I will start university Soon. I went to my local Best Buy and i saw some good rebates on Laptops and Netbooks. But i always wanted to get a tablet for School and Late night movie watching/e-mail checking (because going on my gaming rig just to check some mails isn't always practical, and the 4.0Inch on my nexus s is just to small). I will have to do some word and powerpoint documents on the go (mainly editing because i do most of it on my Desktop computer), i heard Polaris does a good job, is this true?
Is the Asus Transformer Prime a good alternative to your average College Netbook?
How much will it cost in Canada? (With the deck of course)
Bump. Need some advice.
i have the original transformer and with the dock it is far better than any netbook ive owned. even in terms of power. i have a few office apps installed and all of them work great. the tegra 2 out performs my netbook in terms of graphics. can hardly play anything on my netbook. on top of that the prime has a tegra 3 wich will only be better. so in my opinion the prime would be superior. its a tablet and a netbook and some what of a gaming device with some very usefull office apps.
Freemantig said:
i have the original transformer and with the dock it is far better than any netbook ive owned. even in terms of power. i have a few office apps installed and all of them work great. the tegra 2 out performs my netbook in terms of graphics. can hardly play anything on my netbook. on top of that the prime has a tegra 3 wich will only be better. so in my opinion the prime would be superior. its a tablet and a netbook and some what of a gaming device with some very usefull office apps.
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Thanks exactly what i needed. Just pre-ordered it with the dock.
Freemantig said:
i have the original transformer and with the dock it is far better than any netbook ive owned. even in terms of power. i have a few office apps installed and all of them work great. the tegra 2 out performs my netbook in terms of graphics. can hardly play anything on my netbook. on top of that the prime has a tegra 3 wich will only be better. so in my opinion the prime would be superior. its a tablet and a netbook and some what of a gaming device with some very usefull office apps.
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can you do all the office tasks needed on the transformer? personally i would think windows or mac is a must in college because all the different software that they might utilize during college. a tablet to me seems like an additional accessory..
jblah said:
can you do all the office tasks needed on the transformer? personally i would think windows or mac is a must in college because all the different software that they might utilize during college. a tablet to me seems like an additional accessory..
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When you say "all the office tasks needed," that's a bit too broad. The Transformer+dock does NOT replace a "real" notebook (e.g., one running a full office suite) for anything beyond simple editing and text entry. Things like headers and footers aren't supported (either at all, or very well), inserting images, etc. It does work extremely well for taking notes (and I personally use Evernote, although for business meetings as opposed to classes; same difference).
If I were in college and could afford it, I'd have a good desktop-replacement notebook sitting at my dorm room or apartment for doing hardcore, complex work, and a Transformer Prime+dock for carrying around campus taking notes. The combination of very light weight, extremely long battery life (18 hours or so, or a nice, very full day on campus), and the ability to read textbooks in tablet format (which is SO much more comfortable than on a notebook) would be awesome.
If you simply cannot afford both a notebook and a tablet, then I guess I'd opt for as lightweight a notebook as I could get that has as long battery life as I could fine. Today, I'd probably take a look at an Ultrabook, to save the money over a MacBook Air and because I'm a Windows guy.
The Tegra 3 Chip is FAR more powerful than any Atom chip (netbook x86 ULV chip). It has much more power saving features and is far more efficient (18-hour battery life O_O). The Prime is will be fully capable of running Windows 8 which Microsoft can supply with an ARM variant of Office. By then of course, OpenOffice, Google Docs, Etc. will all be compatible with Windows 8 ARM. Android also has some wonderful variants, but Google Docs needs to be a lot better for Tablets.
Get the Prime.
xTRICKYxx said:
The Tegra 3 Chip is FAR more powerful than any Atom chip (netbook x86 ULV chip). It has much more power saving features and is far more efficient (18-hour battery life O_O). The Prime is will be fully capable of running Windows 8 which Microsoft can supply with an ARM variant of Office. By then of course, OpenOffice, Google Docs, Etc. will all be compatible with Windows 8 ARM. Android also has some wonderful variants, but Google Docs needs to be a lot better for Tablets.
Get the Prime.
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Click to collapse
Google Docs is a web client, it doesn't need an app or program on a PC.
I'm going to buy the Prime, hopefully. I can use it for making notes from classes, and when I get home, all the work I do will be uploaded to Docs. Then I can reread them and format them with headers, footers and stuff like that on my MacBook Air or Linux PC.
redbullcat said:
Google Docs is a web client, it doesn't need an app or program on a PC.
I'm going to buy the Prime, hopefully. I can use it for making notes from classes, and when I get home, all the work I do will be uploaded to Docs. Then I can reread them and format them with headers, footers and stuff like that on my MacBook Air or Linux PC.
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You cannot use Google Docs on a web browser on the Transformer with the keyboard for some stupid reason. Also, the Google Docs app is really ****ty.
Hopefully for most people, the Transformer Prime can replace both a tablet *and* a netbook, ultraportable or MBA. It's a hassle to transfer files back and forth to a PC or Mac. And it would mean one less computer to feed+support.
For me personally, the only issue would be the lack of OneNote, but it shouldn't be a show-stopper. Polaris should be enough for schoolwork, but I'm not in school anymore, so that's only my guess.
I don't think a tablet is a good replacement for a desktop for going to uni. I use my Galaxy Tab 10.1 for my classes to carry around with me and do my work on my desktop. The one feature I love is textbooks on the tablet. I use them with EZ PDF Reader. I can carry 5 different books easily in my tablet.
joe_dude said:
Hopefully for most people, the Transformer Prime can replace both a tablet *and* a netbook, ultraportable or MBA. It's a hassle to transfer files back and forth to a PC or Mac. And it would mean one less computer to feed+support.
For me personally, the only issue would be the lack of OneNote, but it shouldn't be a show-stopper. Polaris should be enough for schoolwork, but I'm not in school anymore, so that's only my guess.
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OneNote was released for iOS awhile ago for some reason, yet not Android. However, there are many free awesome alternatives to OneNote such as Evernote!
What about Docs To Go our QuickOffice? I have them both and they work very well. They allow most (not all) of the features you normally use in MS Office.
Thanks for all the responses. I pre-orded a prime. I had a look at Polaris, and its just what i need. Simple and quick editing. (All the work i do is on my desktop).
I was just graduated after being a college student for 5 years. I have a Transformer 1 and I would say no, not a good replacement for a netbook.
I would love to tell you to get a transformer prime because i am a huge Android enthusiast, but realistically i would recommend a 12" netbook with a duel-core atom processor for around $500, and if you weren't satisfied with that, adding a Solid State Disk would be a huge performance boost.
In my opinion for writing papers, Android will not cut it. I would also predict that will change rather quickly with updates and improvements to the google docs app.
(I wrote most of my papers on Google Docs from a windows PC)
xTRICKYxx said:
OneNote was released for iOS awhile ago for some reason, yet not Android. However, there are many free awesome alternatives to OneNote such as Evernote!
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Click to collapse
AFAIK, OneNote for iOS totally sux compared to the PC version. So, probably Polaris is enough. The new Quickoffice 5 also looks pretty good.
I intend to replace my netbook with Transformer Prime, since that netbook - while fast and everything with Ubuntu - has decided to die on me with its battery.
What I used the netbook for was mostly some quick critical bug-fixing on some web projects, browsing the web, watching movies and taking notes during lectures. It was a supplement to my desktop PC where I did my major work.
It is a somewhat risky manouvre to replace that with a tablet. It is not nearly as good environment for some web programming work, browser itself is rather limited and office software options are not even close to good enough.
But there are a lot of things that the tablet does much better for my on-the-go lifestyle. The battery is tremendous, for one. I can travel between countries and not have to worry about a charger for quite a while. Then it is also more convenient to use in buses and trains and planes. It is also better for reading and will be friendly with my Android phone far more.
In the end of the day I will find myself using a tablet much more than I have used by netbook. While it is a trade-off in some ways, I am fine with it.
kristovaher said:
I intend to replace my netbook with Transformer Prime, since that netbook - while fast and everything with Ubuntu - has decided to die on me with its battery.
What I used the netbook for was mostly some quick critical bug-fixing on some web projects, browsing the web, watching movies and taking notes during lectures. It was a supplement to my desktop PC where I did my major work.
It is a somewhat risky manouvre to replace that with a tablet. It is not nearly as good environment for some web programming work, browser itself is rather limited and office software options are not even close to good enough.
But there are a lot of things that the tablet does much better for my on-the-go lifestyle. The battery is tremendous, for one. I can travel between countries and not have to worry about a charger for quite a while. Then it is also more convenient to use in buses and trains and planes. It is also better for reading and will be friendly with my Android phone far more.
