To buy? Or not buy? - Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

Hey guys,
Title pretty much says it all. Been contemplating this for a while since I didn't have enough money to begin with, but now I do!
But having seen and heard about some of the problems people are having with their primes...I'm not too convinced if its the best way to spend my money. There's the wifi/bt issue, (bt not so much of an issue for me but if wifi does play up then yes it will be an issue), the random reboots and the fact that some primes are not upgrading to ics. I've also heard that video playback is touch and go as tegra3 is not supported on video players? And that's not even mentioning GPS.
If I were to buy it'd mainly be used for note taking, internet browsing, and multimedia.
So I guess
1. Buy or not buy?
2. Can anyone confirm if it has an international warranty? Might get my uncle to buy it from overseas for me cos its cheaper.
3. Is it shipping with ics now? And if it were to ship with ics, would it have those issues mentioned above?
Thanks so much for ur comments and thoughts guys!
Sent from my HTC Incredible S with Beats Audio using XDA App

I would purchase it from a local retailer. Personally, purchase it, test it out, run it through the ropes, if it fails (same might but hopefully not) then return it for a full refund.
After reading numerous complaints and issues. i WILL be buying and trying one. If it fails and dissappoints me, i will return it and wait for the Quad Core Acer a510 to release. Just my .02$
Also, once or if you pick one up. Please report back to this thread on when, where you purchased it and if you had any issues.

I bought mine on 12th this month and i'm really happy with it. Great tablet, smooth, long lasting batteries, nice screen défintion,(no need of full hd in this size for me) and crispy colors. I rooted it, only 2 or 3 slowliness with the internet browser.
No problem with the Wifi, but the GPS is horrible, at a point that i never synchronised it, even 1 time. Tablet waiting signal outside for 1 hour, sometimes showing 2 or three satelites sometimes but with too low levels to be usable.
Gaming capabilities are impressive. Tested it on my Panasonic 65" plasma...What a tablet!
Well just buy it, try it, and that's all...If you don't need GPS device of course.
Don't know if the update is already installed with the news stocks, but mine got updated twince in 3 weeks.
For the warranty it's probably international but not sure has i bought mine in France, and don't care about that.

I was in the same spot as u until I seen my local BB had one in stock so I bought it. As said in many post GPS is pretty much unusable. I have a T-Mobile galaxy s 2 and the wifi speed tests show galaxy s 2 gets about 28 down and 6 up the prime in the same spot is about 16 down and 4 up this is about 10 feet away from router . Other than that this is one of the most amazing devices I've ever owned I would recommend it since I won't be using it as a gps .
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium

Seriously? Another one of these threads?
The search function is your friend.

Thanks guys!
I think ill prob buy one from a place which has a good returns policy and give it a go. Hopefully Asus has ironed out the problems by now so that the ones on sale now should be a lot smoother.
Ya soz just saw all the other threads about ppl asking bout the same thing.
Sent from my HTC Incredible S with Beats Audio using XDA App

Let us know when you need to go to the bathroom, well let you know if you should or not.
Sent from my Prime T201 using xda premium

Related

[Q] Want to buy a 10.1 but so-o-o many defects!

