Customer Reviews on Amazon.com

1. 194 of 215 people found this review helpful

   By Jason Harrell on Amazon.com 22 December, 2011

   Asus Transformer Prime 32 GB Champagne Gold - Review Updated 01/23/12!!!

   ****Update January 23, 2012: I thought I would post that I have decided to return my Prime TF201. I'm on my second one actually because of a few problems. I still think that this is a great device for those that aren't having the problems. But for me, it just wasn't worth the hassle.
   I have 2 problems. First are the physical defect on both that I received. The first one, as I mentioned below in my initial review, was the scratch on the Gorilla Glass. Had I put the scratch there, I wouldn't have a problem because it isn't scratch proof, rather, it is only scratch resistant. So I went on to tablet #2 and there are no scratches on the screen this time, however, there are dents on the silver border around the screen when looking at it straight on. One at the top and 2 at the bottom. While this may not bother some, I'm paying good money for this and I want it as close to flawless as possible. Also, the port for charging seems to be dented a little as well. It still fit the charger, but it looks like someone pressed really hard on the metal around the port and bent it downward. AGHH
   Problem 2: The second problem, on both devices is that once upgraded to ICS, I have numerous lockups and reboot problems. Too many to consider keeping it. I feel that this isn't really the Prime's fault but more an ICS problem, and may be fixed in a future update, but I can't take it. On the first tablet, it happens while doing any simple task, like scrolling thru a page on the default browser, or playing a simple game, or using the camera. It is just not acceptable for me. It locks up for about what seems to be 20 seconds, then automatically reboots itself. Then it is good for a short while, like 15 minutes, and then it does the same thing. I really hate making this decision but it just has to be done. Also, for those concerned, the GPS update seemed to help mine slightly for locking onto satellites with no WIFI turned on, but was still not very strong. And the Wifi strength, after careful testing and review, was just too weak. Dropping it a star due to both of them having physical defects.
   
   ****Update January 9, 2012: I just received my Ice Cream Sandwich update to 4.0.3 and it went smoothly, plus there was another camera update as well right afterwards. When the tablet boots up now, it gives the option to unlock and go to the main screen if you swipe to the right, or go straight to the camera if you swipe to the left.
   I was hoping for the ability to move apps to the SD card, but no such luck yet. Mine is not rooted. Although my bootup time went from 3 mins 30 secs down to 1 min 31 secs with ICS then even down to 1 min 20 secs the next time I booted up. I like the long hold on the main screen for Live Wallpapers and plain photo wallpapers.
   For those that thought ICS may improve GPS functionality, it did not for mine. I figured as much, but thought I'd test it out. Wifi seems the same as before the update. Though mine seems very good cause I'm always near the router. (But like I said below, I'm NOT using this for GPS functionality. If you are, and you like the Prime for the specs, wait for the new Prime TF700t. Even though in my opinion, it doesn't look as nice and it costs more. Or wait for the smaller 7" tablet, unnamed as of yet, which will also run ICS and have the Tegra 3 processor. ANd it will only be $249.00. Or look around. Lots to choose from.)
   Looks like they also included an updated version of the web browser. I also see a Downloads App in the app section.
   I like the transitions from screen to screen in the app section as well. Although, while scrolling to the Widgets section after the apps, mine just locked up and this was after 5 mins from a fresh boot. Not sure what that was about. I couldn't do anything but the tablet rebooted on its own. I'm sure there will be updates to come to clear any glitches.
   
   ****Update January 3, 2012: for those concerned about the locked bootloader, Asus made an announcement they they will provide an unlock key to allow root access at the risk of the user voiding the warranty. Here is hoping that Asus holds true to their promise, but they usually do. GPS is another issue for those concerned about it. I put my star rating back to 5 because Asus has been very good with updates and listening to the buyers. I just wish there was a way to get a plastic backing to replace the aluminum one for those that need GPS fixed to their wishes. I hope you all are enjoying your Prime as much as I am. And those of you waiting for yours to arrive, I'm sure you will enjoy it, just be aware of the issues before getting it. Or cancel your order and wait for a better option. Don't forget CES 2012 is right around the corner Jan 10-13. Maybe there will be something more suited to your needs.
   
