Showing posts with label Asus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asus. Show all posts

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Tablet Review and Specifications

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Tablet - Overview


Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Tablet Review and Specifications. Of the original Asus Transformer, we said it was the “best Android tablet out there”. And this was confirmed when it won the number one spot for best tablet and gadget of the year in our 2011 Awards. The game-changing Asus Eee Pad Transformer combined a great standalone tablet with a keyboard dock that not only let you type properly but also doubled the device’s battery life and gave you such connectivity gems as full-size USB ports and a regular SD card slot, essentially turning the tablet into a mini laptop that had a better screen and lasted longer on the go than any netbook.

But now its reign is about to be ended, by none other than Asus’ own Transformer Prime, AKA the TF201. This sequel to the Transformer is lighter, slimmer, more stylish, metal-clad, comes with an even better screen and, perhaps most significantly, with a quad-core CPU and 12-core GPU combo courtesy of Nvidia’s Tegra 3, making it the most versatile and powerful tablet on the market.
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Tablet Review and Specifications. Even without its keyboard dock, the new Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is a stunning device. In the inevitable iPad 2 comparison, it holds up very well indeed, as you’ll see if you have a read of our Transformer Prime VS iPad 2: Battle of the Tablet Titans article. Just to sum up, the new Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is both thinner and lighter, its metal chassis feels almost as sturdy and it looks just as good as Apple’s effort. It also offers better connectivity, more powerful specifications, superior cameras and, most strikingly, a sharper screen which literally outshines all competitors thanks to its 600nits brightness. Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

As the Asus Transformer Prime is also the first quad-core tablet in the world, it’s potentially more powerful than nearly any rival – barring Windows tabs like the Samsung Series 7 Slate, which costs more than double at £999. We’ll explore the full performance in a bit, but suffice to say that there’s more untapped potential here than most developers will know what to do with – oh, and HD video of all varieties will finally play back smoothly, a feat hitherto unmatched in tablet land.
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Tablet Review and Specifications. With Asus having committed to updating the Transformer Prime’s Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwhich AKA ICS) very soon, the current lack of a 3G model is our only real gripe with the latest Asus Eee Pad Transformer - on paper. Mind you, it’s likely there’ll be a 3G version coming out further down the line, and with the keyboard dock attached it’s easy enough to plug in a dongle or tether your phone, but for now it is still a potential issue. With all that out of the way, let’s find out if the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is as good as it appears to be

Asus Transformer Pad 300 Tablet Reviews and Specifications

Asus Transformer Pad 300 Tablet

Asus Transformer Pad 300 Tablet Reviews and Specifications. We awarded the original Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime a perfect 10/10 score, for while it was not without its issues, it was as close to perfect as a tablet had yet come. In fact, the only negative was its slightly high asking price of £500, which was excellent value for what you were getting but not particularly affordable. As you may imagine then, we were pretty excited when we first heard Asus would be releasing a cheaper convertible tablet with the same great Tegra 3 quad-core internals and same game-changing keyboard dock with extra battery. That tablet is called the Transformer Pad 300, model name TF300, and it lives up to our high expectations in so many ways. However, at the same price as Apple’s new iPad 3, can it overturn Apple's finest?
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For those new to Asus’ ever expanding Transformer family, the original Transformer, Prime and Tab 300 all share a common core concept: a ‘convertible’ Android tablet with (sometimes optional) keyboard dock that essentially turns it into a highly portable laptop, akin to a high-end netbook. Given that the Transformer range are pretty darn good tablets without the dock, the fact that this accessory not only gives you a hardware keyboard but also expands the connectivity and nearly doubles the battery life is the cherry on the already scrumptious cake.

Asus Transformer Pad 300 - Differences to the Transformer Prime

So how does Asus manage to shave £100 off the Prime’s price, and what exactly are the differences? Most noticeably, the Prime’s gorgeous aluminium chassis has been replaced with a plastic one, with both thickness and weight increasing slightly in the process.
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Asus Transformer Pad 300 Tablet Reviews and Specifications. However, the textured plastic is not prone to unsightly fingerprints, provides a far better grip, and negates the Prime’s Wi-Fi and GPS issues. Overall then, this ‘downside’ could actually be considered an advantage. It will be available in a range of colours too, including navy blue, white and red. Initially blue will be your only choice, with red and white to follow.

