Reference : http://www.shahz.net/android/asus-eeepad-t...-on-review.html

Note: Please dont send me PMs unless I ask you to. This thread is my personal initiative to support ASUS devices like I have done on the previous Garmin-ASUS A10 and A50 as well. Please feel free to ask any questions related to the device. Thank you.

Updates:


I don't know what my readers really feel about my writings, but I'm really glad that there is huge number of people who really appreciate my work here. I have been receiving plenty e-mails, buzzes and comments looking forward to read the review on the Transformer. To all you "ASUSthiasts" out there, once again, I'm here to review on of the most legendary products of ASUS - which has already claimed the best selling tablet in US e-tailers including Amazon.com and BestBuy apart from reaping 5-stars award winner by Stuff Magazine in UK - The ASUS eeePad Transformer. Then again, this will be an unbiased review like what I have done for the previous devices already.

The "Transformer"
We are talking about a device that can be transformed from a tablet into a notebook and vice versa by just docking it on a full-featugray QWERTY Keyboard Docking Station (KDC - sold separately). The device itself is monstrous enough without the KDC, and once it is docked, it delivers a totally new experience. During lengthy reading hours or gaming time, you can use it as a tablet and when you have plenty of emails to respond - where typing is a concern, dock it and suddenly the environment becomes much more productive.

The External Hardware
When I had my first look of the Transformer, I was immediately reminded of my Bronze HTC Hero. The finishing of the hardware signifies the quality that ASUS has been delivering in their computers and laptops - stunning. But looks are not just what the Transformer has. The flowery mesh at back does not leave any fingerprints unlike the Motorola Xoom and apart from that, it is scratchproof too. It feels rigid - somewhere in the middle of business-ready and adventurous at the same time. The tablet itself has a power button, volume buttons, HDMI port, external MicroSD slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, and external stereo speakers. At the back is a 5-MPx camera with autofocus and 720p video recording and the front has an IPS LCD screen, a 1.2-MPx front facing camera and ambient light sensor. The Pad weights at 680g and has a dimension of 171 x 276.8 x 12.98mm. I can't make this sound so perfect, so I had to come out with a negative point. While most of the hardware is scratch-proof, the metallic sides are still prone to scratches and dents. In fact, the engineering unit that I received, had slight blemishes on the metallic part which made me wonder why did ASUS left the edges scratchable. All in all, the hardware is excellent and I will not shy to give it a score of (8.8/10)

The Keyboard Docking Station (KDS)
Since the KDS is much more of an "accessory" and has to be purchased separately, I was supposed to put its section at the end of the review. However, the dock just seems so important that without it, I would assume it like buying a convertible car that doesn't retract its roof - pointless, but it will get the things done nevertheless. In fact, the name itself is Transformer for the fact that it can be transformed between a tablet and a laptop. If you are buying just the tablet, you are only buying a form without the trans.

The first row of the keyboard keys are merely shortcuts. I thought for a long time why did these keys had to be here at all. After using the device for a few days, I finally realized that when I was using the Transformer with the KDS, the screen had lesser fingerprints because literally EVERYTHING can be done on the keyboard without touching the screen at all. I'm serious. You might be thinking about the scrolling? Worry not, the touchpad has multi-touch feature which allows you to scroll using both fingers - flawlessly. I tried using the device for 2 hours without touching the screen at all and I succeeded. It also has four-ways arrow keys with PgUp, PgDn, Home and End functions. If there is something that you will miss on this keyboard, it might be the Function keys (F1 - F12). I'm not sure about you guys, but since I use a MacOSX as my work and personal laptop, those keys are rare sight to me. To me, the KDS completed the transformer and since the rivals do not have it, I will not give it any rating. If you are going to buy the Transformer, buy the KDS as well. Seriously!