   ****Update January 1, 2012: I added a few photos to the image gallery here on Amazon that I took with the rear camera. Keep in mind that the photo upload here does not allow the full sized image. They seem to be compressed and shrunk down in size so you can't see it in full detail, but you get the idea, i hope.
   Also, i noticed on Google Earth, everything freezes up after using it for a few minutes. Then the tablet reboots itself. This also happened on my original transformer as well. Did anyone else notice this?
   Even with these glitches that I mention, i am very happy with this tablet. Just want to point out things that i notice when i play around with it. I suspect that many things will run smoother when ICS comes along, or with future updates by Asus.
   I know i mentioned it before but i have to stress how easy it is to clean the screen when the fingerprints get bad. People seem to point out how easy it is to get fingerprints on it but nobody seems to say how easy they wipe off.
   Lastly, i have been reading a lot of negative feedback about the gps. I did say in my review how mine is slightly off and that for me this is not an issue since i really won't be using this function. So if you are worried about very accurate gps, you may want to try the prime out at bestbuy or somewhere first. I have a dedicated gps and cell phone that does gps for me. I tested my Prime with the 'gps test' app and I lock onto 6 to 10 satellites within 20 seconds indoors but the strength rarely goes above 25 per satellite, (should be over 40). A lot of reviews on the old original transformer complained about the plastic backing, and Asus switches to aluminum and people complain because it blocks wifi and gps. Watch what you wish for. I'm still a very satisfied customer overall.
   
   ****Update December 30, 2011: Another update to my review. I have noticed when recording a movie in HD, the auto focus is nice to have, but when it changes focus, upon playback you can hear clicking while it changes focus. Nothing major but worth noting.
   Also, when recording in lower light the movie can go out of focus. I had to move the camera down to the floor then backto the subject for it to refocus. Annoying, but tolerable. Anyone else notice this? I still love the tablet tho.
   
   ****Update December 23, 2011: I wanted to add an additional comment. Please inspect your screen carefully. When I got the tablet, I had noticed a small scratch on the Gorilla Glass screen in the upper right side. I contemplated not doing anything about it, but finally decided that I paid good money for this and deserve a defective-free quality product. I used Amazon's Help link and chatted online with someone who helped me resolve this rather quickly. I will do a replacement of my tablet, and since it will be within the return timeframe, it will be at no cost to me. My concern about this was that it is in high demand and I may not get the new one for quite a while. I would rather wait a little longer and get a tablet that has no noticeable defect like this. Some people may not have noticed it because it is a very fine scratch, but it is about 3/4 of an inch long. I tried wiping it with the provided cloth, thinking it was something on the glass, but sure enough, it is a scratch. I am currently dropping my star rating to 4 stars because of the promotion of the Gorilla Glass as being scratch resistant. Here is a quote right from Gorilla Glass' website, "Gorilla Glass features exceptional damage resistance to the scratches, drops, and bumps of everyday use." I am one who takes extra special care of my electronics, and there was nothing that came into contact with the screen except my finger and the provided cloth. Plus I noticed the scratch as soon as I opened it, but got more worried about it as the days went on. I really hate to return it, but I can't see living with this, knowing that the screen may scratch even more later. Maybe someone in the factory did something that caused it to scratch? I have no idea, but I will be returning it for a new Tablet of the same model and color. I thought it would be fair to mention this to other people considering buying it. I really don't see this as an Asus issue as much as a Gorilla Glass (Corning) issue, but I like to be as fair as possible. I will update again once I get my new replacement item. Hopefully there will be no other worse defects.
   
   Also, for those that want to know, I ran the free AnTuTu Benchmark v2.5 and here are my results while using Honeycomb OS.
   RAM: 2109, CPU integer: 3662, CPU float-point: 2794, 2D Graphics: 283, 3D Graphics: 1190, Database IO: 400, SD Card Write: (8.3 MB/s) 83, SD Card Read: (20.2 MB/s) 189, CPU Frequency: 1400 MHz, Total Score: 10710. I did not test battery life, but it lasts a good while without having to recharge with everyday usage.
   
   Now back to my original review:
   
   OK, so I will start by saying that my Amazon order was not canceled, and I received my tablet on Tuesday December 20th. So there was no problem for me as far as my order goes. However, my docking keyboard still has yet to arrive. Amazon says it should arrive around January 6th.
   
   Please note that I had the original Transformer, but I sold it to a friend and bought this one. So I will do my best to compare, but it has only been several hours that I got to play around with the new one so far.
   
   Am I glad I updated to this one, yes. Are there major noticeable differences? Some, but not drastic. Obviously some new Tegra games cannot be played on the original Transformer, so there are the obvious hardware updates to this Prime model.
   
   The new operating system, due later, may make this tablet act completely different. So I will update once that comes out also.
   
