ASUS Transformer Pad 300 (TF300T) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 22, 2012 3:00 AM ESTGPS & WiFi Performance: No Problems Here
The all-aluminum construction of the Transformer Prime unfortunately resulted in WiFi performance degradation in certain situations compared to the original Transformer, and it pretty much ruined the tablet's GPS functionality. The latter got so bad that ASUS eventually removed GPS from the official spec sheet of the TF Prime and is now offering an external GPS dongle for those users who want better GPS performance.
The Transformer Pad 300 avoids all of these issues by being made completely out of plastic (and glass of course). WiFi performance is better than the Transformer Prime and more in line with the original Transformer as a result. Overall I'd say WiFi performance is pretty decent on the 300, whereas the Prime definitely has issues depending on what is between you and the AP:
| WiFi Performance Comparison | ||||||
| Distance from AP | 3 feet | 20 feet (Different Room) | 50 feet (Different Room/Floor) | 80 feet (Different Room) | ||
| ASUS TF Prime (2.4GHz) | 26.9 Mbps | 9.85 Mbps | 13.5 Mbps | 2.20 Mbps | ||
| ASUS TF Pad 300 (2.4GHz) | 26.5 Mbps | 21.8 Mbps | 20.7 Mbps | 21.3 Mbps | ||
| ASUS Transformer (2.4GHz) | 21.8 Mbps | 17.6 Mbps | 18.8 Mbps | 15.0 Mbps | ||
| Apple iPad 2 (2.4GHz) | 35.1 Mbps | 29.9 Mbps | 26.9 Mbps | 10.6 Mbps | ||
| Apple iPad 3 (2.4GHz) | 35.1 Mbps | 29.9 Mbps | 27.9 Mbps | 9.98 Mbps | ||
| Apple iPad 2 (5GHz) | 36.7 Mbps | 36.7 Mbps | 36.7 Mbps | 11.9 Mbps | ||
| Apple iPad 3 (5GHz) | 36.7 Mbps | 36.7 Mbps | 36.7 Mbps | 11.7 Mbps | ||
Whereas the Transformer Prime relied on two WiFi antennas and a dedicated GPS antenna, the 300 combines WiFi, BT and GPS into a single muxed antenna located to the left of the rear camera:
WiFi is still provided by the Azurewave AW-NH615, a rebranded Broadcom BCM4329 solution. ASUS tells me that depending on supply we may even see the original Transformer's Murata WiFi solution used in the 300.
GPS support is similarly driven by the same Broadcom BCM47511 used in the Transformer Prime, however this time we get much better performance. I hopped in a car (with a metal roof), drove to an area with clear sky visibility and tested each tablet resting on top of the center console, near where you'd find the gear selector in most cars. I created a WiFi hotspot on my phone to speed up ephemeris/almanac download speeds and relied on the tablets' internal GPS to determine my actual location. Here's what the GPS antenna is able to pick up on the Prime after 2 minutes:
ASUS Transformer Prime, GPS Status after 2 minutes
And here's what the Transformer Pad 300 sees after 18 seconds:
ASUS Transformer Pad 300, GPS Status after 18 seconds
Much better. Note that the SNR for the visibile satellites still isn't all that great. Indeed I don't know that I would recommend the 300 as an in-car GPS replacement, but its GPS performance is significantly better than the Prime. Just for comparison's sake, here's what the original Transformer saw after 18 seconds:
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, GPS Status after 18 seconds
ASUS doesn't actually make mention of GPS support on its landing page for the Transformer Prime 300, and the WiFi-only iPads don't offer GPS as an option either. If you really want a good GPS solution you may want to consider either a smartphone or the LTE iPad.
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Hrel - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link
I wanted to upvote this. But I'm not on reddit:(hackbod - Sunday, April 22, 2012 - link
<quote>Google has even added support for external batteries like the Transformer Pad's in Ice Cream Sandwich</quote>This isn't true, this is a customization that Asus has done. The power of open source, etc., etc.
sprockkets - Sunday, April 22, 2012 - link
That was true of 3.0. You have a source saying it isn't in 4.0?hackbod - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link
You can look at the source code if you want to confirm -- for example look at BatteryService.java and see there is nothing there for reporting multiple batteries.Also I know what stuff we have added to Android in this area, and internal + dock battery is not one of them. :)
XZerg - Sunday, April 22, 2012 - link
Is there a USB port or not on the tablet itself? I noticed the charger is usb based, correct? If so, can that port be used to connect other devices such as keyboards and usb keys?Impulses - Sunday, April 22, 2012 - link
There's no USB port but you can use a 40 pin to USB adapter, it's like $12 (and took forever to come out after the original TF but it's finally readily available as of a few months ago). Other tablets with a micro USB port still require the use of a special USB OTG cable AFAIK, so neither approach is clearly superior.haar - Sunday, April 22, 2012 - link
WELCOME to the niche market!... 80000 transformers sold! lol ...where you have to carry two pieces, a keyboard and screen, so that you can transform it into a notebook that should have been...
so how is a tablet with a 10 inch screen+keyboard any better than the 11 inch macbook air with win8 ...do you think would you use a 11 inch screen in a laptop for everyday work?... when you answer that question for yourself, then you will know if this transformert ablet is good for you.
exact how are you going to remove the perception that you are using a "toy"... dont "real" tech geek use "powerful" processors! HUGE screens!, 1337 Ice cream OS's!!!!
transformer infinity? ... it does NOT exist for sale! why list it in a table?... and because it doesn't exist how can the specs be correct...? making an article 10% ad copy in is beneath Anandtech.com or shoud be!
crankerchick - Sunday, April 22, 2012 - link
Including the Infinity in the spec comparison is very helpful for those of us deciding to wait it out. Obviously it is not a available yet and a performance and quality comparison isn't an option yet, but reminding us of the features helps us keep a mental note that there is something more on the horizon so we can decide if what is different spec wise is worth waiting for. The specs are as correct as can be confirmed by what has been released by ASUS. Get over it.TrackSmart - Sunday, April 22, 2012 - link
Yes, the article was quite informative. I'm researching tablets right now for a relative. The analysis, comparative performance data, and the frank opinion provided in the conclusions were all useful for the decision-making process.And for Haar (above), many of us would be buying this as a tablet only - without the dock. And for use as a entertainment / media consumption device, rather than for work. The only useless information here is your rude comment.
Souka - Sunday, April 22, 2012 - link
stick the iPad3 screen onto the Transformer Infinity guts... "Winner" :)