The Display
This is the part that I'm most excited to talk about. Its gotta be the reason why I ditched the Motorola Xoom (I'll explain the story at the end of the review). When I got my hands on the Garmin-Asus A10, I was not really happy with the screen. The A50 changed things a bit by improving the screen, but I was still not happy enough with it. I was really sceptical about the screen of this device especially since I had seen the screen of the Motorola Xoom earlier on. When I turned on the device, I got the shock of my life. The IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology is what I would call the breakthrough of LCD market and THE technology of touchscreens. It delivers a stunning 178° viewing angle. Note that 180° is practically impossible because you would be lying on the same level as the panel and will not even see the screen. This means, the Transformer's 10.1" screen delivers a MAXIMUM viewing angle possibilities. But that's just the beginning. The display panel is scratch-proof too and I personally tried scratching it with a pen - only to be frustrated (pun intended). The colors are extremely vivid and just stunning - even under the sun. I read a whole The Star's subscription of 223 pages under the sun, by the pool without any problems. The display has a full HD resolution of 1280x800 which was plugged to the cinema's display to wow us during the launch. The 10 fingers multi-touch means you can finally start typing faster on the touchscreen.  The display is just the reason to fall in love with the device and honestly, seeing is believing. I give it a score of (9.5/10).

The Storage
Here is one reason why I reviewed the KDS upfront. It unlocks one very huge feature on the Transformer - the USB gateway. This means, storage is no longer an issue! The device boasts a built-in flash ROM of 16GB and a MicroSD slot which was successfully tested with a 16GB SD card (I believe it can support 32GB too of course). With the USB, you can connect your external hard disk drives and choose the storage of your choice. Still need a reason for not buying an iPad? Lol! Still not enough? Fine! ASUS threw in unlimited online cloud storage for you to store your files and access them from anywhere. Now you have so much space, even your typical laptop doesn't deliver this much.

The Performance
The Transformer comes with a Cortex-A9 nVidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor clocked at 1GHz. I would love to venture more on the processor, but since this is an engineering unit and I have to return it soon, I did not root it. Of course, the rooting part will be following soon when I get my own device this week . The Transformer also carries a 1GB LPDDR2 RAM which is powerful enough to perform all the multi-tasking that you need on this device. This device packs enough juice to deliver non-stop action and fun and it deserves a score of (7.9/10).

The Camera
The Transformer has dual cameras. The rear camera bears a 5-Megapixels hardware while the front camera has 1.2-Megapixels. Sadly, there is no flash for the rear camera. To be honest, the camera is not something to be looked forward to. I have mobile gadgets that take better pictures, but nevertheless, you never know when you have to capture that special moment, so its not bad to have it on the device. Besides, the front-end camera is a lot better than other front-facing cameras that I have seen so far. I know I will be using that more than the one in the rear so its fine for me. Then again, my judgement on the camera is not to be taken seriously because this is an engineering unit. If ASUS drops the source code to github (which the chances are VERY slim since Honeycomb is closed source), its definite that the hackers will soon be fiddling with the code to get the best result from the camera. 720p video recording is yummy to have on a big screen too. Although it looks awkward recording a video using a tablet, but hey, it might just turn into a trend. For now, the camera gets a score of (5.2/10).

The Navigation
I'm really looking forward to get my hands on my own device soon so I can root it and install Brut Maps on it to test the GPS and navigation. I really dislike Google for the fact that they lock the navigation for a huge number of countries. So far, I have tested the GPS with geo-tagging and Maps. It works like a charm. There were minor glitches for example, the weather widget on the homescreen wouldn't update the location but then again, this is an engineering unit and things are definitely expected to be better on the actual devices soon. As much as I want to write about the navigation, I really don't have much to test until I have my own rooted device. We can save this for our conversation in the future most probably. I can't give a valid score for this yet.

User Interface
The Transformer that we Malaysians will receive is pre-loaded with Android Honeycomb 3.0. Yes, it will get the 3.1 update soon and the engineers have started working on it. No date has been published, but if I have something worth sharing, I will definitely do so. If you have played with the mobile Android OS (Cupcake/Donut/Eclair/Froyo/Gingerbread), you will still find Honeycomb in a totally new experience. At first, the interface looks a bit difficult if you are conditioned to the previous OSes, but after sometime, it starts to feel very comfortable indeed. In fact, after using the Transformer for a few days now, I feel like I can perform tasks faster on the Honeycomb than the Gingerbread of my Nexus One. There are icons that need some proper labelling which at the end of the day, you will end up guessing and doing trial and errors - especially on the GMail application. There was one thing that captugray my attention though. The keyboard has a "swype-like" feature by default. If you have used swype before, you will be glad to find this feature included. Although the accuracy is not as perfect as the Swype (95% I would say), it is pretty cool to have - especially since we have the KDS anyway to speed things up. Overall the user interface is neat and structugray, giving it a comfortable score of (8.0/10).