   Pros:
   * Tegra 3 chip makes for more powerful gaming with games that are designed for it, as well as overall performance improvements.
   * The enhancements on Honeycomb OS are subtle, but nice. Hopefully ICS will be a HUGE improvement.
   * The screen has that special coating that they talked about, and although it does fingerprint up like crazy as with any touch screen tablet, it is SO much easier to clean off the prints. Wow, it is nice.
   * The rear camera is a huge improvement over the previous model. Perfect? no, but incredibly improved? yes. The auto focus is nice, although sometimes jittery when making a movie. But overall it is great.
   * The rear camera has an LED flash now, which is very nice to have.
   * I like the gold color a lot more than I thought I would. It is very subtle.
   * For only having one speaker this time around, I was impressed by the sound for both music and games and general sound bites.
   * They included a longer charging cable than the original 3 footer. Looks to be about 5 foot this time around. Thanks for that Asus. The extra 2 feet seriously helps.
   * The overall-design looks and feels better than the original.
   * When I opened it, and booted up, I had 2 Asus updates ready for me.
   * Wifi speeds seemed the same as the previous model. I didn't test it, just from using it and judging by memory.
   * The screen looks much improved from the original, even though it is the same resolution, the brightness helps and the colors look better.
   * Movies look amazing on this screen.
   * Adobe Flash sites work on this tablet.
   * Not sure why we need it, but there are 2 microphones this time around.
   * Asus implemented a new file manager which is really nice and easy to navigate.
   * Headphones connected sound amazing, and are in stereo. (I read others questioning if headphones would sound good or not)
   * HDMI port is not the same as the original Transformer. This is Micro HDMI and the original was Mini HDMI. But it looks great on my HD TV.
   
   Cons:
   * The Gorilla Glass, which is supposed to be scratch resistant, came with a scratch on it. See my update above for details.
   * As far as design, the biggest complaint I have is that the power button is hard to press because it doesn't stick out far enough. You have to try to press it to truly understand. Took my a while the first few tries.
   * If you use it, the MicroSD card sticks out more than it did in the original. Probably due to the Prime's curved edges. Not a major flaw, but noticeable if you had the original Prime.
   * As per usual, the more apps you install, the longer the start-up boot time. Not Asus' fault, but this is with any Android Tablet. I have quite a few apps installed (I installed 107 apps myself), and while it still shuts down very quickly, it went from taking 30 seconds to boot, all the way up to 4 minutes and 10 seconds now. That is a LONG boot up. Like I said, before I installed my apps, it was only 30 seconds. Anyone else experience this?
   * There have been a few glitches in some apps that I've used. I will try to take note as to which ones and update on here.
   * Some movies that I had were not able to be played on the default player. I downloaded MoboPlayer and the codecs and no problems now.
   * There is only one speaker. Granted, it is great sound, but still only one speaker? What were they thinking? I guess it was a design limitation? I have no idea here. But it least it is loud and great quality for one speaker.
   
   Let me tell you that this one, compared to the original model, does not feel that different as far as noticing performance improvements. As I stated before, this may (or may not) change when we get the new ICS operating system later. I don't want to sound biased and say that it will be amazing with ICS, but logically it makes sense that it will run smoother and faster overall, with the exception of older apps that aren't designed around the quad core, etc.
   
   So don't expect to see an astonishingly noticeable difference if you played with the original Transformer.
   
   I plan to upload some videos to youtube soon that show the use of the front and rear camera as well as some still photos.
   
   If I notice anything else, positive or negative about the Prime, I will post as soon as I get the chance.
   
   My overall review: This was worth the extra money in my opinion. I like to keep my gadgets up to date, and I loved the specs on this tablet. If you have the extra money, I say go for it, or at least wait until ICS operating system comes out to hear if it really makes a big impact on performance, or to see if it is all hype. It was a major bummer about the scratch on the front, but I am very particular about things like that when you pay over $100 for an item. I hope that everyone gets theirs soon also, just don't forget to inspect your glass. You only get a short time to return the item, so test it out.
2. 24 of 25 people found this review helpful

   By Aaron Henson on Amazon.com 8 January, 2012

   Unfairly Getting a Bad Rap

   Yes, the aluminum back impedes GPS and limits (slightly) the Wifi signal (though most won't notice after the OTA updates). However, people giving it 1 and 2 stars are not really being fair. Now, should we all give Asus 1 and 2 stars...YES... but this tablet is not a 1 or 2 star tablet.
   
   I pre-ordered from Amazon, but it was taking to long to get here, so I canceled and ordered through BB, and got it about 12 days later. It is a very good tablet for the price when you compare it to it's contemporaries (e.g. the Ipads, Xooms, G-Tabs, Xyboards, etc of the tablet world). The other tablets will run you up to several hundred dollars more, and often will not give you a better experience for the extra cash you fork out for them. You can go cheaper and get a Nook (rooted and droided) or Kindle Fire, but again, you will not get the shear horsepower of this tablet. Also, I own the OG Transformer, and it was the best Android tablet for the money until the Transformer Prime hit the street, so the Asus-Android combo has been, and continues to be, a great value.
   
   Does this beat the Ipad 2? In many area's yes, in some, no. Will it be able to go toe-to-toe with the Ipad 3? Probably so, but will more than likely lack the polish and overall ease of operation that people love about Apple products; however you will pay handsomely for it $$!! Will other Android tablets be released in the near future that will best the Prime? Again, probably so, but get ready to pay $100-300 more for Samsung, Acer, and the like. Now, will you find a more powerful Android tablet with greater features and $$value$$ than the Prime? I am fairly confident you will not.
   
