Asus Transformer Prime review

Asus burst onto the tablet scene with its Eee Pad Transformer in mid-2010 and the device was one of the few Android devices seen as a worthy alternative to Apple's iPad.

The sequel to the critically-acclaimed hybrid tablet has been highly anticipated ever since Asus announced that it would be packing an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, a Super IPS+ 10.1in Gorilla Glass display, 8-megapixel camera and 18-hour battery life.

The Transformer Prime is definitely one of the most beautiful and well-crafted hybrid devices that we have seen. Both the tablet and dock have a machined-aluminium casing that provides protection and gives them a premium feel.

In its standalone form, the Prime looks similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. There are no buttons on the front of the device, with the webcam being the only noticeable feature on the bezel. The back is similar, with only the 8-megapixel rear camera taking up space.

With a thickness of 8.3mm and a weight of 586g, the Transformer Prime is comfortable to grip and lightweight enough to hold with one hand. The total weight of the device is bumped up to just over 1.1kg when docked with the keyboard. This is in-line which most other 11in devices such as the Apple MacBook Air and Asus Zenbook UX21E. However, the thickness and weight of the Prime is all the more impressive when you consider that the screen and keyboard dock house individual batteries.

When slotting the tablet into the dock, it locks into place with a satisfying click and feels very secure, especially when compared to other hybrid devices such as the Acer Iconia Tab W500. The hinge has a reasonable amount of flexibility, although it doesn't quite tilt back as much as we would have liked.

Superb IPS+ display
The 10.1in Super IPS+ display comes with a 1280x800 resolution. This is the same resolution that is found in competing tablets such as the Motorola Xoom 2 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

We found the text and images to be reproduced superbly on the Transformer Prime. Colours pop out of the screen and video playback is one of the outstanding features. Brightness is excellent when turned up to full, and there is an 'Outdoor' mode that cranks this up even further to minimise the impact of sunlight.

Having handled all the high-profile tablets that are available, we found the Prime has the best tablet display on the market at the moment, including the iPad 2.

Quad-core performance
When it comes to specifications, the Prime is the market leader at this time. Asus is the first manufacturer to incorporate Nvidia's much-hyped Tegra 3 quad-core 1.3GHz processor. This is backed up by 1GB of RAM and users are also given 32GB of internal storage, which is above average for similar devices.

With many tablets already packing dual-core chips, we were interested to see exactly what performance gains were provided by the additional cores.

The quad-core name is a bit misleading as the Tegra 3 actually packs five cores. The fifth core is a low-power core designed to handle basic tasks. The full-blown quad cores kick in when more demanding tasks such as gaming and HD video playback are initiated.

There are noticeable differences in performance between the Prime and other dual-core Android tablets. The speed of transitions when swiping between home screens and moving between apps is the most noticeable improvement.

Users can choose between three preset modes - Power Saving, Balanced and Performance. When the device is plugged into the mains, Performance mode is likely to be the most heavily used. Power Saving and Balanced are likely to be utilised to help conserve battery power when on the move.

Although we found that the Prime is by far the fastest Android tablet on the market, it was only slightly faster than the dual-core iPad 2 in terms of performance. In fact, the Android device still has that split-second delay when performing actions such as pinch-to-zoom.

We also found occasional lag when we had multiple programs open such as email clients, web pages and word processing apps. It proved to be useful having the task manager running so we could see which apps were using processing power and close them if not needed.

Ice Cream Sandwich
Units that are shipping at present come preloaded with Android 3.2 Honeycomb, but can be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) via an over-the-air update. This makes the Prime the first tablet to run the latest version of Google's Android operating system.

For those who have used Honeycomb, the interface will be largely familiar. However, those who are making the step up from Android 2.3 Gingerbread will notice a number of changes. The most significant is that the capacitive touch buttons have been removed. Instead ICS now comes with on-screen context-sensitive buttons.

It is possible to resize widgets and track data usage, but features such as Face Lock and Android Beam which debuted on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus are not yet available on tablets. There is also no notification bar on the Prime, with alerts appearing in the bottom left hand corner as they did with the Honeycomb OS. It remains to be seen whether Google will add these features into the tablet edition.

Connectivity and camera
Asus has kitted out the Prime with a number of connections. The tablet chassis has micro HDMI and micro SD card slots along with a standard audio/microphone jack. There is no micro USB connection as Asus uses a proprietory connector to charge the device, much like Apple and Samsung.

The keyboard dock features a USB 2.0 port, SD card slot and another proprietory port so that both batteries can be charged when the screen is docked. We would have liked to see another USB port to allow users to connect multiple peripherals such as an external mouse and memory stick at the same time.

The 8-megapixel camera on the rear is excellent, taking crystal-clear shots and coming with panoramic features found in ICS smartphones.