The Extras
The Transformer comes with DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) which enables you to share content of your Transformer across other devices. This makes media management very flexible especially when you are particular about the files that reside on your device. The Transformer also has a "MyCloud" application which has three sub-applications within - MyContent, MyDesktop and @Vibe. MyContent allows you to manage the contents on ASUS' Cloud storage which comes with 1 year of unlimited storage. MyDesktop allows you to control your devices remotely. Think of "TeamViewer" or "VNC" if you must. Its kinda cool to see your Transformer taking control over your home computer - useful when you have a powerful media setup and like to enjoy it from the couch without touching the peripheral devices . Finally, @Vibe includes a radio station and music player for the audio lovers. For this, the Transformer deserves a score of (8.5/10)

The Verdict?
So, I had my hands on the Motorola Xoom before I did on the Transformer. I was pretty impressed with it. I knew I was going to be getting the Transformer too. I was thinking of purchasing the Motorola Xoom for myself and the Transformer for my wife. After getting my hands on the Transformer, I changed my mind. My wife is taking the Xoom and I'm keeping the Transformer. Hey, I do love my wife. She's getting the more expensive deal so its all fair . Why I loved the Transformer? First, scratchproof and tough built hardware. Second, super awesome IPS display. Third, its an ASUS dude! I've been an ASUSthiast long before Android even existed while Motorola Xoom will be the first hardware I ever buy from Motorola. In other words, I personally loved the device so much that I'd rather give the more expensive gadget to my wife although she will not be fully utilizing it.

Nothing is perfect
Like always, this becomes the most important part of my reviews. What are the facts that pull down the fame? First of all, the KDS has a bulky docking part which lifts the gadget a bit from the back. This folding latch is pretty tight too and sometimes Im scagray that I might bend the metal instead. Also, the metal portion of the hardware is not scratchproof. Watch out for that too. On the KDS, the USB ports have nice dust protectors but they didn't provide the protectors for the HDMI port, headphone socket, SD and MicroSD slots. Not to mention the market apps that are not downloadable but we blame Google for that rather than the Transformer hardware. Those are the only "imprefections" that I was able to identify really.

Overall ASUS eeePad Transformer Satisfaction Score = 9.2/10

Shahz

I shared this in another thread, but is good to share it here too as it is really more to the Asus TF.

When I got my TF, I also bought a netbook case. I was in a shop trying to get a screen protector and the guy asked me what is the size, I said is for my Asus 10,1". He said.. can I see? So I open up and showed him. Then he said, this is not a tablet, this is a notebook. Then I undock the tablet and he was like sooooooo surprise and malu abit and said... wah like that also can ah?

Is really funny to see the reaction of people. I was in McD and another German restuarant and quite a number of them looking at the product especially when I remove the tablet and play games. It really do transformed... ha ha ha

So, I guess not many people know about this tablet yet. The Padphone would be another COOL product in the near future.

My story more funny. Last week I went to this shop and asking for screen protector 10' for my transformer. The guy said he want to see first and when I showed him, he said Asus don't produce tablet anymore. This is the old one so no more stock for screen protector. I was like This guy really like katak bawah kotak
Yesterday I'm going back to the shop and saw they also have asus transformer. Maybe he don't remember me and try to promote me to buy transformer. I feel like to smack him 

i oso got the story with my TF

Last week i went to Terminal 1 looking for bag which i can bring anywhere. The salesperson approached me to ask what im looking for..then i told him im looking for some sort of casing/bag that fit my TF. next i take out my TF from bag and he interested to look at it. from there we start talking about the HC tablets and he also have Acer Iconia. So we do some comparison and he impressed with my TF due to screen color. In the end, I got discount for the bag I purchased from him  

So, despite there are some issues with TF, people still have attention to it.Later wanna try go online outside see how people there react

My colleagues ask me to bring TF to the office and show them. I showed them in oldtown during lunch time, of coz showing with they keyboard first and then proceed to undocking the screen, they are like "wow... like that one ar... amazing" and people from other tables also keep looking at us.

Ended up they are going to buy this TF too. I fee like I am the ambassador for this product, can I claim $$$$ from Asus? Hahaha...

I got another problem, big one!. Last night when i type with my kb, then i use my finger to touch the screen, it didnt respond. Then i notice, im actually using my dell notebook while my son was playing game in the room with my TF. Whuaaaa ha ha, a habit i learn so fast until i didnt realize it.

today .. i been surrounded by up to 10 peoples just to see my Eee Pad..

then I have to explain and show them how it name Transformer.

