Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
My Prime has only one flaw: the GPS. Other than that, I have no light bleeding, no dead pixels, the wi-fi works well, etc.
You may want to read the following article to get some perspective:
edit: Apparently I am too new on this forum to provide you a link. Do a Google search for "cnet putting the transformer prime in perspective" and you'll get the link to the article.
In the end, I would suggest that if you really want the Prime, go ahead and buy one from a vendor with a good return policy. If you end up not liking it, simply return it.
OmniLemur said:
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately it is plagued with issues. What proves this is the many people that have had multiple tablets all with the same problems. I've had three alone myself, all displaying BT/Wifi issues.
I dont use GPS at all- Ha- one reply telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, one exactly what Im dreading. I really dont know what to think.
I love mine. (Yes I have an iPad 2 to compare it to). Only issue is GPS. It works but not consistently. Other than that its perfect. Wifi is the same if not better than my Droid x. And can't ask for a nicer screen, especially for outside
Sent from my Droid X using xda premium
I suppose my biggest worry is screen issues- whats the chance I can get a perfect screen? I mean- does anyone have a flawless screen?
OmniLemur said:
I suppose my biggest worry is screen issues- whats the chance I can get a perfect screen? I mean- does anyone have a flawless screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm an N of 1 but my Amazon.com Prime was riddled with issues. Most notably several groupings of bright white pixels on the panel that were unforgivable defects. I returned it for a full refund and grabbed a cheap used TF101 w/dock (locally) that I love. There's nothing it can't do compared to the Prime. I am 100% happy using it for a while as I sit on the sidelines to see what shakes our over the next 6-12 months. Its pretty awesome.
I reccommend doing the same. If you are intoxicated by the Prime you'd better make sure you can return it for a full refund just in case.
Best.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
Accidental post that I deleted
OmniLemur said:
I dont use GPS at all- Ha- one reply telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, one exactly what Im dreading. I really dont know what to think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I returned mine today, both TFP and the dock.
I am into technical adventures, especially when it goes against mainstream.
I own a Zune HD - it is a great device, and there is probably nothing better if one is after an MP3 and Video player.
But this is not why I got it - it was supposed to be an all-in-one device, similar to iPod Touch,
but it never became that - after 2 years of disappointing support and mediocre updates Microsoft just killed it.
Let's call it an unfulfilled promise
I also own a G Tablet - and it is a great device too, viewing angles aside,
but what makes it great is (1) being a very solid in terms of hardware and (2) unbelievable support from XDA and other forums,
from the online community.
The manufacturer - well, it is not really manufactured by Viewsonic, it is pretty much Malata ZPad with a Viewsonic logo on it
- so the "manufacturer" turned its back on it within a year or so after the "release".
Let's call it another unfulfilled promise
I am happy with what I learned about Android while NVFlashing this thing back and forth,
but I would be just as happy having a fully functional and supported device and a whole set of accessories and updates
- even a dock for it I had to order from China.
I purchased TFP because I told myself - no more experiments; I want something from a well-respected company
- for as long as it is not Apple, because that would be too mainstream
- something well designed and well executed, and functional, working fine right out of the box, and TFP seemed to be it.
I have heard about the GPS issue, but I thought that either it was a minor software bug that would be taken care of soon, or those unfortunates got faulty chips, and I would be luckier.
Well, I was wrong - while beautiful and with a lot of great functionality, the device has a number of hardware and/or software issues,
namely GPS, WiFi versus BT, playing 1080P - I named those my tablet had, but others complained about battery life, sleep of death, reboots and lockups.
What is upsetting is not even a number of issues but perceived weakness of ASUS to identify, admit, and PROPERLY FIX them.
For example, I never had WiFi versus BT thing on OTA .13, but I started having it as soon as I upgraded to OTA .14.
The same upgrade killed GPS completely and worsen 1080P video playback.
This tells me something is wrong not just with hardware and software, but also with ASUS development/QA/release management processes.
And the fact that the development community cannot really develop ROMS for the device because of the locked bootloader is not making things easier.
Yes, ASUS promised an unlock tool, but when will we see it?
And even then - so we will rely on the online community not just for getting brilliant ROMs to play around in leisure, but even for basic necessities the manufacturer is supposed to take care of?
I do believe that at the end ASUS will fix all the bugs and the signal strength aside will make it into a bulletproof device.
I just do not want to be a beta tester once again, I do not want to add another unfulfilled promise to my collection.
So as soon as I see that TFP is stable - I will buy it again... or that newer 1080P version with fixed GPS ASUS recently announced.
Hope this will help,
Okay- so- its looking like the TP isn't going to be my tablet of choice- I suppose I'll continue fruity choices!
Thanks for your help, I guess *dissapoint*
I have a prime right now...and it's not usable......I would say "wait"
OmniLemur said:
Okay- so- its looking like the TP isn't going to be my tablet of choice- I suppose I'll continue fruity choices!
Thanks for your help, I guess *dissapoint*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remember, selection bias. People who have problems with their prime are 1) more likely to be on XDA searching for solutions and 2) more vocal in their opinion.
From that CNET article, about .5% of primes have been returned for some reason.
I haven't gotten mine yet, but I have heard from lots of people who have a Prime and love it.
+1 on love my prime, no issues getting great wifi and my gps locks fine.
Love my Prime. Rooted and laid out with the Hubs Nav. Works great. Wifi is sometimes spotty but other than that it's quite excellent. Got the dock too, never looked back.
I leave my laptop at home now.
Dunno, maybe I just got lucky but I don't really see the issues that others do. Screen is flawless. There is a -slight- light bleed on the right side upper corner but not so noticeable that it's offensive or anything.
Overall I love my Prime, it's a great piece of engineering.
OmniLemur said:
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-----------------------------------
Buy Ipad 2 if you want a good working tablet, buy ATP if you want the best working tablet.
had my prime for 3 weeks now.
never had any wifi or gps or screen issues.
rooted fine, battery life with the .13 firmware was a little iffy but .14 is
much much better.
a very happy ATP owner.
(I had won an ipad and still gave it away to pay for prime tablet. best thing I ever did tablet wise.)
I agree with thenuge.
I've had a Prime for over a month now and I'm absolutely in love with it. I don't think I can go back. I should probably give a little background -- I've owned an iPhone since first gen through to the 4S. Owned a 4S for about a month but, after being sickeningly disappointed in how slow iOS is evolving, I took the plunge over to Android and bought the Galaxy Nexus (custom ROM / kernel, etc)... I had been waiting for ICS before making the switch (for both tablet & phone).
The prime replaced my iPad 2 within a few hours (the LiveWallpapers, I'm a sucker for them... especially the Phase Beam one!) and the Galaxy Nexus had my iPhone up on eBay within about a week.
When I first got the Prime, I upgraded to ICS right away. I then waited a week thinking I could do without rooting, but, like an addict, that commitment didn't last. Rooted, threw on Sixaxis, bought a mini-HDMI cable, and now I play a lot of games on the TV... and, sadly, at work.
There have been many days where I've been sent to different sites for 8-11 hours and, with the dock, I'll come home after literally the entire day with the screen on doing something, with 0% dock and ~30% prime battery levels. This thing is an absolute beast.
My prime just has a lack of GPS, which doesn't bother me... That's what my Nexus is for. I never purchased a tablet wanting GPS, so... I guess it's just a waste of a chip in there.
At any rate, that's my positive story for the device.
When I'm at home, my MBP often sits unused as the Prime does a lot just as well... especially browsing or laying around watching TV episodes.
Obviously, it doesn't have Skyrim, Saints Row, etc. on it, but as that sofa computer where you can sit with your gf and read the news (News360 is epic, btw... so is Pulse), it can't be beat.
Also, I agree -- I'm a little bit weirded out about a tablet with a higher resolution than my computer's monitors (1080p) -- yet with far less hardware to move those pixels. I think I'll believe it when I see it running smoothly in a game like Infinity Blade, until then, I have this sneaky feeling something's going to need to drop (like hq shadows or hq reflections and the like) in order to maintain 24-30fps in high quality games. I wonder if an iPad2 will still look better than the iPad3, in some cases (obviously not stills)? Nothing worse than lag.
EDIT:
I just wanted to add one thing: The aspect ratio. Coming from an iPad2 to the TP, I was really kind of... eh, about using it in widescreen or with such a slim portrait. However, in the last month (my gf still has an iPad2), I've found myself actually very much enjoying the 16:10 ratio. Even in portrait, I find it easier to use.
OmniLemur said:
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works fine, even GPS isn't an issue. No random reboots. no manufacturer flaws. C10K serial # if that helps.
Take a look at this n you'll easily see most don't suffer from issues or more than satisfied with device:
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Also look at this thread. All various testimonials of happy Positive prime owners. People with issues can't muster up these kinds of numbers
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1409910
Answer easily clear what's the best out right now.
I love my prime. I'd recommend it to anyone. But you should ask yourself what you want to use it for. The prime really shines in gaming (full gamepad support) also with fully working Emulators. It's also totally awesome for watching videos, with the perfect screen size and format (16:10). You can also watch high quality flash streams...
And then there's the dock, which takes it to a whole other lvl. I use it as a full laptop replacement, even able to use it for presentations with the HDMI-VGA adapter.
But if you just want to use some dedicated tablet apps and some browsing i guess the ipad will suffice.
About the issues? I have none. GPS is not the strongest but i always got a fix when i tested it. WIFI/BT are fully working and i got max speeds on my network. Screen is perfect as well. No bleeding or anything.
+ Asus is very fast with updates! + Bootloader is gonna be unlocked. I dont see any tablet being better than the Prime.
Related
Okay, I was going to hold off to pick up a Motorola Xoom within a few weeks but on a whim, I saw the Viewsonic G-Tablet for $299.99 at the local Office Depot. Okay I thought then I could live with its "defective" display and unwieldy weight/shape. For me, it actually resembled the Xoom! At least a less expensive version of it.
Indeed, for me the XDA support for ROM (and hopefully Honeycomb 3.0 port) as well as its Tegra chip were the deciding factors to pick up the GTab this morning.
I will be charging it up later after dinner with my stepdad and then installing Clockwork Mod then a ROM of my choice. I also will be relating my adventures here a poor man's (hacker's) Xoom. And I post that I can regret not getting a Sprint Galaxy Tab. So convince me
More adventures to come... any advice here now?
