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Asus EeePad Transformer Gets a Thumbs-Up
Android Central has taken a close look at the new Transformer tablet from Asus, giving it an overall positive review, with minor points deducted for a 'plasticy' feel. The Transformer joins the Motorola Xoom in the world of Honeycomb (Android 3.0), and has very similar, high-end specs (though it's Wi-Fi only) with one big difference: the Transformer is marketed with a not-included-in-the-price attachable keyboard that adds a secondary battery. Notably, given inevitable comparison to the Xoom, the SD card slot, and Flash 10.2, work out of the box. The reviewer says Asus has done a credible job of making Honeycomb work well with a keyboard, but I wonder what other OSes will eventually be hacked onto this device. 16 hours of battery life in a netbook-sized computer sure sounds good to me, but I might want that to be with standard Linux apps instead of only with Android.
What do Optimus Prime have to say about this?
And where do the arms and legs come out?
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
> the SD card slot
That's notable these days? Every single consumer electronics device I've bought in at least 5 years, from my television set to my digital camera to my ultra-mobile PC has an SD slot. I didn't think it was possible to buy anything these days that _doesn't_ have one.
OK, I guess my desktop computer monitor doesn't have one, come to think of it, but the desktop itself does. Just the monitor has only USB. So I'll rephrase to _almost_ every electronics device.
If you ever wondered whatever happened to the kid who used to grease up the Nintendo controller every time you let him play, looks like he's reviewing Tablet devices at AndroidCentral.
Seriously, look at the photos of the screen and the keyboard trackpad. Did this guy just finish a bag of Frito Lays?
The World is Yours.
but I might want that to be with standard Linux apps instead of only with Android.
Why? Wouldn't most Linux (or even Windows) apps be a huge pain to use on just a touch screen?
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
"Yes, this tablet is good but it needs a keyboard."
"Ah, yes, this keyboard is fine, but it needs a real OS."
"Whoa, this OS is killing the battery, what this needs is a big ol' battery and a charger brick to charge it."
"My hand is getting tired with all the pinching and zooming. I need a good touchpad and sometimes a good mouse."
So we're just reinventing the laptop. Great. Turns out doing something productive on a tablet is borderline impossible.
The 16-gigabyte version will cost $399; the 32GB version runs $499. The keyboard dock is another $149. So for $550 -- less than the cost of a 32GB Wifi-only Motorola Xoom, you can have a 16GB Android tablet/laptop.
I'm guessing this thing will spend most of its life undocked, once you read your email and start surfing the net. Tablets are couch computers for the most part.
How often will want to dredge up the keyboard, balance it on their lap while using it anywhere other than a desk or table?
For the amount of typing one does on a tablet, it might be that some of the predictive on-screen keyboards would be faster for most typing.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Meh, I think I'll wait for the one with GPS.. IIRC the Acer Iconia 500 will have GPS..
so just who is the real almighty(s), & would he/she/it/they really want everybody to die prematurely after inhuman treatment by religious crusader glowbull warmongerers?
They did a find job killing Linux Netbooks. Anyone remember that half drunk rant from an Asus CEO (or was it ACER) about MS strong arming them? I guess it doesn't matter since they don't run MS-Office, and oo.org isn't a serious competitor (nice software, but too much retraining, and if you don't think that's true, you haven't done enough tech support with end users). So how does Microsoft kill these Android phone/tablets so they don't bite into their market?
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
Who names these things? JooJoo, then iPad, now this?
The one thing I'd like to use a tablet for is reading technical documents in PDF format. An ereader is NO GOOD for this task. I also would like a laptop to write my own LaTeX documents on. This is something that appeals to me greatly. Something that I can easily read PDF's on as a tablet and then write my own with it too. If there were a full Linux or Windows operating system for this I'd be pretty much sold.
Am I a bad person for this? haha
Reminds me of the Compaq TC1000, updated.
I finally got an Android phone and I took an immediate disliking to the way applications and their permissions are handled. Before you install an application from the Android Market you are told what permissions the application wants. If you don't like it, all you can do is not install the application. For example, if I want TV Guide listings, but the TV Guide application wants access to my contacts, and I don't want to give up access to my contacts then I am stuck. There is no method for me to deny the TV Guide application access to my contacts, other than not installing it. With social media taking off, many applications now want access to my contacts. I just find this unacceptable. I also don't know of any means to currently filter the Android applications by their permission requests. I also notice that applications seem to just start up by themselves. I have an application called Advanced Task Killer that stops applications. However, before long a bunch of applications are running that I did not specifically start. I don't know if Linux is any better about this. Is there any means I have to protect against an application finding my email contacts and phoning home with them?
At least I can run a non-toy OS on that one.
"Remember when I said I would never lie? Well, that was the first time."
As long as you're rooted, you can chroot into any armel distro. See here http://nerd65536.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-instal-debian-or-ubuntu-in.html
Install Ubuntu in Android
Just like a touchbook from Always Innovating (http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/home/index.htm) but with an actual production capability and an OS that the maker didn't have to write from scratch.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
This thing looks awesome. The Android tablets are shaping up nicely from a hardware/OS perspective, I'm so impressed with the innovation and capabilities. However, I'm not willing to make the leap until the app developers do. The Honeycomb section of the marketplace is pretty horrible at the moment.
For a more in-depth review that includes benchmarks and photos that weren't taken out on mom's patio table, Anandtech did a pretty good write-up. I'm even being so kind as to include a link to the printer-friendly version with everything on the same page.
http://www.anandtech.com/print/4277
"So after all this, you make my case for me. To end this stalemate, you must die..."