I am considering the purchase of a 10.1 (16 gig, WiFi only) but, after searching these forums, one could get the sense that there is a very high rate of defects with this product. I almost get the feeling that it is a roll of the dice to see if you get a tablet without any defects.
It also seems like Samsung does not stand behind the product as far as warranty repairs and exchanges go.
If you have purchased a 10.1, would you do so again?
ptgay49 said:
I am considering the purchase of a 10.1 (16 gig, WiFi only) but, after searching these forums, one could get the sense that there is a very high rate of defects with this product. I almost get the feeling that it is a roll of the dice to see if you get a tablet without any defects.
It also seems like Samsung does not stand behind the product as far as warranty repairs and exchanges go.
If you have purchased a 10.1, would you do so again?
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Click to collapse
Yes I would. I have my 10.1 since August and I never had any problems with it.
You have do understand that most people only post in forums if there are some problems.
+1
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio Z715e using xda premium
Rate of defects
I'd disagree that there is a high rate of defects. There is a high rate of people posting about the few defects that there have been, yes. I've had mine for several months with no issues at all.
As mentioned above, people like to post when things are bad, not so much when they are good.
I really like mine and have had no issues with it. That being said, within a few weeks you will be able to buy the ASUS Transformer Prime quad core tablet with ICS for the same price as the Galaxy Tab currently is. Wait for the ASUS.
My first Galaxy tab had a defect and the screen crapped out and bestbuy gave me the option to spend my money on anything and I decided to upgrade to a 32gb version and honestly I would do it again in a second it is a wonderful product and just works the way it should.
And I forgot to mention that my new 32gb has not defects what so ever I'm extremely happy with it.
Only had my Galaxy Tab 10.1 (3g, 16Gb) for about two weeks now but I am extremely satisfied with it's performance. I found no defects whatsoever.
It's light, has an awesome screen and has a great community. Even with stock everything it was really nice (only used for two days though) but with custom ROMs, custom kernel, touchscreen sensitivity improvements... it got even more awesome!
And I'm sure in a few months we'll have even more great stuff to chose from, thanks to the dedicated developers.
The only thing that bothers me is the lack of native USB/sd support... but it's a problem I can deal with (don't really need them much and you can buy converters or make them yourself if you're a tech person).
So yeah, I'd definitely recommend it.
You have to seperate defects from limitations. The latter pretty much applies to all Android tablets. The only real defect(s) involve the display. Some people have complained about lines and color issues and there's the newton rings problem. Newly built and repaired Tabs have a new screen design that should eliminate the problem. I'd get it at Costco, that way if you have any issues you'll have 90 days to return it. Also they just got a fresh shipment in as they were out of stock online. The limitations are it's not the fastest device in the world when it comes to the UI, transitions, and multi-tasking. But that's due to a combination of Honeycomb and the Tegra 2 processor. 720p video is pretty much as high as it goes too. ICS will probably address quite a few of the s/w performance issues and create a more well rounded environment. I had a Wi-Fi Tab from the U.S. and now have a 3G Tab from the UK. They were both issue free and I'm quite pleased.
My 10.1 had the screen go wonky after a couple of weeks. A 7 minute online chat @ samsung.com resulted in a UPS pickup with an exchange/replacement, shipping paid by Samsung both ways.
I was so upset, I bought my wife one of their 8.9s.
I have the 16 gig 3G version and no complaints whatsoever.
Would I purchase again?
Any time.
FWIW, i have talked to samsung support a few times for different products and have been pleased with the support.
+1 For people dont typically jump on forums to talk about everything that works right ;-)
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk
ptgay49 said:
I am considering the purchase of a 10.1 (16 gig, WiFi only) but, after searching these forums, one could get the sense that there is a very high rate of defects with this product. I almost get the feeling that it is a roll of the dice to see if you get a tablet without any defects.
It also seems like Samsung does not stand behind the product as far as warranty repairs and exchanges go.
If you have purchased a 10.1, would you do so again?
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Click to collapse
Great, just what we need around here. Another whiner.
I think you'll be happier with an iPad. It's magical.
slack04 said:
I think you'll be happier with an iPad. It's magical.
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Too funny.
BarryH_GEG said:
Too funny.
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My 10.1 is working wonderfully no issues whatsoever...
If you have purchased a 10.1, would you do so again?
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I won't purchase a 10.1 again! The sole reason being I don't have any affinity of keeping duplicate gadgets..
Btw if you are giving away the 10.1 , I'm ready to get some willing candidates.

Should I buy the transformer Prime TF201?