The second, less ambiguous change is that the Prime’s eye-searingly bright 10.1in Super IPS Plus display has been replaced with a more regular IPS panel of the same size and 1,280 x 800 resolution but a much lower brightness, which puts it on a footing with most other premium Android tablets in this regard.
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Last and least of the 'big' ones, memory capacity is limited to 32GB (at least for the UK) rather than the Prime’s optional 64GB – but unlike on the iPad and several other Android tablets, memory is expandable with not just one but two SD card slots, so this really shouldn’t concern most users. The rear camera has lost its LED flash too, but again we can’t see this being a huge complaint.

Asus Transformer Pad 300 Tablet Reviews and Specifications. The only other supposed downside to the Transformer Pad 300/TF300 is that its Tegra 3 processor has a slightly slower standard clock speed of 1.2GHz compared to the Transformer Prime’s 1.3GHz – but honestly, you won’t notice the difference at all in real-world use.      

Asus VivoTab Smart Tablet Reviews and Specifications

What is Asus VivoTab Smart Tablet Reviews?

Asus VivoTab Smart Tablet Reviews and Specifications. Windows 8 tablets face a raft of problems. Few tablet buyers know the difference between “full Windows 8” and Windows RT, the platform is recognised as a tablet platform much less than Android or iOS and many Windows tablets are expensive.

The Asus VivoTab Smart tries to side-step these issues. It’s a 10.1-inch full Windows 8 tablet that costs just £400, the same price as the cheapest full-size iPad with Retina Display.

Asus VivoTab Smart Tablet Reviews – Design and Specs

Asus VivoTab Smart Tablet Reviews and Specifications. The Asus VivoTab Smart can offer full Windows 8 at a pretty low price because it uses a lower-power Intel Atom CPU and unassuming design. Higher-end Windows 8 tablets use Intel Core-series processors, from the same family as those seen in expensive laptops. They’re in a different league to the Intel Atom chip seen here.
 Asus VivoTab Smart 2
Its bodywork is functional and sensible too - there are few design embellishments. The Asus Vivotab Smart is as slim and light as Android tablets of the same size, at 570g and 9.7mm thick, and its rear is soft-touch finish plastic.

This type of plastic feels great in-hand, but doesn’t leave the same impression of luxury as the anodised aluminium of an iPad. It’s also prone to damage.
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Scratches strip away the black/brown finish to reveal the white plastic underneath, and the styling is limited to the off-black colour of the rear and Asus logo on the back. The Asus VivoTab Smart is not out to become a tablet whose bodywork sticks in your mind for years to come.

As a 10.1-inch 16:9 aspect tablet – making it 26cm long – this tablet is also a little too large to be truly portable. It’s best thought-of as a device to use at home or while sitting down on the bus/train, rather than when standing up on public transport with one arm clutching a rail. For that you’re better off with an iPad mini or Google Nexus 7. There is no super-portable Windows tablet, yet.
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Unassuming design is met by mid-level specs. Its CPU is a 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z2760 dual-core chip, it has 2GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. In an Android tablet those memory figures would sound impressive, but they are less so here.

The Asus VivoTab Smart runs an OS that will often have 8GB of RAM at its disposal, and after Windows 8 and Asus’s own apps have taken their share of the internal storage, you’re left with just a shade over 30GB of the initial 64GB.

Asus VivoTab Smart Tablet Reviews – Connectivity

What helps to mitigate the memory-chomping of Windows 8 is the microSD card slot on the left edge of the Asus VivoTab Smart. It uses a cover that blasts out like a rocket when prodded with a fingernail, though, so be sure to act with care unless you want to lose it.