Yes.
Don't hold your breathe on HoneyComb. And don't post asking where it is
No Honeycreams until full AOSP released from google. 'Nuff said.
I just picked up the G-Tab at lunch today and I have Vegan running now. My first impressions of it are good. It is a little heavier than I thought it would be but I didn't buy it for the weight as much as I did to not have to burn my legs with my old Acer laptop. I see the problems with the screens that everyone complains about but I am finding that if you 1. have it laying flat it is worse and 2. have a black background it looks bad. I plan on using this at an angle and I am glad to be able to use more colors than my Vibrant (black on the phone for battery savings purposes). It is snappy and the wifi antenna is pretty strong. I was able to play my movies that I ripped for the Vibrant and they look great on the screen. I ripped them down at a high level and large screen aspect.
I was like you and debating between the different tablets out there but I think I am going to be happy with this device. The more I read the more I kept coming back to it thinking it was a better device except for the stock software which was easy to replace. I wanted the Samsung 7" tablet when they came out but after seeing this next to it there wasn't any hesitation for me. And for me personally Honeycomb isn't a big selling point. I have been running HC on an SDK emulator and I am not impressed with it enough to spend an extra $200-300.
I hope you like yours, I am happy so far.
I still don't understand this complaint about the weight that I've been seeing all over the internets. It is .22 lb more than the ipad. The ipad weighs 1.33 lb and the gtab weighs 1.55 lb.
If 1.55 lb is too heavy, return it and buy yourself an ipad. Enough said.
As for the galaxy tab it is nice and I prefer the 7" form factor but you have to buy into a contract-no thanks and the galaxy has a single core chip. It costs about $50-85 or in my case $100 more if you are paying Ca tax. The gtab has better specs and better battery life.
The Xoom is over $300 more and as much as I would like to have 3.0 I am not sure it does anything our tabs can't already do. Lets face it we all want hc and in time it will makes its way to this device. Prices are dipping down because a slew of new tabs will be coming out around June or so and I don't think any of them will cost $300!
The screen is pretty nice coming from an elocity a7, now ipad, galaxy have nicer screens and so does the xoom but I really do not see a big problem with this one. I think it looks great. Weight is not a big issue either. It is a poind and a half, we arr not talling heavy. I just wish it was easier to type with my thumbs like my elocity. The devs here have createdvseveral awesome roms that make this device fly. Other than limits of froyo being a phone os this is a great tab. I think I see why apple is so succesful because they only support two devices which means a lot more continuity in the user experience. However, I value freedom and choice so the price you pay is some apps not working. In a year or so when hc has been out and second and third gen hc devices are out the user experience will be very different than now. Thay said the gtab is pretty sweet.
Going to make this review rather short. Just got this tablet this morning at a sweet song price. I went to XDA Developers and followed the directions to get rid of the Tap N Tap interface here at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245 and added Clockwork Mod to allow for custom ROM's on this device. After a tad bit of work eliminating the default interface, then I proceeded to install the Notion Ink Adam ROM found here at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=928152 which allows for the Eden interface that runs very smoothly for the most part.
Everything is much better now. The device is a tad bit heavier but it's basically so similar to the Wi-Fi version of the Xoom that in many ways this is a developer's device.
I must recommend this device and I think that I may consider getting a second one because there is no locked bootloader to prevent us from making more ROM. Now it's a matter of waiting for Honeycomb to arrive or maybe even a Xoom port someday!
Mine arrived last Thursday but I was in Vegas for the extended weekend. Ordered it from TigerDirect for $307 shipped. Came home Monday night, kissed the wife and grabbed the gTab and started playing around with it (truth be told she opened it while I was gone and was teasing me about the fact that she was messing with it before I did).
Anyway, I really liked the stock home screen with the icons across the bottom and the weather display, etc. I have an automated home with touch screens around the house, so I was immediately thinking about how I could incorporate several of these around the house for lighting, etc... However, as much as I liked the screen, I found the performance to be not-so-hot.
I followed the instructions for CWM and TnT on Wednesday night and the gTab went from a purchase that I was moderately pleased with to contemplating how long it will be until I purchase a second one . For me, there was a noticeable change in speed.
I have a HTC Evo and was a bit nervous about rooting the phone, but I think I will need to now in order to take advantage of the mobile hotspot.
I think the battery life it ok. I'm currently playing a video on it to see how it eats the battery. I want to be able to use the tablet on flights, and need to know how many movies I can play on it on a single charge. Once I beat it up a little more I will have a better understanding of how much time I will get out of a charge.
I don't own an iPad (I'm just not into the whole Apple thing), but I have to say that I would have no problem showing this off to any of my friends that have iPads. For me, not having to spend $600 plus a data plan was a plus for me. The unit will primarily be used in my house, and when I am out I will be tethering it to my phone so I don't see the need for a unit with a data plan.
I was looking at the Samsung Galaxy, but I felt that the 7" screen was just not enough real estate for me.
Now I need to buy a case and a screen protector for this think before it gets scratched up.
In the end, I am very pleased with my purchase.
GB
Wow, tonight was an experience as I was hanging around the Apple Store (Gateway) and found out that people thought that I was dragging around the Motorola Xoom. That must be a really good mix up. The confusion suggests that people do confuse the Xoom with the GTab.
I will have some comparison pictures later on in this thread.
My G Tablet Experience
I'm new to the tablet thing. I don't own a smartphone so this is the first time I bought a non Windows PC device. $280 on woot seemed a lot better than dropping $600+ bucks on an iPad to see if a tablet would work out well for me.
The first thing that immediately struck me was fingerprints. I know it was going to be inevitable, but I just can't believe how dirty the screen gets after a normal browsing section. Because it's new, I'm always wiping the screen with a microfiber towel to keep it looking clean. I know that there's that Rain-X solution but I'm ordering a screen protector to reduce smudges.
The other thing I found is how awkward it is to hold. Because of the decreased view angles I need to hold it up at a very precise angle. It's too large to hold in one hand and my one hand starts to cramp after a while from holding it up. Using it in portrait mode is a little better since I can grasp it with two hands and just use my thumbs to scroll and navigate. But there are some things I just can't do very well in portrait mode. I just ordered a new case with the integrated kick stand and keyboard which should help propping it up. I'm looking forward to using it as a very capable little netbook.
Other than that, this is a cool little device. I installed Vegan and it seems to do everything I want. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a normal mpg movie to play on it. I must not be using the correct encoding since I select the file in the explorer and the screen just goes black. I do not see any errors, just a black screen. So I need to play around with it some more because I really would like to watch movies on my commute.
This thing definitely holds its own against other tablets twice the price. I'm glad I took the gamble to try it out.
I have a very similar experience.
I am able to play movies encoded in mp4 format. I believe the video comes with the tablet is in mp4 as well.
Tried a couple of avi file that had sound comes through but has gobbled video.
Have not try any quick time mov files yet.
I think fingerprint is unavoidable with touch tablets. My impression of Ipad is the same, gets smodged quick and the screen is also too reflective. Probably just to a lesser degree than the GTablet. Please post back on your screen protector experience.
Video Playback Working
villaXdaDev said:
I'm still trying to figure out how to get a normal mpg movie to play on it. I must not be using the correct encoding since I select the file in the explorer and the screen just goes black. I do not see any errors, just a black screen. So I need to play around with it some more because I really would like to watch movies on my commute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bingo. I encoded the movie using the "iPad" setting in Handbrake and that created a playable file. I just opened up the file explorer and played the .m4v file right off the thumb drive. I'm loving this mighty tablet a little more every day.
I just bought a second Viewsonic G-Tablet from Office Depot this morning and I am happy as a clam in fact. I took a photo of mine as compared to the svelte iPad 2 at the Gateway Apple Store for benchmark comparison.
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This is for the people Satisfied with their device. People that are happy with device. THE ones who were glad to make their purchase and would do it all over again. Basically for those with a more Positive outlook on life n doesn't let little things get to them
This thread will be an expansion of the Positive Transformer Thread going in a more detailed direction. I'm sure a majority of you, like myself are tired of all the complaint threads about what Prime doesn't do well or not at all. Soo.....
This thread is to list "What does work great on your Prime". Also how does Prime help you in day to day functionality? Like examples of the Prime being very useful or coming in handy in everyday scenarios. How do your friends, family, and peers react when showing off the power of Prime? What are some standout features on Prime? Positive stories n testimonials fully welcomed. All others will be Charbroiled! Lol
So you can see the direction this thread is trying to take. To expand on the great form factor and functionality of a device that works well for you. With so many issue threads, its time to expand on the flip side, the Majority side, that most here in Xda actually love their device and keeping it.
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There's more than enough complaint threads as there is. This is another way of letting new people know that things on the surface aren't always what it seems. There's a flip side to every story.
"EVERYTHING IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT SEEMS AND EVERYTHING NOT AS BAD AS IT SEEMS, SOMEWHERE IN-BETWEEN, REALITY FALLS" Remember that with anything in life
Update: We now have Official Bootloader Unlock Tool. More reason to be happy to own a Prime. Custom roms will be here b4 you know it!
Everything works on my prime except GPS. Serial # BC, still running .11 stock.
I sit at a computer all day for my job, so I really just wanted a device that I could plop into bed with to surf the web and watch videos. In that respect, the Prime is perfect. Web browsing is as fast or faster than my netbook, and I really like physically interacting with web pages - a touch interface is the way to browse the web, IMO.
Considering I have yet to use my prime while not laying in bed, functional GPS is obviously a non-issue for me. This is a good thing, since the GPS on mine is entirely broken.
My biggest concern was WiFi performance, but I have to say I've never noticed a problem. I sit fairly close to my router in my small studio apartment, so it's possible I've never gone far enough away from it to notice signal degradation. However, I can routinely achieve speeds of > 15Mb / 5Mb down/up anywhere in my apartment, which is more than sufficient for my means.
Gaming was another big selling point for me, and not much needs to be said about the Tegra 3. Thing is a beast. We all know Android doesn't even fully utilize that horsepower, so I'm pretty excited to see what the dev community comes up with after we unlock the BL
Finally, I love the form factor. The thinness and lightness of the TP astounds me every day. And signal attenuation aside, I love the spun aluminum case. It looks and feels premium, durable and high quality. I may be an Android fanboy, but I have to give Apple props for their solid build quality - now I have to give Asus props as well, because the TP is probably the prettiest piece of Kit I've seen in the Android world so far.
