So I have good news. I have been e-mailing back and forth with a helpful ASUS Engineer for the past few hours. Gary Key put me in touch with him. Taking a cue from a comment the engineer made about pre-shipping and shipping versions of the hardware I sent the Engineer a photo of my label with Serial Number and all that fun stuff.
In previous posts I have speculated that I had a unit from the rumoured borked WiFi batch. You may recall some time back that one of the major reviewers got a bad WiFi review unit, and then was shipped a fixed WiFi version. Then a day or so later rumours of a production delay due to the WiFi issue arose. Then Amazon cancelled a bunch of orders that seemed to be all for the 32GB Grey version, the version I ordered, and the version I have. I had my suspicions and he confirmed them. I was shipped a unit that is of the "old HW". He is offering to exchange it. I plan to report as soon as I get a new unit.
This is bittersweet news for all of us with crappy Primes. I don't know if the version that was meant to ship has better GPS, but I know it is the version the Engineers say has no BT/WiFi issue. This means that an exchange should solve BT issues!!!
EDIT: I'm putting my part of my SN here for statistics.
TF201 Grey 32GB BBOKAS042XXX
BAD GPS
BAD WiFi
BAD BT
I urge others to list theirs. Perhaps we can determine bad batches. As I did, put the Color, Capacity and SN. Perhaps there are people who don't use BT who have one of the bad units who might want to exchange for the newer HW.
Is there any way to distinguish the two hardware versions by serial number or somesuch?
kristovaher said:
Is there any way to distinguish the two hardware versions by serial number or somesuch?
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I think that's what he's going to report once he gets the new one...
Serial Number. The following is from the e-mail.
Hello David,
*By your TF201 serial number “BBOKAS042XXX”, I checked with our factory, it is not equipped with latest HW.
*Use latest HW, I cannot re-produce this issue.
My idea is: we replace your ATP by a new one that is equipped with latest HW. Do you accept my idea to resolve the bad situation you are suffering?
Thanks a million!
Regards,
XXXXXXX
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I have a champagne-gold version (32GB + dock) received yesterday, will check serial nr when I get back home, but wifi is crap on that one too... Going to contact asus about this as well.
Can he say if the UK Prime's have the new hardware? Since they are just arriving in UK and it's a 'new' product, having tablet and dock in one.
i just tested wifi & bluetooth on my german grey 32gb+dock transformer. download speeds were definitely slow as hell while i was transferring a file via bluetooth.
TF201 Grey 32GB BCOKAS067XXX
could you please ask that engineer if i got one from the fubar'd batch as well? my serial number is quite different from yours, but you never know..
I looked in settings but don't see the serial number. Where do you find it?
mine is bcokaso22 My wifi works but as well as my 6 year olds original prime, and a lot worse than my old samsung 10.1.. Mine is gold, and I have 6 pixels that are lighter in color and only noticeable on light screens and I have light bleed on dark screens. I got my prime on the 22nd and have gps labeled on my box. So I will wait it out little while before I go for an RMA. Its hard to keep with all the complaints on the tablet I hope I dont miss the solution when one is finally reached. I do love my prime its sexy and runs well, just wish the wifi was a little stronger and my screen problems. Have not tested the bluetooth
Well here is information I sent to him today.
TF101 WiFi On BT Off 52ms Ping | 18009kbps DOWN | 6702kbps UP
TF201 WiFi On BT Off 59ms Ping | 17372kbps DOWN | 6877kbps UP
TF101 WiFi on BT On 58ms Ping | 7805kbps DOWN | 6502kbps UP
TF201 WiFi on BT On 76ms Ping | 2895kbps DOWN | 3160kbps UP
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He had me test both my Transformers. Once with Wifi On and BT Off, and then With Wifi On and BT On/Paired/Playing a local MP3.
So in a bad unit you can see the problem. With BT Off the TF101 and TF201 are identical, TF201 even surpassing TF101 on occasion in my many many MANY speedtests. With BT On both devices suffer immensely but there is more to it. Not only does BT make the TF201 go from identical to performing at about 40% of the TF101, but the performance on the TF201 is degenerative. If I were to streaming music via Google Music or watching video with subsonic or Netflix, the speedtests would have gotten worse and worse until they failed altogether. Real world performance on the TF101 is transparent. I honestly never knew that BT hurt the TF101 performance so much because I never had reason to test it. If you have a bad TF201, using a bluetooth headset or any a2dp device, and streaming high quality video will show the problem within 5 minutes. Within 10-15 minutes your internet will fail altogether.
I don't know if I would want to post my serial number on the forum. Has Asus specifically stated which units have the old HW versus the new ones? If it is by the serial number they should be able to tell us which set of digits to look at to make sure we are affected or not.
I don't know. Am I the only one not buying the ASUS claim that they already have an updated Prime designed, tested, and in production? The units started shipping less than a month ago, and they already have updated models fixing issues that just started popping up about 2 weeks ago?
federer said:
mine is bcokaso22 My wifi works but as well as my 6 year olds original prime, and a lot worse than my old samsung 10.1.. Mine is gold, and I have 6 pixels that are lighter in color and only noticeable on light screens and I have light bleed on dark screens. I got my prime on the 22nd and have gps labeled on my box. So I will wait it out little while before I go for an RMA. Its hard to keep with all the complaints on the tablet I hope I dont miss the solution when one is finally reached. I do love my prime its sexy and runs well, just wish the wifi was a little stronger and my screen problems. Have not tested the bluetooth
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When you get time, please test the bluetooth. The issue is not poor WiFi performance. Though, the only time I use my WiFi at the outside of my routers performance is when I get home from work. I turn off tethering and switch to home WiFi while I am still in the driveway. I sometimes sit there streaming video for a few minutes while I pack everything back into my bag and prepare to get out of the car.
Basically I watch a video while I dismount my Garmin, windshield mount for phone, 12V cooler, etc. I deliver pizzas so my car is basically a mobile control center. With the TF101, the transition from tethering to home is fine. I just restart the video, track to where I was and continue watching. The TF201, night before last, worked for maybe two or 3 minutes before it started buffering more than it was playing. Granted this is with BT On and paired with my car stereo for the TF101, but for TF201 playing through the dinky speaker since BT turned on means no ability to watch video period.
Consider testing it if you have the hardware/software to do so. Teaching you to use subsonic can be troublesome. And Netflix, depending on the resilience of your home network might just lower the video quality repeatedly. In my testing it seems that any data load under 1000kbps won't completely trigger the fault that shuts wifi down completely.
just lou said:
I don't know. Am I the only one not buying the ASUS claim that they already have an updated Prime designed, tested, and in production? The units started shipping less than a month ago, and they already have updated models fixing issues that just started popping up about 2 weeks ago?