Next to the memory card slot sits a microHDMI video output. Also on this edge is the microUSB slot, used to charge the battery.Asus VivoTab Smart 12
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This spread of connections sounds just about perfect for a tablet, but it’s less well-equipped than you might assume. As Windows 8 is a “computer” OS rather than a tablet one, its internal storage doesn’t simply show up as a drive when the Asus VivoTab Smart is attached to a computer. You’ll need to move files to a microSD memory card to get them over to the tablet.

A full-size USB socket or SD card slot comes in extremely handy with a Windows 8 tablet, and you get neither here. A USB port is not only handy for storage either – it would also let you plug in a mouse or keyboard. Asus also produces a neat Bluetooth keyboard cover for the tablet that attaches magnetically, but this is an optional extra.

Wireless connectivity fares better. The Asus VivoTab smart has the tablet standards Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as GPS and NFC.


Asus VivoTab Smart Tablet Reviews – Screen

The Asus VivoTab Smart uses a typical tablet-style display. It features an IPS screen, which lets you turn the screen any which way you please without the image distorting or disappearing – as it would on most laptops. Asus VivoTab Smart 13

The screen is 10.1 inches across and has a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. This results in pixel density of 155ppi, well below the resolution of rival tablets like the iPad with Retina Display and Google Nexus 10. As a result, text is slightly pixellated.

This is true of all Windows 8 tablets at this price – only more expensive tabs such as the Surface Pro offer full HD resolution screens at present – but if you’ve used a high pixel density screen, you will notice it.
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Asus VivoTab Smart Tablet Reviews and Specifications. Image quality is decent, with just a slight yellow colour cast to whites and acceptable loss of brightness when angled. Top brightness could be higher, though.

Like so many other aspects of the Asus VivoTab Smart, the screen isn’t high-end, but it pays enough attention to the basics to get by. It is coated with an oleophobic (fingerprint-resistant) coating, uses toughened glass and, thanks to the IPS panel, offers enough viewing angle flexibility for the ways in which a tablet is used. 

Asus MeMO Pad Smart Tablet Reviews and Specifications

Asus MeMO Pad Smart Tablet Reviews - Introduction

Asus MeMO Pad Smart Tablet Reviews and Specifications. During the course of 2012, budget tablets suddenly got a whole lot better. For under £200 you can now get a seriously capable tablet that can do just about everything a £500 tablet can. The Asus MeMO Pad Smart is Asus’s latest attempt at an affordable 10.1-inch tab. It may have less personality than a bag of flour, but it provides a decent spread of features at a reasonable price.

Asus MeMO Pad Smart Tablet Reviews - Design and Features

Asus MeMO Pad Smart Tablet Reviews and Specifications. The Asus MeMO Pad Smart takes a pragmatic approach to design. Fancy finishes that will impress your fingers cost cash, and therefore this tablet uses simple, no-frills plastic.
Asus MeMO Pad Smart 10 4

Although the MeMO Pad's bodywork is thankfully free of any creaks or groans that might cause concern over general build quality, the device nonetheless doesn't feel particularly high-end. It’s a self-conscious sacrifice clearly aimed at getting the overal cost of the tablet down, however picking up the MeMO Pad after palming an iPad, the Asus doesn't feel like it's in the same league as Apple's device.

However, the MeMO Pad is neither heavy nor fat. In fact, at 580g and 9.9mm thick, its dimensions are similar to more expensive tablets. Aside from a lack of flair, there’s nothing wrong with the bodywork.

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Asus is renowned for making products that techies love, and the connectivity of the Asus MeMO Pad Smart is no different. It employs a microUSB port rather than a proprietary one, and also has a dedicated microHDMI video output as well as a microSD card slot. None are executed with much fuss – there are no flaps and no attempt to hide these sockets – but it’s still a techy box-ticking exercise that many will appreciate. Asus MeMO Pad Smart 10 5

The dedication to providing features often missing from lower-cost tablets continues with the stereo speakers. The two speaker grilles are located on the back of the tablet and produce better sound dispersal than a mono tablet when held in landscape – the usual orientation for movie-watching. The only serious omission is 3G, although this would, of course, push up the overall price of the tablet and no doubt lift it out of the out of the “budget” bracket.

