Consumer feedback

[digink#AC]

Hey guys,

I'm planning on picking one of these puppies up tomorrow from hhgregg for the amazing $399 price tag, and I just wanted to see how people were liking it? I read reviews and I am very pumped, but would love to hear some feed back from you folks who actually own them.

Also, how do you guys feel about ASUS updating this regularly? Does this tablet seem to the DEV community behind it, or is it too early to tell?

Thank you!

 

[VydorScope]

I love it, its the best tablet and the best netbook I have ever seen. Bar none. UPdates seem timely, and so far looks like there is dev backing... but to early to tell I think

 

[SlickMoney]

Absolutely love it. Especially now with the 3.1 update.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

 

[mknollman123]

I love mine - my net book has separation anxiety and I do not even have the KB dock.

 

[kareden]

Transformer = Winner

I love this tablet! Usually I am not an early adopter of technology, but from the moment I held a demo in my hands, I just had to have it. I want a tab to replace the (Asus) netbook I have. The keyboard dock design is really innovative and the expandability options are terrific. The Ipad was so tempting. And the Acer Iconia looked pretty snazzy, too. Neither tablet, however, blends content creation and content consumption as seamlessly as the Asus Transformer.

I've had my tablet since last Wednesday and have really enjoyed using it. The screen is gorgeous! Battery life is as advertised. Honeycomb, although a little buggy, has many thoughtful design touches and features that make using a tab so much more fun than pecking away on some old laptop . Lags and some artifacting that occurred under Honeycomb 3.01 seem to have been addressed in the 3.1 update.

And how cool is it that Asus has already delivered the latest Honeycomb update?! Asus said May 31st, and darn if I didn't get the update on that date and I had absolutely no problem installing it. Tablet-optimized apps are admittedly limited, but I look forward to that changing. I really hope Netflix drops an app that supports Honeycomb Android tabs but quick! I can't wait to stream my instant watching queue on my tab.

Anyway, to me, the Transformer represents the best combination of design, price, value, portability and functionality available today. Other tablets are poised to enter the market. I think Asus has found a way to distinguish itself in this brave new world. This tab was so hard to find, but I am glad I held out and got my Transformer.

 

[Suntan]

I like it for what it is. A (relatively) low cost option with a great mix of features (the keyboard being the main one) with the manufacturer showing great eagerness (for now) in updating and fixing the current issues/bugs. The price is great don?t get me wrong, but even more than that I like that ASUS just got down to business of making a profit by offering a similar product at a more competitive price, instead of all these companies that seem to be wringing their hands and dancing around price-points set by apple.

That said, it is not perfect. Of the tablets I?ve played with (Xoom, Iconia, Tab, Playbook) it is clearly the least well built. It shows its cost cutting in places like sharp edges around the openings and flex in areas depending on how you pick it up. However, the textured back is easy to hold without worrying about it slipping. In truth, I wish they would have raised the price $20 and put $10 of that into making the metal surround a little more appealing. The keyboard is actually built to a higher quality than the tablet (at least on my samples) which seems odd but I?ll take it. The keyboard itself actually has better keys than my current laptop (HP-something) and my old ASUS EEEPC netbook. They did a good job on the keyboard and the guy that pitched it to the higher-ups should be proud.

The tablet itself is more comfortable to hold than the Xoom, but not as comfortable to hold as the Iconia. It is light and the weight does not bring attention to itself. Thickness to me is a non-issue, all these tablets are thin to me, but then I never found Kate Moss to be particularly attractive.

The Keyboard is great to use. The combo is better balanced than I thought it would be and together it is still smaller than my old EEEPC netbook. It responds well and doesn?t have any real weaknesses. It is in another league compared to syncing a regular BT keyboard to a tablet. I synced a quality BT keyboard to a Xoom once and tried it out for a bit, it works but it?s nowhere near as efficient overall. Further, there is just something great about using the tablet most of the day, only to continue using it docked on the keyboard that night, then look down and see the battery sitting at 84% and *rising.*

Audio is passable. It won?t win any awards, but it also doesn?t bring attention to itself. The Xoom has better speakers, but being located on the back side the higher frequencies (more directional) suffer and you constantly get the feeling that you are holding the wrong side of the tablet towards you. If you want to ?fill? a room with general music, the Xoom is better. If you want to watch a video, or listen to music while using the tablet, the side mounted speakers are better. This effect is even more pronounced if you want to listen to something while the tablet is sitting on a table. The Iconia has rear facing speakers like the Xoom, but I only played with one of those in the store so I can?t say how quality they are.

In short, if you want a Honeycomb tablet the TF is the one to get if you have a desire to use a keyboard. Honestly though, if I didn?t want to use the keyboard, I would have taken it back and purchased the Iconia for $50 more.

All of the above is imho and ymmv.

-Suntan