Asus Officially Launches the Transformer Prime - Coming December for $499

dgstorm

Editor in Chief
Staff member
Jan 5, 2011
2,205
130
asus-transformer-primefull-shot.jpg

Asus has officially unveiled their new Transformer Prime! Previously we heard rumors that the device would be delayed until December because it would be coming fresh with Ice Cream Sandwich. Unfortunately, it is true that it will be coming in December, but it will first ship with Honeycomb. However, they did indicate that they were working to get ICS on it as soon as possible. This new tablet has been spoken of in great detail before, but since it is such a flagship product, the specs and features bear repeating:
  • Ultra-thin at .33-inches (8.3mm) and it weights only 586g
  • Two-different color choices in the brushed-metallic design: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold
  • Upgraded the camera = 8MP rear camera with F2.4 aperture and recording of 1080p video
  • 1.3MP front camera
  • 10.1-inch IPS+ display with a 178 degree viewing angle
  • Gorilla Glass
  • 1GB DDR2 RAM
  • HDMI, and micro USB
  • Expected battery life = 12 hours without keyboard dock, or 18 hours with it
The tablet will come in either a 32GB for $499, or a 64GB for $599, and the keyboard dock will be available for $149. This seems like the most powerful and feature-rich Android tablet in the world. Which of you guys plan on getting this one?

Source: TransformerForums via ASUS Announces the Eee Pad Transformer Prime - Full press release
 

redcloud

Member
Aug 24, 2011
122
5
This tablet is at the top of my to buy list. Its fast and feature rich with an awesome view screen. Just trying to decide if I will get the 32gbOr the 64gb unit. The case color is not an issue for me, so I will take what's available. Its the waiting that's the killer for me, just a tease to announce the December release date, but I am ready with my cash....
 

kierandill

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24
5
Call me crazy (might as well, others have) but I would expect any short list of specs to mention the CPU. Way more important than the rear camera.
 

Tom T

Senior Member
Feb 18, 2011
1,632
191
Call me crazy (might as well, others have) but I would expect any short list of specs to mention the CPU. Way more important than the rear camera.

Actually it is assumed that every

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Android Tablet Forum
 

Tom T

Senior Member
Feb 18, 2011
1,632
191
Sorry for the second post but the forum app had a hiccup and would not let me fiish or edit the post. I as saying that it is common knowledge by now that the T2 uses the quad-core Tegra 3. What is news is the hardware that will be taking advantage of this incredibly powerful architecture.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Android Tablet Forum
 

velizet

Member
Nov 1, 2011
7
1
It seems this is the convergence of the tablet and the netbook. One may consider T prime as a touchscreen android netbook with a detachable keyboard.
 

Walkop

Member
Apr 18, 2011
198
20
It seems this is the convergence of the tablet and the netbook. One may consider T prime as a touchscreen android netbook with a detachable keyboard.
Considering the power it has, it could certainly be considered that.
Consider, though, that it's more powerful than most average netbooks. It's got 5 cores (4 main, 1 companion), SSD storage, all metal construction, an 8MP camera, a 8.3mm thin build, and much more, for $500! That's pretty good.

The article here failed to mention a few things, however.

1. The Super IPS+ display used in the Prime isn't just any regular display. It has a super-high brightness mode, which can boost the brightness to ~800 nits! The brightest tablet display I know right now is the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is only a bit brighter than the iPad 2 which to the best of my knowledge only goes up to ~550 nits. That's a pretty massive advantage, especially outdoors.

2. All-metal construction. That's pretty massive. They also imprinted a hydro-oleophobic coating on the tablet's display glass and on the metal frame (the entire device resists both water and oils, which (as far as I know) is quite difficult to do). Not waterproof, but it will help with cleaning, resisting marks, sticky/slippery residues, etc.

3. Another massive thing that was missed in the article is that the Prime has a standalone (without the Keyboard dock) battery life of 12-hours. Let that sink in. 12-hours! The iPad 2 is rated for 10, and it has the best battery in-class. The power savings of Tegra 3 must be pretty massive to warrent such a massive boost over the original Transformer. New component technology is also a factor, obviously, but still - the Transformer gets around 9 hours of battery now, to the best of my knowledge.

With the attachable keyboard dock, the Prime gets an 18 hour battery life. Now that is impressive.
 

RelativeEdge

Member
Feb 8, 2011
1
0
I'm surprised at the lack of serious marketing by Asus on this thing.

They are studiously avoiding any sense of excitement or anticipation for it.

I will probably buy one - If I remember it exists by the time it releases.
 

Tom T

Senior Member
Feb 18, 2011
1,632
191
I'm surprised at the lack of serious marketing by Asus on this thing.

They are studiously avoiding any sense of excitement or anticipation for it.

I will probably buy one - If I remember it exists by the time it releases.

You know, there ar a lot of original Transformers on the market that they really need to sell. Honestly, did you ever really see a commercial for any Asus product anyway? Apple, Samsung and Motorolla are the only TABLET makers that spend any real money on advertiseing (besides RIM and HP, but they could have saved their shareholders the money). Besides, do you really think you will forget about the coolest piece of Android Tech ever to be availble to mortals? (Just joking, of course.....)

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Android Tablet Forum
 
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