ASUS Eee Pad Slider Review

Final Words

For the users who are happy living in the consumption-only world of today's tablets, the Eee Pad Slider is not for you. It's bulkier than the Galaxy Tab and has significantly worse battery life than the iPad 2. If what you're looking for is another tablet, the Eee Pad Transformer is likely a better buy. The Eee Pad Slider on the other hand talks to those users who want a tablet but also want to be able to type out a long email when they have to. Or carry on an IM conversation while on the couch. The Slider is the best marriage of tablet and keyboard that I've seen to date.

For a pure tablet in the Android world I prefer the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (or 8.9), but if I were stranded on a deserted island with only one Honeycomb tablet it'd probably be the Slider. Being able to quickly move between browsing with my finger and typing out emails is a huge selling point for me. If you're not bothered by tablet ergonomics, the Slider likely won't do much for you. But if you are, the Slider is pretty awesome.

In fact, the Slider enabled enough of a notebook experience that I began wanting more notebook features. Primarily a faster processor and better multitasking support. I dare say that I wish the Eee Pad Slider was running Windows 8, simply because I found myself wanting to do two things at once more on the Slider than on any other tablet. On other tablets I'm less likely to want to multitask between apps that involve a lot of typing, but on the Slider it's almost a non-issue. Google and Apple beware, multi-window multitasking is an obvious fit for these tablets and Microsoft will deliver it late next year.

Then there's the problem of pricing. Although the Slider is arguably the most flexible tablet we've reviewed, you still ultimately need a PC somewhere in your life. I would've been happy with the Slider at the Eee Pad's starting price of $399 (perhaps pushing the Eee Pad down further).

My standing recommendation for anyone interested in a new tablet is still: wait if you can. With Kal-El tablets now due in November (delayed from August) the wait shouldn't be too much longer. If you must buy today, ASUS' Eee Pad Slider delivers a lot of what made the Eee Pad Transformer so great but in a smaller form factor. If you want an Android tablet with a keyboard, the Slider is really the only way to go.