I've been very happy with my unit so far. I know I got lucky by avoiding many of the most serious problems - lockups and whatnot - but in many ways I'm impressed that ICS has as few problems as it does, what with being brand new and all that. In contrast, I had to engage in a much greater level of hackery with my Epic 4g to get it to a workable condition, and that was after Froyo had already been out for almost a year.
Picked up my C1-serial Prime end of January at BestBuy.
Mine basically has no usable GPS to speak of. It works outdoors for geo-location to about 50', but loses lock as fast as it gets it. Navigation is impossible. But, I knew that going in and didn't care that GPS might be problematic. I looked at it as a "value added feature that might not work". My box doesn't state GPS as a feature anyhow, so I can't complain too loud.
Beyond that, everything else is pure awesome. I have a 17" widescreen laptop that is more of a desktop replacement than a laptop, and it's definitely not that portable (The battery dies in about 90 minutes of use without being plugged in, even on the "power saving" setting in Win7) so having the prime for web surfing and reading on the couch or in bed is awesome.
I haven't come across a task that I couldn't perform on the Prime that I could on my laptop. Sure, some things are more difficult to accomplish on the tablet (Especially since I don't have the keyboard dock for it ... yet) but I could still do them in a pinch. I even used TurboTax online on it and managed to get my taxes done.
I like that Polaris Office is installed as well, as it gives a quick way to view MS office documents out of the box when needed. I usually just import them to my Google Docs, but if I'm even in a location without 'net access, it's nice to have something that works offline.
The other thing I REALLY appreciate is OTA updates. My Galaxy S phone never had that until I migrated to CM7, and I'm missing OTA horribly on it too since I moved to CM9. Not having to tether to keep it updated is pure awesome.
I can't say enough good things about this device.
anti09 said:
Everything works on my prime except GPS. Serial # BC, still running .11 stock.
I sit at a computer all day for my job, so I really just wanted a device that I could plop into bed with to surf the web and watch videos. In that respect, the Prime is perfect. Web browsing is as fast or faster than my netbook, and I really like physically interacting with web pages - a touch interface is the way to browse the web, IMO.
Considering I have yet to use my prime while not laying in bed, functional GPS is obviously a non-issue for me. This is a good thing, since the GPS on mine is entirely broken.
My biggest concern was WiFi performance, but I have to say I've never noticed a problem. I sit fairly close to my router in my small studio apartment, so it's possible I've never gone far enough away from it to notice signal degradation. However, I can routinely achieve speeds of > 15Mb / 5Mb down/up anywhere in my apartment, which is more than sufficient for my means.
Gaming was another big selling point for me, and not much needs to be said about the Tegra 3. Thing is a beast. We all know Android doesn't even fully utilize that horsepower, so I'm pretty excited to see what the dev community comes up with after we unlock the BL
Finally, I love the form factor. The thinness and lightness of the TP astounds me every day. And signal attenuation aside, I love the spun aluminum case. It looks and feels premium, durable and high quality. I may be an Android fanboy, but I have to give Apple props for their solid build quality - now I have to give Asus props as well, because the TP is probably the prettiest piece of Kit I've seen in the Android world so far.
I've been very happy with my unit so far. I know I got lucky by avoiding many of the most serious problems - lockups and whatnot - but in many ways I'm impressed that ICS has as few problems as it does, what with being brand new and all that. In contrast, I had to engage in a much greater level of hackery with my Epic 4g to get it to a workable condition, and that was after Froyo had already been out for almost a year.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, Tegra3 is a beast.
m3t4lw01f said:
Picked up my C1-serial Prime end of January at BestBuy.
Mine basically has no usable GPS to speak of. It works outdoors for geo-location to about 50', but loses lock as fast as it gets it. Navigation is impossible. But, I knew that going in and didn't care that GPS might be problematic. I looked at it as a "value added feature that might not work". My box doesn't state GPS as a feature anyhow, so I can't complain too loud.
Beyond that, everything else is pure awesome. I have a 17" widescreen laptop that is more of a desktop replacement than a laptop, and it's definitely not that portable (The battery dies in about 90 minutes of use without being plugged in, even on the "power saving" setting in Win7) so having the prime for web surfing and reading on the couch or in bed is awesome.
I haven't come across a task that I couldn't perform on the Prime that I could on my laptop. Sure, some things are more difficult to accomplish on the tablet (Especially since I don't have the keyboard dock for it ... yet) but I could still do them in a pinch. I even used TurboTax online on it and managed to get my taxes done.
I like that Polaris Office is installed as well, as it gives a quick way to view MS office documents out of the box when needed. I usually just import them to my Google Docs, but if I'm even in a location without 'net access, it's nice to have something that works offline.
The other thing I REALLY appreciate is OTA updates. My Galaxy S phone never had that until I migrated to CM7, and I'm missing OTA horribly on it too since I moved to CM9. Not having to tether to keep it updated is pure awesome.
I can't say enough good things about this device.
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The constant OTA updates is a luxury we enjoy more compared to other makers or devices. We have seen more updates n a lil over a month compared to others in a whole year..lol. always good to have tthe latest firmware and drivers on device. It is good we have a way to roll back to a previous version if needed.
The battery life is great on Prime and will only get better as more updates roll out and custom roms arrive. Even overclocked prime gets good battery life. Plus like you said, there's nothing out there to really even make the Prime bust a sweat yet. So power of Tegra3 hasn't even been really tapped into yet. As far as these newer more powerful chips on the way, I'm not worried or pressed at all. As long as i have overclocking, we can easily match or surpass power of those chips.
The mobile scene may about to change up big time with the Announcement of Ubuntu Desktop OS being introduced into Android. Plus it will be officially supported and brings a true desktop experience to mobile devices. This might be the start of the home PC disappearing. Can't wait till we get this integrated into Prime. Its not even a hack. Ubuntu officially supporting Android and hopes this will integrated into 2012 and later mobile solutions. So Win8 better watch out. Android about to officially have Ubuntu desktop support and experience.
Some might say the constant updates are a symptom of a problem at Asus. I say they are a company trying their best to fix users problems.
I really don't believe there's some grand conspiracy going on.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
What i REALLY like on my Prime + dock:
- Great battery life
- keyboard very usable
- Fast
- I am able to print and scan on my Canon Pixma (using PrinterShare and Canon apps)
- Instant on (awesome)
- Bright and colorful screen
- Comes with some good useful apps (Backup, MyNet, Polaris, etc)
- Thin and lightweight
- Android ICS and Google Market (definitely not an iOS fan here)
- I can use my QNAP torrent with the QGET app
Unfortunately my unit has a bright spot on the LCD and I am sending it back to the store. Also has weak WiFi and BT+WiFi dropout. I don't need offline GPS.
Things that could be better on Prime:
- Speakers, trackpad must be disabled to avoid cursor jumps
Things that need improvement on Android:
- Chrome, Docs.
I love the screen on my prime. During bootup I can see a couple spots of light bleed but during any use it is completely invisible. The screen is bright and clear and just looks generally amazing. I have zero dead or stuck pixels, no bright spots or any discernable defect whatsoever when using it.
I love its abilities to play video, it has chewed up and swallowed absolutely everything I have thrown at it so far including 14gb 1080p move files without a single problem.
I love its portability and take it with me to the university and use it all the time. Locks onto wifi without a hitch in the multitude of places I use it there. With it and the dock it is very useful for SSH into the universities Linux system to do some light Java and c programming in VI. I do wish there was an eclipse ide available for android and cannot wait for it to be available.
I also love to use its Bluetooth abilities to sync up my PlayStation controllers and play all my favorite oldschool games through its amazing ability to run many emulators. It also plays new games built for android some of which have tegra 3 specific versions and simply look amazing.
Lastly, I love how fast I can type on a screen holding it in portrait view and using thumb keyboard. The touchscreen is extremely responsive and I can type long posts, such as this very one, with speed and ease.
There are many other things use it for that i cannot recall from my very taxed brain at the moment but it goes without saying that I have no need for a laptop since I can carry this around and easily vnc into my home desktop Linux for any heavy lifting and use dropbox to easily get to any powerpoints or documents I may need on the go.
One last thing, its pure contentment for me to lay back on the couch while the wife does her thing and I can sit and browse the web with ease using boat browser. Never have I had a more satisfying way to consume the ol www.
rand4ll said:
I love the screen on my prime. During bootup I can see a couple spots of light bleed but during any use it is completely invisible. The screen is bright and clear and just looks generally amazing. I have zero dead or stuck pixels, no bright spots or any discernable defect whatsoever when using it.
I love its abilities to play video, it has chewed up and swallowed absolutely everything I have thrown at it so far including 14gb 1080p move files without a single problem.
I love its portability and take it with me to the university and use it all the time. Locks onto wifi without a hitch in the multitude of places I use it there. With it and the dock it is very useful for SSH into the universities Linux system to do some light Java and c programming in VI. I do wish there was an eclipse ide available for android and cannot wait for it to be available.
I also love to use its Bluetooth abilities to sync up my PlayStation controllers and play all my favorite oldschool games through its amazing ability to run many emulators. It also plays new games built for android some of which have tegra 3 specific versions and simply look amazing.
Lastly, I love how fast I can type on a screen holding it in portrait view and using thumb keyboard. The touchscreen is extremely responsive and I can type long posts, such as this very one, with speed and ease.
There are many other things use it for that i cannot recall from my very taxed brain at the moment but it goes without saying that I have no need for a laptop since I can carry this around and easily vnc into my home desktop Linux for any heavy lifting and use dropbox to easily get to any powerpoints or documents I may need on the go.
One last thing, its pure contentment for me to lay back on the couch while the wife does her thing and I can sit and browse the web with ease using boat browser. Never have I had a more satisfying way to consume the ol www.
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Click to collapse
What I love about my TP...
Screen > clear, sharp and very bright
Battery > Outstanding especially when you combine it with the dock
Design > clean, light and sturdy. I love the choice of colors
ICS > runs smoth and quick... the only issue so far after upgrading to ICS is the flickering screen
GPS/Wifi > Works very well and consistent... I don't understand all the hoopla surrounding the issues with GPS... if I really need to use GPS I use my Thunderbolt
Apps > Polaris Office, Backup, Cloud
My TP is like my Amex... I don't leave home without it!