I am looking to buy the Prime as it was offered as a birthday present, and on the 12th we were set to pick it up but I was warned that there were serious WiFi and Bluetooth problems as well as the original GPS issues. I want it for general use such as browsing, playing games, a bit of word processing and mainly because I just want a tablet. I was offered an iPad 2 as a second option but much prefer everythif about the Prime. I have read Amazon.com reviews and they haven't mentioned Bluetooth issues just the wifi and said it was better than some people say it supposedly is? I was just looking for general pointers including positives and negatives on the Prime Tablet (TF201) and wondering how bad the actual wifi is and if a wifi signal booster on the router at home would solve the issue?
Any help would be much appreciated
Yes you should buy it there is zero problems with any of the Primes ignore any threads that might say otherwise people are just complaining to see themselves type.
I say it is a good buy. My wifi works fine at home and work which are the only places I have tried it. I have only tested Bluetooth and wifi concurrently with a Bluetooth controller and had no issues with either. The wifi on my prime is better than my Droid charge's wifi in fact.
As far as GPS is concerned, I can get locks without wifi though the accuracy is poor compared to my phone, Garmin handheld, and Garmin navigation devices. I have not tested the GPS at any higher rated of speed or over more distance than walking in my front yard so also can't comment on its use for navigational purposes.
I am happy with my prime and have no remorse about the purchase.
Yes, unlike all the people complaining here.... I have found it to be very nice haven't had any issues yet!
Be warned that a good percent of the tablets are defected by some sort of issue. In my case, the WiFi wouldn't work at all but Best Buy is now doing a swapping program for the tablet. I am so happy Best Buy is doing this for me
Be aware that Asus removed the gps from the specs, the metal backplate also affects wifi and bluetooth to a lesser extent. If possible ask for a demo of the features before you buy it.
Buy it! The progress with root and overclocking without even the unlocked bootloader has been amazing. I think we're in for a really awesome, dev-friendly tablet. Don't miss it!
If you don't need reliable GPS and can stay reasonably close to your AP then yes, it is a good choice. But if you want those things then wait and get the 700 which appears to be what we thought we were getting in the first place.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Yes. Absolutely. Just get one that works. I'm ROCKING Out quad core 1600mhz!!!!
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
jdbaker82 said:
Yes you should buy it there is zero problems with any of the Primes ignore any threads that might say otherwise people are just complaining to see themselves type.
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Now that's not true is it?
I say go ahead and get it, unless the GPS is a big thing to you
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk while sitting downstairs across the house from the router and streaming music through Pandora
jdbaker82 said:
Yes you should buy it there is zero problems with any of the Primes ignore any threads that might say otherwise people are just complaining to see themselves type.
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You forgot the /sarcasm tag at the end.
Reality check: The problems are not as widespread as one might think after looking at the forums here but there is a substantial percentage of chance that you might run into one of several problems. This, ignoring the Wi-Fi and GPS ones, which may or may not be a problem for you depending on your hardware setup around the house and need for a navigation enabled tablet.
It is truly a great product, but there are times when the software does hickup. That is nothing to worry about, because ICS is brand new and is only like 4 devices (officially). Plus we are getting unlocked bootloaders and then will be able to do some pretty amazing things. Ironically, we still can do amazing things, due to having root and being able to overclock. With time software issues will be fixed, as ICS only became available over the air updating 2 days ago. It will be perfect within a month or so.
The magic 8 ball says : too early to tell
Its personal preference, do you ride gnarly wave that's the cutting edge tech of android and have these sort of growing pains or do you play it safe and go with a solid proven device that won't play with any of your files without hacking it , not to mention you selling your soul to a single manufacturer if you go Apple..
That said I'm happy with mine and have little issues and feel my tablet will be future proof for a bit longer then what else is on the market, if you go with the prime prepare yourself for an exchange it seems to be 50/50 on getting a good one and from what i can see here is the people who managed to get good ones love em,myself included , take it FWIW...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk

Getting either a transformer or a transformer prime soon? Not really! :(

So I've been patiently waiting for income tax money to get a new tablet, been reading a lot between the tf101 and the tf201 and I want a tablet that will have good development, I know the prime is too new and it has his fair share of issues including wifi and GPS, I can care less about GPS but I need wifi so as long as I can get a decent wifi signal so I can seat in my couch or my bed and pickup my wifi I'll be good, now the light bleeding from what the videos I've seen on YouTube wouldn't be a big problem but I don't know if I would be able to deal with dead pixels, now to my question , is there anyone that upgraded to the prime from the transformer and do you feel like it was a mayor upgrade or do you think the original is still a mayor contender? Is a $100 difference so is not that much of a difference in price, but from reading how Asus might have released it prematurely makes me wonder if I should go for the older more stable with more development transformer tf101.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
The Tegra 2 in the original is ancient. Considering how fast the mobile market moves, it is like buying a Pentium 4 for a new desktop. The Tegra 3 is three times as fast between the CPU/GPU- ready for 2012.
With that said, with a Prime you go in expecting to deal with a dead GPS and weak wifi range. It is the trade-off for a modern amount of power.
My only personal issue was slower wifi in my bedroom (the edge of my network), but I love my Prime so much my solution was just to upgrade my router (Cisco e4200, best 2.4GHz consumer router on the market). Now it works great.
poofyhairguy said:
The Tegra 2 in the original is ancient. Considering how fast the mobile market moves, it is like buying a Pentium 4 for a new desktop. The Tegra 3 is three times as fast between the CPU/GPU- ready for 2012.
With that said, with a Prime you go in expecting to deal with a dead GPS and weak wifi range. It is the trade-off for a modern amount of power.
My only personal issue was slower wifi in my bedroom (the edge of my network), but I love my Prime so much my solution was just to upgrade my router (Cisco e4200, best 2.4GHz consumer router on the market). Now it works great.
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Thanks for the reply! I'm probably getting it and if those are my only issues(wifi/GPS) then everything will be great, just hope the development here will grow soon and increase the choices of roms and stuff.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
i understand your concern. i bought mine less than two weeks ago from best buy with my income tax. trust me spend the money. its worth it. maybe even spring for an extended warranty.
1SiK1500 said:
i understand your concern. i bought mine less than two weeks ago from best buy with my income tax. trust me spend the money. its worth it. maybe even spring for an extended warranty.
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the extended warranty sounds like a good idea, thanks.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
I'd say the OG TF101 has much faster WiFi speed as range from the access point increases, the Prime is thinner and lighter, and can be purchased with higher storage capacity.
If WiFi speed is the most important get a OG. If GPS is the most important get neither IMHO but def' not the Prime.
I would personally say getting a Tegra 2 now, would be like getting a Core 2 Duo instead of an Core i[357]. Now the Wayne and Grey based Tegra chips expected later this year....those will make a Tegra 2 look like a Pentium 4 versus an i7, if wikipedia is to be believed.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Spidey01 said:
I'd say the OG TF101 has much faster WiFi speed as range from the access point increases, the Prime is thinner and lighter, and can be purchased with higher storage capacity.
If WiFi speed is the most important get a OG. If GPS is the most important get neither IMHO but def' not the Prime.
I would personally say getting a Tegra 2 now, would be like getting a Core 2 Duo instead of an Core i[357]. Now the Wayne and Grey based Tegra chips expected later this year....those will make a Tegra 2 look like a Pentium 4 versus an i7, if wikipedia is to be believed.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I see what your saying, and I don't care about GPS, I just want to make sure I get a somewhat solid tablet, as long as I can get wifi from like 5 feet from my router in my living room I won't complain, and I guess the other issues with light bleed and dead pixels is all luck, and there's rooting and recovery here for it, wish there was some custom honeycomb roms to play with like the revolver or krakd roms for the tf101, hopefully we'll see some development picking up for the prime soon, gonna see about swinging by best buy and testing one out while I wait for my tax money so I can just go buy the one I decide to go for when the money comes.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
While some say GPS is no big deal, look at the amount of whining about it. I want it for alot of reasons. It automatically updates weather to the location, etc.
I purchased mine Less than two weeks ago from Best Buy. I have NO GPS at all. mine is a BCOKAS134452 serial number. My wifi isnt that bad actualy but i feel it is lacking when compared to my rooted nook color. I will try to open mine tonight and make one mod to see if it improves, if not, it goes back tomorrow.
Im not going to exchange it. Im going to return it receive my FULL refund. Then Re-purchase another unit so i have ANOTHER 2 weeks, incase there are issues.
While some may not find this right. I have noticed some people have major issues 3 or 4 weeks after purchase. That is what worries me. Just my .02$
Now you know about some of the issues affecting some users. Now check out the link in my signature. The positive transformer thread. That'll put things into perspective. GPS is a widespread issue although some peoples do work. As far as wifi, this a very limited issue. Just check out the link n the vast number of different users posted in there n you will see a flipside. Which is what I'm on..lol wifi works great on mines
demandarin said:
Now you know about some of the issues affecting some users. Now check out the link in my signature. The positive transformer thread. That'll put things into perspective. GPS is a widespread issue although some peoples do work. As far as wifi, this a very limited issue. Just check out the link n the vast number of different users posted in there n you will see a flipside. Which is what I'm on..lol wifi works great on mines
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Thanks it looks like there's a lot of people very happy with theirs in that thread, definitely looking forward to having one.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
roloracer said:
I see what your saying, and I don't care about GPS, I just want to make sure I get a somewhat solid tablet, as long as I can get wifi from like 5 feet from my router in my living room I won't complain, and I guess the other issues with light bleed and dead pixels is all luck, and there's rooting and recovery here for it, wish there was some custom honeycomb roms to play with like the revolver or krakd roms for the tf101, hopefully we'll see some development picking up for the prime soon, gonna see about swinging by best buy and testing one out while I wait for my tax money so I can just go buy the one I decide to go for when the money comes.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