To do that would effectively be game over for the Asus MeMO Pad Smart’s chances of getting a decent audience. NFC is missing too, and while it could be argued that's a future-proofing opportunity missed on the part of Asus, for the majority of users it will be no great loss.

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As a lower-cost tablet, the Asus MeMO Pad Smart 10 predictably comes with 16GB of internal memory – the least usually seen in a 10-inch tablet.

This is a mercenary tablet in many respects. Its design is entirely vanilla, from the chunky bezel, the lack of style tweaks – or style full stop – to the generic-feeling construction. If you care about these kinds of things, you’re looking at the wrong tablet. Practicality and flexibility are key values for the Asus MeMO Pad Smart, not fluffy stuff like how the thing looks or feels. In a way, that's actually quite admirable.

Asus MeMO Pad Smart Tablet Reviews - Screen

While we can just about live with the utilitarian design, the screen specifications are less easy to stomach. That's primarily because, at just 1,280 x 800-pixels, the MeMO Pad's 10-inch IPS screen feels more like a throwback to something you'd find on a 2011 or 2012 tablet.

That said, IPS (In-Plane Switching) is a great panel technology that quickly became the standard screen tech for tablets after it was used in the first iPad. It offers great viewing angles, which are much more important in a tablet than, say, a laptop.

Asus MeMO Pad Smart 10 2

The MeMO Pad's IPS screen delivers these impressive viewing angles too, but otherwise the display is not all that hot. It looks a little washed out, and often severely blown-out at top brightness. Now that we’ve been spoilt by high pixel density tablets like the Google Nexus 10, the relatively low-resolution screen here appears a little rough and pixelated.

The MeMO Pad uses the same resolution as the smaller, 7-inch Google Nexus 7, however 10.1-inches is a little too far to stretch this resolution over these days.

It also lacks an oleophobic coating, something that reduces the appearance of fingerprint smudges – an unavoidable by-product of touch-screen technology. After using the MeMO Pad for only a few minutes, the tablet becomes covered in mushed fingerprints, which are quite visible in strong light. An oleophobic finish is more-or-less taken for granted in more expensive tablets, but take it away and you’ll certainly miss it.
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Asus MeMO Pad Smart Tablet Reviews - Interface, Performance

Asus MeMO Pad Smart Tablet Reviews and Specifications. The Asus MeMO Pad Smart runs on Android's 4.1 Jelly Bean OS with minor Asus adjustments. These are largely based around the presence of additional apps though, rather than dramatic changes to the user interface.

Asus has supplied a few visual tweaks though. The icons in the navigation bar have been redesigned, and as standard the Asus MeMO Pad Smart has a snazzy Asus weather and clock widget on its lead home screen. The only functional change to the way you use the tablet is a navigation bar lock switch right in the middle of the navigation bar. This disables the other navigation bar buttons, so you don’t accidentally press them.

Asus has also inserted its own virtual keyboard. It’s more colourful than the standard one, and has a slightly different layout that packs more keys on to the screen, but is it a winner? Not particularly – it lacks Swype-style gesture input and any dynamic word completion. However, when it’s so easy to switch to another keyboard, and the standard Android one comes pre-installed, it barely matters.

We like Asus’s approach to Android customisation in the MeMO Pad Smart. The light nature of the tweaks, and the use of the speedy Jelly Bean version of Android means the tablet runs at a fair old lick. It uses a quad-core Tegra T33 1.2GHz chip, the same found in the Google Nexus 7. It’s slower than the quad-core Krait processors found in many of 2013’s phones and tablets, but the difference will only be particularly noticeable in high-end games.

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For example, while Real Racing 3 plays just fine on the MeMO Pad Smart 10, the frame rate appeared lower than the same game running on an iPad 4 - despite the iPad's increased screen resolution. That said, while we have complained about the limited screen resolution here, it is precisely this that should keep high-end games running fairly well for a while to come. Rendering more pixels requires more power.