Where Can I Buy ASUS Transformer Prime TF201-B1-GR Eee Pad 10.1-Inch
32GB Tablet (Amethyst Gray)
ASUS Transformer Prime TF201-B1-GR Eee Pad 10.1-Inch 32GB Tablet (Amethyst Gray) Review
10.1" WXGA (1280x800) (LED Capacitive)/NVIDIA Tegra 3/1GB DDR2 RAM/32GB Flash Memory/Android 3.2 (Honeycomb)/802.11BGN/1.2MP Front Camera/8.0MP Rear Camera/Bluetooth 2.1/Up to 12 hours battery/G-Sensor/E-Compass/Light Sensor/Gyroscope/1YR North American Warranty
Price : $389.50
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ASUS Transformer Prime TF201-B1-GR Eee Pad 10.1-Inch 32GB Tablet (Amethyst Gray) Feature
- Android 3.2 Honeycomb OS (4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich upgradable) with ASUS Waveshare UI
- NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 Quad-core CPU
- 10.1" LED Backlight WXGA (1280x800) ScreenSuper IPS+10 finger multi-touch supportCorning® Gorilla® Glass
- 32GB EMMC + 8G life time ASUS Webstorage space
- Eee Pad Transformer Docking Keyboard Not IncludedWLAN 802.11 b/g/n@2.4GHzBluetooth V2.1+EDR1.2 MP Front Camera8 MP Rear CameraAuto focus (rear) with flashLarge F2.4 aperture. (rear camera)
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Costumer review
896 of 916 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent laptop-replacement tablet
By H. Wang
I've extensively used a lot of tablets, due to both longtime interest in mobile technology, and my line of work. To give you an idea of my frame of reference, I've either owned or used the following tablets: Ipad 2 (owned), HP Touchpad (owned - 2011 firesale!), Motorola Xoom / Galaxy Tab 10.1, LG G, original Asus Transformer (work). Heck, I've owned the following Windows Mobile / PocketPC devices from back in the day - HP Jornada, Toshiba e800. My phone is the iPhone 4.
With that said, this is one of the best tech gadget I've ever owned. The unanimous rave industry reviews (and very positive end user reviewers, even taking wifi issues etc. into account) aren't wrong.
* BUILD AND FORM FACTOR: evocative of but actually feels higher quality than the Ipad 2 and Macbook Air, which is a minor miracle at this price point. Beautifully machined aluminum, minimalist but not cold. The resolution of the screen is the best out of any current tablet, and can be crazily bright enough that it is useable outdoors in sunlight. It's definitely a fingerprint magnet though.
* COLOR - for those deciding between the gray or champagne, I received the champagne, and I actually called to confirm that I received the right one. It's much more silver than gold, it's basically silver aluminum with some gold highlights when the light catches it the right way. This is *exactly* what I wanted - it's reminiscent of the classic aluminum MacBook Pros, but with a touch of warmth from the gold. In short - it's not very gold at all.
* PROCESSOR - the Tegra 3 quad core processor is noticeably snappy, making the whole experience (even with Honeycomb) feel next gen. I've been getting great battery life, ~ 10-12 hours of normal mixed used, on balanced setting. With the dock, you're at 18+ hours. The NVIDIA fifth "stealth core" does its job seamlessly. It just works. For a quad core tablet with blazing power, this is again pretty mind-bending and next-gen. Is a quad core necessary? Strictly speaking, no. The Tegra 2 / OMAP / Snapdragon tablets do just fine, for the most part (although the un-overclocked Touchpad is noticeably slow), but every non ipad tablet lagged behind the iPad 2 in terms of real world performance (opening menus, browsing, launching apps). This isn't because Apple's processor is faster, but rather because if the sheer level of optimization between Apple hardware and software, which is industry-leading. With the Tegra 3 processor, though, this is the first non Apple tablet that both objectively is, and also noticeably feels, faster, more responsive, and more powerful than the iPad 2. It just brute forces past all of the Apple optimizations. For me, that is huge, especially if I'm going to be spending over $400 on something. Slowly but surely, more and more apps are optimizing for quad core (especially games), but even without that, I'd get a quad core for the general performance benefits alone, as it translates across every app.