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Well as I stated. Remember that there was a reviewer from one of the top sites that reported WiFi issues with their initial review unit. I think it was Anandtech. Then he was sent a second review unit that didn't have the issue. Anand reported the WiFi issue on December 1st. He followed up on December 15th.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5175/asus-transformer-prime-followup said:
The WiFi Story
I'm on my third Transformer Prime. The original sample was almost completely broken when it came to wireless connectivity. I had very little range on the integrated WiFi and performance typically hovered around 0.5Mbps, sometimes reaching as high as 2Mbps. ASUS originally claimed that no one else had this issue but it looks like the CNet reviewer also noticed it. That sample went back to ASUS for diagnosis but I don't have the results back from the autopsy yet. A simple guess would be an antenna that wasn't properly connected, although it could just as easily have been something more complicated.
ASUS overnighted me a second Transformer Prime; this one was tested at ASUS in California before making its way out to me. As I published earlier, I had issues with the second sample and any Apple wireless access points (Time Capsule or Airport Extreme). Using a Netgear AP I saw 16Mbps pretty consistently, but I could only get ~32Mbps if the tablet was at the right orientation with respect to the AP. ASUS' HQ eventually conceded that there might have been a problem with the second WiFi antenna on pre-production review samples. Apparently this issue was fixed in the retail lot, but may not have been addressed in what ASUS originally shipped us. Wait—second WiFi antenna?
It turns out that the Eee Pad Transformer Prime features WiFi antenna diversity. We've talked about antenna diversity most often with reference to the cellular chain on Apple's iPhone 4 and 4S, but here it's present on the Prime's WiFi. There are two antennas on the Transformer Prime, one located on either side of the front facing camera. In the second Transformer Prime sample, one of the two wasn't working. In my third review sample, taken from the retail lot that's on its way to vendors this week, both were fully functional. The result is peak WiFi performance that is virtually identical to the original Eee Pad Transformer.
There is no RF window on the back of the Prime where the two antennas are located. Aluminum does a fairly good job of attenuating RF signals, which contributes to worse range on WiFi than the original plastic Eee Pad Transformer. WiFi performance at the edge of reception as well as the maximum usable WiFi range are both noticeably lower than its predecessor. I'm still finalizing our tablet WiFi range tests to be able to quantify some of this stuff, but it's safe to say that if you were at the edge of WiFi coverage on the original Transformer, the Prime won't be any better.
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Anand has been incredibly useful in these last months. He reported on the truth of the 4G signal of the Galaxy Nexus, and he was good about illustrating WiFi issues on the Prime as he saw fit. It seems that some of the early units slipped their collars and made it out into the wild.
setite said:
Well as I stated. Remember that there was a reviewer from one of the top sites that reported WiFi issues with their initial review unit. I think it was Anandtech. Then he was sent a second review unit that didn't have the issue. Anand reported the WiFi issue on December 1st. He followed up on December 15th.
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True, but then why would ASUS ship the defective units if they knew they were defective, and had an updated version in the works that fixed all the issues? It just doesn't make sense, but who knows.
I thought you were telling everybody yesterday to return their prime.... Also, reporting ASUS to the BBB....... but now your their best tester buddy????
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1437567
just lou said:
True, but then why would ASUS ship the defective units if they knew they were defective, and had an updated version in the works that fixed all the issues? It just doesn't make sense, but who knows.
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It makes plenty of sense and none at all. It depends on what the problem is. If there are a batch of units that suffer from poor manufacturing, perhaps at the time they shipped them the scope of the problem wasn't clear. Maybe they figured out that my batch was bad after it shipped out.
There is also the possible case of the Right hand not knowing what the Left hand is up to. For example Gary Key, "Technical Marketing Manager, I spoke to also knew my serial number but never made any mention of different HW versions. But the engineer, who would obviously be more intimate with the issue figured it out almost immediately.
Either way two versions in the wild actually makes it very clear why there is such a large disparity in user reports. Some people say GPS/BT/WiFi are just fine while others, ME, are having show-stopping technical difficulties.
Danny80y said:
I thought you were telling everybody yesterday to return their prime.... Also, reporting ASUS to the BBB....... but now your their best tester buddy????
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1437567
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Indeed I was singing a different tune yesterday. I have always been a tester though. I have been in contact with Gary Key for 8 days and as of yesterday I had gotten to the end of my rope. He was playing middleman between myself and ASUS Engineering and it was getting on my nerves. He wasn't as detailed as I would have liked and kept reporting that they were unable to reproduce the issue. As I know this issue is not an isolated incident I felt like I was getting fed a load of crap.
Today, technically yesterday, he finally just put me through to an Engineer directly who managed to figure the problem out in hours. The engineer gave me more detail than Gary was relaying, which allowed me to give the Engineer more information to get to the bottom of it. When the Engineer mentioned that the problem was not present in the current HW, but mentioned a previous revision that had the problem, I decided to send him my serial number.
"What we've got here is (a) failure to communicate". This is why I said in the OP that I would report back as soon as I get a replacement unit. If they send me part of the new stock and the problem is gone, then I will report that. If the problem still exists I will rage against the man some more . To be fair I informed Gary the same time I posted that thread of my intentions. I am not yet rescinding my other thread. But I will add an update linking to this thread.
Excuse me for butting in, but I haven't seen one report of BT/WiFi working fine in unison from anyone who actually tested it when the Prime was actually paired.
After toying w/ the settings on my router, the WiFi performance alone on my Prime has been decent, but the BT vs WiFi issue is more than apparent. We're talking drops from 23 Mbps to 800 Kbps upon pairing.
BUYMECAR said:
Excuse me for butting in, but I haven't seen one report of BT/WiFi working fine in unison from anyone who actually tested it when the Prime was actually paired.
After toying w/ the settings on my router, the WiFi performance alone on my Prime has been decent, but the BT vs WiFi issue is more than apparent. We're talking drops from 23 Mbps to 800 Kbps upon pairing.
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I have the same issue and will update this post when I get home from work. Wanted to stream Google music through blue tooth, but the connections crawls causing dropouts..
Related
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
this post has been around for a while now, so preamble has been truncated.
here is, in my view, what you should know before posting in this forum, and ideally before buying the product.
(note for noobs, TF201 = the "eee pad transformer prime" model that started shipping december 2011.)