I really hope Gary and Asus can fix the flickering screen issue
Well, I've had my Prime since 12/21/11, and to this day I have no complaints. In fact, I look back on the HC days and realize how killer this thing runs on ICS. Good support from Asus with consistent updates too.
Tegra3: Lag? Never heard of it. Impressive graphics, what more could you want from a tablet.
Screen: IPS+ is great, even in the sunlight (much better than I expected!) and is not fatiguing after extended use. I personally leave it on IPS+ mode with Auto Brightness and it's perfect.
Form Factor: This thing is so well conceived and executed. Quality build, everything just fits so well, especially with the dock.
Connectivity: Especially with the dock, having the USB and SD. HDMI out has turned out to be a better alternative than the built in USB on my TV, better image and sound quality.
Is it perfect? Maybe not, but as close as I could have really hoped. The things that matter to me are: 1) Highly useful day in and day out; 2) I enjoy using it day in and day out.
I was one of the lucky guys getting a solid TP since day 1, I honestly don't have complaints, this is a wonderful piece of technology in every aspect, it has everything I wanted on a tablet. The GPS isn't great yes, only performs outdoors, but hey, I don't really care, as I only used it to test for feedback here on XDA, I own a specialized navigation device for my car and a smartphone when walking in case I need, therefore, I don't need a tablet for such tasks. I wanted a Prime for other things, email, notes, video, surfing and most of all, a portable yet powerful machine to carry around. The flexibility is incredible and the battery life ridiculous, please name a device on the market with this characteristics?! Yep, the TP is unique, enough said...
Cheers
Another happy camper. I have not had any problems with my prime at all. I've used it 60' from my router with BT enabled and disabled. Made no difference.
It works great for me, no matter where I take it as long as there is a wifi signal.
I just wish my keyboard dock would show up after being on backorder for over two months.
I use my Prime mainly for watching worldwide cams, listening to radio/police scanners in my local area, reading emails, cloud printing, drop box, remote access to my PC and other client PC's.
I wouldn't trade this Tablet for any other available on the market at this time. I love it. It's fast, great resolution, handles every app that I've thrown at it. I'll hang onto it until ASUS comes out with a 6 or 8 core Tablet.
I love my TF PRime!
demandarin said:
This is for the people Satisfied with their device. People that are happy with device.
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I have my prime since the 4th of January, and just recently found a dock in stock. Mine is one of the early BCO* machines. (BCOKAS005) but works like a charm. No screen bleed through, the speakers after rooting and applying the help here are far better.
First, I absolutely love ICS and the ASUS' screen quality. It's outstanding! The GPS on my unit has the usual issues, but why would I want to lug around a tablet for GPS! I also looked at is a value-added feature. It works, good. It doesn't, that's fine too.
What astounds me is the sleek design of the slate. I have mine Docked most of the time and love the "netbook" look. It's the center of conversation whenever people come by.
I've used it as a VNC client and server. I ran FTP servers, IRC clients, even a bittorrent client. I absolutely love it's ability to not only stream from DLNA, but actually run as a DLNA server. There's so much this little piece of kit can do, and so elegantly, it daily points out to me just how far personal computers have come from their humble beginnings in the late 70s.
I LOVE MY PRIME. If I was to change something, I would get the 64gig model, but I spent a few minutes moving large media files to microSD and USB connected drive, and have much more memory for software.
Long posts like this one would be difficult using the virtual keyboard. I touch type and the base's keyboard, even though it's chicklet is more than enough to type well.
This slate was a gift from my wife. I bought the dock; and have been loving my little netbook ever since
I love my Prime, like no other
I love my Prime, like no otherself, really. I use it CONSTANTLY, pretty much most of the day at work (I had to justify the cost by doing SOME work with the thing) I basically take all my meeting notes with it, and I have all my company appointments come through using Google Sync to Outlook on my desktop.
Thank God for ICS we use a Cisco VPN solutionat work, and on Honeycomb, getting a VPN connections was never gonna happen. I knew the solution was in ICS, so I was super happy that Asus got it out even earlier than scheduled.
I do get pissed about GPS, and will never let Asus off the hook for that screw up, but that does not negate the fact that My Prime is a stellar device. I take it down to breakfast at work and read news (News 360, News Republic, Pulse, PressReader, USA Today and Google Currents. That enough NEWS for ya?
The only current issues are that .15 blew away whatever GPS I had (it comes and goes with these frequent updates.) While that makes me a bit grumpy, as I don't have any major issues, it's a necessary evil, as Asus busts their collective butt to fix the serious issues that affect some users. These are almost a "rite of passage" for the first Tegra 3 Tablet in existence.
The other issue I see is stuttering/freezing on Riptide and Shire Runner. I am still trying to get a fix for that. Best I can do is reboot just before playing as a workaround for the present.
Why mention these things in a "What works great on your Prime" thread? Easy one. BALANCE.
It's not all a bowl of cherries running at the bleeding edge, sometimes the teething pains are quite dreadful, but a small price to pay to "boldly go where no tablet has gone before".
And no stealing my slogan there, Demandarin! Excuse me while I go see about rolling back to .14. Maybe. I have to decide on that still.
SmartAs$Phone said:
I love my Prime, like no otherself, really. I use it CONSTANTLY, pretty much most of the day at work (I had to justify the cost by doing SOME work with the thing) I basically take all my meeting notes with it, and I have all my company appointments come through using Google Sync to Outlook on my desktop.
Thank God for ICS we use a Cisco VPN solutionat work, and on Honeycomb, getting a VPN connections was never gonna happen. I knew the solution was in ICS, so I was super happy that Asus got it out even earlier than scheduled.
I do get pissed about GPS, and will never let Asus off the hook for that screw up, but that does not negate the fact that My Prime is a stellar device. I take it down to breakfast at work and read news (News 360, News Republic, Pulse, PressReader, USA Today and Google Currents. That enough NEWS for ya?
The only current issues are that .15 blew away whatever GPS I had (it comes and goes with these frequent updates.) While that makes me a bit grumpy, as I don't have any major issues, it's a necessary evil, as Asus busts their collective butt to fix the serious issues that affect some users. These are almost a "rite of passage" for the first Tegra 3 Tablet in existence.
The other issue I see is stuttering/freezing on Riptide and Shire Runner. I am still trying to get a fix for that. Best I can do is reboot just before playing as a workaround for the present.
Why mention these things in a "What works great on your Prime" thread? Easy one. BALANCE.
It's not all a bowl of cherries running at the bleeding edge, sometimes the teething pains are quite dreadful, but a small price to pay to "boldly go where no tablet has gone before".
And no stealing my slogan there, Demandarin! Excuse me while I go see about rolling back to .14. Maybe. I have to decide on that still.
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Click to collapse
Good post. Last part made me grin..lol.
I think you should just stay on .15. The stuttering in games not caused by update. I had that happen randomly even on honeycomb and early ICS builds. Not sure what exactly causes it. I know once it goes away or I get it to go away, it usually doesn't come back. I had same deal happen with 9mm game. As soon as i started up the stage, I could play for a few seconds then screen/game would stutter n start flashing. Happened several times in a row. I was about to give up on it but tried a few things first. First I made sure I had no b.s. apps or anything running. To make sure game had as much ram as possible to run with. Then I rebooted the tablet. Issue went away and has been good ever since. Even beat the game. Similar thing happened with my shadlwgun THd that came with prime, since I bought it at Gamestop. I could play for a while then game would stutter n freeze. I just exited out the game completely then relaunched it and everything was well. All my games play very good now n i have alot of them.
Have most of all the heavy duty, good graphics games. Like 9mm, Asphault6 HD, Dead space, Madden 2012, new sonic(not b.s. sonic cd..lol), Sprinkle, Backstab HD, Samurai 2 vengeance, Shine runner THD, Riptide GP THD, air attack HD, Grabitron, Osmosis HD, Sentinel, Neo Geo emulator, PlayStation emulator, Snes emulator, genesis/Sega master system emulator, OnLive....and lotz more...lol
Gaming is a blast on this device. I have the iControlPad a bluetooth gamepad for mobile devices. Works beautifully, and the popular emulators work just 100% perfect on the tegra3 while having great battery life.
I can even output it to a TV and play all those great classics like FF7, Zelda OOT, Tony Hawk 2, Starfox in HD.
Also i think point and click adventures are perfect for a touchscreen device. I hope devs see this as well and release lots of them to the market
My wife and i really love to play stuff toghether cuddled up on the couch, and adventures are the perfect games for that.
Browsing of course is superb and i like it even more than on a regular PC.
And its just something else to watch movies wherever i want. I mean yeah i could hook up a laptop to my TV before, but ah its always a hassle. Then the battery runs out after you're half way through, you need to look for a cable, then the cable is not long enough etcetc. Having the screen just in your hands, is something else.
Oh btw i dont have any issues so far. GPS works as i expected - gets a lock everytime but wont be usable for navigation. Wifi is strong all over my place.
Oh and a little bonus - my electric bill is cheaper because i dont use my PC all that much anymore
And when i'm using the prime it feels like the future has arrived. If you know what i mean
Most of you probably don't recognize my name because I only posted while we were waiting for the release of the Prime.
I generally don't post because almost everything I would post about already has a thread. And we all know how congested this forum is with useless posts.
This time I was prompted to post because I wanted to share a nice experience I had, albeit small compared to what others have posted in this thread.
This morning I spent two hours playing Riptide GP. I usually play this on balanced mode, but today I forgot to change the setting and it was in power saver mode as I played. To my surprise the game functioned great, even in power save mode! I played for a good two hours straight and I took less than 20% of my battery.
Like I said this is a small thing but as I use my Prime more and more I am realizing just how premium this device is. I'm soooo happy with my purchase.
Dock is on its way to me is a couple if weeks! Icing on the cake at that point.
desert_mouse said:
Most of you probably don't recognize my name because I only posted while we were waiting for the release of the Prime.
I generally don't post because almost everything I would post about already has a thread. And we all know how congested this forum is with useless posts.
This time I was prompted to post because I wanted to share a nice experience I had, albeit small compared to what others have posted in this thread.
This morning I spent two hours playing Riptide GP. I usually play this on balanced mode, but today I forgot to change the setting and it was in power saver mode as I played. To my surprise the game functioned great, even in power save mode! I played for a good two hours straight and I took less than 20% of my battery.
Like I said this is a small thing but as I use my Prime more and more I am realizing just how premium this device is. I'm soooo happy with my purchase.
