It might seem a little crazy to release a new version of a product about a month after the initial release, but that is what Asus has done with the Eee Pad Transformer Prime. The display has been updated to 1920 x 1200 the aluminum cover slightly redesigned to accommodate better WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. Additionally, the front facing camera was updated 2.0MP from the previous 1.2MP unit. I’ve got to hand it to Asus for not beatting around the bush on taking those correcting steps. Also, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich – ICS) is on board.
I had the chance for some brief hands-on time at CES 2012 with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF700T. Transformer Prime is very thin and light and the new Android 4.0 OS is very smooth and responsive. The thin and light 10.1 inch tablet feels solid and immerses the user into deep rich colors behind a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass. Link it to a 3DTV via the micro HDMI out and 3D games come alive. The Transformer Prime also has a micro SD card reader and a 2-in-1 headphone out/audio in jack. The rear camera is the same 8.0MP camera on the first release. Initial tests Transformer Prime redo will be available in 32GB and 64GB flavors soon for a premium of $599 and $699 over the $499 and $599 of the current iteration.
There is also an available docking station, keyboard with trackpad that is super useful and effectively turns the Transformer Prime into a netbook (nah…a netbook killer…remember those?), because Prime is much more. Prime will sit in the hinged dock and lock into place and unlocking easily with a small slider release. The keyboard is obviously small and keys are close together, but it beaats the heck out of the on screen keypad. It even comes with a trackpad so you don’t have to touch the screen once Prime is docked. The combination folds together just like a notebook, but is a little weighty, around 2 lbs for the combination. The docking keyboard is an extra $150, but worth it in my opinion.
All-in-all the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is prime to take a bit of the current competition with great looks, smooth interface and blazing quad-core performance.
The Transformer Primes in the wild can be upgraded to ICS and are currently available on B&H and Amazon. Check back for the TF700T. They’ll ship with Android 4.0 ICS pre-installed.
