Transformer Prime 64GB - Anyone else feel like I do?

[taipan714]

I mean seriously ASUS, is it that difficult to come up with a date and stick to it? I am a late comer to the tablet world, but decided to get one back in September. So like everyone else here, I did my research and the Transformer Prime seemed to be the best option. After weeks of reading every review out there, I settled on the 64GB version and pre-ordered it. Now, like most people in the 64GB boat, I am getting notifications that I should expect the unit late January to February. This coming a week after ASUS claimed, no worries we are still on track for a 19th December release. Wouldn't it have been nice to indicate then - Oh BTW, when we say 19th we mean the 32GB version. If you want the 64GB tablet, you have to wait till February - Am I the only one that thinks that's the decent thing to do? You design a spectacular product and then muck it up by fumbling over a launch? Come On! And to top it off, you chose a December launch. It would have been one thing if this was in April, and it got delayed. But with the Holidays and all, when you Promise, you Deliver! I have 2 family members I promised this to and now Nada! I am sorry I am just really disappointed as a new comer and this first impression of ASUS is not flattering at all. From what I read, this same thing happened with the launch of the original Transformer? You would think they would have learned a lesson by now. Here's hoping i don't get flamed on here - I just had to vent.

 

[yellohj]

"ASUS Transformer Prime TF201-C1-CG 10.1-Inch 64GB Tablet (Champagne)"
Estimated arrival date: January 25, 2012 - February 08, 2012

I am in same boat. Ordered 12/18 after Amazon preorder cancelled then went to BB (12/2) and that is in back order. Ain't this fun?

 

[ShawnMeds23]

Asus never said the 19th. They said the week of the 19th

 

[gpo1956]

I stopped by Best Buy yesterday and the guy said they were told they would have them in stock before the end of the month.

 

[tropper]

I stopped by Best Buy yesterday and the guy said they were told they would have them in stock before the end of the month.

Take that with a grain of salt. They will also tell you that the $80 six foot HDMI cable that the sell you will out perform the identical in size and specks that you can find online for $5.99. Or even better they have told me that ddr 3 memory will fit in a ddr2 socket. My point being that they really dont know much they are primarily there for directions around the store and ringing you up.

 

[hyrulejedi86]

Take that with a grain of salt. They will also tell you that the $80 six foot HDMI cable that the sell you will out perform the identical in size and specks that you can find online for $5.99. Or even better they have told me that ddr 3 memory will fit in a ddr2 socket. My point being that they really dont know much they are primarily there for directions around the store and ringing you up.

Hahaha, ain't that the truth! They aren't too helpful most of the time.

 

[sebborn]

I am in the same boat and ripped about the situation. Asus knew the 64 Gb units would be delayed and yet chose to tell half truths. The end of January or early Febuary is not the week of November 19th yet all they said was they would be shipping the Prime that week - nothing about only shipping 32Gb units. Those of us that ordered the 64Gb units now have to sit here while those that ordered the cheaper units have thiers. Because of Asus' deception it leaves us scrambling to find alternative Christmas presents. If I'd known earlier I would have pre-ordered the 32Gb unit. Now, even if I changed my order, I'd still have to wait until the end of January or early February to get my hands on one. So what now? Anything but ASUS, there are several other tablets coming out in the near future so we'll see what CES brings. I thought the Tiwanese were a people who valued honor and integrity, seems to me that ASUS has no concept of what either word means.

 

[taipan714]

Well Said Sebborn, the whole thing is ridiculous and you nailed it about the bit of honor and integrity. Trying to find an alternative gift at this late hour or even switching to the 32GB version is futile. Argghhhh!

 

[TheKricket]

Asus never said the 19th. They said the week of the 19th

Most recently, they said the week of the 19th. Before that, it was the 12th for pre-orders - and on the 19th, people were supposed to be able to walk into B&M stores to buy them...

 

[dmmattix]

Probably get my butt shot off here but, have any of you made any product for sale before? I work at a specialty chemical manufacturing facility and I can tell you when putting an entirely new product out there (where are the flock of other Tegra 3 products??, hell the XOOM 2 is supposed to be Tegra 2) it often does not work as you plan and schedule. Sometimes you work right up to the launch, find something that is a show stopper, then have to back off. I have already heard some of the folks that have gotten the new devices complaining that they weren't flawless I can only image what the results would have been if they shipped them two to four weeks before they actually did finally ship.

I can assure you that ASUS wanted the machines out there as early as possible to take advantage of the holiday purchases but evidently it was not meant to be...

 

[naldiian]

Probably get my butt shot off here but, have any of you made any product for sale before? I work at a specialty chemical manufacturing facility and I can tell you when putting an entirely new product out there (where are the flock of other Tegra 3 products??, hell the XOOM 2 is supposed to be Tegra 2) it often does not work as you plan and schedule. Sometimes you work right up to the launch, find something that is a show stopper, then have to back off. I have already heard some of the folks that have gotten the new devices complaining that they weren't flawless I can only image what the results would have been if they shipped them two to four weeks before they actually did finally ship.