In the end of the day I will find myself using a tablet much more than I have used by netbook. While it is a trade-off in some ways, I am fine with it.
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Click to collapse
Excellent review of what a tablet is for.
Yes it's not as good for some task, but it's also way better for others.
External Hardware is also generaly much better at a same price point (build quality, screen, battery).
I'm tired of people who doesn't have a tablet saying "bla buy a laptop! it does everything better ! A tablet should cost 50 dollars to be worth it!"
No it doesn't do everything better! And for what it does better you have to pay the price in $$ or in weight, size, heat and poor battery life.
And generaly speaking screens on laptop are pretty much all awfull, don't know why though.
Thanks for your insight kristovaher, i really enjoyed it.
I pre-ordered the prime because i already have an Netbook (Somewhat old but still works fast and great). I have to agree that the Asus isnt the best thing to have to make documents, but generally speaking i would rather have a tablet in class to take notes and load some sent documents than a plain old netbook. I used to read books and watch movies on my Netbook, it was the most uncomfortable thing ever, so i hope this tablet will give me a good experience in that aspect.
As I mentioned earlier, most of the work i do is in my dorm (which i call home ) so this is a great alternative for my old netbook.
If there was a netbook to compare the Asus Prime to, it's none but another product by ASUS themselves, The Asus Zenbook UX21.
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You get an Intel i5 CPU (Sandy Bridge), solidstate 128GB drive (Sand Force), USB 3.0 and the windows 7 landmass of comparability.
But comes two things in this comparison,
Price difference is about $230 more for the UX21 over a 64GB Prime+Keyboard dock. That actually doesn't seem all bad considering the specs of the netbook.
Battery life, the UX21 is estimated at 5 hours operation time. The Prime+Dock.. well, estimated at 18 hours. That is 13 hours difference!
Really, The battery life of this thing is a key feature as the guys stated in the posts above.
Thank you
Related
why in the world did you buy a tablet to begin with? im sure most xda members have at least 2 computers in the home.
these tablets are kinda a useless toy more than anything LOL.
personally i have 1 main laptop, 2 extra laptops (one running linux that i have no clue about and another with no power cord and no idea if it even works (got them for free from an abandonded house) and 2 desktops and one of them is in the garage thats used mostly for resarch on vehicle repairs...this tablet is kinda just a extra toy but since these hp touchpads were 100 bucks on black friday locally i snagged 2 of them (one as a gift for the 12 year old) and one for me as it may be easier to use when working on my car instead of using a laptop which is bigger....which was really the only reason why i think i would use it...pictures and wiring diagrams and web searches related to it and at a 100 bucks for a good powerful unit it makes sense if it gets a little greasy or dirty lol.
what was your reason for getting a tablet? just another geek toy or for a real purpose. for my wife these tablets are almost useless in terms of productivity as these programs are for entertainment and games more than business at least for real estate anyways.
im just curious what the hype is over these things
Because laptops suck for mobile computing, they take forever to startup and the battery is something you always have to be conscious of. With a tablet I can have access to my calendar, the web, games, music, video, maps and pictures wherever I go.
My phone is too under powered and screen to too small for it to be much of use other than taking and placing calls.
My tablet is much more than a toy, I use it to configure routers and lookup solutions to computing issues, I have remote surveillance camera apps, remote desktop apps, FTP, email, etc...
The Touchpad is turning out to be one of the best and most practical purchases I've ever made.
joenathane said:
I have remote surveillance camera apps, remote desktop apps
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got my attention on those! care to share details what you have?
I got a touchpad to replace my aging netbook. Its for use in bed while watching TV. I have a few computers too, but most of the time all I want is web browsing.
We constantly use that netbook and the battery has broken twice now, this time out of warranty. So all we want is a compact long lasting web browsing experience. I want something bigger than my phone. Enter the tablet.
Heres the long story: I had actually forgotten the Touchpad and didn't know the full specs. On Thanksgiving day I had a kindle Fire in my Amazon cart, waiting to see if by some miracle on black Friday they would discount the new device. I mentioned this to a friend, and he suggested the Touchpad. After some research I knew that's what I really wanted. I liked webOS, but not a pre, I wanted 10" screen, but not for $500, I wanted quality product, not the crap you see all over for $100. Again I was ready to pull the trigger on a touchpad at $229 on eBay. The same friend told me about a black Friday ad for a furniture store not known for electronics, touchpad for $99. So I stood in the freezing cold for hours, just to be one of the first to not get one. I managed to get one on the way home for $195. I happily paid that price. Its still cheaper than a new netbook. (I know a battery is cheaper, but I don't want to keep getting batteries)
Now its on my shelf waiting for Christmas, taunting me each day. I am thoroughly excited to give webOS another try. And the icing on the cake is CM7 or ICS or Windows 8.
Just like people use computers for different things, myself I would not bring a computer or tablet into the garage for car repairs, I can't afford to risk breaking something that costs $200. For that I have a $10 haynes manual. With my phone I could easily give up one big feature: the ability to make phone calls. I use <100 minutes a month, but I use 700+ texts, and 7GB of data. Everyone has their own usage habits. For me the touchpad looks perfect.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
tackleberry said:
got my attention on those! care to share details what you have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remote desktop:
2x Client
androidVNC
Splashtop
Remote camera viewing:
IP Cam viewer lite
SuperCam_Pro
tinyCam Monitor
Also I use Google Voice, so I can review my voice mails and text from my tablet.
I have an iPhone 4S, HP TouchPad, Alienware M15x laptop and a custom made desktop with watercooling and I asked myself this very same question. Then I realized that I have one for reading books and browsing the internet easily without having to really worry about battery power. My laptop is a big and bulky gaming laptop and it's just not the right thing to take everywhere I go. It has it's place but for somewhere I just want to read a book or do some light browsing/Facebook/Twitter, my tablet almost always gets priority. This might change a little when I buy a Macbook Air next year (since it's small, thin and very light) but probably not too much unless I want to do something like play an online game or do some programming.
It's kinda wierd when you say that getting 1 tablet is a useless toy when you have 3 laptops (1 main, 1 linux [that you don't know how to use], and 1 dead/powercord-less) and 2 desktops.
The one tablet will replace your 2 extra laptop + one of your other desktops (if you feel the need to have 1 dedicated laptop and desktop.
But in essence, it's simply because startup time is instantaneous. It does all the basic functions that you would do when you are outside. It lasts longer (my laptop lasts 2-4 hours depending on how much i screw with it.) and ofcourse, it's much much much smaller therefore more portable and less to set up.
I personally thought I had no use for a tablet as well, but when I finally got one, it actually allowed me to go in and out of places faster and without hassle as compared to opening up my laptop, waiting for it to start up, and after i'm done using, wait for it to shut down.
tackleberry said:
why in the world did you buy a tablet to begin with?
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Bought it to play with, now that I have it my 17" laptop and my 12" netbook are hardly ever switched on. It's not something you can really understand until you try it for yourself.
L33t Masta said:
I have an iPhone 4S, HP TouchPad, Alienware M15x laptop and a custom made desktop with watercooling and I asked myself this very same question. Then I realized that I have one for reading books and browsing the internet easily without having to really worry about battery power. My laptop is a big and bulky gaming laptop and it's just not the right thing to take everywhere I go. It has it's place but for somewhere I just want to read a book or do some light browsing/Facebook/Twitter, my tablet almost always gets priority. This might change a little when I buy a Macbook Air next year (since it's small, thin and very light) but probably not too much unless I want to do something like play an online game or do some programming.
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I'm in the same boat with the behemoth gaming laptop (asus g73)....it's powerful for running games and my engineering programmes but not as portable and quick to access as a tablet, especially when with the HP touchpad i can remote access the laptop ...for £115 i won't argue on it's merits
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Like others, I bought mine to (somewhat) replace my laptop. Its far ligher, smaller, gets slightly better battery life in Android and far better battery life in webOS. Its great for web surfing and email. I'm really hoping a decent office suite shows up soon, but for now Quickoffice is ok. Remote desktop sounds like it would be great but I can never get them configured right so they've always been unusable sluggish for me.
Paired with a bluetooth keyboard and the right software, a tablet can be an amazing productivity device.
I also got the Touchpad to replace my laptop for books and internet. My experience is like others, the battery life and small size (relatively) are what got me. It also works well for the kids when we go on trips. It is much easier to get out the TP than the laptop in the car. I am completely satisfied with my purchases.
On top of just liking tablets, I keep vpn and RDP clients on it so I always have access to my servers at work, as well as the security cameras there.
Also, it's funny you say all tabs are useless, and then name all these useless PC's around your house, lol.