Dock is on its way to me is a couple if weeks! Icing on the cake at that point.
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Click to collapse
I recognize the name but yes, games play great on prime in power savings mode also. I think I remember seeing that the power settings doesn't exactly apply 100% to playing games or watching movies. The processor will scale as needed to push the games. That's why you played game with no issue on power savings mode. Also why you can throw any type of HD movie at prime and it'll play fine even on lowest power setting. I've seen it actually recommended to play movies in that mode for the longest battery life.
No experience is too big or too small. Glad this thread made you come out and post on the experience. We need more positivity or good experiences being let known to others. Lots of people tend to think its just issues surrounding this device. Which is far from the truth. We have this thread and the Positive transformer thread to show the flip side to this madness.
demandarin said:
I recognize the name but yes, games play great on prime in power savings mode also. I think I remember seeing that the power settings doesn't exactly apply 100% to playing games or watching movies. The processor will scale as needed to push the games. That's why you played game with no issue on power savings mode. Also why you can throw any type of HD movie at prime and it'll play fine even on lowest power setting. I've seen it actually recommended to play movies in that mode for the longest battery life.
No experience is too big or too small. Glad this thread made you come out and post on the experience. We need more positivity or good experiences being let known to others. Lots of people tend to think its just issues surrounding this device. Which is far from the truth. We have this thread and the Positive transformer thread to show the flip side to this madness.
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Click to collapse
Oh yeah I remember reading about that as well, regarding the scaling when gaming. More important was the battery life it took while playing. Impressed that it didn't suck away more.
I'm one of the very pleased with this Prime who doesn't post much but reads almost everything here. I'm annoyed that GPS doesn't work and principally I think Asus should be accountable for this. With that being said, at no time have I ever considered returning my Prime. This thing blows away anything out there.
I wish it were bigger..
My primary goal for a tablet is to read technical PDFs and its just a tiny bit
too small for my old eyes. close though and better then my ipad.
But that aside everything works great on this beast. My device never had
any wireless or gps issues. It can see as many gps satellites as my phone
does. Playing games is fabulous on it. I stream my media collection to it with
'emit'.
battery life is great with .14 and .15, no complaints at all with the thing.
Have noticed the occasion game stutter but only in "stupid zombies"
everything else even graphically intense games dont have the issue.
still need a jabber client that supports muc..
Serial BCOK - bought online at office depot mid January update .14
My biggest complaint is that the TFP has WiFi connectivity issues. I go to the university and there are areas where other android tablets and the iPad have signal allowing people to use the internet and mine simply refuses to connect or has random slow connections.
With all the complaints in this forum, you'd think this was a bad device.
I'll tell you, over in the tf101 forum there was no where near as many complaints and the tf101 wasn't the perfect device either.
The prime is an improvement in alot of ways.
The tf101 had backlight bleeds, I went through 3 of them before I settled.
The tf101 was sluggish, no one here can fully respect the power of the tegra 3 processor without experiencing the tegra 2. The boot time was like 4 minutes, it was slow in alot of areas that the prime isn't.
It had to use honeycomb up until 2 weeks ago, that's about a year - prime owners got it asap with a slew of support from asus for the gps/wifi issues.
The tf101 had keyboard dock issues, alot of the docks had to be sent back in.
It was fat and plastic. It was brown. It collected dust under it's camera.
It wasn't perfect.
But what device is? Galaxy tabs are diet vanilla, nothing really special or innovative about them. The follow the ipad status quo. Toshiba tabs are jokes on battery life. Acers are humongous. Ipads use proprietary apple garbage and are extremely limited by their OEM.
When I got my prime I would grip this thing tightly and say to myself "I own a ****ing transformer prime".
I waited for this thing for months through using my tf101, when everyone was hoping Q4 release meant October, but october stretched on to november, and then december when it finally came out.
But this exceptional tablet gets overshadowed by a couple of it's faults, rather than how great it's advantages are.
We own the world's first quad core tablet, it's thin, it's beautiful, it get's ridiculous battery life with it's incredibly well designed keyboard dock. We have usb connectivity, micro sd, full sized sd, hdmi, etc. Some devices don't have any of those, let alone all of them like we do.
Sure something better will come. Maybe you want a more expensive Ipad 3 with a redundant screen resolution, slower cpu, thicker design to compensate for it's thirst of excessive battery life, and lack of expansion. It's not perfect and the devices after it won't be either...
It's time we be happy prime owners. Asus did design a good device, and they don't receive credit where credit is due. I'm proud to own this tablet.
@OP: The Church of Primetology seeks chaplain
!Hail to you, oh holy Prime, father of connection lacking communication specialists!
Forgive me that I don't see your creators wisdom as he provided you also with that microsd slot so this shall be your door to the world.
Just let your green light shine and don't punch the xcsd out again because I will not find it in the sewage where I would be looking for my missing GPS if you hadn't already disappeared somewhere on a shelf of the ASUS repdep. Thank you for having enlighten my life longer than a week. Which is exceptional or was it the rule?
Give me a thank or another tablet will you.
I endorse the OP post. I ran out of thanks. good viewpoint/angle on the situation. preach on my brother thrash all those who committed sins against the prime. they need redemption NOW! lol
lolololololololol
Agree w the OP. I ranted about its short comings when I first got it, but after using it for a few weeks, I love it. It really is a beautiful device and fast. Its my first tab so maybe my expectations were too high at first.
BTW, what do you mean by redundant screen?
This a great device once you get it to work without crash. Everything's stable for me on .15 nd the browsing is super fast thanks to OC 1.6ghz ... its perfect for what I do
Honestly looking at benchmark (I'm at 13162) scores its the best android device out now by far
Sent from my HERO200 using xda premium
I really like it. I'm not an Asus fanboy, in fact I try as hard as possible to not be a fanboy of anything.
That being said, there were and are shortcomings. But over time the bugs will get ironed out, CM9 and other ROM makers will do some wonders.
I don't know, when I use the Prime (especially with the new floaty browser!) I feel more like I'm using a computer, not an appliance. You know, file management is in my hands, I can f*** around with the OS, break it if I want. Whenever I use my friends' or coworkers' iDevices they just feel like appliances with a shallow OS.
But I'm not trying to sell anyone on it. Some people like it, some people don't. I like seams, I like tinkering. I learn more from it. All those folks complaining about their wifi, gps, screen issues; I guarantee you they have learned MUCH more about those aspects of mobile computing because of those faults.
demandarin said:
I endorse the OP post. I ran out of thanks. good viewpoint/angle on the situation. preach on my brother thrash all those who committed sins against the prime. they need redemption NOW! lol
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Click to collapse
lol how do you run out of thanks?
nhshah7 said:
lol how do you run out of thanks?
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Click to collapse
the thanks button underneath a post. you only have 8 per day.
NastroGlide said:
BTW, what do you mean by redundant screen?
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OP probably means retina display shows everything so cristallclear now you can look at it through a microscope...
Give me a thank or another tablet will you.
this is kind of weird and hard to understand how you guys settle with a device that has a lot of design flaws on both hardware and software. Asus transformer prime was my first tablet. And to be honest the one I got had nearly no light bleed, an okay wifi, kind of working GPS and fairly stable device in comparison with the horror stories that we all know through the forum. I made the though call return my transformer prime one day before my return window. The idea I had was wait a little until Asus get the problems fixed and buy a great one. However, I realized that I have to have a tablet as waiting for a fixed transformer. So I went ahead and bought a Samsung galaxy tab from Costco which has a 90 days return window. Here is my impression out of my first 10 days
-way stable. Had to reboot only one time due to firmware upgrade.
-no hiccups as I use or browse. It is dual core but performs way better than the balance mode of transformer
-screen readability is better than transformer
-wifi, GPS and Bluetooth works in a way it is suposed to be
- Form factor way comfortable than prime. No sharp uncomfortable edges. Way better feeling in your hand. I don't believe I would have written this.
-battery last way longer than prime
There are a few benefits that prime has over.
super ips display is better for outdoor use
Tergra 3 may be better for tegra optimized games. But I am not a game person and use my tablet for business.
prizm74 said:
this is kind of weird and hard to understand how you guys settle with a device that has a lot of design flaws on both hardware and software. Asus transformer prime was my first tablet. And to be honest the one I got had nearly no light bleed, an okay wifi, kind of working GPS and fairly stable device in comparison with the horror stories that we all know through the forum. I made the though call return my transformer prime one day before my return window. The idea I had was wait a little until Asus get the problems fixed and buy a great one. However, I realized that I have to have a tablet as waiting for a fixed transformer. So I went ahead and bought a Samsung galaxy tab from Costco which has a 90 days return window. Here is my impression out of my first 10 days
-way stable. Had to reboot only one time due to firmware upgrade.
-no hiccups as I use or browse. It is dual core but performs way better than the balance mode of transformer
-screen readability is better than transformer
-wifi, GPS and Bluetooth works in a way it is suposed to be
- Form factor way comfortable than prime. No sharp uncomfortable edges. Way better feeling in your hand. I don't believe I would have written this.
-battery last way longer than prime
There are a few benefits that prime has over.
super ips display is better for outdoor use
Tergra 3 may be better for tegra optimized games. But I am not a game person and use my tablet for business.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Galaxy tab smoother than the prime, that's cute haha. I can see how those sharp rounded corners would be a pain seeing as how they would break the laws of physics and all, can't be having that.
I'm just meeting with you though, to each his own
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
prizm74 said:
this is kind of weird and hard to understand how you guys settle with a device that has a lot of design flaws on both hardware and software. Asus transformer prime was my first tablet. And to be honest the one I got had nearly no light bleed, an okay wifi, kind of working GPS and fairly stable device in comparison with the horror stories that we all know through the forum. I made the though call return my transformer prime one day before my return window. The idea I had was wait a little until Asus get the problems fixed and buy a great one. However, I realized that I have to have a tablet as waiting for a fixed transformer. So I went ahead and bought a Samsung galaxy tab from Costco which has a 90 days return window. Here is my impression out of my first 10 days
-way stable. Had to reboot only one time due to firmware upgrade.
-no hiccups as I use or browse. It is dual core but performs way better than the balance mode of transformer
-screen readability is better than transformer
-wifi, GPS and Bluetooth works in a way it is suposed to be
- Form factor way comfortable than prime. No sharp uncomfortable edges. Way better feeling in your hand. I don't believe I would have written this.