* OS / SW - I really like the iOS UI for phones, it's simple yet powerful, but for a tablet it's always just felt incredibly limiting / frustrating / slightly condescending. I even prefer WebOS to it. Android Honeycomb is a nice balance between power, customization and being relatively easy to pick up, just perfect for the tablet form factor. My 2 year old toddler figured out how to use it in about 20 seconds (similar to WebOS and iOS). That being said, I'm looking forward to ICS, which should make things even more stable (HC still crashes occasionally)and uniform. The fact that the Prime gets an ICS in a month or two is fantastic. The pre-loaded Asus apps are relatively minimal and unobtrusive, and some actually are quite nice, such as the Asus cloud. Polaris Office is solid. The Android Market could be improved though, especially in terms of sorting and organization. Finding the right app can be a bit of a crapshoot.
CONS: Basically the same nits as others have pointed out.
* SPEAKER: the rear-facing speaker placement is a bit dumb, because it gets covered up relatively easily by your hands or when you set it down. However, you can still hear it even if it's completely covered, it's pretty loud, and it's located where the tablet tapers inwards so it doesn't get completely covered by a flat surface when setting it down. I don't mind the lack of a second speaker per se, as you hardly get stereo sound from any of the other tablets that have two speakers. I would say the sound quality of the Prime is on par with any other tablet, but it is just a bit easier to muffle. A jawbone jambox bluetooth speaker or the like works beautifully to supplement this tablet. It's certainly not needed, but it's a nice addition.
* CHARGER - the proprietary charger really annoys me. Until Asus comes out with more accessories, I'm basically stuck with using my one charging cord. Even charging via the dock requires the proprietary connector. It's not worth deducting a star for (at least for me), because it's more of an annoyance in light of how great the rest of the device is, but sheesh.
* PRODUCT LAUNCH - for a $21 billion company of 110,000+ employees, Asus still can't do a good product launch to save its life. This doesn't detract from the end product per se, but it's worth mentioning because so many pre-orders (on Amazon and elsewhere) were bungled or delayed. Asus is starting to consistently put out really great products, but in order to get to the "next level"(Sony, Apple etc.) in the eyes of the average consumer, they're going to really need to work on marketing and sales execution.
OVERALL: this thing is pretty ingenious, especially with the accessory dock / keyboard. Hopefully a harbinger of good things to come in the Android tablet space.
<>
These are discussed more in the comments, but I thought it would be useful to update the main review.
* ICS - I updated to ICS the first day it was out (good job Asus in pushing this out two days earlier), to absolutely no problems. It was like any other firmware update. The system notifies you that there's an update available, you tap yes, and voila. ~10 minutes later, ICS is installed. It's pretty seamless - no loss of applications or data. I haven't noticed wholesale differences, but everything is smoother, more streamlined, and sometimes faster. It's a definite plus. Asus has already provided multiple firmware updates (on top of ICS), which is a very good sign that this product is being actively supported.
* WiFi - it's been pretty definitively proven that an all-aluminum back-plate is not the best for enhancing WiFI signals. Asus attempted to make up for this via "antenna differentiation," a fancy way for saying that there are two antennas instead of one. In practice, mine has very good wifi reception up to about 25-30 feet from the router. Specific numbers: wifi analyzer average value of -50 to -60, and speedtest of up to 18mbps, exactly on par with my laptop. However, once you get really far away from the router (i.e. outside, or more than 75 feet from the router), the performance erodes at a higher rate than the comparison laptop (wifi analyzer -90). For my purposes, this is extremely useable, and I never noticed the supposedly weak wifi until I started doing actual tests out of curiosity. A lot of people have had luck with installing repeaters and / or more powerful routers, but I haven't needed to go that route. Asus has announced that they're making a new Transformer Prime variant, the 700T, due in a few months (supposedly). This one will have a different, non-metallic backplate, similar to the original Transformer (i.e. plastic). For me, I'm happy to sacrifice a slight amount of WiFi range for the distinctive spun-aluminum backplate; those who don't feel this way should perhaps wait for the 700T if they can.
