[Exclusive] First Impressions of the Asus Transformer Prime

dgstorm

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One of our very own members (and moderators) of TransformerForums, leeshor, did an excellent brief first impressions writeup on the Asus Transformer Prime. His writeup does a great job of sharing the differences between the OG Asus Eee Pad Transformer and the new Transformer Prime. Here's what he had to say,

First impression TF101 vs. TFP201

Some may be aware of this but there is one particular new bit of info I hadn't seen or heard about.

ASUS packed a lot into a thin package. The buttons on the TF were on a flat edge, and relatively easy to use. The buttons on the TFP are on a bevel and slightly more difficult to access as they are smaller, (as is the HDMI port) and much more flush with the case edge angled toward the rear, . Not having the access on a flat surface is a little less convenient but it seems to have been necessary to get the thickness down to where they wanted it. They changed a lot but didn't cut anything out. They added a reset button, also on the left. As I use the power button a lot I can say that I don't care for this one nearly as much.

The buttons/ports pretty much have all their positions changed, except the volume, but it's smaller. HDMI moved to the left edge, power moved to the top left corner, (more difficult to use due to the size, at least for me), MicroSD moved to the left edge. speaker/earbud/microphone jack is now on the right edge.

The tablet is very noticeably thinner and lighter in my hands. Display is fantastic in Super IPS mode. speakers actually sound like stereo even with only one speaker and sound better. No bleed I can see, no creaking, connected to my router faster than the TF101. BUT I don't pick up the surrounding access points on the 201 like I do on the 101. I see 6 on the 101 but only 2 on the 201 so the range does seem to be an issue but it still works 3 floors up and out to my driveway. (router is in the basement rear right. driveway one floor up front left through concrete).

I haven't actually taken a ruler to it but it seems a few cm narrower that the 101

Here is something some people will appreciate, the charging cable is 3' longer. That's the one I didn't know.

Maybe more later.

[edit] One thing I forgot to mention, the shadow that appears on the right side of the screen when you pull up the menu is more pronounced, it's not a flaw, it's an enhancement. :)

Later in his post, he also added, "It really is a different (better in nearly every way) tablet. Without the logo I would never guess both were Transformers."

Thanks for doing such a great job sharing your thoughts with us, leeshor!

Source: TransformerForums - First impression TF101 vs. TFP201
 
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xsylus

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I'm thinking about getting one of these so I can start developing apps for tablets. :big smile:
 

soops

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I would get one, if only they are available in stock somewhere ...everywhere i heard is that they're out of stock.


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SILVER COUPE

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im considering getting one, but wondering if it would be worth it, i have a Bionic and a laptop. any thoughts to justify the $500.
 

Frederuco

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im considering getting one, but wondering if it would be worth it, i have a Bionic and a laptop. any thoughts to justify the $500.

I have an iPhone, a 17" Windows laptop for work, a 15" MacBook Pro (about 4 years old) and the first generation Transformer. I find that I very rarely touch my MacBook Pro (maybe once a week) and that most of the time I use my Transformer. I have a media server on my network and I can play anything anywhere at home from the server. I can watch Justin.tv and catch my football in my laundry room whilst folding laundry, etc. My Transformer has also helped with my work being that I have about 16 hours of battery life and can go all day with a sub 3 lb computing machine.

Does it replace a laptop? Absolutley not. But, it can do 95% of what I can do on a laptop. There are still some things I go to my laptop for, but not all that often.

I also found that my phone battery will last about 2 days now that I am not constantly fiddling with it to check facebook, twitter, etc and I use my tablet for that.

Keep in mind, a tablet is not for everyone. I absolutely love it, it is great for traveling and having movies on the go for some overseas flights. Amazingly portable to take with you everywhere and have your important files/documents with you when you need them. No need to remember to email someone a file when you get home, show it to them on the spot then email it to them right there while tethered to your smartphone.

That is just my $0.02.
 

Tank_Tak

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Just gave me reason to save up and buy one. Gonna hand down my HP Touchpad to my son seeing as he loves playing on it and will use this to replace my laptop
 

Frederuco

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Just gave me reason to save up and buy one. Gonna hand down my HP Touchpad to my son seeing as he loves playing on it and will use this to replace my laptop

Awesome. Once you get it, feel free to check out all the tips and tricks at TransformerForums.com.
 

czerdrill

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mine is on the way, have to wait till the 28th for it to arrive. can't wait!
 

creaky

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Stupid question: can you do word processing on this thing?

sent from my rooted nexus
 

Frederuco

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Stupid question: can you do word processing on this thing?

sent from my rooted nexus

It comes with Polaris Office, and there are many other office suites out there (QuickOffice Pro HD, OfficeSuite5, KingSoft Office, Documents 2 Go) out there.

They cannot do everything that M$ Word can do. None of them have in built spell check, and I have not found a way to edit headers and footers. They do a decent job for simple stuff, but still not a full blown version of Word.
 

creaky

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Thanks for this. I'm trying to find something simple but powerful for my folks.

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czerdrill

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just got my prime!...this thing is beastly...time to play haha
 

jkaod

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What kind of battery life are you getting for video playback, web surfing etc.?
 
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