Sent from my Touchpad using Tapatalk
I got my tab to replace my dying laptop, temporarily. I picked up a TouchPad partly because of price, and partly to try webOS. My plan was, and still is, to get an ultrabook next year and the TP is doing a great job bridging the gap I needed.
Depending on how well linux will run natively on one, I may not need to get a laptop at all.
Sent from my very "non-stock" TP.
Media, annoying bringing my laptop to work sometimes.
Sent from my HP Touchpad using xda premium
I just wanted to be cool
Seriously though, I always wanted a more portable laptop (ie. a touchscreen tablet). It's just very intuitive. Yes, it's kind of redundant if you have both a laptop and a smartphone already, but even a few inches of screen real estate can make a big difference. The TP or any tablet is great as an e-reader and general purpose web browser or media viewer. You can also do light gaming too. They work well to read or surf the internet laying in bed or while sitting on the couch. Basically, to me they kind of replace netbooks. I couldn't see using one as your only computer, but as a 2nd or 3rd machine, they're convenient.
ponyboy82 said:
I just wanted to be cool
Seriously though, I always wanted a more portable laptop (ie. a touchscreen tablet). It's just very intuitive. Yes, it's kind of redundant if you have both a laptop and a smartphone already, but even a few inches of screen real estate can make a big difference. The TP or any tablet is great as an e-reader and general purpose web browser or media viewer. You can also do light gaming too. They work well to read or surf the internet laying in bed or while sitting on the couch. Basically, to me they kind of replace netbooks. I couldn't see using one as your only computer, but as a 2nd or 3rd machine, they're convenient.
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This is exactly how I feel. The tablet to me fills that hole between computer and phone. I have a 4.3" phone, plenty big, but the 10" seems perfect for lap use. I don't need USB ports for peripherals, for that I have my laptop (that I use a desktop).
The touchstone dock is very tempting for me. To be able to just set it down when done, and not fumble for cords seems like the perfect use case.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
I found that I was using my laptop, which at the time was my only computer, pretty much only for e-mail and web browsing and thought that a tablet would be useful, but paying $600 for a Xoom (which I really wanted) wasn't very appealing. So when I found out about the firesale on day 1 I went to Wal-mart (no luck) and then my local Staples (32GB score!). I used it for about two weeks and found I never used my laptop in that time period. So I sold my laptop for $750.
In that same time period I bought a new Alienware Aurora R3 desktop which fulfills my "real computer" needs, which other than gaming are few and far between since I can't take my work home and I'm done with school permanently (MS is enough for me).
phobos512 said:
I found that I was using my laptop, which at the time was my only computer, pretty much only for e-mail and web browsing and thought that a tablet would be useful, but paying $600 for a Xoom (which I really wanted) wasn't very appealing. So when I found out about the firesale on day 1 I went to Wal-mart (no luck) and then my local Staples (32GB score!). I used it for about two weeks and found I never used my laptop in that time period. So I sold my laptop for $750.
In that same time period I bought a new Alienware Aurora R3 desktop which fulfills my "real computer" needs, which other than gaming are few and far between since I can't take my work home and I'm done with school permanently (MS is enough for me).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kinda the same story here.... within a few months I went from a 12" iBook and dumphone, to a big smartphone, tablet and 17" gaming laptop
---------- Post added at 10:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 PM ----------
quarlow said:
This is exactly how I feel. The tablet to me fills that hole between computer and phone. I have a 4.3" phone, plenty big, but the 10" seems perfect for lap use. I don't need USB ports for peripherals, for that I have my laptop (that I use a desktop).
The touchstone dock is very tempting for me. To be able to just set it down when done, and not fumble for cords seems like the perfect use case.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The touchstone is pretty cool. It's nice to not have to futz with a power cord, and at least on my TP, the microUSB port is a little finicky so I have to angle cords to get them in. That said, the 3.0.4 update changed something with the Touchstone sensitivity, so I can no longer charge with the HP case on it and the flap folded back, like I used to. Otherwise it seems ok. At this point I could definitely live without the TS, but it is nice for grab'n'go usage.
First off, we can all agree that laptops are too clunky and short batter life for what 90% of us all do: e-mail, web browse (facebook, google+, ebay, etc) , watch videos, watch netflix, light gaming (some with Flash). I used to use my HTC EVO 4G to do all that stuff, but with such small screen it wasn't the best. If I were stuck on an Island, I wouldn't hesitate to bring my phone as my primary device. But, the future happened and now we have tablets. They don't do what laptops/netbooks do, but they do what 90% of us do with much longer batter life and being less clunky. I wouldn't have thought about it, but I use my tablet about 80-90% of the time while I'm at home. I just turn my laptop on to do programming or major gaming. Otherwise, there would be no easier way to re-watch all of DS9 on Netflix if it were not for my tablet. It is very easy to read while on the couch, laying outside in the yard, before going to bed, right after waking up in the morning, or in the restroom.
I got my HP TouchPad for $99, and even though the Asus Tranformer Prime is around the corner and I want it, I can't justify spending a couple of hundred of dollars for what I already have.
Summary: Get a tablet, you won't regret it.
I tried to figure out what the big deal is myself....then I got one.
For 99, I think I have the best of everything for the price.
Sure this device could have expansion slots, Back Facing camera, etc.
But I don't go plunk down Chevy money and expect a Cadillac...
A lot of us use Email, browse the web and look at forums, Facebook, pictures.
This device does this perfectly...
Battery lasts forever compared to most laptops, and about 1/4 the weight/thickness on average.
WebOS' built in VPN client actually works out of the box connecting to work with my older Cisco VPN hardware (Concentrator...not ASA series)
Now that WebOS has a good Remote Desktop Client (I use Splashtop, but I'm not putting the streamer on my servers, etc.) it is very useful for work.
As long as I have a WiFi connection (which...I have a T-bolt...tethering) it is a great resource for work.
Would I type out a novel on it? No....a LONG drawn out email? no...
If you got a TP at or near firesale prices, IMO...you got the holy grail of 2011 in geekdom.
I would like to hear from people who own tablets and laptops. I would say i wanna hear from only people who have asus eee pads and tablets, but im sure there few in numbers.
I was wondering what people use there asus eee pad (or other tablet) for? Do you use your tablet more then your laptop? What do you enjoy on your tablet that you don't enjoy "as much" on your laptop? Do you feel like it would be worth buying the asus eee pad prime if you already have a great gaming computer?
Quick question. Can you charge a cell phone from the USB port on the Transformer's dock? That's one great thing about owning a laptop, unlimited battery on my phone.
Can the Prime be charged when plugged into a laptop?
SwissyChief said:
Quick question. Can you charge a cell phone from the USB port on the Transformer's dock? That's one great thing about owning a laptop, unlimited battery on my phone.
Can the Prime be charged when plugged into a laptop?
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Click to collapse
thats a good question, i have no idea.
Well, i just bought a high-end laptop (i7, 8gb, 256gb ssd, hd6630), not specially a gamer laptop but handles games fine. And i also bought the prime. I'm replacing my desktop and netbook with them. The idea is to use the laptop for allaround. Games (every kind), programming in eclipse and some photo editing (with my desktop monitor), basically just anything i might want to throw at it. Then using the tablet for mail, im, playing films and music without having to carry a full laptop all around... who knows, in the future maybe even some android-exclusive gaming... and i'm throwing in the dock because i'm a heavy mail user, so i guess it would be more comfortable, and i like the idea of using my SD cards on the tablet, having a USB port for my external hard drive and the 6 hours extra battery. I travel a lot too, so sometimes the laptop won't be suitable for some kind of travelling while the tablet may be. I have to admit that i'm kind of worried that i might not use the tablet enough to justify its cost, but providing i code for Android and every other thing i just said... i believe i won't be dissapointed. The fact i got a laptop for those uses instead of a desktop is that i'm probably moving to a foreign country soon (1-2 months) and i couldn't afford carrying such a big thing.
When i decided to switch my desktop and netbook for a laptop and a tablet, the transformer (hadn't heard of the prime yet) seemed like my perfect partner, as i use my netbook for almost everything and my desktop just for gaming and photo editing, which is not much lately. If only we had eclipse (or a decent IDE) on the transformer prime, it would really be the perfect gadget for me.
You'll get different answers depending on whether people use them for work, school, or leisure and their overall device portfolio.
I have a high-end i7 desktop with a 23" monitor, a work issued high-end 15" laptop with broadband, a Sony Vaio P with broadband, a tablet with broadband, and a SGS2. All five are connected to my work and personnel Exchange accounts (I don't use Google Mail or apps).
