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Tag: Transformer Prime

  • Asus Goes To Infinity And Beyond With Newest Transformer

    Before you start imagining a Transformers film where they’re all toys trying to get back to their owners ala Toy Story, know that the headline refers to Asus’ line of tablets. The newest tablet, called the Transformer Pad Infinity, is the latest tablet in Asus’ line of tablet/laptop hybrids that can snap into a keyboard (sold separately for $149) and become a fully functioning laptop while retaining the form factor of a tablet.

    The Infinity will be launching sometime during the week of July 16. The tablet itself will cost $499 for the 32GB model and $599 for the 64GB model. Nobody said mobile computing was cheap and the Transformer Pad Infinity proves that. The good news is that owners of previous Transformers can save some money as the Infinity is backwards compatible with previous Transformer keyboard docks.

    As for the specs, the new Infinity is the closest Android tablet to catch up to the iPad’s ridiculous retina display resolution with a 10.1 inch display at 1900×1200. It’s still powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor which probably helped keep the price lower than it could have been. It also uses the same ol’ 1GB of RAM, but that should be more than enough for any applications that one could possibly use a tablet for.

    As for Android versions, the Infinity will launch with Ice Cream Sandwich. Asus’ other tablet, the Google Nexus 7, is expected to be the first to have Jelly Bean when it’s announced this week during Google I/O. Considering that Google and Asus are pretty chummy at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave the Infinity Jelly Bean before the others.

    While Asus is launching the Wi-Fi version of the Infinity in July, the manufacturer is also prepping an LTE version of the same tablet. The only difference is that the LTE version will use a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Dual-core processor. It will be out at a later date.

    We’ve known about the Transformer Pad Infinity since CES, but the announcement of Microsoft’s Surface definitely changed the playing field for laptop/tablet hybrids. The Transformer Prime was pretty much in a league of its own so it will be interesting to see how Asus responds to the Surface.

    [h/t: The Verge]

  • GameStop Now Selling Android Tablets

    GameStop Now Selling Android Tablets

    GameStop, regardless of how you feel about them, was one of the last bastions of pure core gaming bliss. They served the core and we rewarded them with our hard earned money. Alas, the core does not have all the money when it comes to gaming anymore. People who would rather spend 30 minutes a day playing Angry Birds instead of eight hours playing Dragon’s Dogma now have a majority of the money. GameStop recognizes that and has begun to market to those gamers as well.

    It was announced on Friday that 1,600 GameStop locations around the country are to begin carrying Android powered tablets. The company previously only sold refurbished iOS devices. The move to selling new Android tablets is significant as some of them are seen as better dedicated gaming devices. It fits in much better with the idea of GameStop as a games retailer.

    The company is selling a variety of Android tablets from the ASUS Transformer Prime to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. To encourage the purchase of tablets from GameStop, they are including free games with the purchase of select tablets. Some of those games include Riptide and Sonic CD. Gamestop purchased tablets also come preloaded with Kongregate Arcade and a free issue of Game Informer digital.

    It’s not made clear if GameStop will also take trade ins of Android tablets. The online store features used tablets, so it’s a safe assumption. You will still want to call in before making a trip just to make sure they are taking in pre-owned tablets.

    To see a full list of the Android tablets being sold by GameStop, check out their storefront. There’s plenty of variety that serves all kind of budgets from those who only want a small tablet that can play the simplest of games to the super expensive Transformer Prime for those who want the very best.

    It’s pretty clear that GameStop has one of the best deals in the market for a new Android tablet. They know how to sell to gamers, even those who prefer their games on a tablet. The addition of free games and other bonuses are probably going to attract a lot of business for the company. It also could blow up in their faces and be seen as a poor investment. I think GameStop has a good chance of breaking into the market when you consider just how popular tablets are.

  • Asus Under Fire For Transformer Prime GPS Issues

    Asus Under Fire For Transformer Prime GPS Issues

    It’s the iPhone 4 reception problem all over again – it’s just turning into a class action lawsuit this time.

    Colin Fraser is leading a class action lawsuit against Asustek for their Transformer Prime tablet. The lawsuit alleges that the metallic case of the tablet makes its GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities useless according to Courthouse News Service.

    Fraser opens with his ordering of the tablet in December of 2011. Before it even arrived to his home, he was made aware of “hardware problems … relating to Transformer Prime’s GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities.”

