pricing were also top-notch. However, the Transformer Prime was plagued with poor GPS performance and Wi-Fi issues soon after its launch.

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Later on, Asus identified the poor GPS performance of the tablet a design flaw, and removed GPS as a feature from the official spec sheet of the handset. The company tried its best to improve the GPS reception of the tablet by rolling out numerous software updates, but that only improved matters to a certain extent.

Now, Asus has gone a step further and will be providing all Transformer Prime owners with a free GPS dongle. The GPS dongle is already being tested by some testers, and they are happy with how well the dongle goes with the Prime. All Prime owners need to register over at Asus website’s to be eligible for the free dongle though.

The folks over at Android Police have also confirmed that the newer builds of the Transformer Prime have received tweaks, which improve the Wi-Fi performance of the device and bring it on par to its predecessor’s (original Transformer).

 

[Blwnv8]

Such a shame people spent $500 for something that didn't work is crazy. Seems like they didn't do much product testing before they released the tablet for sale. I've been keeping an eye on this problem closely. I almost bought one of these. Was really drawn in by the quad core and other great specs. Ended up getting the toshiba thrive with full size size ports. Really happy with it, almost made a costly mistake. Maybe I'll get one when they fix the issues.

Sent from my AT100 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[Spider]

Maybe I'll get one when they fix the issues.

Sounds like they already did fix the problem for newer builds.

The folks over at Android Police have also confirmed that the newer builds of the Transformer Prime have received tweaks, which improve the Wi-Fi performance of the device and bring it on par to its predecessor’s (original Transformer).

 

[Blwnv8]

That's what I've seen but I'm still waiting to see it for my self.

Sent from my AT100 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[Spider]

Hopefully, one of the folks here will get or already has one of the "newer build" ones and will let us know if it's any better.

 

[kilucas]

Do you just have to register on asus.com and then register your transformer prime, or do is there a page on which you register your interest specifically for the GPS dongle please? I'm registered on the site as a Prime owner but I looked for a reference to the dongle on the site but couldn't find any so I wondered if you knew where we should look perhaps. Or do you think ASUS is just planning to contact all prime owners directly?

Thanks

 

[kilucas]

Apologies - I should've read the above Andorid Police post first - some partial answers to my questions there.

 

[Spider]

Apologies - I should've read the above Andorid Police post first - some partial answers to my questions there.

No problem, it is kind of confusing. My take on it is that you should go here https://vip.asus.com/member/join_member_02.aspx and either register or log in to make sure you're on the list.

BTW Welcome to the forum kilucas!

 

[emptyshell]

I ordered my Prime from mancave electronics on ebay about 2-3 weeks ago. My GPS and WiFi performance are great. It shipped NIB with .21 to judge how new the manufacturing date might be.

 

[pbrauer]

So I have a couple of Primes (don't ask), including one of the new ones and I can confirm that the updates to the ROM fix most of the issues. As far as the GPS dongle, this is being shipped after the release becomes official (around 4/16) and if you are a registered user on Vip.asus.com you should be getting one. We have confirmations that people are actually getting phone calls from ASUS confirming shipping info already.

 

[emptyshell]

It's also worth mentioning this is an A+ move by ASUS. It sucks they didn't catch it before pushing them out the door but many manufacturers would just try to blame something else for the hardware issue and screw the customer. Could you imaging Apple doing this? lol.

 

[Blwnv8]

Could you imaging Apple doing this? lol.

Nope, sure couldn't. Apple would just deny that there is any problem at all. They'd tell you it's your network or you don't have a good view of the sky. Just like microsoft tries to blame lag issues with your internet connection or isp when connecting to xbox live.

 

[prime]

Hello, how to check whether I still eligible to get the FREE GPS dongle or not? Just got to vip.asus.com? I buy this tablet at Singapore, but now I'm stayed for 3 months in Indonesia. Wondering if Asus can ship it to Indonesia.

Thank you.

 

[Frederuco]

Hello, how to check whether I still eligible to get the FREE GPS dongle or not? Just got to vip.asus.com? I buy this tablet at Singapore, but now I'm stayed for 3 months in Indonesia. Wondering if Asus can ship it to Indonesia.

Thank you.

Yes, just sign up and see what they say. I am pretty sure they will ship it wherever you are.