I got a tablet over the Summer and the two devices it impacted most were my phone and the Vaio primarily because out of the three the tablet's now my #1 consumption device. If I'm home and doing anything serious I'll always use my desktop. I'll play with the tablet while I'm watching TV or need to reference something quickly and I have a couple of docks where I'm likely to use it most. I also use it to reply to casual MMS and e-mail because the screen and keyboard are better than the phone's.
If I'm traveling for business where I'll need to do heavy-duty work in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint I'll leave the tablet home and take either my laptop or the Vaio. When I know I'm going to be on the road for a while I'll take the laptop. Anyone who says an Android device can be a subsitute for a work device is nuts. With VPN's, MS Office, extranets et. al., while Android can fake it there's no substitute for native Windows apps, a discrete graphics card, and heaps of RAM and disk space. For day trips and one or two nighter's I'll just bring the tablet because fake-Office will get my by. Same thing if I'm on a leisure trip where I just need to be connected. I do find myself taking the tablet with me when I'm out around town. It's great in restaurants and when you're waiting to be able to read the news, stream media, and send and receive MMS and e-mail. The Vaio does a good job as a consumption device and it's got a 256GB SSD. It's smaller than the tablet but it's still Windows so it takes forever to boot and the screen's not as good as the tablet for video and entertainment type stuff. If I didn't have to be connected to work so much I'd use the tablet instead of the other devices more.
Long answer but bottom line is YMMV depending on what you typically use your laptop (or other devices) for.
According to my experience with the original Transformer (the Prime seems to work the same in this regard)
Yes, phones can be charged via the dock USB port.
No, the Transformer can't be charged by USB on a laptop nor a desktop computer not even a classic power AC or with a classic USB cable.
The Transformer need a 12v output to charge (standard USB cable only handle 5v, and standard power AC only output 5v).
The upside of this is that it charge very very fast (4h is enough to fully charge the dock and the tablet)
I remember on the original transformer, there was a lag when typing online with the dock. It as super annoying when trying to look up stuff at school. I sold it and bought a MBA but I'm hoping this problem is not in the new one so I can get rid of my air for school.
I would say that it's worth it depending on what your needs are. I also have a 17 inch MBP that I never take to school because of the size. However, it is my favorite laptop since the high resolution let's me comfortably view 2 pages side by side and I also have a super fast intel 320 ssd in it. I do have a place in my life for a tablet and I really hope that the prime is it. One of my favorite things to do in the morning was to grab my ipad and go sit on the toilet. Trust me when I say that it's much more uncomfortable balancing a 17 inch laptop on the jon!
^ lmao I know what you mean I have a pc 17" pc laptop and a 13" mbp and I too always spend a great amount of time in the washroom on my 3.7 inch phone. Hopefully I'll be more comfortable when I get the prime. Laptop just to heavy and annoying to use the track pad while on the laptop.
I was wondering this too.
I got a Midrange desktop connected to my 32" 1080p TV and a 15.4" low end laptop.
Im always on my laptop as I moved back home and its not comfy using PC on my bed ha ha. So Im considering if £330 (after voucher and sale of my old HTC Desire) for the Transformer Prime and dock will be worth it while I do not have a job. I am looking for a job and will could get one anytime so tablet will be useful for work based tasks while im away from work and home.
I have a low-end laptop (i3,4gb RAM) and a mid-range desktop (AMD 965 Black, 4gb RAM). This tablet will be strictly for fun, and watching movies while travelling. I had a G Tablet last year and it just didn't do it for me. I'm hoping that the Transformer is all it's cracked up to be, or I'll probably be ditching it in a couple of months.
As they are right now, tablets are primarily for media consumption.
While there are a good amount of productivity apps, the big hitter would be the Android equivalent of Microsoft Office, and having tried most of them, there just aren't any that make the cut.
The ASUS Transformer series are a step in the right direction, mainly because of their distinguishing feature, the keyboard dock. But until there are Android apps that make good use of it, it won't replace my MS Office-equipped Alienware laptop when I really need to get work done.
I used to have the original TF, so I know this from experience. I just hope that with the Prime, they got rid of, or at least improved the typing lag that was present in the TF.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
hbk19 said:
As they are right now, tablets are primarily for media consumption.
While there are a good amount of productivity apps, the big hitter would be the Android equivalent of Microsoft Office, and having tried most of them, there just aren't any that make the cut.
The ASUS Transformer series are a step in the right direction, mainly because of their distinguishing feature, the keyboard dock. But until there are Android apps that make good use of it, it won't replace my MS Office-equipped Alienware laptop when I really need to get work done.
I used to have the original TF, so I know this from experience. I just hope that with the Prime, they got rid of, or at least improved the typing lag that was present in the TF.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
was not aware of typing lag, that would suck BALLS if they didn't get rid of it.
the reason i made this thread is because im planning on buying a laptop, but im worried it will take place of my tablet.. i may still buy them both, but im still not sure.
I have Transformer and recently I was really mad because I had to bring my laptop which was so heavy to finish some powerpoint presentation. I immediately bought USB adapter for Trasnformer and next time I hope my laptop will stay at home where I use it as a desktop.
If you need a laptop, then you need a laptop. Thinking a tablet is going to be a complete replacement is a mistake if you do anything demanding or that requires heavy use of specific applications.
What I think a tablet - and especially the Transformer Prime - replaces is a netbook. Laptops are powerful, but also usually larger, heavier and with considerably worse battery life. Netbooks are cheap, but usually quite anaemically-powered for running desktop OSes, and usually don't have the touch-screen accessibility of a tablet. I think the Prime sits in a great position with respect to size, weight, battery life, power and usability here.
If you'd be happy using a netbook to use the web, email, take notes, play video, chat to people, play simpler games and do some light office application work, the Prime is a real contender. If you need to do something you wouldn't want to do on a netbook, the Prime isn't likely to be any better.
Mithent said:
If you need a laptop, then you need a laptop. Thinking a tablet is going to be a complete replacement is a mistake if you do anything demanding or that requires heavy use of specific applications.
What I think a tablet - and especially the Transformer Prime - replaces is a netbook. Laptops are powerful, but also usually larger, heavier and with considerably worse battery life. Netbooks are cheap, but usually quite anaemically-powered for running desktop OSes, and usually don't have the touch-screen accessibility of a tablet. I think the Prime sits in a great position with respect to size, weight, battery life, power and usability here.
If you'd be happy using a netbook to use the web, email, take notes, play video, chat to people, play simpler games and do some light office application work, the Prime is a real contender. If you need to do something you wouldn't want to do on a netbook, the Prime isn't likely to be any better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 100%
I dont know why people even think it can replace a laptop.
Netbook replacement for a Transformer + dock makes much more sense.
Nekromantik said:
I agree 100%
I dont know why people even think it can replace a laptop.
Netbook replacement for a Transformer + dock makes much more sense.
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Click to collapse
i don't know if anyones implying something, but i never said/thought it would EVER replace a laptop.
If we had a fully functioning office application (no polaris does not count) then maybe most wouldn't need their laptops.
however until Microsoft release office for android you will need both for most business or study uses.
LibreOffice team working on a free Android version
zoro25 said:
If we had a fully functioning office application (no polaris does not count) then maybe most wouldn't need their laptops.
however until Microsoft release office for android you will need both for most business or study uses.
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Click to collapse
I highly doubt Microsoft would ever release Office for Android. We may see Android being supported by Office Live! running in the cloud. However, just as we have several MS Office alternatives on the desktop, they are also coming out for Android. The Document Foundation is actively developing LibreOffice for Android.
LibreOffice team working on a free Android version
zoro25 said:
however until Microsoft release office for android you will need both for most business or study uses.
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Click to collapse
It's more then just MS Office. Someone mentioned PPT. If you're presenting at a clients location god knows what you'll find yourself connecting to for projection. A flat-panel with HDMI? A circa 2000 LCD projector with a VGA cable? DVI? USB? S-Video? And large PPTs are loaded with heavy graphics, transitions, interactivity, and imbedded video. They can tax a low-powered laptop.
And networking at a clients location is tough enough with a Windows laptop where IT staff at least know what settings have to be input to get on their network. And many companies forbid Wi-Fi because of the security risk so you're connecting over Ethernet. The networking tools on Android are really just meh and vary across manufacturers so IT groups usually won't touch them.
And don't forget you're looking at a device with 1GB of RAM, limited graphics capabilities, and a processor that while great for a tablet or phone isn't architected for heavy-duty business apps. This again can even tax a low-end laptop. When MS increased the size of spreadsheets in 64bit Excel I had to buy a dozen new i7 laptops with tons of RAM for people at work because their two-year old laptops could no longer handle the load.