-battery last way longer than prime
There are a few benefits that prime has over.
super ips display is better for outdoor use
Tergra 3 may be better for tegra optimized games. But I am not a game person and use my tablet for business.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a few things i hate about the galaxy tab 10.1 wifi was the newton rings on the screen...it gets worse and worse over time.
also it did not have a microsd slot nor a micro hdmi.
those were the deal breakers for me
less people complained about Toyotas having brakes that didnt work than have whined like babies about this TOY. and look at that, Toyota's still the #1 car manufacturer. so when people say we ''settled'' for our Primes, they are sorely mistaken. my Prime had to settle for ME as a user, as it is FAR beyond anything i can hope to do. I love my Prime, best gadget I ever bought
agree with the OP
I completely agree with the OP.
This device is really top notch.
Build quality is amazing, quad core is very nice (definitely will be more utilized in the close future, thank you xda ), multitasking is just awesome.
Converting from an ipad, I can safely say BYE APPLE!
Yes the "new ipad" has an amazing screen, I'll take the TFP thank you.
NastroGlide said:
Agree w the OP. I ranted about its short comings when I first got it, but after using it for a few weeks, I love it. It really is a beautiful device and fast. Its my first tab so maybe my expectations were too high at first.
BTW, what do you mean by redundant screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah...........wouldn't want to expect what was advertised !
Design? Who else designs a micro sd card slot that once a card is inserted, it can "Self" eject at any time !
The only thing ground breaking with this tablet is Tegra 3 and an all metal back............but I think we all know why no one else uses an all metal back, by now!
stretchwookie said:
less people complained about Toyotas having brakes that didnt work than have whined like babies about this TOY. and look at that, Toyota's still the #1 car manufacturer. so when people say we ''settled'' for our Primes, they are sorely mistaken. my Prime had to settle for ME as a user, as it is FAR beyond anything i can hope to do. I love my Prime, best gadget I ever bought
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to correct you, but Toyota lost 16% of sales last year and is now no.3 after GM and VW (by a wide margin). Having said that I also have only good things to say about my lovely Prime, but it`s certainly important to note, that I don`t really use the GPS, since that duty is up to my GN. In any case I also respect other opinions, but life is sometimes nicer looking at a glass that is half full compared to viewing it as half empty
Coming from the Acer Iconia A500, I can honestly say that the ATP is WAY better in every way but one. The wifi is slightly poorer than on the Acer. That one was far from perfect either when coming to wifi. And the ranting in the Acer forum is way way less than on this forum.
I am simply AMAZED that some people expect their tablet to have a functionel GPS INDOORS!!! I can´t even get satelite lock indoors with my Garmin car gps.
I fixed the wifi problem quite simply by adding a second wifi router in the house using the house wires. And people complain about not getting a signal when they are other places than home... I just bring my own wifi in the form of a Huawei E586 (Search on Ebay)
On my Acer I had poor wifi, sluggish scrolling and browsing, squicky body, and a front and back part that did not want to stay together down in the left corner, Heavy, FAT, poor battery compared to the ATP, no alternatives regarding dockingstation.....the list just goes on.
And worst of all compared to ATP... Acers EXTREMLY POOR customer service. If you think that ASUS has bad service...try Acer!!!
Updates took forever compared to other tablet makers. I think the tf101 and Xoom got HC 3.2 about 2 months before any Acer tablet did.
I think that Acer A500/501/200 users still have to wait yet another couple of months before they get ICS.
When the A500 came out it had HC 3.0 and people had to wait several months to even get the HC 3.1. If you have ever tried the HC 3.0 you would be reluctant to even so much as try to complain about the ATP.
So if you think that ASUS works slowly to fix things.... THINK AGAIN!!
prizm74 said:
this is kind of weird and hard to understand how you guys settle with a device that has a lot of design flaws on both hardware and software. Asus transformer prime was my first tablet. And to be honest the one I got had nearly no light bleed, an okay wifi, kind of working GPS and fairly stable device in comparison with the horror stories that we all know through the forum. I made the though call return my transformer prime one day before my return window. The idea I had was wait a little until Asus get the problems fixed and buy a great one. However, I realized that I have to have a tablet as waiting for a fixed transformer. So I went ahead and bought a Samsung galaxy tab from Costco which has a 90 days return window. Here is my impression out of my first 10 days
-way stable. Had to reboot only one time due to firmware upgrade.
-no hiccups as I use or browse. It is dual core but performs way better than the balance mode of transformer
-screen readability is better than transformer
-wifi, GPS and Bluetooth works in a way it is suposed to be
- Form factor way comfortable than prime. No sharp uncomfortable edges. Way better feeling in your hand. I don't believe I would have written this.
-battery last way longer than prime
There are a few benefits that prime has over.
super ips display is better for outdoor use
Tergra 3 may be better for tegra optimized games. But I am not a game person and use my tablet for business.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HAHA your funny!!!! I have both sitting right in front of me and I can tell you the galaxy tab doesn't even come close to the performance as our primes. I have to test on both with our applications at work and I cringe every time I pick it up. Even the ipads 1's perform better then that brick.
After having the Prime for slightly over two weeks, I can give you my first impressions, review, and overview of this hyped up tablet. I must say, finding one of these really was hell for me. It took me almost 3 months for a local shop to get stock for reasons unknown. And oh, I'll also be doing a slight comparison between the Prime and the iPad(chill iPad and Android fan boys). Now I must apologize if this is a rather long winded. I'm no professional reviewer. I'm just here to voice out how I feel and to help whoever that is deciding whether or not to buy this tablet. If you disagree with me, it's alright.
First Impressions
Screen
One of the the concerns I had for the tablet was the screen. You might wondering, why I had this concern. After using a Galaxy Note, I was accustomed to the really vibrant and saturated screen known as Super AMOLED. And I had quite a hard time deciding between this or the next Samsung Galaxy tablet(probably a successor to the Galaxy Tab 10.1?). But in the end, I chose this over the latter. I'm glad to say that the screen is actually quite okay. You won't get the crazy saturation and vibrance levels of any Super AMOLED screen, but instead you'll get natural and frankly quite vibrant colours. If you already have or used an iPhone, this screen should be quite similar other than the high pixel density. Talking about pixel density, when I first looked at the screen, I could(almost) see the individual pixels. Uh oh. As I used it, I sort of got used to it. I often wondered why Asus couldn't have used a higher pixel density especially because it's a 10.1 inch screen we're talking about. Visibility under sunlight is rather; disappointing. You can try using Asus's 'Super IPS+ mode' for outdoor viewing but it only makes it slightly more visible. I'm not sure whether Super AMOLED Plus suffers from this too so I can't say much about it. Compared to the Prime, iPad 3's retina display isn't as sharp as I thought it would be. It could be due to the matte screen protector that I applied on it, but the same screen protector on my iPod 4th gen. still looks sharper and more crisp.
Performance
I'll give you a head's up whoever that is not so familiar with the specs of the Prime - it's running on an Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad Core processor chip clocked at 1.4GHz(yes, you read that correctly), a more than sufficient 1GB of RAM and a choice of 32GB or 64GB of storage space expendable up to 128GB with an SD card. Oh, and it comes with a keyboard dock as well. Seeing all those specs, it's definitely an iPad killer, right? No, not really. Until apps and the right software comes, it'll perform like any other dual-core tablet. What a shame. And that's what I felt when I first used it. Ice Cream Sandwich, Google's latest Android operating system performed rather well. I'll be honest and say, that everything wasn't exactly snappy. Even when set to 'Performance mode', the browser crashed every now and then. I downloaded and used Dolphin Browser HD too, same thing happened. I actually came to a point of thinking of selling it for something else since I was so disappointed. I tried searching for solutions and ended up doing a cold boot. That partly solved the performance issues. I guess I'll just have to wait until the next update. Until that update comes or I just feel like flashing a ROM on this, iPad just seems like a faster tablet to me even though it's only the GPU that is quad core.
Battery Life
Advertised of having 18 hours of battery life docked to the keyboard, battery life isn't exactly as impressive as I thought it would be. First off, after using the tablet for internet browsing, Facebook, Instagram checking every now and then for a mere hour and a half, the tablet consumed almost 70% of the tablet's battery. But after using it for a couple of days, it improved significantly. Last night I tested Asphalt 6 for about an hour plus, the battery went down by 18%. As I'm typing this review from my Prime, it has drained about a good 35% in an hour and a half. After reading several forums, I'm pretty sure it's because of the latest update by Asus that caused this, not the tablet itself. iPad has a similar battery consumption rate.
Apps
As we all know, Apple's App Store was the king of all application stores/markets when compared to Google's Play Market(formerly called Android Market) when it started. As of now, the tables have turned. Day by day, I see the number of apps and games for Android tablets increasing steadily. Of course, some might think generally Apple's apps are more robust and premium. And while that is true, I also personally think that Android developers improve over time and learn from mistakes. Comparing the preinstalled applications, I say Android owns the YouTube app hands down. But when comparing browsers, I think Apple's Safari has a slight edge when it comes to the looks and feel of both browsers. Generally, I'd say Google's Apps like GMail, YouTube and Google Play are better on Android.
Overview
I think this is a great tablet despite the flaws I mentioned. It's all just a matter of getting used to. Battery life, the bloat ware and performance issues can be taken care of with future updates or flashing a custom ROM. As for the speakers, investing in a pair of compact speakers or headphones will take care of that. The keyboard dock feature is actually one of the main reasons for getting this tablet. And support for mice and flash drives mean this might be a replacement for your Windows device. Of course, not everything can be done on it but for casual users this is more than sufficient to take care of your browsing, gaming and socializing needs.
And oh, the comparison with the iPad 3. I would say they both have their own flaws. The more apparent question you should ask yourself is not the specs of the tablet, but the operating system they are running on. Is it the open source that Android offers? Or is it the closed, but simpler, but more refined that Apple offers?
Pros
killer hardware
Ice Cream Sandwich
comes with a keyboard dock
good viewing angles
able to hook up a mouse and external flash drives and hard disks! Solves my problems with a tablet
SD card and micro SD card slots
HDMI ports
Cons
battery life
surprisingly sluggish despite hardware
weak speakers
ergonomics were a little weird at first
quad core doesn't really mean a thing until apps support it.
has a fair bit of bloat ware
Here are some pics:
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Yeah, they're all on Instagram more pics coming soon.