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IMHO light bleed and dead pixels are a quality control and shipping issue. It's also the most common ground for trouble between both tablets.
One thing that alarmed me... while my TF101 fresh out of Microcenter was great: my Prime off eBay had a batch of wtfixels on the far left side and I was afraid that I may have to RMA. By the time I completed the initial setup stuff with my Google Account it went away and the pixels are fine in use.
I do consider the TF101 a better quality tablet but really, unless you do have hair pulling issues with wifi/gps, Prime is fine. I also think the sites more or less calling the Prime like the top or the most powerful tablet of the year are also correct enough. It just doesn't have a deluded cult preaching it's perfection.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Spidey01 said:
IMHO light bleed and dead pixels are a quality control and shipping issue. It's also the most common ground for trouble between both tablets.
One thing that alarmed me... while my TF101 fresh out of Microcenter was great: my Prime off eBay had a batch of wtfixels on the far left side and I was afraid that I may have to RMA. By the time I completed the initial setup stuff with my Google Account it went away and the pixels are fine in use.
I do consider the TF101 a better quality tablet but really, unless you do have hair pulling issues with wifi/gps, Prime is fine. I also think the sites more or less calling the Prime like the top or the most powerful tablet of the year are also correct enough. It just doesn't have a deluded cult preaching it's perfection.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
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Thanks for your input, I had originally thought about the tf101 because of how good is said to be for the price, but I changed my mind thanks to all of you guys and also from browsing thru the positive thread, I'm definitely getting the prime, can't wait for the income tax money to get here, it should be about another week.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
Transformer prime is way better than the original transformer
Go for tf-201
So I'm still waiting for my tax money that should be here by the end of this week, by now I'm disappointed to say no prime for me, I've spend lots of time in the background here just reading negative posts and searching online and reading about rumors of discontinuation of the prime, whether is true or not, I think I'm gonna be patient and wait a bit to see what happens in the next couple of months, Acer is said to be the next one to have a tegra3 tablet, who knows who else throws one out next, and hopefully the tf700 doesn't take too long, oh well as much as is killing me to buy a tablet, I don't want to go backwards to the tf101 to feel I got a solid tablet, I want to feel about a tablet like I feel about my HTC hd2 , that is a solid device. I guess well see.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
jassari said:
Transformer prime is way better than the original transformer
Go for tf-201
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Click to collapse
+1....ATP RULES...see decline prices on ipad 2, no match for ATP.
roloracer said:
So I'm still waiting for my tax money that should be here by the end of this week, by now I'm disappointed to say no prime for me, I've spend lots of time in the background here just reading negative posts and searching online and reading about rumors of discontinuation of the prime, whether is true or not, I think I'm gonna be patient and wait a bit to see what happens in the next couple of months, Acer is said to be the next one to have a tegra3 tablet, who knows who else throws one out next, and hopefully the tf700 doesn't take too long, oh well as much as is killing me to buy a tablet, I don't want to go backwards to the tf101 to feel I got a solid tablet, I want to feel about a tablet like I feel about my HTC hd2 , that is a solid device. I guess well see.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
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Here's the thing bro....while you're waiting, buy a prime to play with. Most likely you will love it and keep it but guess what if you don't like it you can just return it like so many people have or are at least threatening to. At least you have something to do while you wait. That's my opinion but instead of the buzz kill threads just man up and go buy one see how great it is.
ryanbmw51 said:
Here's the thing bro....while you're waiting, buy a prime to play with. Most likely you will love it and keep it but guess what if you don't like it you can just return it like so many people have or are at least threatening to. At least you have something to do while you wait. That's my opinion but instead of the buzz kill threads just man up and go buy one see how great it is.
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Totally agree. You can doo eeet!
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
roloracer said:
the extended warranty sounds like a good idea, thanks.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2
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I read an article stating that less than 5% of extended warranties are ever used. Something to think about.
GPS is NOT a feature of the Transformer Prime. Anyone who brings it up anymore are doing so because it was a feature, but they bring it up because it was then removed. You don't buy a tablet for gps, you buy a gps. The GPS module and antenna are crap in the Prime. You would crap get signal and accuracy even if it did work properly.
For example, you don't buy a PS3 anymore for the ability to install Linux or PS2 backwards compatibility. Why? They removed those features.
Thee major problem of the weak wifi is the fact that one of the antennas is not actually connected properly in some of the old and new Primes. This is a reason to not buy the Prime.
slayvus said:
GPS is NOT a feature of the Transformer Prime. Anyone who brings it up anymore are doing so because it was a feature, but they bring it up because it was then removed. You don't buy a tablet for gps, you buy a gps. The GPS module and antenna are crap in the Prime. You would crap get signal and accuracy even if it did work properly.
For example, you don't buy a PS3 anymore for the ability to install Linux or PS2 backwards compatibility. Why? They removed those features.
Thee major problem of the weak wifi is the fact that one of the antennas is not actually connected properly in some of the old and new Primes. This is a reason to not buy the Prime.
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That's why I said in OP that I could care less about GPS working, but wifi is a big thing for me.
My money came into my account yesterday, not sure but I might pick one up from best buy, play with it and decide what to do before the 14 day return period ends.
Sent from my CM9 NexusHD2