I know these are extremes and only effect a minority of people but just because an Android tablet with a keyboard looks like a laptop won't make it a true replacement in its current form. This is where there's probably a real opening for Windows 8 tablets. It'll support multiple chipsets and the h/w on the high-end will be a lot more powerful and versatile than anything Android. And of course the s/w will be business compatible. So once W8 tablets arrive Android for business use will probably disappear and MS, Dell, and HP know it. Even though I have a tablet with a keyboard, this is what I use when I don't feel like schlepping my 10lbs of laptop and accessories on the road. It's running Windows 7 Ultimate, MS Office 2010, has a 256GB SSD, and weighs a pound and a half with all its accessories.
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HDMI-> VGA Dongle is available for the Transfomer
BarryH_GEG said:
It's more then just MS Office. Someone mentioned PPT. If you're presenting at a clients location god knows what you'll find yourself connecting to for projection. A flat-panel with HDMI? A circa 2000 LCD projector with a VGA cable? DVI? USB? S-Video?...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Asus specifically makes an HDMI to VGA dongle for the Transformer. HDMI is also easily changed into DVI as the signals are electronically compatible. With a Tegra 3 processor the Transformer Prime should handle sophisticated PPT presentations with ease. In fact it would probably be much better than the shoddy Intel integrated graphics on my enterprise business class Tablet PC.
I wouldn't necessarily want to use the Transformer for content creation (not yet), but I would think it would be more than adequate for the business traveler who needs to show presentations.
Hey guys,
First off let me send a quick apology as I'm not sure if this topic should be in Q&A or general.
Anyway, I've recently been looking at android tablets, mainly for university. The transformer prime caught my eye, hence my posting in this area. The thing is I went into a shop recently and asked why I cannot find the transformer prime in any shop anywhere in london, and the guy had said that the transformer prime is not a good tablet and that the samsung and motorola tablets are far better. Now I don't know if this guy is a complete moron because from what I've read everywhere online, regarding spec and reviews, the transformer prime seems the better choice. I'm just not sure what to buy. I know it's down to personal preference, but what I want this tablet for is typing notes up in lectures without having to lug around a laptop all day. The keyboard dock and USB connectivity are what made me choose the prime over the other, but the hardware spec seems better than the competing tablets. Obviously I want to use the tablet to watch films, play games and listen to music also.
What do you guys think?
Cheers! =)
I think you will be VERY happy with a prime and dock. Nothing else on the market has the battery power, convenience or computing power of the Prime. The keyboard makes all the difference in the world. I wouldn't even consider the Samsung or Motorola tablets after using my prime for a few months.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA
>what I want this tablet for is typing notes up in lectures without having to lug around a laptop all day.
How is lugging a laptop different from lugging Prime+dock?
e.mote said:
>what I want this tablet for is typing notes up in lectures without having to lug around a laptop all day.
How is lugging a laptop different from lugging Prime+dock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a lot smaller and lighter. my laptop is ridiculously heavy.
I feel like I was in a similar situation. I consider myself a power pc user but having been in college the last few years keeping a desktop was impractical. Instead I got a workhorse laptop that, while powerful, is too big to conveniently carry anywhere. Not to mention its 90 minute battery life.
As for the OP, if ALL you're looking for is to type notes, then you'll be fine with a TFP and dock. If you're looking to write notes (and tablet note taking software can be extremely handy for things like math or organic chemistry) then I would advise you to buy a tablet with an active digitizer/stylus. I'm not sure which options are out there, but there are a few. I believe Samsung is coming out with the Galaxy Note 10.1 in the near future. I originally had the GalaxyTab 10.1 and loved it, so I know the Galaxy Note 10.1 would be good quality.
However, I love my Prime a whoooole lot more than my GT10.1, but that's probably more of a reflection of the GT10.1 being last gen technology. Tegra 3 is really the only answer if you watch a lot of hi-def media on your tablet--which I do--and the extra ports + laptop dock sold me over in a heartbeat.
joncy92 said:
It's a lot smaller and lighter. my laptop is ridiculously heavy.
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Click to collapse
been there done that. settled on teh prime and everyone near me gawks at it when they first see it. it's incredible. I don't have to carry a big laptop to school either.
seemless integration with dropbox - i actually use dropsync to keep all my notes up to date on all my machines - with ezpdf reader. It's GREAT! (from a student perspective)
lmk if you have specific questions
and yes, the sales guy is a "moron" that needs to try it to understand how amazing this tablet and dock combo are!
Netbooks are pretty small and light, with long battery life. They are also cheaper and can do more. They can easily do all of the things you listed.
If you want more upscale, then there are ultrabooks for more power and speed, and better looks.
I realize that what you're actually asking isn't so much as opinions of what to buy, but more of affirmation of the decision you probably already made by coming in here, ie "Prime is a good buy," as what else would people say on a Prime forum?
nhshah7 said:
seemless integration with dropbox - i actually use dropsync to keep all my notes up to date on all my machines - with ezpdf reader. It's GREAT! (from a student perspective)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you mind elaborating on your ezpdf usage habits a little bit? I have three of my textbooks as PDF (a benefit I forgot to mention to the OP. Being able to carry ALL of your books with you, all of the time in the package the size of the tablet is a godsend), and because of the stupid 16:9 aspect ration I have to zoom in and pan on every single page I go to. I basically zoom in until all the useless white margin on the sides of the page is gone.
I have since upgraded to Mantano ereader and I've loved it. It has a feature that intelligently "crops away" all of that extra white margin, so the pages open up zoomed in and I don't have to zoom in manually myself. However, I don't think it's annotation abilities are quite as good as ezpdf's. Hence my asking about your PDF usage.
Implying anyone takes notes.
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qaulity is alot better than that on the original image, I just had to shrink it down.
for stuff I write down - the feeling of taking notes on a tablet can't compare to pen on paper.
I mainly use my tablet for an agenda in jorte calender to keep on top if my assignments, the camera to capture powerpoint slides, as a screen for pdf writeups while I type up papers, and as an easy way of emailing and checking things online on the go.
The dock is great to keep the tablet full on battery throughout the days I'm on campus all day. The usb & full sized sd ports are great for transfering files from flash drives and stuff.
The keyboard itself I personally don't use much unless I'm programming, but it's very useful for alot of people and makes a good screen cover for when it's in my bookbag.
ezPDF has manual crop. You set it once per PDF. It has a "Fit to Text Column" that autocrops, but you have to redo it for every page, which is a pain.
I just tried Mantano. The autocrop function is useful, but buggy. When enabled, it defaults to fit both (length & width) instead of just width, and the Fit function doesn't affect it. So if you have autocrop on, and you rotate from portrait to landscape, the page shrinks to fit the whole page, instead of expanding to fit width.
Second, when in landscape, page update within the page is slow, and scrolling isn't smooth. ezPDF is substantially faster.
10-min verdict: Mantano has more intuitive control settings, and it actually has a manual (ezPDF doesn't have one, nor help). It has autocrop, which doesn't really work. But the killer is the slow page update when in landscape. A reader has to be fast, first and foremost.
It would be nice for ezPDF to have persistent per-page autocrop, but the manual crop works well enough, with minimal hassle.
I would strongly suggest you to get a laptop for university.
Tablet is more for leisure. Real works? Can't beat a Windows laptop.
I think you need a windows machine somewhere. Depending on what you study. I have a desktop at home for all the heavy duty word/excel processing. But for taking notes, using the web for research, or writing an essay, exchanging files, email, the prime is perfect. I'm also doing presentations with the prime (see other thread from me about that). In my case there are no tasks that i need to do on the road or at uni, which i couldnt do with the prime.
But you need to have windows somewhere. At least so you have a remote station at home, that you can use it with your prime. If you have the prime, your home pc comes with you as long as you wifi^^
Get it. It will be worth it.
I am currently a university student as well 3rd year in Canada and got TFP and the dock both at bestbuy.
Never had any issues except for dead GPS (A lot of people say they have wifi problems and etc but I guess it really depends on the model since my friend got one as well and he does not have problems either).
Anyways back to the point...
For taking notes in class, I personally think writing on paper is a lot easier since personally I am in engineering and most of my prof draws stuff on the board like circuits and writes down all kinds of equations. I really don't think you can keep up with the lecture if you want to type out equations and draw diagrams on the notes. But if you usually take notes with words only then this is a great choice since the keyboard is very responsive.
I personally bought this because I didn't like carrying my laptop to school since I tend to study there until late night and my laptop is way too heavy and have super short battery life. (Asus g53jw-a1 great laptop but super big and heavy). If I am away at school and I really need to access my laptop for windows programs (such as matlab) then I just simply use LogMeIn app from my TFP and access my laptop from TFP Just have your laptop or computer on at home and make sure it has internet access... I turn it off only when I sleep.