Click here for the official product page.
Twice you stated that the Prime comes with a keyboard dock. That's not true. The keyboard dock is a separate purchase. Also you are a little late to the party. There are thousands of reviews and opinions concerning the Prime. I've had mine since December 20th.
Eddie Hicks said:
Twice you stated that the Prime comes with a keyboard dock. That's not true. The keyboard dock is a separate purchase. Also you are a little late to the party. There are thousands of reviews and opinions concerning the Prime. I've had mine since December 20th.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah no offense to the OP but this review is about 4-5 months late
I don't share your preference, but it's precisely that, a personal preference.
On the Apps section, you barely scratched the surface. Sheer quantity of apps not a useful measure. Also, have you seen the Overskreen Browser or Stick It! ? The iPad apps are not necessarily more robust, nor are they necessarily premium. They just cost more (considerably in some cases for the same app on both platforms). What about Amazon's Android app store? They give away a free app every day (some are crap, some are not).
There's a pretty significant difference in cost between the two, relative to what you get. The TP is simply more bang for the buck. Apple likes to sell a Toyota for the price of a Lexus and make you think it's a Ferarri. Any shortcoming is the fault of the reviewer, not the product (you're holding the phone wrong).
Your battery life sounds terrible.... where is your brightness and Super IPS+ on?
And for visibility in the sun, I never had a problem and I've tried to sit in the brightest areas to see how much the IPS affects visibility and it does a pretty good job.
I can't say I aggree with your review really, your issues and critizism just sounds a bit far fetched to me. Your pros kept mentioning features found on the keyboard doc not the tablet. SD card slot, attachable to HDDs, mouse, flashdrives, require USB slots which is on the keyboard.
A review of a tablet, but giving 50% of the pros to just the attachment, Kind of wrong don't you think?
Wow, a lot of negative comments. I thought it was a nice review. If you already own the device and you're not interested in the comments of a new owner...don't read the thread.
bedoig said:
Wow, a lot of negative comments. I thought it was a nice review. If you already own the device and you're not interested in the comments of a new owner...don't read the thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as an owner of one, i was very interested to read a new review. But the review itself just didn't seem very accurate.
yoursexyhero said:
as an owner of one, i was very interested to read a new review. But the review itself just didn't seem very accurate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reviews of a review. Nice.
yoursexyhero said:
as an owner of one, i was very interested to read a new review. But the review itself just didn't seem very accurate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, your post popped up just before mine. I wasn't referring to either of the two comments immediately preceding my own.
bedoig said:
Wow, a lot of negative comments. I thought it was a nice review. If you already own the device and you're not interested in the comments of a new owner...don't read the thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's part of building concensus. His review was fine. Better than most, but he opened himself up for ridicule with his unsupported statements about the apps and the app store. Twice, bloatware was mentioned, yet no detail of what this bloatware is. I don't recall seeing AOL, Compuserve, nag-ware Anti-virus trials, or 90-trial versions of productivity apps installed on my TP when I got it.
Many are interested in the comments of a new user, but few will take a Mulligan when it comes to inaccuracies or other unsubstantiated criticism.
Great review...Looking forward to your next review on the Motorola Xoom!!
Just messing with you man, but yes you are just a little late.
I question your battery life results.
An hour and a half of web browsing, Facebook & Istagram shouldn't use up 70% of your battery, especially if you are using the Prime with it's keyboard dock.
Even if you had the brightness turned all the way up, IPS+ turned on and were running on High Performance mode, I don't think it is possible to use up 70% of the Prime's battery in 90 minutes with the usage you described.
I have played highly demanding games like Dead Space, Dark Meadow and Modern Combat 3 for 2-3 hours in a row on my own Prime and I almost always have slightly less than half of the Prime's (tablet only) battery remaining when I stop playing.
When doing light stuff like web browsing an Instagram for a few hours a day, it is common for me to go two or 3 days between charging.
almightywhacko said:
I question your battery life results.
An hour and a half of web browsing, Facebook & Istagram shouldn't use up 70% of your battery, especially if you are using the Prime with it's keyboard dock.
Even if you had the brightness turned all the way up, IPS+ turned on and were running on High Performance mode, I don't think it is possible to use up 70% of the Prime's battery in 90 minutes with the usage you described.
I have played highly demanding games like Dead Space, Dark Meadow and Modern Combat 3 for 2-3 hours in a row on my own Prime and I almost always have slightly less than half of the Prime's (tablet only) battery remaining when I stop playing.
When doing light stuff like web browsing an Instagram for a few hours a day, it is common for me to go two or 3 days between charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I had my Prime, I tracked battery life pretty closely. I've posted about it elsewhere on this forum, but basically my battery life was about like this (balanced mode, screen brightness about 30%, non-IPS+ mode):
1. Video: Prime was great here, burning about 7%/hour. I think the 5th core was being used exclusively for Netflix, etc.
2. Ebook reading, email, etc: use was about 10%/hour.
3. Browsing: for some reason, browsing was a little more battery-intensive, at about 15%/hour. This included any app that used the browser engine, like RSS readers.
4. Gaming: heavy gaming burned between 20-30%/hour.
So, even with intense gaming, the Prime should last at least 3.5 hours. And, I'd have considered that decent enough, all considering. Toss it in the dock, and you could game for over 5 hours.
wynand32 said:
When I had my Prime, I tracked battery life pretty closely. I've posted about it elsewhere on this forum, but basically my battery life was about like this (balanced mode, screen brightness about 30%, non-IPS+ mode):
1. Video: Prime was great here, burning about 7%/hour. I think the 5th core was being used exclusively for Netflix, etc.
2. Ebook reading, email, etc: use was about 10%/hour.
3. Browsing: for some reason, browsing was a little more battery-intensive, at about 15%/hour. This included any app that used the browser engine, like RSS readers.
4. Gaming: heavy gaming burned between 20-30%/hour.
So, even with intense gaming, the Prime should last at least 3.5 hours. And, I'd have considered that decent enough, all considering. Toss it in the dock, and you could game for over 5 hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
browsing will always be a heavy battery burner on prime. with or without flash on. same goes for my Ipad. web browsing is very RAM intensive. it can burn up alot of ram fast. so therefore its going to burn battery at a faster rate. now ddr3 ram would probably make web browsing burn up less battery since its more energy/power efficient. but even web browsing on my Ipad burns battery faster.
As for the op battery claims, it seems way off to me. never heard of battery burning up that fast with the little bit he said he did.
Battery is something I dont even worry about on the Prime. Asus got the battery department right
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Here's a fast and dirty for anyone looking at a prime :
For the love of GOD, wait until they release the .25 update. Staying stock on .21 is just asking for suffering. The bloat is there, no doubt, mostly from ASUS putting it's own widgets in - a task killer sounds like a nice plan until you find out it's more likely to CAUSE problems than it solves.
Right now there's definitely something up with the way the kernel interfaces with the Teg 3 chipset, the .25 update apparently will cure this, which will in turn result in better stocklike releases and some inlining of new kernels for the AOSP crowd.
If you're okay with toasting the warranty, there's budding dev support, and there's some genuinely good reworks of Stock available, or for those looking for the pure AOSP experience, there's more than enough excellent choices to cover you.
It's a genuinely excellent tablet, but ASUS, no offence, but you need to make with the chop chop on getting this tablet up to full speed. B- for your software, when even single developers with some time, motivation and a working build environ can outdo what you supply.
There, by now everything else that IS worth discussing regards hardware and the android ecosystem has been covered, what I've given is a quick skinny as to the Prime's current position.
Eddie Hicks said:
Twice you stated that the Prime comes with a keyboard dock. That's not true. The keyboard dock is a separate purchase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now you see that all depends on having a narrow world view and continuing the belief that the only country in the world is the USA. There are some global territories where the only option is with a dock. Like the UK for example.
Apologies, and a little more elaboration.
My apologies to everyone for doing this review so late. I'm pretty sure many of you have already gotten it. But there are friends of mine who haven't, and are still deciding. Once again, I'm no pro in this so I'll take any criticism as lessons. I'm just letting people know how I felt of this tablet. Yes, of course, I've listed many pros of the keyboard, because it's one of the main reasons why I got it. I'm pretty sure you already know that it has the killer hardware etc. but that doesn't mean everything. Usability, is. As far as I know, trying to play a movie when I was in the car was rather uneasy. I could see the movie, but it's rather unadvisable if you'd ask me. I am not sure whether my copy is faulty or whatsoever, but I hope not. I just find it kind of ridiculous that even though I purchased a high end tablet, there's still tweaking to do to make it perform as it should. I will follow up a more complete continuation of the review in the near future. To whoever that disagrees with me; you're entitled to your opinions and so am I. I find it ironic whenever some argument happens because of something so small like this. As f now, until another update becomes available or I flash a custom ROM on this, I'm not 100% satisfied with this tablet.
Eddie Hicks said:
Twice you stated that the Prime comes with a keyboard dock. That's not true. The keyboard dock is a separate purchase. Also you are a little late to the party. There are thousands of reviews and opinions concerning the Prime. I've had mine since December 20th.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is. It came with the dock for me. Yeah, already noted. The whole point of this review is not for the already existing owners of this tablet, but for the ones for who are deciding.
almightywhacko said:
I question your battery life results.
An hour and a half of web browsing, Facebook & Istagram shouldn't use up 70% of your battery, especially if you are using the Prime with it's keyboard dock.
Even if you had the brightness turned all the way up, IPS+ turned on and were running on High Performance mode, I don't think it is possible to use up 70% of the Prime's battery in 90 minutes with the usage you described.
I have played highly demanding games like Dead Space, Dark Meadow and Modern Combat 3 for 2-3 hours in a row on my own Prime and I almost always have slightly less than half of the Prime's (tablet only) battery remaining when I stop playing.
When doing light stuff like web browsing an Instagram for a few hours a day, it is common for me to go two or 3 days between charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, I'll get back to you on the battery life. Maybe it just needs time until the battery will learn my usage like some reviews I've read from others. But I do notice that whenever browsing takes place, the draining becomes worse. Gaming now seems fine, and I think it'll last for about 4 hours? I've also read there has been some complaints about the latest update .21 bringing battery drain when using WiFi. Oh, and btw it's 70% drained from the keyboard's battery, not the tablet's.
Nice review!
