Got the ASUS tablet - Here are a few thoughts

[fldude99]

Sounds good. But with no USB how can you tether it? Do you need to have the keyboard dock to tether? Hope not.

Don't most folks tether wirelessly anyway? Having to use a cable is a little clunky IMO

 

[Mickeylittle]

Don't beat me up over this but I'm not sure what to do. I have been using an Acer Iconia for the past 3 days and it is going back to Best Buy. They talked me into trying it Tuesday night since the Transformer was on backorder and told me to bring it back if not satisfied. I also bought a couple of iPads from them on that launch day as well.

I am not expecting this to be better than my iPad 2 as Apple has done a great job but I really like widgets and live screens and stuff like that. My problem though is that on the Iconia I have not found anything that works as good as my iPad!

All I'm looking to do is surf the web, have a strong calendar, todos, contacts, read books, PDFs, and things like that.

Does anyone think that the transformer will function any better than the Iconia? I guess it may take time for honeycomb to get smoothed out and for some more tablet apps to be built. Anybody out there that has used the iPad 2 and the Transformer wish to compare the 2?

 

[Suntan]

Don't beat me up over this but I'm not sure what to do. I have been using an Acer Iconia for the past 3 days and it is going back to Best Buy. They talked me into trying it Tuesday night since the Transformer was on backorder and told me to bring it back if not satisfied. I also bought a couple of iPads from them on that launch day as well.

I am not expecting this to be better than my iPad 2 as Apple has done a great job but I really like widgets and live screens and stuff like that. My problem though is that on the Iconia I have not found anything that works as good as my iPad!

All I'm looking to do is surf the web, have a strong calendar, todos, contacts, read books, PDFs, and things like that.

Does anyone think that the transformer will function any better than the Iconia? I guess it may take time for honeycomb to get smoothed out and for some more tablet apps to be built. Anybody out there that has used the iPad 2 and the Transformer wish to compare the 2?

The transformer will not work any better/worse than the Iconia for that stuff.

The transformer has a (questionably) better screen than the Iconia and the added functionality of the keyboard dock (minus the one USB port on the Iconia tablet itself.)

If you?re happy with the ipad then just use that. Despite comments to the otherwise around here, there?s nothing wrong with the ipad if it does what you want.

Perhaps look back in a few months when Honeycomb gets a little more mature, or even have a look at the WebOS based Touchpad that should come out in a month or two.

-Suntan

 

[Drifter]

- There is currently no way to play your movies that you may have on your laptop. No app out there currently supports all formats (and I have movies in .avi). So lets all hope that VLC will be done with their Android app soon and the movie feature will be perfect as well. (This is not an ASUS problem, but an Android problem).

This may not solve all your needs, but I use playon to stream the movies on my laptop to my EVO. Just need to make sure the machine running the playon server is beefy enough to cut down on the buffering.

 

[robjulo]

The transformer will not work any better/worse than the Iconia for that stuff.

The transformer has a (questionably) better screen than the Iconia and the added functionality of the keyboard dock (minus the one USB port on the Iconia tablet itself.)

If you?re happy with the ipad then just use that. Despite comments to the otherwise around here, there?s nothing wrong with the ipad if it does what you want.

Perhaps look back in a few months when Honeycomb gets a little more mature, or even have a look at the WebOS based Touchpad that should come out in a month or two.

-Suntan

This is what I did. I had the Xoom, took it back and got an Ipad2 for my immediate needs. Honeycomb has great potential, but there are and will continue to be some growing pains. I will likely pick up the Asus, the Acer or the Toshiba at some point in the near future to go along with the Ipad2.

 

[thamenacing1]

Sounds good. But with no USB how can you tether it? Do you need to have the keyboard dock to tether? Hope not.

I don't think anyone ever answered your question. Like other people, we have set our phones up to tether wirelessly, so the lack of a USB port on the pad is a non-issue.

Like others have said, I would rather it not have 3g on it for the various reasons. I can't wait to get mine (but apparently I have to!)

 

[Ufd108]

Don't beat me up over this but I'm not sure what to do. I have been using an Acer Iconia for the past 3 days and it is going back to Best Buy. They talked me into trying it Tuesday night since the Transformer was on backorder and told me to bring it back if not satisfied. I also bought a couple of iPads from them on that launch day as well.

I am not expecting this to be better than my iPad 2 as Apple has done a great job but I really like widgets and live screens and stuff like that. My problem though is that on the Iconia I have not found anything that works as good as my iPad!

All I'm looking to do is surf the web, have a strong calendar, todos, contacts, read books, PDFs, and things like that.

Does anyone think that the transformer will function any better than the Iconia? I guess it may take time for honeycomb to get smoothed out and for some more tablet apps to be built. Anybody out there that has used the iPad 2 and the Transformer wish to compare the 2?

