Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime user reviews (32GB, gray)

Pros - Functional and aesthetic; great design
- Amazingly smooth operation
- Fast, fast, fast...
- Brilliant, clear display
- Good crisp sound
- Intuitive interface
- The keyboard rocks
- Much more enjoyable experience than the iPad2

Cons - A little wobbly when mounted on the the keyboard. Not too bad though.
- Light...but not quite light enough.
- Competitive cost, but could be a little less expensive

Summary We have just gotten one of these...and it compares very well against the iPad2 we've been using for months. Sort of a his/hers situation now...but we're fighting for this one over the iPad. We really like the openness of the platform...especially in contrast with the horrible (and sometimes insane)restrictions that Apple inflicts on users. We've been Mac/iPhone/iPad users for years now, but we're really fed up with the clunkiness of Apple's so-called ecosystem. The hardware is lagging also, but we've been living with it.

The new Android hardware is now as good or better than the iPad. The Android OS is the deal sealer; vastly superior to iOS. Hardware and software come together very nicely in this device.

looks like the future to us.

Pros Great design, amazing battery life, fast...

Cons From my experience, extremely poor assembly quality: 5 exchanges for flaws in a week!

Summary Hi eveyone,

Just wanted to share my personal experience regarding the TF201. Note that I love this product, its conecpt and design, which is why I own one despite what happened to me. I did not make this up or exaggerate any of this in any way. This is all true:

I bought my first TF201 about a week ago in a store (Saturn in Luxembourg). Grey model, 32GB with keyboard, very nice. Yet I soon noticed that the motion sensors (rotation, gyro, compass etc.) would stop working after a while for no apparent reason. I wrote to Asus support about it, and they suggested to have it replaced. "Bad luck" I thought, this can happen, and since I still had a few days left to exchange it at the store for another one, no big deal. So I did, and left with a new one, gold model this time, they were out of grey ones...

I opened the new box, started setting up the tablet and went to put it into the dock: very difficult, it wouldn't really fit. After a brief inspection, I noticed that the screen was not attached to the frame properly on the bottom. There was a gap, which made the tablet very hard to fit the hinge. I returned it the same day...

Third model, again a golden one. I had checked the screen in the store right after exchanging the old one: this one was fine. I took it home and started setting it up. I then noticed that the vibration unit (which vibrates at boot up and shut down, or when you mute the tablet) made an unhealthy sound: it was loose in the tablet, rattling...

I exchanged it the next day. Pissed! Thankfully, the staff in the store was very friendly and forthcoming... I opened the fouth one in the store in front of a vendor and we inspected the tablet together: the screen was loose on the bottom. The store decided to send the entire TF201 batch back: 18 units. I got my money back, no problem.

The vendor told me he had had another costumer return on the same model: black screen of death and no possibility to transfer data to a computer anymore. Total shutdown. The customer broke the devive in half in front of the vendor...

This may sound crazy, but despite all of this, I still wanted a TF201: I think it is a great product, looks amazing and is exactly what I want... when it is well built. So I went to another store, which had grey models and a more recent delivery, and bought one there. I inspected it in the store (ok) and use it now. It's fine for now, exept for a couple of dead pixels which you only notice on boot screen...

So, to all of you who consider buying a Transformer Prime (TF201), here is my advice:
- Buy it in a local store, NOT online: you might have to return it and you need to be certain you can exchange it easily
- Return the device as soon as you notice anything wrong. Don't assume it's a software issue: it's probably not...
- Inspect the device in the store right after buying it for screen gaps. Turn it on and check the vibration sound. Might save you a trip back...
- Get a microSD card and backup frequently. You never know what might happen...
- If you have a perfectly fuctionning device, enjoy it (because it is great) and do not give it away.

On a positive note, all the flaws I noticed were assembly related, thus easy to spot quickly and return the units. Also, I think the components are fine, except for some screen bleed ans dead pixels sometimes, but barely noticable... I can live with a dead pixel on boot screen and a tiny bit of screen bleed on boot screen, as long as the rest is fine: this device is great to use, has impressive battery life (especially with the dock), a nice keyboard etc. Worth it. Of course I would prefer a perfect unit in every aspect, but these seem to be pretty rare, according to my experience. If you have one, smile! :)

My advice to Asus:
- Improve your assembly line, for crying out loud! Qualified people, or more staff: productivity is good, quality is better! Selling faulty devices is a bad choice: you get money more quickly, but returns are more frequent and your reputation suffers from it. Bad move.
- How about setting up a quality control? How can units with loose screens even be shipped? Anyone could see the unit is faulty, even without turning it on!!!

See you!

Thomas

Pros Incredible picture/video quality!
Extremely fast processor
High resolution screen
Great Wi-Fi
Easy access to Android Market w/ fast downloads
Incredible memory
GREAT battery life!!
Charges quickly
Great on-screen keyboard with SWIPE.
Lightweight

Cons Availability.
I don't have enough money to buy more of them!! :-)

Summary I've researched and waited on this tablet for the last three months. I've read countless reviews on multiple sites and talked, at length, with other tech junkies like myself about which tablet was the best on the market. When I finally had the money AND was able to find one online (the only major knock I have against this tablet is how hard it is to find, which is a GREAT thing that a company should have as a knock), I bought it immediately.