* Dock - my champagne dock finally shipped yesterday, about a month after the actual tablet arrived. I can understand this somewhat if this device were sold out by the millions, but I don't think that that's the case (even though it looks like this tablet is, deservedly, a hit as far as Android tabs go). It's just an almost mind-bogglingly bad manufacturing / supply issue with Asus. It's like they make 10 at a time and call it a day. Hopefully it's just the first month hiccup - it looks like there are more docks (esp. the grey) among different retailers and that's a good sign. My original criticism stands though - Asus is insanely bad at product launches.
* Accessories - I ended up purchasing this MoKo(TM) Premium Quality Slim-Fit Folio Cover Case with built-in Multi-Angle Stand for Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 10.1-Inch Android Tablet, and the Skinomi Techskin screen protector. The case is not as whiz-bang as some iPad cases - it's the same tired black pseudo leather, but it's cheap and it gets the job done in terms of functionality. The skin is ok but seems to, ironically, scratch easily. I've had better luck with Invisibleshield with past devices.
* Overall - I'm pleased to report that the tablet is still working great. After a month of use, I'd say what really sets it apart is the Tegra 3 quad core, which is an unadulterated good. I can't imagine using a tablet without one now. The form factor and build are great, but with the caveats noted above.
543 of 605 people found the following review helpful.
Asus Transformer Prime - IPAD killr ?
By R. Richelson
Hi guys,
Figured I'd stop by since this is the hot toy for the Christmas season !
I purchased the 32GB champagne color. I havent put T201 thru its paces yet but
did perform some testing.
Quality =
Fit and finish is 100%, Very solid feel.
Size =
Very thin, kinda difficult to hold in hand, I'd recommend purchasing a gel case
or something similar.
Gaming =
Played the pre-install games and they both ran with 0 stutters and were
extremely fluid. did i purchase a a multipurpose tablet or a gaming tablet... i think the latter :)
Performance =
Tablet was completely fluid when changing from one screen to the next, i especially like the multi window
tab on the bottom left, it will allow you to select anything previously opened (and will allow you to close too)
Built in music player seemed basic and didnt appear to have the ability to download album art. I'll stick with
amazon cloud mp3 player.
Web =
(subjet to further testing) web browsing seemed to be alittle slow, this was experienced with java enabled... with disabled performance was snappy and good
YouTube & amazon streaming =
using the youtube app , it was a beautiful display and worked flawlessly. Amazon needs to make an app to stream their prime videos instead of going thru the web... however once a few buttons are pressed the video does fill the entire screen and works. Please note imbedded youtube in web DID NOT display any stutter or frame drops.
Sound =
Unfortunately this is what caused me to give 4 instead of 5 stars. The audio is quite loud and clear
however only being emitted from a single speaker port does not provide the spartial/stereo sound. perhaps
blue tooth or headset will eliminate this concern.
Camera =
Front facing 1.2MP camera provided acceptable image quality, however white balance should be adjusted to fully ensure quality (dont use automatic) , rear facing camera provided a good quality picture with decent focus and brightness... even in poor lighting conditions however any zoom used the image would be blurry depending upon x2 x3 etc. video mode was tested with low movement and provided a better quality then my nikon p500 (p500 seems to be abit jumpy).
Battery life =
Unable to report at this time since testing was limited to less then a full charge.
Display =
Was very colorful and bright, 600 nits of brightness will make it useable outside. normal amount of backlight bleeding (almost none but there's always some). backlight bleed test was performed and two hot spots were identified one on bottom and other on right side. As mentioned previously the amount of light imo is quite minimal and i've seen far worse on other items. one of my apps displayed a completely white page and there was two hot spots (white slightly brigter then the rest of the page) this may be a fluke or not... i was able to duplicate the brighter pixel, its barely noticeable however is visable on default screen in other colors... not a deal breaker its about the size of a pin head with a slight glow around it, clarification you wouldnt know its there unless i told you to look for it.