Overall its great so I would definately recommend it.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Get the Prime! The build-in software SuperNote is great for taking notes in class. I'm studying a formulae-heavy subject, and this is just perfect for writing them down. You can type text using the dock, and once a formula comes up, you simply draw it on the screen. It get's aligned with the rest of the text. If you want I can upload a little note I have actually taken in class last week that might explain it a little better.
And if you happen to need to use an Office-line product: there are apps that can handle the file formats as well.
The Prime is nice. It's noticeably smaller and lighter than the original Transformer, which would also meet your needs.
So depending on your budget, I'd pick one of those two.
As has already been pointed out, if you have access to WiFi you can remote into your "desktop" PC (assuming it's on and connected to the 'Net).
Splashtop THD is astounding in the speed and clarity of graphics I get when connecting remotely. LogMeIn Ignition is $30, compared to the $7 for Splashtop or free for TeamViewer.
As a student myself I guess I would chip in a bit. In general I think the Prime is pretty great for college. You can use it to view powerpoint and pdf and with EzPDF you can even edit annotations. Having a keyboard is great when I need to type up emails or reports or just doing researches in general. With the dock the battery life is amazing and can easily last well over a school day. The slate form is perfect for "play" but it's also very useful for work as well. I find I pass it around without the keyboard a lot to share my work and research with my coursemates. Or just show them Youtube videos of cats lol.
But before you go off and buy it I guess you should also know the problems as well. For college use, the word processing software you can get are pretty limited and you are basically confined to typing up simple documents. For making proper reports with figures and illustration you'd still need to transfer your work to a PC. If you are planning on using it to take a lot of handwritten notes, the Prime digitiser is also not very good for drawing lines and such compared to other tablets you could get. If you use a capacitive stylus the touch response is much worse and it's pretty much unusable unless you root and tweak the touchscreen sensitivity. Lastly the Wi-Fi reception is pretty sub-standard, so if in college you usually get weak Wi-Fi signal a Prime might struggle to connect to the internet.
Anyway overall it's a damn good piece of hardware but there are a few drawbacks too. If they don't matter to you then I think you should go for it.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
chunsaa said:
I personally bought this because I didn't like carrying my laptop to school since I tend to study there until late night and my laptop is way too heavy and have super short battery life. (Asus g53jw-a1 great laptop but super big and heavy). If I am away at school and I really need to access my laptop for windows programs (such as matlab) then I just simply use LogMeIn app from my TFP and access my laptop from TFP Just have your laptop or computer on at home and make sure it has internet access... I turn it off only when I sleep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you comment on logmein? I don't like the other solutions out there but $30 is expensive! Splashtop that's bundled doesn't work so well for me but I haven't bought the thd or HD versions yet.
As for PDF reading, I'll comment on it when I'm on my prime in a few hours. I've tried ezpdf and repligo since all my slides are PDF and I have to annotate them.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Hmm... although this is Transformer Prime forum...
I have to recommend a combination of Windows machine + iPad.
As far as tablets go, while Android devices .. especially Prime .. do provide many functions that people have listed above... Apple & iPad 2/3 will have access to iBook Textbooks.
iBook Textbook alone might trump many of the features that comes with Android tablets (and as far as I know, Android doesn't have access or provide sheer volume of iBook Textbook)...
you will deffo want some kind of PC to do real work on. My uni work involved a load of Powerpoint presentations (LOADS) which wuldbe easier to create on a laptop.
however you're right, a prime with dock would be excellent to take to lectures and type rough notes. thats if you actually go to the lectures (I didn't).
It will also be good to show off and impress people.
The real idea to buy mi prime was have the best of two machines, but if you need focus in heavy works like others say. Buy a laptop or use splashtop HD. Jajaja works some time.
http://www.slashgear.com/microsoft-patent-takes-the-transformer-prime-one-step-further-08217529/
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Lets hope so. I really like the prime "formfactor" and would like tablets/laptop/ultrabooks to keep using a separate dock so competition gives more chance for that to happen.
Yes!!!! Please!!!
Umm if all it takes to be a copycat is to have a tablet with removeable keyboard then the prime and original transformer are the copycats not microsoft tablets. There were microsoft tablets that had that functionality years ago; albeit they kind of sucked, but they were out there.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/lenovo-ideapad-u1-hybrid-laptop-by-day-unhinged-tablet-by-nigh/
erikk said:
Umm if all it takes to be a copycat is to have a tablet with removeable keyboard then the prime and original transformer are the copycats not microsoft tablets. There were microsoft tablets that had that functionality years ago; albeit they kind of sucked, but they were out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, indeed, and actually I disagree that Windows Tablet PCs sucked (or suck). They were (and remain) EXCELLENT for anyone who needs to gather information in the field, take copious notes (e.g., students, salespeople, etc.), and who can benefit from having full Windows apps (e.g., Office 2010) in a highly mobile form factor with alternative means to enter information.
In fact, I think Apple's biggest (and worst) feat was to convince people that active digitizers and pens are a bad thing--they're not, and no capacitive touchscreen can provide anything near the accuracy and precision. Microsoft should be sent to the lowest rung of business hell for how poorly they marketed the Tablet PC platform. I used Tablet PCs for six years as a sales engineer for Ricoh, and you'd have had to pry the things out of my cold, dead hands before I would have given them up.
Modern tablets are good for consumption and very light productivity. But if I were still in a sales position where I took lots of notes, I'd be using a Tablet PC today. And even though I'm not, I'd still kill for a Transformer running Windows 8 with full Office and an active digitizer/pen. That would be heaven.
/rant
I'm just wondering whether or not in the future, ASUS will give us the option of Android or Windows 8.
I'd consider a Windows 8 device like this easily, as long as it's good enough, but without something like getting cygwin (groan) up and running and sticking an Xeon in the back pocket to run that fast enough, I can't really fathom it being as good for my needs as Android -- where I can use the best of Linux and Android to fulfill my needs.
For many power users, a Windows 8+ transformer would probably be the best thing.
I'm still wondering when a future iteration of laptops will make a touch screen manatory and the touchpad like PS/2 ports used to be...hehe.
You can bet that Windows 8, as much as the metro interface blows, will be a seed of change for the future of tablet computing. The main reason is the application support it will gain. Combine that with tablets that have true digitizers and you're looking at the future.
erikk said:
Umm if all it takes to be a copycat is to have a tablet with removeable keyboard then the prime and original transformer are the copycats not microsoft tablets. There were microsoft tablets that had that functionality years ago; albeit they kind of sucked, but they were out there.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/lenovo-ideapad-u1-hybrid-laptop-by-day-unhinged-tablet-by-nigh/
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Picture is an HP tablet .. not microsoft, it was just running a version of XP with touchscreen functions
AFAIK microsoft never made a tablet themselfs.
I know what you mean though, asus aint the first to come up with a tablet design with keyboard dock...
MS never had a decent operating system for touch screen devices untill perhaps windows 8 ??
Who knows.
Those HP tablets didn't have true touch screen capabilities only the use of a Pen (Stylus) what had a battery inside it what would die after a month or two.
They were quite good I used to use one in school as I was slow at writing and keeping up. Every teacher had one and they were quite reliable. They were pretty much just a laptop with a navigation pen (no where near as good as any modern day touchphone or tablet
There's a fallacy here the Apple created and everyone now seems to follow: that a capacitive touch screen is necessarily better for all mobile devices. Sure, it doesn't require a stylus, but it's also very inaccurate and imprecise. Modern mobile OSs are simply designed around their limitations (e.g., large buttons).
Recent Windows Tablet PCs that use active digitizers and pens (most of which do NOT require batteries) offer excellent precision and accuracy, pressure sensitivity, etc. My four-year-old Dell Latitude XT also has a capacitive layer for touch (support 2-finger multitouch), for what it's worth. And, Windows 7 is excellent with such a stylus, offering a responsive screen, tablet-specific shortcuts (e.g., multi-selecting files in Windows Explorer), etc.
I'd say that a Windows 7 Tablet PC with a modern digitizer could easily make for a great experience with just a few improvements, and is a very good experience today. No, it's not optimized for touch, but then again there's far more precision and control with the current stylus-based metaphor. The problem is, Steve Jobs convinced everyone that needing a stylus is a bad thing, and so now we have over-simplified touch-based interfaces that, while seeming more elegant (I mean, we just TOUCH our screens with our FINGERS and they respond!) are actually quite limited functionally.
Now, I see the advantage of touch screens on smartphones. They're too small to make even a good active digitizer and pen functional. And I think those make good use of touch-optimized user interfaces. But tablets are a different story. As I said earlier, Microsoft should be shot for neglecting this form factor for so long--they had a freaking goldmine on their hands, and blew it.
