Android 3.1 on the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer

More Enhancements & Final Words

Android 3.1 brings even more than what I've been able to go over here. The recent apps menu now shows more items and is a scrollable list, making multitasking far more capable on the platform.

Tapping the home button will take you back to the last home screen you were on, not the center home screen. Widgets are resizable, another nice addition:

The OS now supports one click importing from digital cameras over USB, making a system like the Eee Pad Transformer even more PC like. What's most impressive about this update is how quickly Google was able to get it out. The Android team is relatively small and to see these sorts of improvements in a couple of months is a very big deal. Adding support for USB keyboards, mice and gamepads is also a hint at the usage models Google wants to enable in the future. The line between tablet and PC is going to get very blurry in the next 3 years.

My only complaint is that despite having a relatively unified launch platform, there's still a staggered rollout for the update. Xoom users got it first, then the Eee Pad owners. The Galaxy Tab and Iconia folks are obviously next on the list. At least this time around we're talking a matter of weeks and not months/years.

For those of you who purchased Eee Pads, keep an eye out for the 3.1 update this Monday. If you're still shopping for a tablet, the 3.1 update does make the Eee Pad more attractive. There are fewer rough edges to worry about and a better overall experience, albeit one that's still imperfect. Recording video seems better than it was last time but it's still not that great. While I'm impressed by the Eee Pad, I'm wondering what a thinner version running Kal-El later this year might be like.