   So, if you need to use your tablet for turn-by-turn navigation, will regularly be 60-75 feet away from an wifi AP, and have the money to pay for the polish and ease of Ipad, then you might not want to get the Prime. However, if you want the most powerful processor running Android (with Ice Cream Sandwich and unlocked bootloader in 5 more days), sleekest looking piece of hardware, thinnest 10" tablet, and all at a great value, then get this tablet asap. Don't get all wrapped around the axle over GPS unless you really need to use this thing for turn-by-turn directions.
3. 42 of 47 people found this review helpful

   By P. Trinh on Amazon.com 22 December, 2011

   Better then the first Gen Transformer Tablet but some issue

   It better then the First Transformer Tablet in many way and it should be.
   
   I was one of the Nov. 22 preorder user and Amazon and UPS did a great job in getting this tablet to me on Dec 20th.
   
   - Feel and aesthetic -
   I have the Gold version, but it not as yellow you would think, but then the name said it all, Champagne Gold. It feel much lighter to hold with one hand and it much thinner overall and the edge taper off and wrapping around the glass screen. I'm nitpicking this here, because of the taper design the micro SD card it protruding off a bit and you are reminded when you have it on landscape mode holding the tab with your left hand. The back side have a metal finish with the rings effect, nice looking, but don't have much texture for griping. Glass touch screen like all devices is finger print magnet. But you like that metallic feel this the tablet for you and I don't mind it also.
   
   - Performance -
   Yes the first quad core on a tablet, But I don't see a big different comparing a dual core yet when running multiple different apps and games. Maybe more on the software side and when apps developer optimized the 4 core, also hope ICS can boost the performance even more. I use three browser - Opera, Firefox and the default browser and all is slow to load up. I have some drop Wifi connection a few time. It also freeze up a few time for me. The one speaker don't sound loud or rich and it point away from you. Why can't at less any manufacturer design one aiming at you?. But I pair with my Bluetooth Nokia play 360, so that fine. I use the micro Hdmi port and it display on my Samsung set with a bit of over flow and there no option to resize the screen to fit.Wish Asus add Bluetooth v4.0, but Bluetooth pairing with my Bluetooth mouse with no issue, it pop up a pointer when enable. Auto brightness don't work well for me, it darken the screen way more then you can tolerated when in a dark environment.
   
   - Battery -
   With advance task killer, I have it on and running all day without re-charging until the night with screen brightness half way, Wifi and Bluetooth on and play music, video and surfing the web. I had 15% left, before plugging it back in.
   
   I'm pretty please with my Asus Prime tablet, even with it flaws, but I'm sure Asus will be on top of it and released more patchs. All I need now is root access, more compatible apps for the tablet and ICS upgraded. Newbie tablet owner will be happy with this tablet choice. Hope this review help you in your choice in picking the Asus Prime Tablet.
4. 10 of 10 people found this review helpful

   By Jason N. on Amazon.com 16 January, 2012

   Well worth the LONG wait!

   A little backgorund on my search for a tablet.
   
   I had been thinking about getting a tablet for a couple of years. Initially I simply wanted a way to read my school text books without carrying them around. At first I was going to get a kindle. However, the IPad was starting to come out, so I decided that why not get a "reader" that also can help with researching on the web? I am an anti-apple guy and just could not bring myself to purchase an IPAD, especially since it didn't even come with a camera at the time. So, I decided on upgrading my phone to the Motorola Droid X. I loved the Android software and the screen was big enough to read books.
   
   Fast forward to about 5 months ago. I seriously started researching the various Android tablets, which had flooded the market since I had first begun thinking about a tablet. I am an information hound and love looking stuff up on the fly and my laptop was always in the way at home. Therefore, I was now on the market for an Android tablet. The Xoom and Galaxy were priced too high for me, the Toshiba Thrive was appealing, but the Sony 32 GB was what really caught my eye. Then, after feverishly researching in late November, I started to see Asus pop up. I had never heard of Asus, so I was skeptical. Wasn't sure it was something like those generic brands such as Coby, or Pan Digital. I was determined to buy a quality tablet, one which I would not come back later and wish I had spent the extra money afterall. The Transformer Prime was listed at $500 for 32 gb, with the fastest processor, better cameras, latest Android software, and was not bulky like the Thrive.
   
   I was so excited that I put in an order both on Amazon and Best Buy with Amazon coming through first to my pleasure (I am a loyal Amazonian). First impression:
   
   1) What a beautiful screen! The colors were crisp, clear.... breathtaking! I never imagined such a thin piece of technology could look so good.
   2) Super fast. I am not sure what issues people are referring to with regards to the Wifi. I click on the browser and wham! My homepage pops up and I am able to surf quicker than my pc, or laptop.
   3) Really thin! To be honest, I am not sure if this is really a good thing. I bought my Wife the brand new Acer A200 and the thickness and almost rubber back makes for a better grip. I cannot wait till the case I ordered comes in because I am nervous about dropping it.
   4) A little confusing to navigate through the menus. It might be the Android $.) (which I upgraded immediately), or the Asus built in software. I am used to my Droid X, so it may just be lie when I first used Windows Vista. Hated it at first, but after getting used to it, I can't imagine going back to the prevoius Windows versions.
   