>The problem is, Steve Jobs convinced everyone that needing a stylus is a bad thing
Quit the inane blame game. MS' Tablet PC & convertibles were around long before the iPad. They failed because of MS' mistakes, not because Jobs "dupes" users. I note you didn't mention how much that Latitude XT cost, or its battery life, or how heavy it was. Or, more to point, how useful it was to the normal user who just want to browse the web, do light wordprocessing, and watch movies (no social back in those days).
Here's a refresher (for the system reviewed below): $3640, 3.12 lbs, 3-4 hrs use.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4323
Resistive touch tech has its strong points. Its weak point is that you need a pointed stick, and fingers (which aren't pointed) are more convenient to use. As you yourself pointed out, having capacitive touch doesn't exclude more precise input methods, eg HTC Flyer and Thinkpad Tablet. That those differentiations didn't take was because there is no mainstream demand for precise input on mobile devices. All mobile OS UIs, including Win8's Metro, are designed for fingers.
BTW, for those who can't be bothered to read the article, the patent is applied not for the detachable screen, but for the dedicated SoC in the dock. So, you'd get high performance in dock mode, and battery-conserving mode when undocked.
It's not a very practical idea, since you'd incur the cost of the additional SoC and supporting components--effectively doubling the component cost. It'd be good for a premium device w/o worry for price competition. But that's not today's market. Win8 will have its work cut out to compete against the iPad price-wise.
e.mote said:
>The problem is, Steve Jobs convinced everyone that needing a stylus is a bad thing
Quit the inane blame game. MS' Tablet PC & convertibles were around long before the iPad. They failed because of MS' mistakes, not because Jobs "dupes" users. I note you didn't mention how much that Latitude XT cost, or its battery life, or how heavy it was. Or, more to point, how useful it was to the normal user who just want to browse the web, do light wordprocessing, and watch movies (no social back in those days).
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Click to collapse
I believe I did blame Microsoft, quite strongly. And yes, back then component costs were higher, including ultra-low voltage Intel X86 processors and small form-factor notebooks in general. Also, you picked a very expensive example (I paid quite a bit less for my Latitude XT). Today, Tablet PCs can be had for under $1000.
Also, note that the HTC and Lenovo tablets with pens don't use standard capacitive screens for the pen input. They use active digitizers from N-trig, which are far more precise than the typical capacitive stylus.
My point about Jobs's role in the whole thing is how he argued against the stylus in a very disingenuous attack on Tablet PCs of the time, and just as important how nobody called him on it. But that's a different debate.
I'd be happy to have a device with the productivity of Windows 7 tablets and active digitizer/pens (full Office apps, an excellent notetaking app like OneNote, etc.), with the same battery life advantages and, yes, simpler user interface of iOS and ICS tablets for casual use. Perhaps Win 8 will offer that combination. I wonder, though, because I don't believe there's a low-power processor out yet that can handle the kind of background handwriting recognition that Window 7 Tablet PCs can handle.
And note that Tablet PCs were just fine for the things you things you mention--Web browsing, light word processing, watching movies--as today's tablets. They weren't as light, and they didn't offer the battery life. But that's because the technology wasn't there yet. And in fact, in terms of running X86 apps (i.e., more than today's exceedingly simple mobile apps), we're only this year getting the Intel chipsets to make it possible. I'm still unclear on whether the ARM version of Win 8 will run X86 apps, but I'm pretty sure it won't.
My point was that Tablet PCs were incredibly productive devices, far more so than any modern tablet made today. And I stick by that assertion 100%.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Calling asus copycats is ridiculous. There were keyboards for tablets before - yes. But none anywhere near as intuitive & featured as the tf101. Look at the motion le1700 for a perfect example of keyboard tablet fails. Ipad has tried. HP has tried. No one has come close to making a tablet with a keyboard as well as asus.
it really is lame when people lose credit for properly implementing good ideas.
windows 8 looks more and more disappointing.
ickkii said:
Calling asus copycats is ridiculous. There were keyboards for tablets before - yes. But none anywhere near as intuitive & featured as the tf101. Look at the motion le1700 for a perfect example of keyboard tablet fails. Ipad has tried. HP has tried. No one has come close to making a tablet with a keyboard as well as asus.
it really is lame when people lose credit for properly implementing good ideas.
windows 8 looks more and more disappointing.
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Click to collapse
I agree with you about the Transformer, it's a great implementation. Saying Windows 8 looks disappointing seems like a non sequitor here, though.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
wynand32 said:
I agree with you about the Transformer, it's a great implementation. Saying Windows 8 looks disappointing seems like a non sequitor here, though.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Microsoft is missing the entire point of the tablet. No one wants half a device, especially when the preformance cut is coming from the half of device you use. The power needs to be in the tablet itself, not the dock. All the tablet optimized gaming will be terrible if you need the keyboard attached to unlock the true potential.
The article makes it seem like the transformer is at a loss because it doesn't give you more preformance when you dock. The point of the dock isn't preformance, it's battery life and word processing with more expansion slots! You don't need more power forword processing or pulling files off a usb drive lol.
ickkii said:
Microsoft is missing the entire point of the tablet. No one wants half a device, especially when the preformance cut is coming from the half of device you use. The power needs to be in the tablet itself, not the dock. All the tablet optimized gaming will be terrible if you need the keyboard attached to unlock the true potential.
The article makes it seem like the transformer is at a loss because it doesn't give you more preformance when you dock. The point of the dock isn't preformance, it's battery life and word processing with more expansion slots! You don't need more power forword processing or pulling files off a usb drive lol.
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Click to collapse
I see. Well, this is just one patent that Microsoft may or may not be planning to make (far more patents are written than are actually made into real products). It really has nothing to do with Windows 8, which I guarantee will be on all kinds of different form factors before it's all done.
ickkii said:
Calling asus copycats is ridiculous. There were keyboards for tablets before - yes. But none anywhere near as intuitive & featured as the tf101. Look at the motion le1700 for a perfect example of keyboard tablet fails. Ipad has tried. HP has tried. No one has come close to making a tablet with a keyboard as well as asus.
it really is lame when people lose credit for properly implementing good ideas.
windows 8 looks more and more disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And calling a microsoft tablet that has a keyboard dock a transformer prime copycat might even be more ridiculous. If you'd actually read the remark "calling asus [a] copycat" correctly you'd see I hadn't actually called Asus copycats:
erikk said:
Umm if all it takes to be a copycat is to have a tablet with removeable keyboard then the prime and original transformer are the copycats not microsoft tablets.
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Click to collapse
I don't believe Asus was a copycat, but if you're ONLY taking into account the tablet with detachable keyboard form factor, then yes they copied an idea someone else had come up with before them.
I think Asus definitely has done a great job implementing this good idea, and they deserve a ton of credit for that. But don't give them credit for coming up with the original idea and taking that credit away from the people that did.
And as pointed out, the new idea for this Microsoft tablet patent is to have 2 separate SoCs (we'll see if it's a good one or not once it's out, my guess is not). Which the prime doesn't do.
Windows 8 could be the greatest thing to come to tablets, mobile computing and the "post-PC world", the ultimate merging of a unified OS across all your computers, the death knell to Apple or the opposite, the last desperate failure of Microsoft in the mobile world and dawn of Apple domination across all devices; or more likely just another decent option in the computing world where we get to choose which one suits our own personal style the most.
erikk said:
I think Asus definitely has done a great job implementing this good idea, and they deserve a ton of credit for that. But don't give them credit for coming up with the original idea and taking that credit away from the people that did.
And as pointed out, the new idea for this Microsoft tablet patent is to have 2 separate SoCs (we'll see if it's a good one or not once it's out, my guess is not). Which the prime doesn't do.
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Click to collapse
Agreed. Far more is made about this whole being first thing. Apple wasn't the first with the smartphone (although they did some things to make it better, while in my opinion obliterating some of what was good about previous versions), ASUS isn't the first to make a keyboard dock/tablet combo (and I don't think HP was first with theirs, either), etc. Innovation doesn't mean just coming up with something uniquely original--sometimes it means taking a good idea and making it better (or just different).
Even THIS idea isn't new. Lenovo had a notebook/tablet hybrid they intro'd at CES in 2012, the IdeaPad U1. It was a full-fledged Windows notebook in the base, and the "screen" was a detachable tablet with an ARM SoC. They never made it as an actual commercial product, I don't think.
I actually doubt that this Microsoft patent will ever see a shipping product. As I mentioned, far more ideas are patented than are actually made into real products. It's possible, but somehow I doubt it.
