ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 21, 2011 4:00 AM ESTDock Issues
As impressed as I was with the fact that ASUS took a tablet OS and made it work in both the tablet and notebook worlds, the Eee Pad Transformer dock isn't without its issues. As I alluded to before, there are times when the dock simply doesn't work. I'll be using the dock, scrolling around or typing and then all of the sudden the keyboard and trackpad stop working altogether. Sometimes the solution is as simple as undocking and redocking the Eee Pad, but other times it requires a full reboot. It's frustrating.
I've also encountered a hard lock and an unexpected reboot, both while docked although I'm not sure if ASUS is to blame or if these are Honeycomb specific issues. ASUS tells me that the Transformer docks that were sent out to reviewers are one firmware revision too old, and what will go out to customers next week should have a number of bugs fixed. I expect to have final hardware/software sometime next week, which I'll be testing to see exactly how much has been fixed.
There's also an issue with power consumption. The dock doesn't exactly have an on/off switch, so even when not in use it'll eat up power as it waits to see if you've docked an Eee Pad to it. ASUS expects to address this with a future firmware update for the dock next month. The update will put the unit into an ultra low power state when docked if the tablet is in standby, and power down completely when not attached to the tablet.
ASUS' Virtual Keyboard: By Nuance
If you read our Xoom review you'll know that I was pretty impressed with the stock Honeycomb keyboard. Not only does it boast a clean layout but Google also provides adjustable autocorrect settings, allowing you to configure how aggressive the autocorrect system behaves. Thus I was surprised to find out that the Eee Pad ships with a custom ASUS virtual keyboard:
A little digging reveals that Nuance (the company that makes Dragon NaturallySpeaking) is the ISV that developed the keyboard and its underlying autocorrect engine. Similar to what Apple offers under iOS, Nuance corrects what you type by looking at word length, letters used and proximity of those letters to others on the keyboard. The ASUS keyboard is just as configurable as the stock Android keyboard, even letting you set how aggressive the auto correction engine behaves.
The ASUS virtual keyboard also supports "trace input" which is basically a non-trademarked word for Swype. Trace input on the Eee Pad works but the tracing animation is pretty laggy and I feel like accuracy isn't quite as good as Swype on smartphones.
The look and layout of ASUS' virtual keyboard also differs from the stock Honeycomb keyboard. ASUS includes a row of number keys along the top of the keyboard, without increasing the footprint of the keyboard—meaning all of the keys get shorter. Thankfully on a 10.1-inch screen, even shorter keys aren't that hard to hit, and the addition of the number row saves you an awkward trip to a secondary keyboard screen. The backspace and return keys are unfortunately placed in the very bottom right corner, which I never could get used to.
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bplewis24 - Friday, April 22, 2011 - link
I believe they are introducing 3G models later in the year.Brandon
ubuntukungfoo - Friday, April 22, 2011 - link
This device is pure sex as far as I'm concerned. I would probably leave my gf for it if the situation was right. I'm not one of those people that want a 20" desktop replacement laptop. That's never really been my idea of mobile. The screen size doesn't reflect any increase in other personal measurements either. I have no need to overcompensate though so, 10" of screen real estate is actually perfect.With mobile it's always been battery life for me. The 16 hour battery life just kills everything else in my view. It has just enough computing power for casual use. If I want to do major computer stuff, I'll do it from my main desktop workstation or I'll use this as a terminal for virtual environments.
As far as desktop computing on the go, I'll just VNC, NX or even RDP over SSH into one of my dozens of VMs living in the cloud. The fact that this has some basic desktop functionality built in with honeycomb impresses the F out of me. If it ends up implementing the Batman protocol or some other mesh networking technology this could be the standard issue recommendation for everyone I know or do work for. This is everything the atrix wanted to be and more. I will be buying the keyboard and I think when you take into consideration it extends the I/O and battery life it's a must have and well worth the extra. How much does an apple bluetooth keyboard cost anyway and that battery can't be used by the ipad2.
However, it would be nice if there was a bundle price rebate if you bought both at initial purchase get $40 back or something. It should cost more for people that don't know what they want. Having a separate keyboard also solves a problem that's often bugged me about conventional notebook/netbook computing. If something goes screwy with either your keyboard or display you're kinda screwed. This thing affords me some level of modularity which I like ALOT!
Overall, for $550 price point for the complete experience I could certainly get a more powerful netbook or even notebook. For that matter I could build a massively powerful desktop computer. That's not the point here, and people that don't get it probably won't get it. Keep your storage and computing power in the cloud, it's much more economical on that level. It's all going that way anyway. Just look at what Apple is doing in NC. I already have dropbox, amazon cloud storage, EC2 and Asus even acknowledges this by including one free year of unlimited cloud storage with the device.
The truth is most people don't come close to tapping the full computing power of their desktops anyway. The lowest cost i7 processor is more than capable of running 24 separate virtual machines of various platforms concurrently with the right configuration. I do this for school systems on a budget all the time. I'll just tell them to buy transformers rather than thintops for each seat. The cost is really pretty comparable.