Keyboard dock is reasonable
As with all pint-sized products, the Prime has flaws. Most of the chiclet keys are well spaced and large enough to hit, considering that there is relatively little travel. However, there are some keys that are just too small. The shift key on the far right in particular is tiny and we found ourselves accidentally hitting the 'Up' arrow key frequently, leading to the cursor jumping around the screen. This was quite frustrating when writing and editing documents.

Windows users will also find that the keyboard layout takes a little getting used to. The Alt and Windows keys have been replaced with Home and Search. The traditional function keys along the top row are also replaced with shortcuts that control a range of functions including Wi-Fi, brightness, volume, lock and multimedia playback.

The trackpad is very small, but is still usable and less fiddly than the one found on Asus Zenbooks. The fact that you can use the touchscreen to interact with applications also helps to compensate. When writing this review using the Polaris Office app, we were able to place the cursor anywhere on screen with a tap instead of having to using the mouse or keyboard.

Internet
The Webkit browser within Ice Cream Sandwich has been beefed up to provide faster browsing, and Google has just released a beta version of its highly-rated Chrome browser for Android. The speed at which web pages load is going to largely depend on the internet connection you are using, but we found the Prime to load up pages swiftly.

The ability to play Flash video on Android-based devices has long been an advantage over Apple iOS devices. The Prime is compatible with Adobe Flash 11, although users will need to carry out a quick manual download from the Android Market.

There have been reports that the Transformer Prime has experienced some GPS and Wi-Fi issues. Asus is on record as saying that the Prime is not a professional GPS handset and has removed this from marketing specifications so users are not disappointed with performance. Asus has also denied that there is any problem with UK units in terms of Wi-Fi performance.

During our testing we found that the GPS worked as well as any other Android-based smartphone/tablet we have used. The Prime was able to detect our location accurately within our office environment and at home. However, interference from high-rise buildings and the metallic casing is likely to affect the quality of the signal so users shouldn't expect it to be accurate all the time.

In terms of Wi-Fi performance, we didn't find any problems, with the device able to connect and hold on to signals.

It is also possible to get wired internet access using an Ethernet adaptor, which is useful when you are in the office. The adaptor will need to be purchased separately.

Mammoth battery life
An area where this device has an advantage above all other competitors is the battery life. The device has two sources of power - one in the display and the other in the keyboard dock.

Asus quotes around eight hours of usage when the display is used on its own. This can be bumped up to a maximum of 18 hours when connecting the device to the dock, although you're going to have to turn down brightness and use the Power Saver mode to get anywhere near this.

During our all-day testing with the keyboard connected to the dock, we found that the Prime lasted over 15 hours. This was with the display brightness turned to the maximum and using the Balanced power mode. We used the device heavily for internet browsing via Wi-Fi, word processing and downloading apps. We also streamed one hour of video via Netflix and watched a two-hour movie before bed.

By switching to Power Saving mode and turning the brightness down even further, the Transformer Prime is more than capable of getting close to the touted 18-hour mark.

Suitability for business
With the majority of businesses still relying heavily on Windows applications, it would be misleading to say that the Prime can fulfill all the needs of an enterprise user. Programs like Microsoft Office are not available and we were unable to make full use of our content management system when loading in this review, and had no choice but to start using a Windows machine.

However, there is plenty on offer for tech-savvy business users who are willing to make compromises. The Prime comes preloaded with Polaris Office, so it is possible to create and edit documents on the move. The app supports traditional keyboard shortcut commands such as ctrl+c and ctrl+v, but we weren't able to get the delete function to work in this app.

Thankfully, you can also access Google Docs through the browser, a program that is increasingly being used by SMBs instead of Microsoft Word. However, we did find there were little niggles, with not all words registering and the spell-checker function not allowing us to correct misspelt words. You also need an internet connection to use Google Docs, which doesn't make it ideal for use when on the move. If you plan on creating content regularly we advise you to invest in a paid-for app such as QuickOffice.

With a price tag of £499, the Prime is very competitively priced considering the specifications on offer and the fact it is bundled with a keyboard dock. We consider it better value than the equivalent 32GB Wi-Fi-only iPad 2, which costs £479. Although the Prime does not offer the same functionality as a Windows ultrabook or MacBook Air, these devices are almost double the price as they start at around the £850 mark.

The Prime excels when it comes to battery life and multimedia capabilities and is hands down the best Android tablet on the market. Although we would consider it primarily as a content consumption unit, the Prime will be a valuable companion on long business trips and for taking notes during meetings or events.

Model: Asus Transformer Prime TF201
Display: 10.1in Super IPS+ WXGA Gorilla Glass (1280x800)
Processor: Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core (1.3GHz)
RAM: 1GB
Storage: 32GB
Operating system: Android Honeycomb 3.0 upgradeable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Wireless connections: 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1
Ports: 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x micro HDMI, 1 x micro SD, 1 x 2-in-1 Audio Jack, 1 x SD card reader, 2 x proprietory charging ports
Camera: 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.2-megapixel front camera
Battery: Up to 18 hours