As you can see from my signature, buying tablet is almost my hobby now... Though I generally liked transformer Infinity, it still was not quite perfect system for me. After seeing Nexus 10, Windows 8 tablets, I have decided to place myself one more time back into the market. I generally follow these extensively. So for those who are thinking about Nexus 10, I just like to give some information I have found so far about couple potential alternatives (at least I came across).
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Windows Surface Pro
Briefly about this. If the specification is as currently listed on the web, I am not so sure about if its worth the wait. Sure I like full HD screen but price will still likely be high. But there are rumors that Microsoft may be holding its release until early next year to secretly incorporate next iteration of Intel chip (Haswell), which will give extended battery life, even better GPU performance than 4000.
Series 7 Slate (2011 model)
So why I included Samsung Slate 7 here rather than Ativ Smart Pro. One major reason is that slate 7 was released almost a year ago, but if you look at its specification aside from not having high resolution screen, and an older generation Intel SandyBridge chip, it is fairly similar to other Windows 8 tablet currently/soon to be released on the market. In fact, despite older i5 I believe it is still faster than the newest Atom processor that most lower end Windows 8 tablet uses. So if you can give up the high resolution, (which is probably hard thing to do) this suddenly becomes attractive option on spec wise.
Then you ask, but the price is 2x that of Nexus 10 32GB. It is correct (sort of) and I don't think its worth that much now; however, since Samsung is releasing newer model of series 7 i.e. Ativ Smart Pro, I am guessing Slate 7 will see a significant drop in price, and perhaps we may see on black Friday sale. In fact, refurbished one already sells at $850 at tigerdirect: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...kwCjCV1-CjCE&gclid=COn6mo-Iy7MCFe5FMgodNwEAvQ
The other may ask but its originally came with Windows 7, so does it really work well with Windows 8? The answer is that actually very similar model was used for Windows 8 development i.e. supposedly this was used as Windows 8 build unit. So my guess is it should and several reviews confirmed such. http://www.samsung.com/global/windo...Series_7_Slate_Windows_8_Consumer_Preview.pdf
Now if you can find a deal, I think Slate 7 with Windows 8 installed have several benefits.
1. Wacom Digitizer support - Those coming from Galaxy Note 10.1, we know captive screen with touch mimicking stylus won't just do the job.
2. Windows Legacy application support - No need to wait until office released next summer for Android. You can download preview version of office 2013 for free. And of course more real windows application. Someone even reported it worked with Skyrim, though I wouldn't bet on that.
3. Keyboard Dock - Unfortunately unlike Ativ Smart series, there is no clamshell dock (as in transformer series) but it has docking station, and just as in Nexus 10, there will be bluetooth keyboard support. So you can easily set up home/office desktop setting.
4. MicroSD - Yes
Downside still exists
1. Weight - Relatively heavy.
2. Battery life - Reported max is 7 hours by samsung, which means probably 5-6 hours.
3. Again no high resolution.
Exynos 5 vs. Sandy Bridge
Though Sunspider is by no means standard or great way to assess the actual power, but according to couple sites Nexus 10 has Sunspider score of 900's; whereas, Series 7 Slate had 500's. http://sortable.com/tablets/Samsung-Series-7-11.6-Slate-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-10.1
*Though Chrome book using the same Exynos chip also had down to 500 or 600's, so may simply be the current implementation of Android OS, or Samsung's optimization.
Now writing all this, I myself is still debating whether to grab Nexus 10. If it had microSD, docking keyboard, and Inductive stylus support would have been golden... but for now particularly lack of expandable memory holds me back (just as many of you are concerned).
So just throwing another potential here for those of you still on the fence as I am sure many of you haven't thought about Slate 7 (an year old system) as potential.
If I had a choice I'd rather leave the Windows bloat and high maintenance behind that's why I bought Note 10.1 and reach for it before my Windows ultraportable laptop desktop. Also, glad to leave the bloated Office and, instead, use Google Docs which is perfectly adequate along with having group collaboration feature. Looking forward to buying the Nexus 10.
Much like OP, I am considering what will be my next tablet.
To start off, no iAnything for me, thank you.
I've used, for years, a Toshiba M200 - mostly Windows Journal and some Note. Simply the best note taking experience, due to the Wacom pen. Bar none. All of the Windows apps - office etc.
On Android front - bought the N1 minutes into the press conference. Loved it. Upgraded to Samsung SII- love this one too. Plenty of phone and media device for me.
Also have TF101s with a dock.
In as much as one'd hope for ultimate tablet to be available in 2012, it simply doesnt exist !
An ideal tablet, IMO, would be something like TF700 - dock, microSD, performance, nice 1080p res, combined with Wacom and x-platform note taking (MS releasing fully functioning Note for Android). We already have decent Office suite for Android.
So in last 2 years: 1 N1, 2 SIIs (me & wifes), 2 TF101 (ditto) + dock. Just under 2K in U$. Countless custom ROMs across.
Here's where stuff falls short, IMO:
- TF700 - horrendous internal flash performance == DOA for me. No Wacom. Asus should fire the sorry @ss responsible for that repeated flash fiasco.
- Surface RT - no apps to speak of, numerous reports of crashing apps. This one, however, holds great promise when Android port becomes available. Months and months away.
- Surface Pro - and/or Slate 500/700: too late to the game. I feel that an Android tablet fits 96% of my needs. No apps I am so used to on Android: Mantano Reader for epub/pdf, gmail, gmaps, Touchdown exchange client, youtube etc etc. Disaster of Windows 8 UI experince
(notification bar, where art thou ?) When I need full power of Windows 7, I have a acres of real estate with 3 monitor setup on 4.8GHz desktop with LGA2011 and 32GB of RAM.
- N10: full of compromises. Commitment unknown. It seems that all N devices are results of google putting a blow torch to a vendor, resulting in said vendor abandoning the said device the day after it launches. No dock, no microSD (Rubin should stop insulting us with his reasoning for why google dislikes the micrSD), no Wacom, botched charging.
Here's a sad part: 99% of the people in the market for a holiday must-have tablet gizmo, dont care about any of this. They will buy Surface Pro and N10 and iPads etc, by millions and live with the shortcomings, most likely never even noticing them. Ignorance is a bliss.
Those of us that are waiting for the tablet-dun-right, the wait goes on
rashid11 said:
Much like OP, I am considering what will be my next tablet.
To start off, no iAnything for me, thank you.
I've used, for years, a Toshiba M200 - mostly Windows Journal and some Note. Simply the best note taking experience, due to the Wacom pen. Bar none. All of the Windows apps - office etc.
- TF700 - horrendous internal flash performance == DOA for me. No Wacom. Asus should fire the sorry @ss responsible for that repeated flash fiasco.
- Surface RT - no apps to speak of, numerous reports of crashing apps. This one, however, holds great promise when Android port becomes available. Months and months away.
- Surface Pro - and/or Slate 500/700: too late to the game. I feel that an Android tablet fits 96% of my needs. No apps I am so used to on Android: Mantano Reader for epub/pdf, gmail, gmaps, Touchdown exchange client, youtube etc etc. Disaster of Windows 8 UI experince
(notification bar, where art thou ?) When I need full power of Windows 7, I have a acres of real estate with 3 monitor setup on 4.8GHz desktop with LGA2011 and 32GB of RAM.
- N10: full of compromises. Commitment unknown. It seems that all N devices are results of google putting a blow torch to a vendor, resulting in said vendor abandoning the said device the day after it launches. No dock, no microSD (Rubin should stop insulting us with his reasoning for why google dislikes the micrSD), no Wacom, botched charging.
Here's a sad part: 99% of the people in the market for a holiday must-have tablet gizmo, dont care about any of this. They will buy Surface Pro and N10 and iPads etc, by millions and live with the shortcomings, most likely never even noticing them. Ignorance is a bliss.
Those of us that are waiting for the tablet-dun-right, the wait goes on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. We seem to agree what our ideal tablet is but conclusion/hope are different. By the way I though hard when I got my HP tablet, which was around the time when Toshiba had just released the M200. Here are my hopes.
Surface Pro, Ativ Smart Pro - Have Wacom, full HD screen, speed, expandable memory, and keyboard dock. Lacking feature here is battery life, and weight and expansive.
Nexus 10 - Has stunning display, speed, good battery life, and weight. Lacking feature are Wacom, expandable memory, and keyboard dock.
Transformer Infinity - Has full HD screen, expandable memory, keyboard dock, good battery life and weight. Lacking feature were speed (was very fast, but can be faster).
Personally Surface RT is no go. Because it is just too restrictive but if RT market explode and matches that of Android maybe. Believe or not, somewhere I remember reading WIndows store has dedicated tablet app of 5000 or so whereas, Android market may not even have that number.. Who knows if its true or not.