I can assure you that ASUS wanted the machines out there as early as possible to take advantage of the holiday purchases but evidently it was not meant to be...

All true, BUT none of that has any influence on the poor communication and setting of incorrect expectations on the part of ASUS. They should have indicated as early as they knew, that the 64gb units would be behind the 32gb, and should have worked with the merchants they had preorder relationships with to change the 64gb orders to 32 bit if the buyer wished to do so. They CAN do that, as pre-order deals are done through what is usually tight planning and coordination - they clearly failed here.

That said, I am not sure why anyone thought that something this new being released the week of Christmas should be counted on for being in their hands, unless it was from Apple. The only reason they can do it is that they do let an inventory pile up for months before releasing a product to the public, which is clearly not the case with ASUS when trying to get a new technology into consumers hands as soon as possible... even if that means a slow roll-out to a small number of hands at first.

 

[TheKricket]

Here's the latest word I've received from Amazon - out of the 5 chats I've initiated since 11/22 regarding the Prime - this is the FIRST rep who actually seems to have tried to get some valid information - the rest simply read what it stated on the order status page...

ASUS has started shipping the Transformer Prime tablet to us in extremely limited quantities. Amazon will be fulfilling pre-orders on a first come, first served basis as we receive inventory. Unfortunately, we are unable to tell customers precisely when their specific order may be shipped as we are still waiting for inventory from ASUS.

 

[sebborn]

Probably get my butt shot off here but, have any of you made any product for sale before? I work at a specialty chemical manufacturing facility and I can tell you when putting an entirely new product out there (where are the flock of other Tegra 3 products??, hell the XOOM 2 is supposed to be Tegra 2) it often does not work as you plan and schedule. Sometimes you work right up to the launch, find something that is a show stopper, then have to back off. I have already heard some of the folks that have gotten the new devices complaining that they weren't flawless I can only image what the results would have been if they shipped them two to four weeks before they actually did finally ship.

I can assure you that ASUS wanted the machines out there as early as possible to take advantage of the holiday purchases but evidently it was not meant to be...

Any manufacturer can experience production problems, be it a new or currently shipping model. The problem with Asus is that they were not honest. They told half truths and avoided admiting that some models would be delayed. Thier statements led many of us to expect our orders to be filled and it was not until people realised that only 32Gb units were shipping that we became aware of the delay on the 64Gb units. Had we been told the truth then allternative choices could have been made.

What bothers me is that I believe Asus sought to deceive people by only telling half the story. In doing so they demonstrate how not to handle the situation. I teach computer courses at both the high school and college level. I also teach workshops at a couple of national conferences each year. The result for Asus is this. Where I previously reccomended Asus products when asked by students, family and friends they will now appear on the products to avoid. In addition they will now be used as an example of how not to market a product and foster customer loyalty. I am sure that they will receive similar coverage from many others.

 

[Jonneh]

Actually, I ordered the 32GB Champagne model from Amazon and won't receive mine until Feb as well.

 

[TheKricket]

I want to share the news that I've already posted in some of the other forums. I JUST got finished chatting with an Amazon rep - he said when he looks into the system, the 64GB Transformer Prime is showing as AVAILABLE!

Transcript:

Daniel:since it is now on stock it may be shipping in less than a day
you should be notified on XXXXX@gmail.com
as soon as it happens

Me:Wow - it would be wonderful if I got this thing in before Christmas!
Do you know if there is anyway I could see if I might be one of the orders being shipped out?

Daniel:Hopefully you will, there is no way to find out right now, but It looks good
based on my experience

Me:Well - that's just fantastic news! Thanks so much!

Daniel:Remember I'm here to help, if you have any other doubt please don't hesitate on contacting us.
you are very welcome

Me:Have a great holiday!

Hopefully, this guy's on the money!

 

[hyrulejedi86]

Ok, I had a chat with a rep and she said it's true they are receiving very limited quantities of the 64gb version and will be fulfilling pre-orders in the order received otherwise next shipment will be end of Jan.

Fingers crossed I'm in there, I ordered like 8am on the 22nd when they were still $584

 

[barkomatic]

The release of new Android tablets is not slowing. A late shipment just gives you the chance to cancel if something better gets released or announced in the meantime.

 

[hyrulejedi86]

True as that is, if you are always waiting for the next best thing you will never get anything. Plus I like the possibility of upgrading with the dock If I choose to later on, I doubt many other Tabs are going to offer that.

 

[BoxArtGuy]

Why Do you feel the need for a 64 Gig... I just don't understand. Will you be putting a lot of media (movies) onto the device?

 

[hyrulejedi86]

Future-proofing

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