[Q] Best Android Tablet on the Market

Here is my question, I'm looking for a really good tablet with great battery life and I wanted to get the Vibrant community's opinion as to which is the best.
Please refrain from posting about apple products I simply do not like apple as a company and refuse to give them my business.
I would appreciate it if in addition to your selection you could tell me your reason for feeling why its the best.
- Cheers
I picked up an Asus Transformer (OG-not the Prime) a few weeks ago at Best Buy for $399 (Bob Shute almost convinced me to get the Nook Color though). It was the 32gb on sale for the same price as the 16gb (so why not) + it has external, so i have 64+/-gb of storage. I had lurked in a bunch of forums checking out support, ROMs, rootable, "official" ICS and general attitude of the forum members.
When I got it out of the box it was running 3.1 and I had known that it had an OTA update waiting. Within 30mins of getting it, I had upgraded, Rooted and was on my way to being a tablet owner. It was real easy to do too. The battery life on 3.2.1 was really good. Granted I am not using it all day long but I was getting about 2-4 days out of it. Kids would play games, watch Netflix, I would surf and my wife would do her coupon spreadsheets (yes she is one of those ladies and we do have a stockpile).
Fast forward to the ICS update. We got the OTA update and for some reason there is an issue with the kernel and people are getting random reboots. I am not sure if it is just me knowing what I am doing from so many tweaks with this phone and past ones or I just got a good tablet, but I messed with the governors and it has been 3 weeks since upgrade and I haven't had one yet. Knowledge is Power. Felt you should be aware of that though. Battery life on ICS is outstanding. I get 4-6 days out of it easily. Might cut it down now that baseball spring training has started and I can stream live video to it.
Conclusion- A few things. The Transformer (tf101) is just as good as the Prime (tf201) and actually I think it is better b/c the Prime has wifi, GPS and other hardward issues, but its bootloader can be unlocked whereas the tf101 is still lock for now. Another things is that you have to remember that these are seconday devices to most people and some of the redundant questions you see are rediculous.
My suggestion is to lurk in the Acer, Transformer, Galaxy, Xoom forums and see what is going on in them. Plus there are a bunch of smaller tablets coming out soon with Tegra3, Quad-core, low price,...
HTH and let me know if you have any Q's and sorry for the long post.
what do you want to do with this tablet?
I know you said not to mention any apple products but...
seriously dude even the iPad 2 is better than any android tablet out right now. iPad (third generation) just killed everything else. I know you don't like apple as a company but the iPad is pretty much the tablet market, the only tablet one should be getting. You're going to regret it if you don't get an iPad...
junglerumble said:
what do you want to do with this tablet?
I know you said not to mention any apple products but...
seriously dude even the iPad 2 is better than any android tablet out right now. iPad (third generation) just killed everything else. I know you don't like apple as a company but the iPad is pretty much the tablet market, the only tablet one should be getting. You're going to regret it if you don't get an iPad...
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I didn't get an ipad and I don't regret it one bit
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
Ill be using the tablet for school mostly. Ill have about 100 lbs of books that id rather not have to carry with me everywhere. Ill also be using the tablet for light gaming just to keep me entertained from time to time as well as serving to replace my laptop for day to day tasks. Granted i know not everything can be accomplished by a tablet so ill still have my laptop at my apartment but need something light and portable but capable so i was thinking tablet.
As far as no apple products, they seem to hate me, i touch one and they seem to break they dont function properly and im honestly not convinced that they are the best product on the market. Their Marketing department tries to convince you of that but i hardly agree. (i wont get into it i don't want this to turn into a flame thread) regardless thank you for your input.
Ive been looking alot at the Transformer and TF Prime as well as the 10.1 inch samsung variants, but since i have ICS running on my Vibrant id very much like to have it running on my Tablet, i intend to run stock for a while until stable versions of either CM9 or AOKP are released for the device since i will be using it in a more productive than leisurely role.
@ woodrube thank you for the length of your post i appreciate the time you put into your response
@junglerumble thank you for your input, tho i whole heartily disagree with you (to each their own)
does anybody have an idea of the android tablets that are coming out in the first half of this year and when? I want to get a tablet but not at the moment. I'm waiting till more tablets come out to make up my mind but it would be nice to have some foresight.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA
asus transformer is what i hear and read.
junglerumble said:
what do you want to do with this tablet?
I know you said not to mention any apple products but...
seriously dude even the iPad 2 is better than any android tablet out right now. iPad (third generation) just killed everything else. I know you don't like apple as a company but the iPad is pretty much the tablet market, the only tablet one should be getting. You're going to regret it if you don't get an iPad...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use an iPad 2 exclusively for classwork and I half regret the purchase, even after the jailbreaking and app searching. It's a good tablet, but it's not a deity.
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Transformers have the keyboard dock too with independent battery in case you want that laptop thing going on. I love my TF and am happy I bought it. There are a couple of us who have the TFs like Alex9090, Mveksler, Gorealmighty and Manus I think.
I would wait til the Asus 3 comes out tegra 3 for the price of the og transformer
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I used several different Android Honeycomb tablets, but gave up on all of them because I felt the software weren't advance enough for my purposes, so I got a Windows tablet instead. Then sold that and got the Galaxy Note (international version) which I think is the best consumer portable device made so far, since it acts as a phone and tablet, has the same resolution as the tablets (1280x800, and is even (much) faster than Tegra2, yet pocketable, has Wacom pen, can make phone calls and ultra fast GPS locking, awesome camera), although I didn't keep it since it doesn't support T-Mobile 3G.
Out of the Honeycomb tablets, I liked the Acer A500 and Toshiba Thrive most since it has fullsize USB connector, which works with flash drive and gamepads. I think the Asus Slider should be better since it has fullsize USB and keyboard as well, just a bit heavier. I do not feel tablets with Tegra2 is fast enough to handle 'higher' bitrates HD contents and MKV videos, although other purposes are fine, regular HD video should be okay. I also feel all Android tablets are overpriced for their present software features, unless at refurb price, if it were Ubuntu or some full fledged linux distro I'd be more interested. Which is why I think Windows 8 tablets will have some success, even though I'm not interested in Windows 8.
+1 OG Transformer. Great device
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I want to thank everyone for their responses, after spending some time playing with the devices in store and reading through the developer forums I have decided on getting the TF prime, just seemed to blow everything else outta the water once all the tablets had 100+ apps installed and running live wall papers. Luckily i was able to find one at a local retailer since everywhere else was sold out.
I was so close (money in hand) to buying the Galaxy 10.1 but after reading this I decided on the TF201.
Darn near ever place Ive looked is out of stock though.
addition:
It didn't take much for me to switch. After this phone and its total lack of support, I try to stay clear of anything that has Samsung on it.
Thus far I have to say that my impressions of the tfp are extremely favorable so far I have experienced none of the recorded issues with the tablet save maybe the GPS but I have yet to test it outdoors the stock ics keyboard is far better than I expected on the tablet
I will update more as I have more time and experience with the tablet if so desired
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I saw that due to the GPS issues they no longer advertise the tab has a GPS. Imagine if Samsung was forced to do the same for our phone's crummy GPS.
Id expect similar GPS to our phones. I ended up buying a real nice Tom-Tom GPS for my car so the phone GPS is bout always off now.
Moped_Ryder said:
I saw that due to the GPS issues they no longer advertise the tab has a GPS. Imagine if Samsung was forced to do the same for our phone's crummy GPS.
Id expect similar GPS to our phones. I ended up buying a real nice Tom-Tom GPS for my car so the phone GPS is bout always off now.
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Click to collapse
Well I tested gps on the unit over asbestos buy, the one they had on display, gps worked down to 40m accuracy.. I was surprised but yes gps is no longer one of the advertised features most likely i will end up using my by gps receiver for better accuracy like I have been
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If and when it comes time to Root your device (I did it within 30mins of having it) You can use ViperMod and install Supercurio's OTA Rootkeeper and any updates you get, just open the Rootkeeper up and restore root. Handy little app if I do say so.
I recently purchased a Transformer Prime with the keyboard doc and I have no regrets. It's awsome. I've not experienced any of the GPS/hardware issues mentioned either.