Hopefully the next update will fix the sluggish performance and improve battery life.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
I currently have an iPad 4 and a Nexus 7. Both of which perform very well and I'm very happy with.
I am looking at this tablet for one reason - Waterproof. I bought a Lifeproof case for my iPad and it turned it into a bulky monster that sucks to use. Mostly because I have a hot tub and like to listen to music and browse the web while in the tub.
I understand that battery life isn't that great, it's not the fastest or best processor, doesn't run the latest Android version and doesn't have the sharpest screen - does this at all become an issue in day to day use?
So, have there been any issues with the waterproofing of this device?
I've done some searching and it's hit and miss on what people think. I find it's a pricey tablet compared to the specs, but like I said, waterproofing is the feature I really life.
Thanks all.
cwepruk said:
I currently have an iPad 4 and a Nexus 7. Both of which perform very well and I'm very happy with.
I am looking at this tablet for one reason - Waterproof. I bought a Lifeproof case for my iPad and it turned it into a bulky monster that sucks to use. Mostly because I have a hot tub and like to listen to music and browse the web while in the tub.
I understand that battery life isn't that great, it's not the fastest or best processor, doesn't run the latest Android version and doesn't have the sharpest screen - does this at all become an issue in day to day use?
So, have there been any issues with the waterproofing of this device?
I've done some searching and it's hit and miss on what people think. I find it's a pricey tablet compared to the specs, but like I said, waterproofing is the feature I really life.
Thanks all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you should not buy it, unless you have lots of money for no good use. The Xperia Tablet Z is a great device. The battery is great. It lasts a whole day for me, including heavy WiFi usages and reading many pdfs. The processor indeed isn't the best, but I rarely have any slowdowns.
The latest Android version isn't much needed on it, and it behaves without a single bug whatsoever. It is coming soon, though... The screen doesn't have the biggest resolution and thus the biggest PPI, but it is really sharp and great. I don't have any problems with it, and the viewing angles are great... It is just a bit too reflexive under direct sunlight, but I use it a lot on low brightness, so that's the reason.
The waterproof is a great feature, and works perfectly, but because of the touchscreen technology (capacitative), it goes crazy with water on it. Dropping water on it makes it think you are touching the screen, and submerging it makes it crazy, as pressure is being applied all the screen.
The speakers are muffy when they have water on it, so unless you hold the device the other way around and does not submerge the other half, you're good. If you are going to use headphones, get some waterproof ones and connect them via Bluetooth, because you can risk both the tablet and the headphones by putting the cables underwater as when the covers are opened they aren't waterproof.
Thanks for the info. it wouldn't be submerged for use, just in my hands in the tub (and it's lighter than an iPad, so that's a bonus). I use my iPad with the case and I know what you mean about going crazy when wet. Every now and then, I just dip it to get some of the puddles off it and that seems to help.
I'd also likely sell the iPad to recover some cost (and the lifeproof case was $130 - ouch).
I've read a ton of reviews and they tend to mirror the issues I mentioned. Did the 4.2 update improve things like wifi reception or any other improvements?
cwepruk said:
Thanks for the info. it wouldn't be submerged for use, just in my hands in the tub (and it's lighter than an iPad, so that's a bonus). I use my iPad with the case and I know what you mean about going crazy when wet. Every now and then, I just dip it to get some of the puddles off it and that seems to help.
I'd also likely sell the iPad to recover some cost (and the lifeproof case was $130 - ouch).
I've read a ton of reviews and they tend to mirror the issues I mentioned. Did the 4.2 update improve things like wifi reception or any other improvements?
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I can't say much about 4.1.2 and any of their issues because I bought the device and it shipped with 4.1.2, but I was in NY for a few days and the hotel's WiFi wasn't good, so couldn't test it. First thing I did when I got home was updating it. But i have no signal problems whatsoever. Mine is a SGP311, if that makes any difference...
I'll just chime in here with the same info that's already been provided by others; battery life in use is decent. I use mine only periodically, but when I use it I rarely pay the battery any attention, and never have had any trouble with WiFi reception. I don't have the biggest house, but I have used it all over the house without any problems. I've also used it outside without any trouble where my mobile phone will not pick up any WiFi signal.
My main gripe with the tablet is that it seems to use quite a bit of battery when I'm not using it. But that is probably caused by something I have installed. Haven't really bothered investigating.
-KJ
I have the same thing on my mind with cwepruk. I'm planning to buy this tab also and have a lot of research with the pros and cons. In fact I have a lot of vids downloaded from youtube about comparisons and reviews. But because of the six months period since its release, I have second thoughts of buying and afraid that maybe in few days/weeks, better tablet is coming. (Sigh) i just don't know....
fjevel said:
I'll just chime in here with the same info that's already been provided by others; battery life in use is decent. I use mine only periodically, but when I use it I rarely pay the battery any attention, and never have had any trouble with WiFi reception. I don't have the biggest house, but I have used it all over the house without any problems. I've also used it outside without any trouble where my mobile phone will not pick up any WiFi signal.
My main gripe with the tablet is that it seems to use quite a bit of battery when I'm not using it. But that is probably caused by something I have installed. Haven't really bothered investigating.
-KJ
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I'm in the same spot as you, new note seems a great deal though just a bit expensive considering I want to buy a new phone in Q1, what about Kindle hdx 8.9?
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tel033 said:
I'm in the same spot as you, new note seems a great deal though just a bit expensive considering I want to buy a new phone in Q1, what about Kindle hdx 8.9?
Sent from my XPERIA S using XDA app
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I purchased the kindle fire hdx a couple days ago. It has great hardware, feels a bit flimsy, but overall a nice build. The blinding problem is the software. I didnt realize how much I missed not having the Google play store. Sideloading apps works, but its a pain considering how much easier the Google play store is.
Even after I rooted the kindle, it still was not a lot of fun to use.
Anyways, I returned the Kindle and got the Sony Z instead. I'm very happy with the choice. The Sony has a nicer feel and build, the screen is comparable, and the software is superb.
The Kindle is grest if you use Amazons services, otherwise I would go with the Sony.
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tel033 said:
I'm in the same spot as you, new note seems a great deal though just a bit expensive considering I want to buy a new phone in Q1, what about Kindle hdx 8.9?
Sent from my XPERIA S using XDA app
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Yes I read about that, without prime it's just not a very good choice, and I think amazon prime is 80 dollars a year right?
My problem with z is that it is already a bit old, and do you feel a difference between s80p and s4 pro?
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tel033 said:
Yes I read about that, without prime it's just not a very good choice, and I think amazon prime is 80 dollars a year right?
My problem with z is that it is already a bit old, and do you feel a difference between s80p and s4 pro?
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nope.no difference between s800 and s4 pro.every game plays without lag and there is no noticeable difference.if you can notice 1 millisecond difference on app opening then congrats for your eyes
pangiotis24 said:
nope.no difference between s800 and s4 pro.every game plays without lag and there is no noticeable difference.if you can notice 1 millisecond difference on app opening then congrats for your eyes
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The difference between both is bigger than that, but the S4 Pro works like a champ. Didn't had any problems with it. Putting my XTZ next to my Xperia S with a S3, the difference is huge...
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So I went ahead and bought it. Like I said, the main reason was because it's waterproof and I can use it in the hot tub (browsing, music, etc.).
It was on sale, so $400 instead of the usual $500. IMO, it's about a $350 tablet hardware wise, but it's the only one that is waterproof. The new Android tablets do have better screens and faster processors and some of them are running 4.3. I'm not a big gamer, so I don't really get into pushing the limits on graphics.
That said - after one day of use, I'm pretty happy. Initial thoughts:
Pros -
- Even though it's not the best screen, it's quite good and better then I expected after most reviews.
- Light and thin
- While not the most current hardware, it's definitely respectable. It doesn't feel super fast, but it also never felt slow. It's comparable with my iPad 4.
- Decent battery life. Heavy use this weekend yesterday including streaming audio, browsing, setting everything up, it lasted from Sat night until this (Mon) morning with about 7 hours of on screen time.
Cons
- It's flimsy. I took the first one back because it creaked and the screen would distort and have phantom touches. The replacement was a bit better, but will still have phantom touches if you hold it by the corner.
- Too many notifications from the tablet itself. I don't want to use stamina mode, stop reminding me.
- For all the hype about the camera, it's pretty mediocre - not a big deal for a tablet though.
- No Wireless charging. Would be great and eliminate the need to use that flap over the micro-usb
I've tried other Android tablets, the first Galaxy Tab and the Asus Transformer Infinity and I didn't like either and both had some bugs, so far, not the case with the Sony.
cwepruk said:
So I went ahead and bought it. Like I said, the main reason was because it's waterproof and I can use it in the hot tub (browsing, music, etc.).
It was on sale, so $400 instead of the usual $500. IMO, it's about a $350 tablet hardware wise, but it's the only one that is waterproof. The new Android tablets do have better screens and faster processors and some of them are running 4.3. I'm not a big gamer, so I don't really get into pushing the limits on graphics.
That said - after one day of use, I'm pretty happy. Initial thoughts:
Pros -
- Even though it's not the best screen, it's quite good and better then I expected after most reviews.
- Light and thin
- While not the most current hardware, it's definitely respectable. It doesn't feel super fast, but it also never felt slow. It's comparable with my iPad 4.
- Decent battery life. Heavy use this weekend yesterday including streaming audio, browsing, setting everything up, it lasted from Sat night until this (Mon) morning with about 7 hours of on screen time.
Cons
- It's flimsy. I took the first one back because it creaked and the screen would distort and have phantom touches. The replacement was a bit better, but will still have phantom touches if you hold it by the corner.
- Too many notifications from the tablet itself. I don't want to use stamina mode, stop reminding me.
- For all the hype about the camera, it's pretty mediocre - not a big deal for a tablet though.
- No Wireless charging. Would be great and eliminate the need to use that flap over the micro-usb
I've tried other Android tablets, the first Galaxy Tab and the Asus Transformer Infinity and I didn't like either and both had some bugs, so far, not the case with the Sony.
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Click to collapse
The filmsy touch is a software related issue. I've solved mine after a software update in a mn after I bought it.
Sent from my SGP321 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I'm on the latest software and it still does it.
how about the front cam? I want to ask because I use skype a lot. What can you say?
Zidan25 said:
how about the front cam? I want to ask because I use skype a lot. What can you say?
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