Since I received my tablet on Friday (3/23/12), I have almost literally not been able to put it down!! After fulling charging it, I started to play with it to find out just exactly what this thing that I've been coveting for so long could do... And three days later, I'm still beyond fascinated by this piece of tech! It is AMAZING in every sense of the term! It's lightning fast in moving from one open page to the next with the ability to move between programs seamlessly, the screen and resolution is off the charts, clarity is superb, and the apps I downloaded did so in incredible speed (less than a minute tops... Most around 30 seconds). The picture quality (thanks to the AMAZING 8mp camera!) was brilliant to say the least, with multiple stock effects and a zoom capability I did not know the camera had. The video quality was mesmerizing for any device and was everything and more than I could have hoped for... (When I was in the market for a tablet, one of the main things that sold me on the Prime over the iPad2/3 was the camera and I was anything but disappointed!).

One of the clever things that is very aesthetically pleasing is the living wallpaper (interactive/moving wallpaper) that comes with the tablet and the option to download other LWP's from the Android market. This, too, set the tablet apart from an artistic and graphic stand point that was a subtle but great discovery.

I had the great benefit of being able to do a direct, side-by-side comparison with a friend of mine over the weekend who has the iPad3 and by the end of the night on Saturday, he was looking into finding a Prime that was available and wanted to sell his iPad as soon as he found one! Mind you, my friend is an avid fan of Apple and has always bought Apple products, from his MacBook Air, to his iPod touch, to his previously mentioned iPad3. He was incredibly impressed with the speed, look, feel, and video/picture quality of the Prime. The resolution difference on the screen between the two was marginal at best. Again and again as we played with our respective tablet, he was found setting his down to admire my Prime and inquire about it.

Not wanting to make this review too long, I'll sum up my overall thoughts so far on this tablet and respond to some other reviews on the problems I read about before buying mine, because I fear that if I do not cap myself, I will literally talk all day about this mind-blowing tablet!!

First, to address the cons I've seen in other reviews:

I have not experienced any difficulty with the Wi-Fi whatsoever. Even when the signal strength of the router was low (as was indicated by the Wi-Fi signal at the bottom), my browsing was far superior than that of the LAPTOPS in the room running on the same Wi-Fi network, one of which was a MacBook as previously mentioned. Maybe this is a problem that ASUS solved in the time before I got mine but either way, I have had 0 problems with it at all.

I have not used the GPS so I'm not sure if it's still glitchy but I did notice that Google Maps opened about sluggishly when used from the home screen, but this may have also been a product of the fact that I turn off all "Location" services on all my tech for privacy purposes.

I have not had any issues with ICS and love how quickly my tablet works and processes, so the updates they have done since January have been effective and I did not have to wait for a single update since I've had my tablet.

The battery life, which was never listed as a "Con", is beyond superb! It took all day (8-10 hours) of consistent use before my battery completely died and it retains its charge very well.

All in all, this tablet is the most amazing tech I've ever held in my hands, played with, and owned. It excites me every time I pick it up and I have only just begun to find out all that it is capable of. I have the hardest time putting it down for any reason and consistently find excuses to use it even when my laptop is available. The ability to switch between three different levels of power output is also an amazing plus that allows you to pick and choose how fast you want things to run or if you're on a long flight or trip, you can preserve battery life substantially by reducing the power output without losing speed in major programs or open pages. It is truly remarkable.

I would give this tablet more than 5 stars if I could because it is truly THAT good! I would recommend this tablet over any other, hands down, and would especially recommend people to buy this tablet instead of spending more money for a lesser product in the iPad 3. The Prime is $60 cheaper for twice as much memory, a significantly better camera (8mp to the iPad 3's 5mp camera. And the Prime records in HD 1080p over the iPad 3's 720p), equal screen resolution, substantially better battery life, no over-heating problems as is the case with the new iPad, and a quad-core processor that absolutely crushes the competition! This is an investment that no one will regret. My only "buyer's remorse" is that I don't have more money so that I could buy 3 or 4 of these amazing devices!!!


Hope this helps as much as other reviews helped me in my decision making!!


S.E. -- Senior Year College Student.

Pros All other aspects of the tablet seemed great. First tablet, so not much to personally compare against other that occasional IPad usage of friends.

Cons Wireless required you to be almost on top of my new Netgear N600 router. Connection dropped by almost leaving the room. I read other complaints on this before purchasing, but assumed it was fixed. Big mistake.

Summary Taking mine back today. Don't want to give in to the Apple hysteria, but may just have to swallow my pride and get one. I hope Asus can fix the wireless, as they appear to have a great product other than that. What good is a tablet if you have no mobility on your internet connection???