THE ALL-METAL BACKPLATE OF THE TF201 INTERFERES WITH WIRELESS PERFORMANCE. GPS WILL NOT WORK WELL WITHOUT THE FREE GPS DONGLE ATTACHED. WIFI IS GENERALLY ACCEPTABLE BUT NOT GREAT.
by now this has been picked apart to death. GPS reception without the free GPS dongle is very poor. without the dongle, you may not be able to get a lock at all without wifi/AGPS, and forget about using it as a nav in a moving car. IF GPS IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, DO NOT BUY A TF201 UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO USE THE DONGLE. asus has already acknowledged this by removing GPS from the list of features in their product description (!). dongle-less gps is likely to function better in the transformer pad 300 and upcoming transformer pad infinity models due to plastic RF windows in the backpanels.
for the vanilla TF201, there has been a lot of investigation the GPS issue on xda, and eventually anandtech published an article that summarizes the situation well:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5285/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-gps-issue-explained
wifi reception struggles for the same reason as GPS. asus was able to mitigate this somewhat by including two wifi antennas instead of one which gives it antenna diversity. however, in some cases it may not perform as well as the original transformer, or maybe as good as some of your other portable devices. IF STRONG WIFI PERFORMANCE IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, DO NOT BUY A TF201. the issue is SUPPOSED be fixed in the upcoming TF700T due to a change in the backpanel design, but we won't know how it performs until it is actually released.
WIFI AND GPS ANTENNA CONNECTIONS INSIDE THE TF201 ARE MADE WITH POGO PINS THAT ARE NOT MAKING CONTACT IN SOME UNITS. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FIX THIS BY PINCHING THE BEZEL IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
discussion on this topic has sprawled across a few threads. if you are new to this topic then it may be easiest to get your overview here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1467964
a poll is running to help assess the effectiveness of this "solution" here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1473272
if you have this problem, it should be obvious that pinching your tf201 is at your own risk. if your wifi is clearly defective then you are probably better off RMA'ing your unit.
BLUETOOTH STREAMING MAY INTERFERE WITH YOUR WIFI PERFORMANCE.
comments on this forum are a bit mixed. there are numerous reports that streaming of bluetooth data (particularly audio streaming or file transfers) are cutting down wifi performance, sometimes dramatically. it has been noted that this issue affects at least some other devices with combined wifi/bt chipsets.
an official thread has been started by Asus to investigate this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1443868
major discussion threads by users:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1423180
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1440187
SOME TF201 OWNERS ARE REPORTING BACKLIGHT BLEED AROUND THE EDGES.
if you have this problem and it bothers you then you can try and RMA it at place of purchase or contact asus support. there have been a good amount of reports on this so the occurrence is not to be unexpected. that said, the response you get on your RMA request will vary depending on who you contact. some users have noted that IPS bleeding is somewhat common and not unique to the transformer prime. discussion is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1426812
it seems that this is being caused by the screws that secure the panel not being tightened properly. if you are adventurous enough to take your TF201 apart then there are reports that re-seating the screws with proper tension fixes the problem. refer to this thread for details:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1474391
THE INITIAL ANDROID 4.0 UPDATE (BUILD 9.4.2.11) CAUSES FREEZES/REBOOTS FOR SOME. BUILD 9.4.2.13 FIXED THIS, BUT INTRODUCED A NEW BATTERY DRAIN ISSUE FOR SOME OTHERS. THIS ISSUE IS RESOLVED IN THE MOST RECENT BUILDS.
bugs in nvidia's tegra3 video drivers were the cause of freezes and reboots that some experienced after making the initial ICS update (build 9.4.2.11). the official Asus thread investigating the random lockups in 9.4.2.11 is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1449992
asus shipped new drivers with build 9.4.2.13 on 2/8/12 that fixed these issues, but a new battery drain issue was introduced that affects some others. this battery drain has been referred to as the "sleep of death" and has been discussed in these threads:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1487516
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1490240
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1495696
the most current firmware updates have resolved random freezes/reboots and sleep-of-death problems.
SOME EARLY TF201 UNITS DID NOT REGISTER SERIAL NUMBERS CORRECTLY AND WERE UNABLE TO UPDATE TO ICS.
an official thread has been started by Asus to investigate the "Serial Number Not Found" error:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1447760
... and the dev community has produced a potential fix for that problem:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1474356
THE MICROSD CARD SLOT DESIGN IS PRONE TO ACCIDENTALLY EJECTING YOUR CARD. YOU MAY LOSE IT IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL.
the slot isn't deep enough to cover the whole card. you may want to think twice about planning to use a card as permanent memory expansion. if you place the tablet down on its edge the card can pop out and get lost. discussion about options to secure it are here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1436546
SOME POWER CHARGERS OVERHEAT AND STOP WORKING. THIS CAN USUALLY BE FIXED BY LETTING IT COOL DOWN OR PUTTING IT IN THE FREEZER.
the TF201 uses the same charger as the original transformer (TF101), and as a result both products have had significant occurrences of this flaw. you will find many threads on both forums about this. if your charger stops working (but the tablet remains otherwise functional, in particular you should verify it can still communicate with a computer via USB) then let the charger cool down and try again. if it still doesn't work then you may want to try enclosing the charger in a ziploc bag and putting it in a freezer for >15 minutes. a few sample threads on this issue are here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1422312
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1480178
a smaller number of users have reported a variety of other charger problems caused by what appears to be cheap construction. generally speaking, those that were able to recover their chargers did so by wiggling/adjusting the connections to the USB cable or between the two charger halves.
A HIGHER-END VARIANT OF THE TRANSFORMER PRIME (TF700T) WAS ANNOUNCED AT CES IN JANUARY. THIS MODEL DOES NOT REPLACE THE ORIGINAL MODEL (TF201). THE TWO WILL BE SOLD SIDE BY SIDE.
the new TF700T model has a higher resolution screen (1920x1200), a slightly upgraded front camera (2MP vs. 1.3MP) and a redesigned backpanel to address the issues with wifi and GPS. this new model is pissing a lot of people off because they view this as a "fix" for the wireless reception "design flaw" in the TF201. if you bought a TF201 and feel that way, sorry, go try and return your TF201 or buy a TF300. we don't need more posts about how horrendous asus is at launching products.
if you want to speculate on the new model, here is a big thread on the subject:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1436127
RUMORS STARTED CIRCULATING AFTER THE TF700T ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE TF201 WOULD BE DISCONTINUED - THESE WERE FALSE. this has already been publicly stated by asus:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21357170&postcount=9
further, common sense confirms that this would be insane, largely due to the next point:
HISTORY INDICATES THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BUY A TF700T UNTIL Q3.