   Pros:
   -The responsivness and clear video makes for great game play, picture viewing, watching videos, etc. I am not sure what most people are expecting from a tablet, but this is the most important to me.
   -The price is extremely pleasing, especially since Samsung is selling their 8.9" unit for $450!
   -The camera placements are perfect and the quality of pictures are better than most cameras I have owned. I will enjoy taking videos of my kids to upload without having to wait for my phone's camera to respond.
   
   Cons:
   -File management. I may just need to spend more time playing with it, but it is a little confusing. Also, the Asus "My Net" software used for connecting to other units either doesn't work properly, or is just lacking in capabilities. I should be able to connect and access the files on my other systems connected to my Wifi at the house. So far, I have not been able to figure out how to do this. I want to be able to transfer music and pictures from one system to another like I do now between my laptop and pc.
   -No print option. I am researching now how to print via my Prime, but all I find are folks who tell me to use a print app, all of which are not as easy to use as I had hoped.
   
   I will follow up later after gaining more experience with my Prime. However, I am extremely pleased that I did not have to purchase an Ipad to get the speed, responsiveness and screen clarity all in a very light and thin (almost too thin) tablet. Don't let any Apple snob tell you otherwise. Android is the way to go and it is about time a quality product came on the market at this price range!
5. 23 of 27 people found this review helpful

   By D. Adams on Amazon.com 27 December, 2011

   The Prime Rocks!

   I've been playing with my new ASUS Transformer Prime Tablet for 4 days now and it's a.w.e.s.o.m.e! The screen resolution is AMAZING - crystal clear and (in my opinion) better than the iPad2! I also like that you can adjust text size for internet browsing - which you cannot do on the iPad2. Email set-up works great. I see that some have experienced wifi issues but my wifi connection with the tablet has been terrific - in all 4 different locations where I have used it! The only thing I could wish would be for the hard start-up to be a little faster, Words With Friends would stop force closing - seems to be a problem with the app - not the tablet(but Scrabble Free and Word Feud work great) and that HBO Go and Hulu Plus would offer an Android App for this tablet - they don't yet...but hopefully, it's not too long before they do. Netflix streams great; however.
6. 21 of 25 people found this review helpful

   By D. Hentze on Amazon.com 6 January, 2012

   Most of my concerns were unfounded

   Update 1/11/12: Well, I promised an update when ICS was released but unfortunately my Prime has the dreaded "Serial Number Unknown" issue, and can't be updated OTA. I had to return it to Best Buy, and there are no more in stock. I still like the Prime, and plan on getting my hands on another one as soon as possible. Be advised though. There seem to be a lot of Primes being shipped with this major issue. :(
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   Original review:
   
   I've had a chance to play with the Asus Transformer Prime for a few days now, and I'm very impressed. I was going to wait until next week when the Android 4 ICS update comes out, but I decided to give a brief review in it's current stage.
   
   First Impressions: Out of the box, the Prime has the look and feel of quality built tablet. The thinness really surprised me since my other tablets are at least twice as thick. Before doing anything, I charged the Prime fully. The first boot took about 90 seconds. My Prime came with firmware .27, which I updated to the latest .33. After updating and getting everything setup, the Prime would boot in under a minute.
   
   Screen: Simply put, it's bright and beautiful. I do not have any noticeable light bleeding.
   
   Wifi: This is where I was most concerned. My concerns seem to be unfounded. My Wifi works fine. My router (an older FiOS Actiontec "G") is located on the 2nd floor. I get a good signal throughout my house, including my basement. Throughput is fine, and my connection never drops.
   
   GPS: First let me say that I could care less about this because I'll never use my Prime not connected to Wifi, but for the purposes of this review, I did test it. The first test was indoors, and as expected the results were not good. I could get an occasional satellite lock, but it would disconnect. I then went outside and I made sure Wifi was disabled. With a clear view of the sky, the Prime got a satellite lock in around 30 seconds. The GPS seems to work fairly well if you're outdoors and have a clear view of the sky. It remained locked, and Google Maps knew exactly where I was. Depending on your plans for the GPS, it is a mixed bag. If you're planning on using it for navigation in your vehicle, you'll probably be disappointed. If you want to use it outdoors with apps such as Google Maps, or Google Sky Map, then it works OK.
   
   Battery: Battery life was good. My first charge lasted about 8 hours. After some tweaking and subsequent charges, I now get around 10 hours.
   