WIFI Range =
two apps were used to test the wifi range speedtest (same test server) and wifi analyzer. I've only compared the two and not a laptop.. plus my house has about 800watts of electronic interference :)
12 feet away from base station
evo3d = 15.38 down 4.86 up signal str = -46 dbm
prime = 20.50 down 5.00 up signal str = -43 dbm
two walls, outside, about 85 feet away
evo3d = 02.26 down 0.89 up signal str = -88 dbm
prime = 05.50 down 3.00 up signal str = -75 dbm
GPS =
Best reception i got was 5/9 stable 4/8.
UPDATE: Reports have been surfacing GPS isnt working or isnt working properly... When I performed the test it did find 4/8 and continued to have the searching graphic. Honestly I dont know what is normal for GPS reception with this device. Will compare against phone later.
Operation & bugs =
With any new device there will be patches and bug fixes, I dont assume any different with the prime.
while transferring pictures via usb , i was viewing the pictures and multiple times it froze and displayed
error resulting in restart of picture viewer. Another item was installation of a large gamesoft game dungeon
runners 2, I had music playing in the background and every 15 seconds or so the music would stutter for a second or two
and then continue playing. I'm sure this will be addressed with ICE and the use of 4/5 cores properly.
I'll update this review as time allows
If you guys want specific info or test , please feel free to ask !
01/09/12
GPS has issues... perhaps big onces since Asus removed GPS from spec sheet. it appears the metal backing is a hinderance for the gps signal.
Latest asus update has improved web speed w/java enabled. I prevously tested wireless and it provided a good speed outside the house. but a few rooms across in my house and the speed dropped extremely low, after update its doubled @ same location.
01/19/12
reduced another point due to asus removing GPS from their sales web site, Additionally Asus should offer a replacement backplate to elminate the gps and wifi issues. Please note ICS has made the web browsing experience lightning fast - im very impressed. I'm seriously concerned about the future of the prime , the handling of the signal issues , and amazon removing it from sale. I'm returning this to amazon till the smoke clears.
69 of 73 people found the following review helpful.
Best. Tablet. Period.
By Jeremy
This is a review for the 64gb Amethyst Gray model. (1/17/12) I have now had my dock for over a week, so I will update a few sections of this review with my impressions of the dock and tablet combined.
First, I'd like to take a brief moment to discuss the launch of this tablet. Asus announced it to much hype and the initial reviews only compounded that hype. I preordered it on specs alone back in November. The initial reviews were all glowing with very few negatives. Then the initial units went out and there appeared to be widespread disappointment. I am happy to say that my experience closely mirrors that of the initial professional reviewers.
Build Quality
This is by far the best looking tablet I've seen. I was worried about it being too purple, but I think the color is perfect. I love the aluminum body and how thin it is. It is very thin and light which makes it easy to hold an use for a long time. I really love the way it looks and feels. It's a fingerprint magnet, but I guess you'll have that when you're touching all over it constantly. Asus provides a microfiber cloth with the device that works very well at keeping it clean.
Battery Life
The battery life has exceeded my expectations. I can get 8-9 hours of constant use, browsing web pages, playing games, watching videos, all with wifi on and screen and normal brightness. When not in use, the battery hardly drains at all. There is no reason to power down even if you aren't going to use it for a couple days, you might lose like 5-8% battery during that whole time. (1/17/12) The dock does a great job extending the battery life. I can easily get 14-15 hours of use when they are together.