I am neither an Android fanboy nor an Apple fanboy so I will give you my opinion. I had an original iPad which I sold on eBay primarily because I wanted a tablet that I could use for Skype video since my son is away at college. But for the tasks you listed the iPad is a great platform. There are pros and cons to both the iPad and the Android platforms; anyone who states otherwise is either ignorant or prejudiced. Apple has the advantage of maturity and volume sales, which drives developers. Android is (somewhat) more open, if you don't mind being Google centric, and more versatile.

For the things I use a tablet, which are much like you want, the iPad was great. Thin, light, bright display, and tons of good apps. But I have a Transformer on order because I want the additional versatility of Android and, quite frankly, the lower price. I don't need 3G but do want a tablet to have GPS capability. For an iPad that means I have to spend an extra $130 for 3G while the Android wifi tablets have GPS included. Also, I don't want to pay $200 extra for more flash memory when the Android tablets all include micro SD slots.

If you already have the iPad and it does what you want, why change? If the iPad has any shortcomings in your day to day usage, then switch.

Just my opinion.

 

[EJL1980]

So far, no FC on my Transformer browser vs what I see on the Xoom. But only been using for a few hours, so too early to tell if that trend lasts. So far, so good.

Absolutely no creaking from the plastic back on the Transformer. Don't know why that nonsense ever started.

Mine creaks just the same as a laptop would if you picked it up by not supporting the whole thing.

 

[farwest]

Mine creaks just the same as a laptop would if you picked it up by not supporting the whole thing.

? No matter how I hold or push on the Asus, the thing doesn't creak - at all. Maybe there are build issues with some devices?

 

[freeky1]

? No matter how I hold or push on the Asus, the thing doesn't creak - at all. Maybe there are build issues with some devices?

You just got the one that doesn't creak when you twist it. There's always that one freak of nature!

Sent from my Etch A Sketch

 

[Mickeylittle]

I am neither an Android fanboy nor an Apple fanboy so I will give you my opinion. I had an original iPad which I sold on eBay primarily because I wanted a tablet that I could use for Skype video since my son is away at college. But for the tasks you listed the iPad is a great platform. There are pros and cons to both the iPad and the Android platforms; anyone who states otherwise is either ignorant or prejudiced. Apple has the advantage of maturity and volume sales, which drives developers. Android is (somewhat) more open, if you don't mind being Google centric, and more versatile.

For the things I use a tablet, which are much like you want, the iPad was great. Thin, light, bright display, and tons of good apps. But I have a Transformer on order because I want the additional versatility of Android and, quite frankly, the lower price. I don't need 3G but do want a tablet to have GPS capability. For an iPad that means I have to spend an extra $130 for 3G while the Android wifi tablets have GPS included. Also, I don't want to pay $200 extra for more flash memory when the Android tablets all include micro SD slots.

If you already have the iPad and it does what you want, why change? If the iPad has any shortcomings in your day to day usage, then switch.

Just my opinion.

I'm just missing all the eye candy that's all! It's the cool widgets and live wallpapers but these past 3-4 days have settled it for me for at least the next 5-6 months. My iPad 2 is just too smooth to be replaced at this point. But I'll be checking back believe me!

 

[Bossxii]

Here is my review via Youtube if you prefer to watch vs read. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ziw9M5gwhZI

Also will throw up the 720p video test - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dCg3SxjdjY

And the 1080p video test of the same video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vumTlLIC4M8

Tegra Zone market games - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk4hAxtWmxE (Some really great looking games currently available and upcoming soon.)

Yes I'm aware the Youtube video I took are not in HD, as I simply took a few quicks video's on my TBolt and uploaded. Either way you can see the smooth video playback, no matter the resolution on the uploaded video.

On the topic... I did finally recieve my Transformer today! Pretty impressed out of the box. Coming from the iPad, iPad 2,Xoom over the past few months I am impressed out of the box with the screen and build quality. I was a bit hesitant as I had read a few reviews about flex and feeling cheap, well I guess if you don't like plastic? Considering every android phone is plastic I don't see how this is all the sudden a huge issue, but whatever floats your boat. I find it well build, sturdy and rather like the textured back. On the inside however I was very surprised when I loaded up sites like Engadget and ESPN that the FULL desktop sites loaded? Unlike the Xoom that you either have to root or type in the about:debug each time, the Transformer simply loaded up the sites out of the box.

Second thing i noticed is that in portrait mode the Transformer transitions are less laggy than the Xoom from page to page. Top off that bit of cool with the MyNet app that basically auto detects any networked uPNP type media on your home network and I can say I was a bit shocked how well it seemed to be working vs the Xoom with the exact same hardware and Honeycomb OS. Clearly Asus shipped a much more refined experience, which for me is exciting because I feel I can now recommend this tablet to friends and family as I won't recommend the Xoom with it's list of issues.