   Cameras: The 8MP rear camera has 1080P video capture and is a great performer. It takes excellent pictures in good light, and is the best I've seen on an Android tablet or phone. I haven't taken much video, but from what I have taken, it looks very good. The front 1.2MP camera is perfect for video conferencing, etc.
   
   Performance: Performance is excellent as expected. The Tegra 3 doesn't disappoint even though most apps aren't optimized for it. All the apps I use open noticeably faster than my Tegra 2 based tablet. The screen is quick and responsive, and I haven't noticed any lag. I use Dolphin HD as my browser, and the stock keyboard. There is the occasional "app crash", but this is almost always related to Android 3 "Honeycomb", not the Prime's hardware. The vast majority of current apps are written for compatibility with phones and Android 2.x, not the "tablet only" Android 3.x. In 2012, Android 4.x "ICS" will solve this problem, as the same operating system will once again be used for both new phones and new tablets.
   
   Overall: I'm completely satisfied. Wifi was my only real concern, and it works just fine for me. The Asus Transformer Prime looks beautiful, and is blazing fast. My only caveat would be if the GPS is very important to you. Since its limitations appear to be hardware related, I wouldn't expect any major improvements to it. I'll update my review when the Android 4.x ICS update comes out next week, and when/if Asus makes any major improvements/fixes.
7. 6 of 6 people found this review helpful

   By Top_Swatta_Shane on Amazon.com 6 March, 2012

   The last batch of Primes seems to be good!

   I bought my prime about mid February from Gamestop after weeks and weeks of ever increasing 'In Stock times.' I watched in anticipation as the availability went from 'Coming in February,' to 'February 7,' to February 14,' to February 21.' Apparently the wait was for good reasons though. I Received my unit with Honeycomb on board, and it was blazing fast out of the box, and then it was immediately updated to ICS and it tasted so much better.
   
   PERFORMANCE
   
   Since day one the Transformer Prime has performed almost flawlessly with very few exceptions. I have had probably about 3 sudden restarts that left me scratching my head, (although I must admit, until reading a few reviews here I had no idea I should be powering down frequently). A few apps have force closed, but I suspect it may have more to do with the actual app than the tablet itself. Other than that, there is not much that seems to slow it down. My son has messed around with a few of the Tegra 3 games in Tegra Zone and they run without a hiccup. I'm still building up my app repertoire so I have yet to find out how well it copes with limited memory.I regularly clear out my running applications tray, but not because the unit is suffering from any related performance issues, but rather because I like things uncluttered. In fact, often times I'm surprised to see just how much crap is running in the background without the unit even flinching. Admittedly though, having had some less than positive experiences on android with the Galaxy S 4gS, I've been waiting for my prime to go haywire, but thankfully it just hasn't come yet.
   
   BATTERY
   
   Battery life is astounding. I wasn't expecting anything less, based on other reviews, but to be able to experience and confirm this is amazing. It still being a new device in my household, it gets used LITERALLY non-stop for hours on end. We're usually running multiple browsers with multiple tabs (i recently download Chrome beta and am testing it against the stock browser to see which is better), gaming, including light duty Bejeweled along with some pretty taxing tegrazone games, but mostly we're streaming Netflix, Crackle and Amazon Videos( wish Hulu would hurry up with development of their application). With all this going on non-stop we still pretty much wind up having to charge up not more than once a day. I can't imagine how awesome it would be with the dock which bumps up the battery life to around 16 hours. As a qualifier though, i should say that the screen brightness fluctuates between about 35-60% depending on who is using it.
   
   APPS
   
   I can't say how well the stock Asus apps perform as I haven't used them very much. I even booted the stock keyboard for GOKeyboard from the GoLauncher folks. It allows split screen typing which vastly improves the usability in landscape mode. I'm typing away right now on it, and I couldn't imagine using the stock keyboard to mash out this review. I haven't used the Asus Cloud application either as I'm a dropbox user. I have however used the email application, the weather widget and the one touch kill widget. All work very well and their guis seem pretty well designed.
   
   WIFI AND GPS
   
   Its fitting for these to receive their own categories since so many have had endless problems with the two. I have had no issues whatsoever with wifi. My unit connects very quickly to either of two wireless networks that I have in my house and holds the connection very well. My speeds are not at all diminished from the metal banking. I speed tested the unit and regularly attain speeds of about 8-9 mbps down (my connection speed from the isp is supposed to be 10mbps down). In comparison, my Galaxy S2 gets exactly the same on average, and with the exception of the metal banding around the edge, its all plastic. Web pages load up pretty fast, although they are noticeably slower on chrome, but again that has more to do with the app than the prime. I haven't used GPS so I cannot comment on it's fidelity. I regularly use the GPS on the aforesaid SGS2 which works perfectly well for me, and I don't see a reason now or in the near future I will have to use a giant 10 inch screen in my car for navigation. But to each his own.
   