My iPhone got bricked with the iOS 4.3 update and I took it to the apple store so they could manually reload the firmware with their special tools. While I was waiting in line I got to play around with and ipad2 and a macbook air. I'm no apple fanboy but I was all but sold on getting one of those, that is until I found out about the transformer on the linux action show. This is actually kinda both and ipad2 and a macbook air in one if you think about it for a third of the cost.
Asus seems to get it, although by their advertising they don't understand the American market very well. The enthusiasts, the ones that will really be passionate about this product just need detailed hands on reviews to be sold on it. This review on Anandtech just solidified everything I already felt. The lay person, the non-apple brainwashed masses just want to know that it's polished, quick, easy and $100 cheaper than the iPad2. The techy people already know everything that's obvious about it and just want the nitty gritty details.
In regards to the android tablet competition out their, even other Asus tablet lines, don't even bother. That galaxy tab is a nice little form factor but there's not enough screen real estate to justify the cost. It's also not much bigger than my friends droid phone. The xoom is just too expensive and it's not very intuitive. It took me about 2 mins to locate the power button, and I'm no slouch. LOL I have high hopes for the Asus Eee pad transformer t101 and I'm sure the t102 will be even better. I'm sold!
ECTechSupport - Friday, April 22, 2011 - link
You can also resolve this problem with a Citrix environment and using a device that has the Citrix Receiver installed."The problem is as follows: if I'm on my desktop with half a dozen tabs open and perhaps a PDF as well, but I decide to switch over to a tablet—there's no quick way that I can transition my reading environment between the devices."
CharonPDX - Friday, April 22, 2011 - link
I got an iPad for my wife. After a week, she decided it wasn't something she'd use. (She is a stay-at-home mom, and her laptop works just fine for her.)I played with it a little, but didn't really think it could replace either my (aging, due for replacement) laptop or my mobility-is-all netbook. Then I saw a coworker's hard-sided aluminium keyboard case. (Zaggmate, for those that are curious.) That sold it. I now haven't used my netbook in months, the iPad+keyboard is smaller and can do more; and my laptop has been relegated to "small desktop computer" status. (I also have a dual-socket workstation at my desk, but it's so loud, I usually use the notebook.)
It achieves essentially the same form factor as the EeePad Transformer. And I love it. I can nearly guarantee that whenever I replace this iPad, it will be with a similar paired device. If the EeePad Transformer had been out when my wife poo-pooed the iPad, I likely would have returned the iPad and gotten the Transformer.
Your 'value' judgment on it is odd, though. You make a big deal out of the $100 cheaper the Eee is over any other tablet, then balk at the $150 keyboard. Pretty much any keyboard case for the iPad is $100. The extra functionality of this case is easily worth the extra $50! (I'd love to have the "iPad Camera Connection Kit"'s SD card slot built in to my keyboard along with a 50%-extra-life battery!) Even with the keyboard, it's then only $50 more than a few other tablets, and STILL cheaper than the Xoom.
If you have *ANY* use at all for a keyboard on the go, if you were even SLIGHTLY considering a netbook or a low-end notebook to go with your tablet, this is an AMAZING value.
Zingam - Saturday, April 23, 2011 - link
Finger prints festivalkasplat - Sunday, April 24, 2011 - link
If they supported SDHC then you could store so much more and the storage would be faster and cheaper. Is the microsd really saving that much space or money? The Apple dongle approach almost makes more sense except that in Apple's case you can't really use the storage via the camera connector kit as extra storage, just for transferring.HTC Fan - Monday, April 25, 2011 - link
I registered just so I could comment how great I thought your review was.This is probably the best tablet out there you can get for a very competitive price. You did mention that the docks does cost a lot but I think it is worth it for extra battery life and for versatility, and even with the $150 it is STILL cheaper than the cheapest XOOM.
I am waiting for the Samsung 10.1 as I do want a lighter tablet, but if that thing wasn't announced I definitely would have gotten this.
antoniolicon - Monday, April 25, 2011 - link
My imagination is stirred by your mention of 'device synergy'. It reminds me of an article I read in Gizmodo: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/26/a-modest-propos...I have this mad idea that in our glorious future we will be able to dock these mobile devices (maybe even wirelessly!) and expand our processing, gpu, and ram much in the same way we can attach a keyboard, mouse, or monitor.
Maybe offices will contain a cpu room that distributes processing power out to my phone or tablet at my desk.
Airports and cyber cafe's might offer processing power in much the same way they offer wi-fi.
Crazy, right?
BTW, I would love to see a benchmark comparison of the iPad2 vs the acer w500 and it's ilk. I am hoping to see (this year!) a netbook killer tablet that runs a serious OS. OSX, Windows, or Linux (Ubuntu Tablet Remix would be great!)
Thanks,
Antonio Licon
http://ffwd.typepad.com
hldc1 - Monday, April 25, 2011 - link
Does anyone know if you'll be able to use a 3G/4G USB modem/data stick (from Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) with the Asus Transformer?JBT - Monday, April 25, 2011 - link
I've heard if you buy them together the keyboard is only $100 rather than $150.