    The plaintiff states that in a letter from Asus’ customer service department, the company acknowledged the problem and said it was a “result of the spun aluminum back panel which effectively blocks GPS signals.”

    Fraser goes on to say that numerous blogs and forums discussed the issues the tablet was having and even created an online petition for a fix or recall. Asus, according to the plaintiff, said that only a few in the first batch “were victims of this design flaw and they recalled 300 units.”

    The petition didn’t find Asus’ solution to be satisfactory, however, and claims that “end users have found that the Wi-Fi issue is much more widespread, in addition we are finding that GPS and Bluetooth issues are also a likely result of the same design flaw.”

    The petition goes on to say that Asus removed GPS from its spec list, and then announced a new Transformer Prime that eliminated the offending back plate that was causing the problem in the first place.

    At this news, people petitioned Asus to either replace the back plate on their current model or let them trade it in for the new model.

    Fraser claims the company was aware of the problem and apologized for it in a Facebook post:

    The ASUS Transformer Prime is made from a metallic unibody design, so the material may affect the performance of the GPS when receiving signals from satellites. Please note that this product is not a professional GPS device, and signal performance can be easily influenced by factors including, but not limited to: weather, buildings, and surrounding environments. Please understand there are limitations when using the GPS function. To avoid inconveniencing users who demand a powerful GPS device, we made the decision to remove it from our specification sheet and marketing communications. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

    Fraser then goes on to say that he finally received his Transformer Prime on January 16 and “almost immediately … began to experience significantly reduced GPS performance which rendered the device unreliable and not functional.”

    “Upon information and belief, plaintiff’s reception problems relating to the GPS are not unique and individuals across the country have experienced similar problems following their purchase of the Transformer Prime.”

    “[T]hese problems are, without question, the result of the Transformer Prime’s defective design and/or manufacture (‘… no RF window …’) and there is no foreseeable manner to remedy the defect on the existing device,” Fraser says.

    Fraser seeks an injunction and damages for “negligence, defect in design, manufacture and assembly, breaches of warranty, violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act and business and professions codes, and negligent misrepresentation.”

    Have any of you, the readers, experienced problems with the Transformer Prime? Does this issue warrant a class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.

  • Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Now Available for Pre-Order

    You can now pre-order the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime.

    If you’re unfamiliar with the device, it’s the first quad-core Anroid tablet. It has a 8.3mm-thick body, a 1280×800 display, a Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, up to 12 hours of battery life, 1 GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera, and a microSD slot. The entire device only weighs in at 1.29 pounds.

    The updated Transformer Prime will run Android 3.2 when it ships. Owners will be able to upgrade to Android 4.0, a.k.a Ice Cream Sandwich, in the near future.

    The base price for the device wis $499 for the 32GB version and $599 for the 64GB. You can also purchase an attachable keyboard, which will cost you $149. The updated Transformer Prime is expected to ship sometime in December of this year.

    It might be a hard sell, espicially when you consider prices for Apple’s iPad are compraable. Which do you think consumers would be more likely to purchase?

  • Transformer Prime Release Date Moved To December, Awaiting Ice Cream Sandwich

    Transformer Prime Release Date Moved To December, Awaiting Ice Cream Sandwich

    ASUS’ highly-anticipated Eee Pad Transformer Prime has been pushed to early December, according to “sources from an upstream supply chain.”

    DigiTimes reports that the sources confirm that Google has signed on to provide assistance to “help the machine to natively feature Android 4.0.” The tablet was originally set to launch with Android 3.2 Honeycomb earlier, possibly on November 9th.

    So it looks like ASUS is waiting to get the brand new Ice Cream Sandwich OS in its new tablet. The news that they release date has been pushed at least a month will upset some, but it’s probably comforting for some to hear that the tablet will come already loaded with Ice Cream Sandwich – no “waiting for an update” (see Droid RAZR).

    The sources add:

    Since Google has cold-shouldered Taiwan-based PC brand vendors over the assistance of upgrading from Android 3.0 to 4.0, it has prompted these vendors to turn their focus from Android to Microsoft’s Windows 8, the sources noted.

    So reaching out and helping the tablet upgrade from 3.2 to 4.0 might help Google in the long run.

    According to ASUS, the Transformer Prime will be a faster, stronger, slimmer (and sexier) tablet and will be the first to feature NVIDIA’s bext-gen quad-core chip, which they say makes the device blazing fast.

    If this rumor proves accurate, are you bummed about having to wait for the tablet? Or is it worth it to have ICS? Let us know in the comments.