   DESIGN
   
   It is sexxy! Plain and simple. It's ultra thin profile make it extremely portable, its sleek metal backing give it a solid feel without affinity much heft/weight to the unit. The gentle curves improve the ergodynamics and make it very comfortable to use for extended periods. I'm not a fan of the buttons though although I understand how they fit into the overall style and design. I find the slightly difficult to find just by touch, and equally tough to press.I'm also not a huge fan of the headphone placement on the side (if you consider the upright position as having the Asus logo in the top left corner in landscape mode). I feel like it is rife for damage by virtue of it sticking out of the right side in almost exactly the place you would naturally put your right hand when holding it in landscape mode. The speaker is in a worse position. It is directly below said natural position, and without a conscious effort to avoid it, you inevitably will obscure it during normal use. I don't personally find the volume adequate and i would have much preferred the use of a pair of stereo speakers instead of one mono. Every once in a while I'll find the thin metal sliver above the charging dock bent and I have to straighten it. I suppose it's because it is as thin as it is that this happens. Maybe Asus should consider totally removing this piece or beefing it up in future iterations. I haven't experienced any creaking from screen movements or any backlight bleed.
   
   OVERALL
   
   I'm pretty happy with my Transformer Prime. In fact I'm in love with it. Steve Jobs was right, it is nothing short of magical (yes I know this is not an iPad). In concrete terms, it is extremely portable, solidly built, incredibly fast, sufficient powerful and is quite simply a joy to use.
   
   Update 10/14/12
   
   After nearly 8 months of use, I am thoroughly satisfied with the tablet still. Asus has provided a steady and timely stream of updates which have greatly increased the usability of the device. I'm now up to Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) and the unit is still quite speedy in everyday tasks. The GPS and WiFi issues are null and void since about two updates ago, although I have noticed that JB is a bit of a resource hog. There have been VERY MINOR lags here and there, but nothing that would make the Transformer Prime unusable. Lets talk about durability though; in the past eight months, I have shattered the screen once (about a month into my owning of the device) and had to have it replaced by Asus, other than that, it is as pristine as the day I bought it. It stays in a leather case all the time so scratches on the back, or anywhere else for that matter, are non-issues. The battery life is still spectacular. My household is a no TV house, everything is streamed which means our XBOX, PCs, Laptops, Tablets, and phones get used QUITE A LOT, and I only have to charge this thing once a day and we're good to go. That niggling issue i mentioned with the charging area has not gone away. The thin metal strip is severely bent and I suspect it will break any day now. Also, the charging port itself has a plastic retainer for the multiple pins on the charging port - a portion of it has since broken off leaving the pins hanging in mid air. I'll probably have to send it in for repairs shortly before the pins break off completely. By the way, the repair process was smooth,I called and received an rma, shipped the device out, they checked the damage and gave an estimate (I broke the screen), I paid, they fixed and shipped the thing back to me. The whole process took a few weeks. Not bad considering that there's no Asus store down the road I can take my device to.
   
   Anyways, Happy Tablet Hunting!
8. 6 of 6 people found this review helpful

   By M. VALENCIA on Amazon.com 23 January, 2012

   Simply the best!

   Finally got my Prime 64GB Amethyst Gray after preordering last Dec. 19 and i must say its worth the wait. A few hiccups thats why i gave it only 4 stars. Hopefully Asus will keep working on improving the tablet. As it is, its amazing! But it still has room to grow which is good as this tablet will not grow old too fast ;-p
   
   Its so beautiful! is my first impression upon unboxing. Super fast and efficient in syncing everything from my Droid2 phone and updating firmware and everything else. In a flash, its ready to be customized to my heart's desire. I thought i would have to wait next day! i barely waited 10 minutes, it was that blazing fast! I got it with 28% battery still on it so it didnt take me 8 hours to get it to full 100%. It got charged fast!
   
   GPS - first try, believe it or not, spot on. Not 10 or 200 meters away but on target. It even got my favorite spots data on it. And wifi bars is just two when i tried GPS just coz i was curious. GPS isnt important to me for my tablet, im fine with using my droid2 for gps needs.
   
   Wifi - this is where the hiccup is. Before i was prompted for firmware update and syncing, i managed to play around with honeycomb for a wee bit and wifi i must say isnt bad. Its fast. a bit laggy in browsing the web but after installing adobe flash. It was fine. But when i updated to ICS...whoa! i had a hard time connecting with our wifi when i went into my bedroom. Our router was on the second floor and there's lots of walls and doors... But i thought of going downstairs to see if i can fix it by shortening the range and rebooting my prime while down there. And the wifi indicator went up to full bars in a blink! Out of a whim i decided to go back upstairs and wifi went down to 3...sometimes 2, but this time around, for some reason, performance wasnt affected. I can download, surf, chat, watch a movie, whatever and no hiccups or disconnection at all. It has stayed connected eversince :-) Obviously this is where ASUS need more improvement. But no matter, the web browsing and downloading is awesome on ICS despite the 2-3 bars of my wifi range indicator. It is fast. And no, i dont have an N router. And at 2 bars, i can watch netflix without buffering or stuttering. It was smooth till the very end.
   