For me the big thing is the price... $399 (Even in Canada) is getting pretty close to a price point I'm comfortable with. The keyboard dock for an extra $150 I'd probably get at the same time.
Although a 10" keyboard isn't ideal, I'm wondering what options there are, if any, to do real Android application development on something like this? I need to replace my old MacBook where I do most of my work right now, and my desire to try this tablet thing out and the fact it has a keyboard makes me wonder if that is somehow doable. I imagine I'd have to use a remote server for the actual compiling and some combination of SSH to get the code back and forth... probably not worth the hassle if that's the case.
I'm definitely getting one, on release day if possible (I'm such a shameless Asus fanboy). If I can eventually boot Linux off the SD card I think that would be ideal. It saves precious space on internal storage and would only operate with the keyboard attached, which I think is what I would like. There's a MicroSD slot on the tablet itself, though, so some people may prefer that.
No thanks!
This thing hits the market in just a few days - April 26th, and looks like it will be available at NewEgg and Amazon, along with a bunch of other sites. Dual core, 1G RAM, the 'standard' 1280x800 screen resolution for Honeycomb, mini-hdmi, two USB slots, sd slot. Heck, you can plug a usb mouse and keyboard into this thing and skip their docking station / laptop accessory. USB storage shows up too. This is closer to the price point I was hoping the Xoom would come out for.
Sounds like the stock ROM is very close to the stock Android build too - may not need to de-crap the device.
Isn't this nearly as big a deal as when an iPhone site likes a new iPhone? I mean, Android lovers are desperate for Android tablets to like, so they're hardly unbiased.
From the end of the article: "You get an Android tablet. And an Android laptop. And that's something nobody but ASUS can yet offer." Hmmm. I remember reading about Always Innovating's Touch Book about 1-2 years ago, with characteristics similar to this tablet/laptop. And they have a new one called Smart Book, that have two tablets plus keyboard in one, with support for Android, ChromeOS, Ubuntu and their own Linux variant. I just checked their site, and surprise, surprise, they caught ASUS's "invention" too... http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/home/index.htm
Android X86 is coming and I bet I can make it dual boot with just about any laptop you have soon.
I hope with X86 i can get a dell 5 type device with dell 7 specs.
Android tablet/netbook hybrid gets thumbs up from Android blog...
In other news, AppleInsider likes some Apple products.
The real question is whether the market will give the EeePad (and you guys thought "iPad" is was a dumb name?) a thumbs up. I wouldn't get my hopes up. They may very well sell a few thousand, though, making it one of the top Android tablets, so there's that.
It seems pretty clear to me that the Linux desktop is going to be Android, or some future variant. The steps from phone to tablet to laptop to desktop are not too hard to imagine, as people get used to the environment.
Android will take over the world!
expandfairuse.org
Wow, I actually like this. It seems like it's very well done.
I like the keyboard attachment, I really like that the keyboard got it's own battery and that you can decide if you want to use this as a tablet or as a laptop. Long term battery life, a good form factor, and it's not apple. I'm sure there will be lots of bugs to work out, but it sounds pretty cool to me so far. Oh, and the price is quite good. (Remember the price listed is the starting price... and it goes down from there.) We may get down to $300 for a non-crappy tablet by Christmas if the market can put out a few more of these types of products. At that price point, I'd pick one up, and I'm not really in the market!
d
all language nazi's will burne in heil!
The pricing is really well done.
The differentiation is either in price ($100 lower than even the iPad) or in form-factor (keyboard dock) but not simultaneously.
The reversed scrolling sounds particularly annoying.
The Android invasion so far has only crippled Nokia and RIM (and assimilated Samsung, HTC, and Motorola), but now it's going for Microsoft.
If this is a successful product, it's not clear how WinTel will be able to stop the second wave when the other Android manufacturers pile on.
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Other reviews mention random reboots. Is Android Central at a point where they don't see that as a problem?
If people consume on a laptop, there isn't much of a barrier to starting to create on the same laptop should an idea hit them. But if people consume on a tablet and don't own a laptop, they can't easily switch to creating without making a substantial purchase.
After using the XOOM for a month now, I crave Android on the desktop. The interface is much more productive and intuitive than Windows. Back, Home, and Running Apps "buttons" are straight to the point and make it very easy to navigate quickly between apps and be productive. I do find myself wanting a Forward "button" sometimes though. Honeycomb works so good that I take it for granted. It just works. The onscreen keyboard allows me to type faster and more accurately than on a desktop (my typing skills aren't the greatest). I envision a desktop system where my PC is the screen (giant 24" tablet) with another screen for the keyboard (same dimensions) that sits on my desk. The keyboard, being another screen, would allow you choose the keyboard style or allow you to have another view-port (for webcam?) on the "keyboard." Oh yeah, I want a mouse, gesture, and touchscreen functions running in conjunction.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
I want two more cores and will pay another $150. I will sell all my netbooks (I have three) and maybe some other hardware to pay for it if necessary. With two cores I would only buy it if I had disposable income. I trust Asus in a way I don't trust any other manufacturer though, so I could believe they could get this hinge thing right. Having both uSDHC and SDHC slots is a big win. Having bgn wireless likewise. I've been dreaming of a laptop with touch for a long time, and fantasizing about a tablet, and this is both. It's about the same size and weight as the netbook with chiclet keys I'm typing on right now. Again, except for the lack of processing power, it seems ideal to me for everything I want to do but gaming and graphics, for which I have a desktop computer with dual 20" LCDs.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"