after the TF700T was announced, a lot of people talked about returning their TF201s or cancelling their pre-orders to wait for the TF700T. this is your choice, but i would highly recommend you consider the storied history that asus has bringing these products to market. talk about the transformer prime (without the name) started circulating in Q2 of 2011, with various industry discussion pointing to a tegra3 version of the transformer that would be thinner to be released in Q3. the TF201 signed on to be the first tegra3 product to launch and the CEO of nvidia started telling everyone that the first tegra3 product would be available in september. as september got closer, asus started to acknowledge a new product coming but suggested it wouldn't hit market until october. the TF201 was finally announced in november but didn't actually ship until the end of december, and those shipments were extremely limited quantities. the TF201 then remained sold out almost everywhere in the US and had minimal distribution in global markets during the first few months.
this is relevant because here we go again with a new asus tablet and they are saying it will be released in "Q2". i can't predict the future, but if their history is worth ANYTHING you should not expect to actually have this product in your hands until Q3. HD tablet screens are NOT ready for mass production yet as yields are too low, this is a very well-circulated fact if you follow industry news. every manufacturer would love to release products with these new screens but they are all waiting for the process issues to be worked out. a bunch of other HD tablets were announced at CES and are all getting vague ship dates in Q2. none of these are going to get released until the yields are high enough to make them profitable. and even then we will have to account for asus' horrible track record of botching every aspect of a tablet release possible.
the bottom line is, if you want to wait for the TF700T, go ahead, but be prepared for the possibility of not having it in your hands until Q3. for those of you that want a new tablet NOW, consensus is still very much that this is the best you'll get.
if you've made it this far then you should know one last thing:
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH THEIR TRANSFORMER PRIMES.
it might not seem that way after reading all of the caveats above and scanning this forum, but it's true. if you want to bring some balance to your perspective on this product, take a look at the "positive" tprime thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1409910
First.
A+ post, great job
Thank you, so, so very much for this thread. Please dear god everyone read this.
Sticky icky icky!
Sticky! For sure! Great post, all facts.
Most definitely needs to be stickied, if only to return a sense of balance to the force...erm...forum.
If it's not stickied, I'll be sure to keep posting to keep this post near the top. Common sense rules!
thank you good sir. sticky please and submit to Asus.
+1 Definitely a useful post, you have my thanks! However ....
The fact that the OG Prime was so pushed back was partially because it was a totally redesigned product (Tegra 3, aluminum back-plate..sigh, and consequently Wifi/GPS location) The TF700T was/is designed directly from the OG Prime. I do believe it is a fix and very easily can be released in a quicker manner. (IMO it's a tweaked OG prime)
I for one, am keeping my Prime as my main issue is with the Wifi/BT dilemma but, all you waiting, don't be surprised when Asus releases the TF700T close to when they say they will...
xIC-MACIx said:
I for one, am keeping my Prime as my main issue is with the Wifi/BT dilemma but, all you waiting, don't be surprised when Asus releases the TF700T close to when they say they will...
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ASUS will release the TF700 as soon as the HD screens are shipping in quantity, precisely as the OP said.
Great post OP
Hopefully some of the trolls will go away and we can have a good community
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
jackl8 said:
i've been lurking on xda for a good while. the GS2 forums have been a wealth of information and the advice of people on that forum has helped make my phone a billion times better. now that i'm in the tprime camp i finally created an account and was hoping to help build a forum of similar value, but i have to say, the level of redundant and repetitive whining and griping over this product is astonishing. it's dominating discussion here and (imo) ruining the forum for everyone. i think that most of us would prefer for this forum to develop into a place where satisfied tprime owners can share information that is actually helpful.
so let's all be clear: this product has some weaknesses. these weaknesses are by now well-known and we need to stop beating them to death. at the same time, people don't seem to be READING, because new owners are continuing to act surprised over, say, GPS not working. so i thought i'd put the big things you should know into one place in hopes that it will get some decent viewership and help everyone move on. if people find this useful then i will be happy to keep it up to date as things develop in the future.
here is, in my view, what you should know before posting in this forum, and ideally before buying the product.
(note for noobs, TF201 = the current transformer prime model that started shipping december 2011.)
THE GPS ON THE TF201 DOES NOT WORK WELL AND WILL PROBABLY NEVER WORK WELL.
by now this has been picked apart to death. GPS reception is very poor. without wifi/AGPS you may not be able to get a lock at all. forget about using it as a nav in a moving car. IF GPS IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, DO NOT BUY A TF201. fixing the hardware GPS reception is not something that will never be possible via software. asus has already acknowledged this by removing GPS from the list of features in their product description (!). gps MAY function beter in the upcoming TF700T due to a change in the backpanel design, but we won't know until it is actually released.
if you want to know why this is the case, anandtech is the authoritative explanation on the subject, so just read this:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5285/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-gps-issue-explained
WIFI PERFORMANCE IS GENERALLY ACCEPTABLE BUT NOT GREAT. EXPECT IT TO BE A BIT WORSE THAN THE ORIGINAL TRANSFORMER (TF101).
wifi reception struggles for the same reason as GPS. asus was able to mitigate this somewhat by including two wifi antennas instead of one which gives it antenna diversity. however, in some cases it may not perform as well as the original transformer, or maybe as good as some of your other portable devices. IF STRONG WIFI PERFORMANCE IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, DO NOT BUY A TF201. the issue IS SUPPSOED be fixed in the upcoming TF700T due to a change in the backpanel design, but we won't know until it is actually released.
