Slashdot Mirror


Asus Joins High Density Display Club With New Transformer Tablet

crookedvulture writes "The new iPad has received a lot of attention for its high-density display, but it's not the only tablet with extra pixels. Enter Asus' Transformer Prime Infinity, which has a 10.1" screen with a 1920x1200 resolution. The display doesn't look as good as the iPad's Retina panel, which has crisper text and better color reproduction. However, the Android-based Transformer has perks the iPad lacks, like an ultra-bright backlight, a Micro HDMI port, a microSD slot, and more internal storage. The Infinity is also compatible with an optional keyboard dock that adds six hours of battery life, a touchpad, a full-sized SD slot, and a standard USB port. The Transformer's tablet component is definitely no iPad-killer. When combined with the dock, though, the resulting hybrid offers a much more flexible computing platform."

7 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. Definitely not iPad killer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Ok. I get it. You have to compare it to the defacto tablet, the iPad. But really? The summary is more opinion with a few marks of fact about the tablet, all comparing it to what the iPad does. Just say what the damn thing stands on in its own merits and let the reviewers give opinion. The summary comes off more as a damn review than a fucking news post. I haven't even checked the fucking article, because if the summary is any indication, this is a bullshit article compared to others out there on the same thing...

    1. Re:Definitely not iPad killer? by mug+funky · · Score: 4, Interesting

      damn good point. my wife has an iPad, i have a netbook. she uses her iPad for her personal and business stuff 90% of the time, but 10% of the time she's swearing at the thing and grabbing the netbook from me.

      the thing that kills iPads for me is the lack of a filesystem, the lack of proper multitasking (my 13 month old is the only one of us able to correctly swipe between apps consistently), afterthought implementations of essential functions like copypaste, and in-text editing is a pain in the arse - it's quicker to retype the sentence (including backspacing over it) then to select a bit of a word and type in 2 letters.

      it's not bad for the 90%, but the 10% is not going away, no matter how much marketing is thrown at it. i'm sick to death of the Apple catch-cry of "why would anybody want to do that?" whenever confronted by a thing i do every day that their gear can't do.

  2. We don't need to "kill" anything by humanrev · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Transformer's tablet component is definitely no iPad-killer.

    What's this obsession in the media with regards to consumer tech (phones, tablets, portable music players) in which products different to the current market leader are qualified as to whether or not that are a -killer? In the case of tablets, the iPad has its strength and weaknesses, and although it seems like a good all-round device it's not for everyone. Some people want more ports, more expandability, something a bit more like a portable computer than a portable appliance (which the iPad is marketed as). In this case it doesn't need to "kill" the market leader - it just has to offer something different that people want. In this way, we have choice.

    Now of course it will be compared to the iPad, but what's this obsession that if you're not the market leader, you're not worth buying? If that were the case there'd be no market for Android phones, or even WM7 phones. Is there perhaps some deep-seated personal feeling that if you don't buy number one, you're by extension not a winner and instead a second-class individual? Or is it just the apps?

    --
    Most people on Slashdot are fucking idiots.
    1. Re:We don't need to "kill" anything by oakgrove · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I have tried and tried and tried to eke out some semblance of productivity from my Xoom and my iPad for the last year and I have finally come to accept the futility of the attempt. The issues are two-fold. First, an ARM processor, even a modern Tegra2/Tegra3 is barely better than an Atom so even if you were to install some form of Linux on the Xoom and get all hardware working, you would still only have something that would choke on more than 5 tabs in the web browser and you can forget any real Eclipse or Gimp or whatever work. The closest I've gotten to that is a chroot and a very good VNC client that approximated a native setup to within 85 percent of the real thing and it is just isn't there. To do real work you need real power. I utterly despise MS to the very fiber of my being but if the only way I am going to get a tablet with the word "Core" in the processor name is to get something that comes with Windows then I might have to swallow my pride and do it. Of course, I'll wipe that sucker and put Linux on it faster than your head can spin but then I'm locked out of a touch native ecosystem. Maybe something like Bluestacks can come out for Linux and fill the gap. Speaking of which, wasn't Canonical talking about bringing an Android runtime to Ubuntu several years ago? What happened to that?

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
  3. Halfway there. by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Not enough. I've seen properly produced printed content on The New iPad(tm) and it's like I'm holding a [slightly small] magazine page in my hand. Highly detailed images, razor sharp text. I've been hearing about 2560x1600 10.1" displays from Samsung for over a year and 11.6" for about half a year. 1920x1080 is a real let-down for Android after seeing The New iPad(tm).

  4. Re:Why do they act like a keyboar dock is a big de by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Geeks still don't get it. iPads are not for them.

    I played with iPad competitors every time I can. Within seconds or minutes, it should be easy to see why, despite more checks on a feature list, they suck for the type of market iPad is geared for.

    Ever since iPad came out it was amusing to listen to the nerdrage that a major electronics company had the audacity to release a major product that isn't catered to them.

  5. Re:Why do they act like a keyboar dock is a big de by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Frankly, I'm more interested in the upcoming Win8 Intel version (Transformer Book). Especially the Core i5 ones with 13" and 14" screens... this would actually make it a very nice laptop that could completely replace the need to lug the real one around. And, of course, you could always dual-boot whatever on it - even Android.