are the current prime batches working fine?

earlier this year I was planning to buy the prime but the negative feedback stopped me (wifi issues, GPS issues, different software issues)
now I'd like to know if the current batches like buying from bestbuy
are they working fine?
or there are better option? preferred teg3 10" tablets?
primes seem to be working fine. primes from launch were working fine also. I got my unit 12/22 and works fine. my first n only one. no needing to return or exchange. so changes very high you get a great working one now. plus there won't be any other tegra3 devices for a good while. unless you feel like waiting till June
plus take a look at this thread. it has overwhelming results and give you a great Guage on Primes that work well n people being satisfied with it. over 80%.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1491431
also look at the Positive transformer thread in my signature also
demandarin said:
primes seem to be working fine. primes from launch were working fine also. I got my unit 12/22 and works fine. my first n only one. no needing to return or exchange. so changes very high you get a great working one now. plus there won't be any other tegra3 devices for a good while. unless you feel like waiting till June
plus take a look at this thread. it has overwhelming results and give you a great Guage on Primes that work well n people being satisfied with it. over 80%.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1491431
also look at the Positive transformer thread in my signature also
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you seem like you are one of the lucky prime owners
how is GPS, wifi works with u?
and any dates for Lenovo or Acer's teg-3?
or the high res prime?
M_HaFeZ said:
you seem like you are one of the lucky prime owners
how is GPS, wifi works with u?
and any dates for Lenovo or Acer's teg-3?
or the high res prime?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wifi works great. GPS is so so but I use a program called Bluetooth GPS To use the GPS on my atrix phone to with prime. alot have GPS that seems to work decent. just depends on what exactly you want to use GPS for.
no date on Lenovo tablet as far as i know. or the Acer one. the high Res prime, the Tf-700 aka Infinity, is said to be released in June, hopefully. I think the Lenovo and Acer ones will release around that same time or right afterwards.
plus its not so much of being a lucky prime owner now. alot are coming out buying new devices recently and they seem to work well. just look at those links from other post n you will see. there have been alot of people who were kinda scared off and skeptical but went for it and turned out to work great for them. so yes, there are some problem units. but chances are really high the newer devices are defect free. now if you looking for the prime to use primarily for navigation or something, then this might not be the best solution for you. just putting that out there although plenty have good working GPS. just depends on what exactly you want to use it for. plus there are solutions to connect external GPS devices or phones if you need a more powerful GPS solution. but once again my wifi works great and hasn't failed me once yet.
thanks for your hones feedback
now I've checked bestbuy and it is not availabe for shipping, and in amazon it is very overrpiced, I live abroad and got nice deal of customs for 3 days
and I dont find a good online store to buy from with its 500$ original price
just keep searching. they out there. they usually sell out so fast online. check any stores in your area to see if they have any in stock or can order one for you.
I'm from egypt pal
it is not officially launched yet ! :|
I'm have a Prime being delivered tomorrow. I bought it on Amazon when they had it available to ship at a later date...I had to wait ~2 weeks. I did not buy it from one of Amazon's partners at exorbitant pricing; I bought from Amazon itself. Keep searching the Amazon website 'till you find it a normal ($499 & $599) pricing! It may be delayed a couple weeks in shipping but that was fine for me...I refuse to pay more than retail.
I'll post tomorrow how it is build quality/performance wise.
I bought mine on 12/23, the purple one. Aside from the known gps issue everything else on mine is fine.
Bought mine earlier this week from best buy. manufactured in January. Had one of the originals, but returned it and waited for a new batch. This one seems to be working great. across the house from router and wifi working enough to surf and post this. GPS works. Little hard on locking on when not on wifi too, but it works good enough for geo location, which was my only concern. Over all happy. Didn't want to wait till June for the same thing with just a little higher res screen.
How can you tell when it was manufactured?
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By the s/n...those starting with C1 are Jan. 2012, C2 Feb etc.
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M_HaFeZ said:
I'm from egypt pal
it is not officially launched yet ! :|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might enjoy the fact it has proper Arabic support, In everything except the chrome beta browser. google itself always drops the ball on Arabic support (although it has an Egyptian VP :-\ )
On your topic,
I have a newer (c starting serial ) prime, it doesn't do GPS, and wifi is unreliable. since I can return it, I'm not stuck in a bad deal. In your case, I'd suggest waiting till they have a solid product.
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Mine and a friends are working like a dream.
Okay, I received my new ATP yesterday, it has a C2 s/n. The battery was dead when I un-boxed it so I charged it up and here is what I found: The unit found my wifi and immediately went through 2 updates, to ICS and I am not sure of the second. I have a couple of spots of very very slight screen bleed by the bezel but certainly nothing that will bother me at all. Wifi signal icon seems weak (1 bar 30-40 ft from my router, thru 2 walls & a closet) but it d/ls and surfs without problems...as fast as my Droid Inc2. GPS located me within seconds inside (wifi on). I took the Prime outside and let it sit for a few minutes (wifi off), it found 11- 14 satellites and locked on 7-8 of them within first 5 mins. No. of sat. locks varied as did accuracy, mostly between 18-48 ft. I didn't try navigation, I wouldn't use it for that anyway...or I'd tether it to my phone. Battery life seems good so far, I expect it to improve after a few charging cycles. I'll post screen shots of GPS if I can figure out how.
I guess I have to link to an uploaded screen shot so that will have to wait.
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My C1 seems fine also. GPS is spotty but really who here bought it to be a 10" navigator GPS? WiFi seems better then my Thrive, my Inspire 4G, and my desktop with three antennas. Had it for a day so maybe it will explode and maim me next week but so far haven't seen any manufacturing defects. Also I just found out the keyboard has some form of swipe.
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