BLUETOOTH STREAMING MAY INTERFERE WITH YOUR WIFI PERFORMANCE.
comments on this forum are a bit mixed so i wouldn't presume that this affects every unit yet. there are numerous reports that streaming of bluetooth data (particularly audio streaming or file transfers) are cutting down wifi performance or even preventing wifi from working.
an official thread has been started to investigate this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1443868
major discussion threads by users:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1423180
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1440187
THE MICROSD CARD SLOT DESIGN IS PRONE TO POPPING OUT YOUR CARD. YOU MAY LOSE IT IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL.
the slot isn't deep enough to cover the whole card. you may want to think twice about planning to use a card as permanent memory expansion. if you place the tablet down on its edge the card can pop out and get lost. discussion about options to secure it are here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1436546
SOME TF201 OWNERS ARE REPORTING BACKLIGHT BLEED AROUND THE EDGES.
if you have this problem and it bothers you then you can try and RMA it at place of purchase or contact asus support. there have been a good amount of reports on this so the occurrence is not to be unexpected. that said, the response you get on your RMA request will vary depending on who you contact. some users have noted that IPS bleeding is somewhat common and not unique to the transformer prime. discussion is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1426812
THE ANDROID 4.0 (ICS) UPDATE HAS WORKED FOR MOST BUT IS CAUSING SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS FOR SOME, INCLUDING DIAGONAL SCREEN FLICKERING, FREEZES/REBOOTS, AND FAILURE TO UPDATE AT ALL.
these issues are still developing. xvsacme has already done the job of compiling major threads on the issues. please don't create new threads, go here instead:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1440679&highlight=unknown+serial+ics
A HIGHER-END VARIANT OF THE TRANSFORMER PRIME (TF700T) WAS ANNOUNCED AT CES IN JANUARY. THIS MODEL DOES NOT REPLACE THE ORIGINAL MODEL (TF201). THE TWO WILL BE SOLD SIDE BY SIDE.
the new TF700T model has a higher resolution screen (1920x1200), a slightly upgraded front camera (2MP vs. 1.3MP) and a redesigned backpanel to address the issues with wifi and GPS. this new model is pissing a lot of people off because they view this as a "fix" for the wireless reception "design flaw" in the TF201. if you bought a TF201 and feel that way, sorry, go try and return your TF201. we don't need more posts about how horrendous asus is at launching products.
if you want to speculate on the new model, here is a big thread on the subject:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1436127&highlight=tf700t
rumors that the TF201 is being discontinued are false. this has already been publicly stated by asus:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21357170&postcount=9
further, common sense confirms that this would be insane, largely due to the next point:
IF HISTORY IS ANY INDICATION, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BUY A TF700T UNTIL Q3.
a lot of people are talking about returning their TF201s or cancelling their pre-orders to wait for the TF700T. this is your choice, but i would highly recommend you consider the storied history that asus has bringing these products to market. talk about the transformer prime (without the name) started circulating in Q2 of 2011, with various industry discussion pointing to a tegra3 version of the transformer that would be thinner to be released in Q3. the TF201 signed on to be the first tegra3 product to launch and the CEO of nvidia started telling everyone that the first tegra3 product would be available in september. as september got closer, asus started to acknowledge a new product coming but suggested it wouldn't hit market until october. the TF201 was finally announced in november but didn't actually ship until the end of december, and those shipments were extremely limited quantities. the TF201 is still sold out almost everywhere in the US and has barely reached any of the other global markets.
this is relevant because here we go again with a new asus tablet and they are saying it will be released in "Q2". i can't predict the future, but if their history is worth ANYTHING you should not expect to actually have this product in your hands until Q3. HD tablet screens are NOT ready for mass production yet as yields are too low, this is a very well-circulated fact if you follow industry news. every manufacturer would love to release products with these new screens but they are all waiting for the process issues to be worked out. a bunch of other HD tablets were announced at CES and are all getting vague ship dates in Q2. none of these are going to get released until the yields are high enough to make them profitable. and even then we will have to account for asus' horrible track record of botching every aspect of a tablet release possible.
the bottom line is, if you want to wait for the TF700T, go ahead, but be prepared for the possibility of not having it in your hands for 6-8 months. for those of you that want a new tablet NOW, consensus is still very much that this is the best you'll get.
that's what i have for now. more to come if i don't get flamed to death.
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Best post I've read on this site. Let's hope all the whiners read it as well.
You forgot:
"If you try to update to Ice Cream Sandwich and it says there are no updates, try going to SETTINGS and STATUS. If it says "Serial Number Unknown" you will be unable to download OTA Updates and will be unable to root the problem. This has yet to be addressed by Asus, but is becoming a huge problem. If this happens to you, post in the thread below instead of creating a new one. This has been an issue since the Prime released, but has not been addressed yet by Asus. Primes purchased at the beginning of December even have this problem, and have it has yet to be addressed"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1426881&highlight=serial+number+unknown
Kudos. I was actually planning the same post for this weekend, but you saved me the trouble.
I had some facts saved from my research that augment your post. You might wanna add it to the original post.
Point 1) The high-resolution TF700T is due to launch at roughly the same product cycle as the original Transformer and Transformer Prime.
The first Asus Transformer was released in the US on April 26, 2011. [ Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Pad_Transformer ]
The Transformer Prime was (officially) released on December 19, 2011. [ Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Pad_Transformer_Prime ]
This results in a product cycle of eight (8) months.
The Transformer TF700t is scheduled to launch "Late Q2" at earliest, and is at the moment, predicted to be May/June 2012. [ Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5324/...-for-improved-wireless-adds-1920-x-1200-panel ]
This means, at a minimum, the product cycle will be six (6) months, and delays can certainly happen.
Bottom line? This isn't an admission of a design flaw, or a stab in the back or whatever entitled BS folks want to come up with to victimize themselves. This is a natural product evolution, operating on the same half-year product cycle.
If anything, the RF-optimized backing likely signifies that a 3G version is on the way. Which leads me to Point 2...
Point 2) Performance and design are constant engineering tradeoffs, and other manufacturers make them all the time. The Transformer Prime's GPS, Bluetooth, and Wifi performance strike a compromise with design, thinness, and structural integrity -- the same compromise struck by Apple with their iPad and iPad2.
First, the Transformer Prime's wireless performance is not objectively BAD, it's just not as good as the prior Transformer. However, the Prime is much thinner, more premium, and features a very attractive aluminum back. In order to help mitigate this tradeoff, Asus designed the Prime with wifi diversity. Consequently, when within range, "The result is peak WiFi performance that is virtually identical to the original Eee Pad Transformer."
[ Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5175/asus-transformer-prime-followup ]
However, yes, the range of the Prime is understood to be less:
There is no RF window on the back of the Prime where the two antennas are located. Aluminum does a fairly good job of attenuating RF signals, which contributes to worse range on WiFi than the original plastic Eee Pad Transformer. WiFi performance at the edge of reception as well as the maximum usable WiFi range are both noticeably lower than its predecessor.
[ Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5175/asus-transformer-prime-followup ]
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You know what other major company made this engineering and design tradeoff? Apple.
ASUS built the Eee Pad Transformer Prime out of aluminum, similar to the iPad/iPad 2. This departure from the original plastic Eee Pad Transformer was welcome, but brought with it the same sort of antenna challenges that Apple has had to face.
[ Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5285/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-gps-issue-explained ]
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The original iPad and the iPad 2 are both made of aluminum, and both at a minimum have Bluetooth and WiFi antennas to deal with. The original iPad placed the WiFi antenna behind the plastic Apple logo on the rear of the tablet.
[ Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5175/asus-transformer-prime-followup ]
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Now, the wifi-only iPad2 got rid of the RF window, and went with an all-aluminum backing for better design aesthetic, thinness, and structural integrity. Guess what happened? Yes, the wireless performance degraded.
Unfortunately, WiFi range on the iPad 2 is noticeably less than its predecessor, and throughput slows down much earlier on the iPad 2 than it does on the iPad 1. I tested with a WiFi - 3G (AT&T) model and found that I’m able to make it further away from the AP by a good 10 meters or so, but throughput even after you drop one WiFi bar on the iPad 1 is continually better than on the iPad 2. WiFi throughput also tells a similar story, it just isn’t quite as good as its predecessor.
[ Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4225/the-ipad-2-review/11 ]
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Were Apple users up in arms threatening lawsuits and the BBB and boycotts? Maybe, but I certainly didn't hear about it. Apple definitely didn't give refunds or rebates or replace backings or fly customers on their private jets, I know that much for sure. The reality is I know dozens of satisfied iPad2 users, and I'm sure many more appreciate the improvement in design than notice the Wifi diminution over the prior model.
However, if wifi performance is more important than you than any other consideration (CPU horsepower, thinness, aesthetic, attachable keyboard, etc.), that's your prerogative and you should make that the key focus of your purchasing and purchase an all-plastic tablet like the Samsung Tab 10.1. Or, just get the original Transformer. All engineering and consumer decisions are about compromise and people have to find it within themselves to determine what compromise they are ok with.
As for GPS -- it's simple. Apple simply did not bother to include a GPS receiver in the non-3G (non-RF window) versions of the iPad/iPad2. People seem to be living with that compromise pretty well too.
The Transformer Prime is, at essence, Asus's and Android's answer to the wifi iPad2. It rivals the iPad2 in terms of design, thinness, and speed. It makes similar tradeoffs and compromises as the iPad2, because frankly, when you look at the iPad2's tremendous sales figures, it's self-evident the vast majority of people don't care about them. Apple has a tremendous talent in focusing on what the vast majority of people care about, and leaving the extra stuff behind, and so you can't blame Asus for wanting to follow the same design objectives as Apple -- it works.
Great information here, OP. I'm not really even tempted by the TF700T. I'm one of the lucky Prime owners that has no problems, plus the back of the TF700T id hideous with that flat finish and plastic strip. The Prime is a thing of beauty.
GREAt thorough post. THANKS FOR taking the time to out all this together. Its funny n ironic some of the people posted in here already are some of the main ones this thread is aimed for... the whinners, the ones who nag, babies, n men that gossip like women. Lol
Great work OP. Tell it like it is!
Nice post, NeoteriX but I have to say that the iPad2's Wi-Fi is still significantly better than that of the Prime (Well mine at least). Don't get me wrong though the Wi-Fi is still VERY usable all around my house, Dropping from 9mb/s DL to 5.5-6.5mb/s DL when I go to the furthest point away from my router and down to two bars but the iPad2's DL speeds only drop 0.5 - 1mb/s and staying at 3 bars in the same test.
If Asus will continue to make the 201, then there is a chance that their next production run will incorporate a modified version of the backplate similar to the 700. So while people are waiting for the HD screen, Asus can continue to sell a fixed Prime with gps, wifi and bt in good working condition. This is the win win solution imo.
tedr44 said:
If Asus will continue to make the 201, then there is a chance that their next production run will incorporate a modified version of the backplate similar to the 700. So while people are waiting for the HD screen, Asus can continue to sell a fixed Prime with gps, wifi and bt in good working condition. This is the win win solution imo.
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This is the primary reason I just canceled my "pending" Amazon order. Why would they continue to manufacture deficient units?
jackl8 said:
i've been lurking on xda for a good while. the GS2 forums have been a wealth of information and the advice of people on that forum has helped make my phone a billion times better. now that i'm in the tprime camp i finally created an account and was hoping to help build a forum of similar value, but i have to say, the level of redundant and repetitive whining and griping over this product is astonishing. it's dominating discussion here and (imo) ruining the forum for everyone. i think that most of us would prefer for this forum to develop into a place where satisfied tprime owners can share information that is actually helpful.
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That was long, but good. I think noobs should read it for sure. But you mention something which I disagree strongly. Anandtech being authoratative on the issue of GPS? First of all, they missed that completely first time around, and second time around. Only when we xda members report did they do a teardown. Even then they fail to test the GPS with the backs off even though I constantly asked them to go back and do it. We pretty much know the back cause the poor signal but to prove beyond the doubt they should have tested the GPS while the back was off, they never did that. I mean the GPS was missed by all major reviewers which is kind of sad. It took us users to figure it out.
Just returned my tab 10.1 due to screen problem and looking for a replacement. Was thinking about tab 7.7 but i think only prime can play 1080p mkv with no problem. However, when i check the 'UK Transformer Prime PRE-ORDER LINKS AND ORDER TRACKING' all i can see is wifi, BT problems, dead pixel, light bleed.... is that means majority of the prime still has problem? should i waste my time to get one and try my luck
please give me some advice
thank you
K999rrl said:
Just returned my tab 10.1 due to screen problem and looking for a replacement. Was thinking about tab 7.7 but i think only prime can play 1080p mkv with no problem. However, when i check the 'UK Transformer Prime PRE-ORDER LINKS AND ORDER TRACKING' all i can see is wifi, BT problems, dead pixel, light bleed.... is that means majority of the prime still has problem? should i waste my time to get one and try my luck
please give me some advice
thank you
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There are plenty of folks who have good primes some who have had negative experiences and there are some peeps who spend their lives putting up negative posts on each and every thread whether they are relevant or not.
Like any new product there are teething problems and some peeps have had issues with bluetooth streaming, wi fi reception and in the very early days no serial number in the system. There have also been peeps with light bleed problems.
The wifi reception appears to be variable, when i am close to my router or AP it flies but reception can fall away when you move away from the wifi source.
The prime itself is a little belter and the keyboard dock is what makes t for me as it's functionality is increased dramatically with it and it makes typing so much easier! The keyboard is also brilliant for controlling a pc remotely through the included splash top streamer app which works really well and allows me to do things away from my pc that I could not do on the tablet.
I would also state that it is my view that the forthcoming models such as teh 300 and infinity will have improved wifi abilities as they will not have a full metal jacket, with the 300 having a plastic back and the 700 having a matching plastic strip where the ariels are situated.