Processor (Gaming)
The Asus Transformer Prime uses the Tegra 3 processor. This makes the tablet very fast. Running games like Glowball and Shadowgun look fantastic. There is no slowdown to be seen. Switching between apps is also very quick. I've been very happy with the performance of this device, and I expect, going forward, that this quad-core processor will be able to keep up with the quickly evolving tablet landscape. It should be fairly "future-proof". Using HDMI-out and a wireless controller, you can play these amazing games on your big-screen tv, making this a type of videogame console. Using SNESoid, N64oid, and other emulators with the wireless controller turn this into a retro gaming powerhouse. (1/17/12) I have been able to get my PS3 controller to connect wirelessly to the Prime. Playing games on the TV is perfect with this.
Screen
It's great. The difference brightness settings make it a joy to look at no matter the lighting conditions. Videos and games look great on it. The touch response is perfect and it's very easy to operate. (1/5/12) I am able to confirm that there is slightly noticeable light bleed in the upper right part of the screen. It's very feint and can only be seen with certain black screens, and only if I'm specifically looking for it.
GPS
I must take a moment to discuss the GPS issues. So far, I have not been able to lock on any satellites. This does not lower my review score because I never intended to use the GPS on a Wifi only device. My cell phone with 3g/4g data and 4.5" screen is a much better navigator. If using a 10" screen to navigate is a priority for you, you should probably look elsewhere. This simply won't get the job done. The tablet is still easily able to tell your location using Wifi, so all location-based services function without issue.
Wifi
There were reports of bad wifi on the tablet. In my everyday use, it has been more than adequate. It quickly connects, and I have been able to download apps and browse webpages quickly. It's signal strength is on par with my Galaxy Nexus smartphone. My room is 2 floors below the router, and I still get full bars.
Camera
The rear camera is great, but I don't expect to get much use out of it. It's difficult to take pictures using such a large device. I'm happy they included a front-facing camera though, it works great with the Skype and Google Messenger apps.
Sound
The rear speaker is decent enough for notifications and a quick video, but I'd recommend using headphones in most cases. It's loud enough, but still has a small speaker sound, and I get much better audio out of my headphones. I'd say the speaker is better than other tablet speakers I've heard, but I'd still use an external speaker or headphones if you need better quality.
Expandability
I want to touch on the expandability on this tablet versus the competition. At this time, I can only comment on the tablet itself, which has a micro-sd port. I had read complaints that the micro-sd sticks out too far, but it doesn't create a problem for me. I can still hold the tablet by it's sides without problem. It won't pop out automatically or anything. The keyboard dock will add a full-size sd card slot as well as a full-size USB port which will accept USB hubs. As tablets are primarily media consumption devices, this expandability is important to me so that I can take many high-quality movies, tv shows, and music with me on-the-go. No other tablets come close to this capacity.
Android OS
Running Android versus iOS was a requirement for me. I'm a gadget lover and love the ability to customize. With Android, if you don't like the stock keyboard, you can replace it, which I did, with Swiftkey. Swiftkey allows you to use a "split" keyboard, so if you hold the tablet in your hands, it's very easy to type with, and makes the tablet experience much better. This level of customization is found throughout Android. The task switcher makes it easy to go from app to app. I honestly love the stock browser. If you turn on the quick controls from the advanced settings, you can switch between bookmarks, tabs, forward, back, etc with just the swipe of a finger. Pages seemed to load quickly. (1/17/12) With ICS and the keyboard dock, the Transformer Prime really starts to shine. I never thought using a mouse and keyboard would be so great and intuitive with Android. I really love it, it's like they were made for each other.
Conclusion
I have wanted a tablet for a while, since the iPad took off, and this was the first tablet that seemed good enough to take the plunge. I'm glad I waited because this meets my every expectation. The reason I'm giving it 5 stars despite my minor complains is because it is exactly what I expected out of a tablet. I've seen the other tablets out there, and this is by far the best one I've seen/used. (1/17/12) If you get the Prime, it is really worth it to get the dock as well. They work beautifully together, and it is awesome that you can just rip the screen off of your netbook whenever you want to watch movies on the couch. I highly recommend this device to anyone looking to take the plunge into Android tablets.
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