Hardware wise, the power plug (50 pin) is very solid and doesn't feel like it will break as the Xoom's terrible AC plug/pin is. The Volume rocker feels very much like the iPad and the power button is easy to find and very responsive as well. The IPS display looks just as good as the iPad's and the viewing angles are great. This really shows the poor choice made imo on the Xoom. IPS should be the standard anymore, espically at the prices the Xoom is rockin. Anyhow, the Asus Transformer feels very light and balanced as the iPad 2 does, just with the bonus (if you like the screen format) of a wide screen for movies and such.

I will give the Xoom props in the speaker department. I think it had a better sounding and louder speaker setup than the Transformer. Asus has brought a true consumer tablet to the market that over the past 5 or 6 hours of use has been much more stable and refined that the Xoom was. I find the browser much more stable so far, the fact I get full websites, flash and all is living up the web without limits hype as well. I will still opt for the KB dock as I do more than a fair share of typing for work emails, documents, bids etc... Even for things like posting here if I'm sitting in a chair it would serve me well to have it docked. The tablet portion will come into play when I am laying in bed catching up on news, watching a movie, or TV on the Slingbox. Also the fact the KB dock is a backup battery/charging solution just makes sense to me. Now if I can just find one to buy!

Anyhow imo the Transformer lives up to it's hype and Asus' tweaks to Honeycomb really let it shine as to how good a tablet can be. The office app, file manager and MyNet apps are very well done and I think will show off HC's capabilities vs being overshadowed by the hardware limitations and failures Moto has made with the Xoom.

I guess that's the beauty of Android, the better the hardware the better the OS will look, and every has the choice to pick which pc of hardware suits them best.

 

[Mickeylittle]

Hey coming from an iPad can you find decent calendar, todo, and notebook apps from android to replace awesome note and todo for the iPad? I have been struggling all week trying to make the android experience work for me.

 

[Cubfan]

Hey coming from an iPad can you find decent calendar, todo, and notebook apps from android to replace awesome note and todo for the iPad? I have been struggling all week trying to make the android experience work for me.

Try Calengoo and Ever note... tons of good todo apps that sync with Google.

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk

 

[Visual360]

I use Jorte for my calendar, it's free, and it's awesome on tablets.

https://market.android.com/details?id=jp.co.johospace.jorte&feature=search_result

Conqu for TODO and notebook. I'm not a big "to do" kind of person, so I haven't tested this heavily, but the it looks great, and optimized for tablets.

https://market.android.com/details?id=air.com.conqu&feature=search_result

 

[Ufd108]

Hey coming from an iPad can you find decent calendar, todo, and notebook apps from android to replace awesome note and todo for the iPad? I have been struggling all week trying to make the android experience work for me.

Also look at Pocket Informant. The Android version has a ways to go to catch up with the iPhone version but if you look at the iPhone version on their website you will see what the Android version will eventually look like.

Welcome to WebIS.net - Home

 

[wynand32]

I'll add that the TF's screen by itself makes it better than the Xoom. I've been looking at them side by side since I got my TF yesterday (well, not constantly, but you know what I mean). The colors and temp of the TF screen is far more natural and pleasant--I had no idea the Xoom's screen was so cold/blue.

And the viewing angle discrepancy is striking--putting them both flat on a desk, the Xoom starts fading pretty much the minute I get a little off-angle. The TF stays crisp and clear almost all the way to the horizontal. Again, I had no idea the Xoom was so bad comparatively, and I'd never to back to the Xoom for that reason alone.

I just don't know how Asus managed to squeeze this screen into a $399 price point. Even if they cut somewhere else, I'd be fine with it. I'd much rather have marginally lower build quality (which I really don't think is the case) and that screen. It's awesome.

 

[silvra7]

My guess is that the IPS screen doesn't cost so much more. There have been reports of shortages for the screens i'm assuming the IPS types among others. I have the feeling Google and Motorola desperately wanted to get a tablet out there to compete with the iPad and so they rushed HC and the Xoom and used a screen type that was more available and released without a working SD card slot, ertc. That's just my suspicion anyway.

 

[wynand32]

Whatever the reason, the screen on the TF rocks.

 

[antacus]

Got my TV today as my first tablet. I have had iPhone and iPod while currently using a galaxy s as my phone. As a tablet I am impressed by this so far. DLNA streaming h.264 works with minor glitches. Apparent to work, except for Pandora. I do wish there was some 2x visual multiplier for apps that are not designed for the big screen.

It's my fault for not checking closer but the wireless N is 2.4GHz and not 5.0. Still works but I was hoping for the 5GHz.