   Love that it has hardly any bloatware... love the Mybooks as you can shift from reading your ebooks to having it read to you by the app by just touching the mic icon. Love that you can make notes on any page you want, bookmark it and you can turn the page just like a real book. Its lovely!
   
   Havent tried the mycloud and the other apps and i am glad i can uninstall any app that has been pre-installed.
   
   Apps - the store need improvement and some apps on my droid that got synced need updating to adjust to tablet size. Half of my apps have adjusted already prior to my purchase. And it does need to be categorized better and give tablet owners an idea which apps are ONLY for phones and which ones can be used by both or just by tablets. I am sure this will be addressed in the near future...am not really nitpicking much on apps coz i am fine with what i've got for now.
   
   I dont know if i misread or misunderstood that they have pre-installed games in the Prime...but i didnt see any. Not even a demo copy. In any case, i was able to download an RPG game for free on the TegraZone. But am still curious about the pre-installed games thats suppose to be in the Prime. Oh well...
   
   Battery life is great! At one point i was notified that i have only 15% battery life left...i decided to ignore and continue playing. It still lasted me an hour and no lags or freezing. Last 3%, i was still playing as normally as i did earlier. I'm impressed i can still do a lot! I was playing word with friends and twittering and downloading something.
   
   I love the feel of the tablet in my hand, just didnt appreciate seeing fingerprint on the screen but then which tablet doesnt suffer from this? Box came with a cloth to help you clean the screen. Love the vividness of the graphics. Love that i can control the brightness of the screen and that i could easily close down apps by swiping them. I've even learned to use my thumb to do it!
   
   I like the sensor that adjusts your screen brightness according to the lighting in your surrounding...great job on this one!
   
   Camera is cool...features that go with it to make capturing photos a lot more fun. It is able to handle low light. Still you must understand this is not at par with a regular camera. Its okay. Not gonna nitpick on the video too...i am just glad its available if and when i do need to use one for some reason.
   
   I appreciate the Polaris Office, its a smart move of ASUS to include that! works well with having a docking station.
   
   No i didnt notice any bleeding on my ASUS and sound was good...was not expecting surround sound but i was surprised at how good it sound. Yes i tried covering the speaker with my hand and it wasnt that bad as others put it. And it is not something that you would tend to cover all the time. I dont so i dont have that much of a problem with the sound. Besides i do use headsets if i want to have good quality sound ;-p
   
   Hope i covered it all...all i know is i am happy with my Prime. But yes, product launch sucks and ASUS should do something to make up for that!
9. 41 of 55 people found this review helpful

   By Doh! on Amazon.com 19 December, 2011

   Great Tablet!

   Pros:
   -Bright Screen with Super IPS.
   -Faster than any tablet that I've used! Response time from scrolling is very quick even with the animations.
   -Tegra games look very nice and works with my controller.
   -Long battery life, not a disappointment.
   -The custom interface graphics are well done. Love the dolphin live wallpaper!
   -Camera, 8mp back and front camera is good enough for face time.
   -Was able to playback 1080p videos pretty smoothly. Never have to convert a movie again!
   -Supernotes - seems handy for school. Hand write, draw, type.
   
   Cons:
   -had wifi connection timeouts while my other prime tablet doesn't.
   -Random clicks (sometimes happen, but locking it again will fix it).
   
   Overall, this tablet is great buy for $499! There's not a lot of bloatware, so I don't need to deal with that. I've played games on it for about 8 hours on balanced mode and the battery still shows 20-25%. I'm still waiting for my keyboard however. I would recommend this tablet to anyone.
10. 4 of 4 people found this review helpful

    By funkyshoes on Amazon.com 25 March, 2012

    First Impressions

    So I ordered this tablet from Amazon but it was going to take maybe 3wks to a month to get here, and frankly I don't have that kind of patience. So while searching on Google, I found it in stock at Staples.com I ordered it on Tues, received it on Thursday. I was very apprehensive because of all the mixed reviews about the wifi and the fragmentation, the tablet just shutting down all together etc etc. Since I've only had the tablet a whole 3 days there's not much I can say on other consumers issues; but what I can say is WOW! My tablet is fast, sleek, powerful, and LOUD!!!!!! For one speaker, the sound on this baby travels! My WiFi works fine throughout the entire house. I took it with me to work today, and the wifi there is shoddy on my phone, my ipod, and my laptop, but my TP performed like a champ! I was downloading Google docs, searching on my company's website, and to show off a little for my friends played with Riptide, Glowball and just downloaded from the market just to see how fast it would do it. Everything just works. Like I said, these are very early impressions, but if these past few days are an indication of what I'm in store for, then I'm VERY HAPPY with my purchase.