I would advise to but online as that way you have 7 working days to inspect your prime and decide to keep it or not which you are not guaranteed of in a shop. You need to keep all of the wrapping and if you are careful you can remove the internal plastic wrapping without causing any rips in it.
Another factor is that Asus have been dealing with updates in a timely manner and much more responsive with regard to updates than any other hardware firm I can think of...HTC and creative both come to mind even though htc are not the worst.
So I cannot tell you what to do but you might want to play with one for a week and then decide if it is for you or do you want to wait for updated ones in the future?
Good luck with whatever yu do
Andy
Oh and I forgot to mention that GPS is a washout but i have an android phone and a garmin for sat nav and do not envisage myself with a 10inch satnav in my old focus lol
This will cause a war here.
I expect demandarin pop up here praising Asus and Barry to counter argue him immediately LOL.
All I can say, I'm on the 6th one now which will be going back for WiFi speed drop and light bleed.
As it stands at the moment there are these categories:
Praisers: got tfp which they are happy with
Indifferent people: happy with whatever faults they have or don't realise that there is some fault.
Hopers: (me) keep getting **** ones but hope to find a golden one. (my hope is growing weak)
Haters: have/had Ttp, extremely unhappy with it, don't believe Asus is/will be delivering good product/service.
All in all, Asus needs to pull finger out of-you-know-what and start delivering consistent quality.
I'd say give it a go, but check thoroughly for faults.
Sent throught the wormhole from my CoinInserted Sensation OG.
tinky1 said:
This will cause a war here.
I expect demandarin pop up here praising Asus and Barry to counter argue him immediately LOL.
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Nah, how much does the same thing really need to be repeated? I've gotten as tired of typing it as you have reading it.
OP, yes, the 7.7 does fine with high profile video. The Note 10.1 will too. They both dumped Teg2 for a 1.4GHz Exynos chip. Here's a vid of the 7.7 playing HD video locally and online. If you get the 3G 7.7 it can also be used for GSM calling.
thanks for the reply guys... tbh wifi is my main concern coz my uni's wifi signal is bad enough i need it for the next couple of weeks as i have to read a lot of PDF that is one of the reason i ruled out 7.7. But with this price i think i should wait for the 300 or 700 lol
thank you guys!
BarryH_GEG said:
Nah, how much does the same thing really need to be repeated? I've gotten as tired of typing it as you have reading it.
OP, yes, the 7.7 does fine with high profile video. The Note 10.1 will too. They both dumped Teg2 for a 1.4GHz Exynos chip. Here's a vid of the 7.7 playing HD video locally and online. If you get the 3G 7.7 it can also be used for GSM calling.
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note 10.1 is not bad but it took them 6 moths to put out the 7.7 since its announcement i dont how long will sammy takes this time lol
I have an order for a Prime on Amazon, and I'm waiting for it to ship. At this point, would you wait for the TF700T (given all the potential hardware problems with the Prime) or just go for it. I know about the "technology gets better all the time stuff", but what would you do, TODAY, if you knew what you knew now.
wait. I have a prime and the dock I love it..but if you spent time waiting for say the TF700 who's to say that there won't be something better a little bit later down the road..
!!senseless sensation!!
I just got my second prime due to the HDMI out port dying on my first one, most likely because I dropped off the back of my couch. Both primes I have owned have been great no wifi problems or reboots. GPS is hit or miss but I think i read on these forums that a hardware fix is in the works. That being said. No way am I paying 100 bucks more for a plastic back and a slightly better screen. I don't need GPS to work full speed minus wifi on my tablet.....I have a phone for that...and like I said i never had wifi problems.
So my answer is i would not wait for the tf700....plus you never know what kinda problems they are going to have with that one....at least with the prime you know all the POTENTIAL issues and can deal with them.
Personally, I would wait a while. It sounds like ASUS is providing some kind of Hardware fix to Primes that are not working correctly, but parts are not available yet. That combined with the lack of stock almost anywhere leads me to believe that production of new units has been slowed/stopped. My guess is that they are using whatever stock they have remaining to primarily replace units that are being returned by customers.
Whether they are waiting to ramp up production with "the new hardware" or are winding down on the Prime altogether is unclear (at least to me). But it seems definite that "something" is up with the prime production.
I would wait to see what shakes out in the next couple of months unless you are desperate for a new tablet.
I wouldn't wait if I were you. In all honesty, the TF700 is not that much of a step up from the TF201, and in my opinion it is not worth the extra $100. The only reason that I would wait is if GPS a deal breaker for you (which I think most people have a hard time making this argument).
So its 50:50 up until now
i have to say, i wouldnt either. The prime is fantastic. In most cases the wifi issues (if there are any, in my case there are none) arent a problem in reality because youtube HD stuff wont interrupt to buffer, neither do high quality flash streams on the browser. And thats what counts in the end. IMHO.
So the infinity tab will be a great device as well, but there is much uncertainty about it still. No one knows the exact pricing, if there will be issues, if they will be in stock etcetc. With the prime you know what you get - and that is almost perfect. Pretend the prime is a wifi only device without gps btw. And then be happy that they implemented a GPS sensor anyway that works for positioning not for navigation.
Its such an awesome product giving you soo much for the price. And its stunningly beautiful and feels very premium. If manufacturers release plastic only products like samsung, people always cry for aluminum. On the prime its there.
And the incoming games!? We're gonna lol at infinity blade!
There is no good answer. The TF700 may be out next week and it may not be out until holiday season this year. It's also going to be more expensive. Basically is that screen worth an extra $100 and maybe several months of waiting?
Usually in the technology world you buy what you need or want at that time. Don't wait unless you know when something is being released otherwise you will never buy anything. Unless it is an Apple product the delay between the announcement and the time the actual product arrives on store shelves is usually many months. How much do you want to bet when the TF700 is released there will be a new tablet announced by someone that blows the TF700 away? That is the reality in the technology world.
Then there is the question of availability and QC. The Prime was released in mid December or something like that but not available for like a month and you had to either preorder or check websites every day to hopefully get one. And actually it is still like that and it's been a couple months. As for QC, well it is the same company so I am not sure why their QC will change. For all we know there will be QC issues with the TF700 as well. Screens seem to be a big issue with ASUS. I know since I had to return three primes due to screen issues. The original transformer had screen issues and a terrible dock battery issue that plagued early adopters for a long time.
I would say buy the Prime now. Have fun with it for many months. Once the TF700 is readily available and we know there are no QC issues go play with one in a store and see if it is worth selling your Prime. You will not be out much money if you go that route.
Go for it. I was in the same boat, but decided the extra money wasn't worth it.
The primary issues are WiFi and GPS. My GPS seems to grab sats and lock, but haven't really tried it on the road yet....but, not worried, because my Globasat Receiver BT359 works fine...so either way, I got GPS.
Wifi - all I care about is getting it to work about 2 rooms away from the router, and it also seems to work. The biggest issue for me was "ICS not permitting Ad-hoc network connections" with my smartphone (did not know that issue before I bought it) because that is my main source for internet when I travel. However, there is a fix on the board for that, so I can get a wifi connection no matter where I'm at.
So, even if GPS and WiFi turn out to be truly "flaky" when I really need it, I have the alternatives mentioned above and even buying a GPS receiver is cheaper than the $100.
The supposed improvement in screen resolution is not important unless you look at it through a magnifying glass. I doubt that the eye could really discern the difference
Lastly, They announced the prime coming out in October, then got pushed back, and they STILL aren't readily available. So, if they say the 700 is June release, I wouldn't expect to see it in the stores till Sept at the earliest...and ready supply....try Christmas.
Good luck,
Bob
PS....also remember, the people who post are the ones who have issues or "think" they have issues.....Some are real, some are due to lack of knowledge by the user. Remember, very few happy customers post and say "WOW". So, on any board, most operational questions are of the negative variety....and I'd also say again....A lot of that is the user
I'd say wait until the problems on the Prime get fixed or until the TF700T gets released. ASUS says there are only 1% of defective units. I'd say in my case is more like 100%. I bought/returned 4 Primes, they were all defective.
If you can wait for a tablet, I would wait. With the other android and an apple brands, newer asus tablets, and maybe a fix for the current prime coming out you will have more options to choose from. If you cant wait, buy a prime from a company that has a return window no questions asked and test it yourself.
Don't wait. I was in your position about 10 days ago and today I am happy I made the decision to buy.
My unit works fine (minus a bad firmware update that killed battery life), and it's beautiful. It's fast as hell and makes my **** feel huuuugggggeeeee having a quad core tablet.
The tf700 is barely an improvement for waiting and spending a hundred dollars more. The resolution increase will barely be noticeable - except on the hardware, which will likely be taking a beating from the screen. The transformer prime is the last tablet with an ips panel I will buy - waiting on future ips panels seems like a bad idea with the advancement of oled technology.
Looks like the TF300T just cleared the FCC, so maybe it won't take as long as I thought to get the TF700.
My real concern is that they are phasing out the Prime, which is why supplies are basically zero.
wifesabitch said:
There a new thread every day about this. I know it's a real cool thing to be a thread starter but you are pushing down useful threads with this nonsense.
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Every day the situation changes, so it makes sense that people are curious and that old threads won't still be relevant. I also see that every day, like clockwork, you scold or berate the poster like it's your job. What's more annoying, someone coming here advice seeking from other members, or the people that post just to post, without adding any real value. I've been a member since 2007, I know how XDA works.
"Pushing down useful threads" If you tell everyone who comes on here to just search anyway, who cares? 16 people offered thoughtful, relevant answers. You're the only one who had to insult the OP.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1523783
I would read this thread, seems like there is going to be new parts for the prime to improve wifi and GPS end of March. Maybe you should wait when it goes into effect in the production line.
Yeah, I'm usually the last one to wait, in fact I'm finally just now giving up on my viewsonic Gtab that I got right when it came out. It's tegra2, but stuck on froyo and even the best efforts of the devs on xda have resulted in a less than stellar ICS ROM. So, it's time to lay down some more money. I'm keeping my order at Amazon, and we'll just see which comes available first, the Prime or the TF700. Either way I'll be happy.
I think you should not wait.
1º No one knows when the Infinity will be for sale.
2º The improvement of screen is irrelevant for me;
3º The Infinity will not be smaller or lighter;
4º The Infinity will not be cheaper;
5º The Infinity will not be faster;
6º GPS should not be essential in a tablet and my Wifi is normal.
For me, the main improvement in the Infinity is the 3G and 4G option that the Prime do not have.
Anyone who prefer 3G/4G should wait.
For me, I am wait for an official firmware update on Prime that would enable connection with Ad Hoc networks, because I have Joiku software in my Nokia phone.
nunoloule said:
I think you should not wait.
1º No one knows when the Infinity will be for sale.
2º The improvement of screen is irrelevant for me;
3º The Infinity will not be smaller or lighter;
4º The Infinity will not be cheaper;
5º The Infinity will not be faster;
6º GPS should not be essential in a tablet and my Wifi is normal.
For me, the main improvement in the Infinity is the 3G and 4G option that the Prime do not have.
Anyone who prefer 3G/4G should wait.
For me, I am wait for an official firmware update on Prime that would enable connection with Ad Hoc networks, because I have Joiku software in my Nokia phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I on the other hand would not want the 3G. I currently pay for internet 3 times... (home internet and 2 unlimited data smartphone plans) so the last thing I want to do is to pay for another internet connection. I currently use my Thunderbolt to tether to the Prime (I use the Open Garden app) and it works great.
But for those who don't have a smartphone or don't want to tether from their phone to their tablet (which I don't know why you wouldn't) then it may be worth the wait.
Just get the prime! I love mine.. No issues part from gps but who needs that anyway.. And tbh why would u need a retina display on a 10.1" screen? Just don't see the point but that's my opinion
Evo_Shift said:
Usually in the technology world you buy what you need or want at that time. Don't wait unless you know when something is being released otherwise you will never buy anything.
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+1
I wanted a tablet but didn't NEED one.
I went from potentially choosing a TF101, then maybe buying a Thrive until i heard about the Prime and then i pulled the trigger.
Buy what you think is best NOW cause 2 months from now it'll all change again.
I'm in the same boat.. but I heard June now for the Infinity series.. no way I'm waiting 4 months.. I'm sure 6 more new tablets will be out by then anyway..
Besides, the HD screen is about the only real benefit I'd be interested in, and honestly, I've been re-watching Battlestar Galactica in SD on my iPad 2 for the last week and I enjoy it just the same as if it was in HD.. I'd love to have the HD panel, but IMO, 4 months and $100 more just isn't worth it to me.
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?
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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?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
By the s/n...those starting with C1 are Jan. 2012, C2 Feb etc.
send from my DINC2 using XDA Premium
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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Sent from my sgs2 Skyrocket
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.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
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.
Sent from my awesome Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app