Some of them start planing to get and 1 decided to get right after meeting..
ASUS ~!!!! Where can I get commission ??????  ><.

main screen hold down at empty space, then wil pop out some options like widget, app shortcuts, wallpapers, and more.
select wallpaper then u can see 3 source folder, the Gallery, Live wallpapers, and Wallpapers.
select Live Wallpapers, then select Asus MyWater.

---

Added on June 10, 2011, 9:18 pmTS please add this to first page:

Note: The "Menu" key is the key that looks like 4 horizontal lines, next to the "Alt" key.

At the home screen:
Menu + W = change wallpaper
Menu + M = manage applications
Menu + N = show notifications
Menu + A = add item to homescreen
Menu + S = new search (or you can just start typing)
Menu + P = open settings
Home + B (or Search + B) = open browser
Home + C (or Search + C) = open contacts
Home + L = open calendar
Home + Esc = exit back to homescreen

In the browser:
Menu + N (or Ctrl + T) = new tab
Menu + I (or Ctrl + I) = zoom-in on page
Menu + O (or Ctrl + O) = zoom-out on page
Menu + J = open download manager
Menu + L = open search bar
Menu + R (or Ctrl + R) = refresh current page
Menu + F = find on page
Menu + B = open bookmarks
Menu + H = view browsing history
Menu + D = add bookmarks
Menu + S (or Ctrl + S) = open social network sharing menu
Menu + G = page info
Menu + E = select text
Menu + P = open browser settings
Menu + W (or Ctrl + W) = closes the current open tab
FN + Tab = toggle browser toolbar on/off when it's hidden
Ctrl + Shift = select input method (universal outside of browser also)

In Gmail:
C = compose new message
L = go to Label menu
X = check message in Inbox
V = add Label to current message
M = delete highlighted or checked messages
Alt + Up = go to top of Inbox
Alt + Down = go to bottom of Inbox.

General:
Shift + Backspace = Forward delete (like a full keyboard "Delete" key)
Ctrl + X = Cut
Ctrl + C = Copy
Ctrl + V = Paste

To make your next door neighbour with the iPad2 jealous of your TF - grab the following live wallpapers.
Guaranteed to make you stare at the rubber duckie the whole time! I did!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116105

Cheers

yeap this works, but you have to turn off the "mobiledock battery saving mode" in the settings -> display section for this to work. otherwise it will go into some sort of deep sleep mode to save battery life.

Good idea... I always have my portable charger with me, so no worries there.

Btw, I found interesting way to reduce fingerprint; RainX
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1121184

rainx user comment...
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/viewso...roof-g-tab.html

hey guys, i've written a quick article on how to properly set your HD wallpapers on honeycomb using a nice tool. Check out the article here:

http://androidsupernova.blogspot.com/2011/...operly-set.html

--> u go to asus global, find Transformer page, click download, then select ur OS as "Android"
--> download the WW firmware(remember to double confirm it's WW, not TW nor US),it's a zip file, and it's gonne be around 200+ MB if i remember correctly
--> after finish download, extract it out the zip file, u will see a folder "Asus", with some contents inside
--> copy the whole "Asus" folder to your memory card's root
--> take out the memory card
--> put it back into TF
--> u will see the notification there, it will have a triangle notification saying "System File Detected"
--> tap on it, and it will say "Tap to confirm upgrade" or something similar
--> tap on it, after a few confirmation message, it will start reboot and flashing.
--> have fun  

also, u can downgrade your firmware or reflash your firmware from custom to stock using this method as well

--> u go to asus global, find Transformer page, click download, then select ur OS as "Android"
--> download the WW firmware(remember to double confirm it's WW, not TW nor US),it's a zip file, and it's gonne be around 200+ MB if i remember correctly
--> after finish download, extract it out the zip file, u will see a folder "Asus", with some contents inside
--> copy the whole "Asus" folder to your memory card's root
--> take out the memory card
--> put it back into TF
--> u will see the notification there, it will have a triangle notification saying "System File Detected"
--> tap on it, and it will say "Tap to confirm upgrade" or something similar
--> tap on it, after a few confirmation message, it will start reboot and flashing.
--> have fun  

also, u can downgrade your firmware or reflash your firmware from custom to stock using this method as well

ad-hoc also known as peer to peer networking

the wifi router u use at home are called infrastructure mode. Certain phone's hotspot are capable of infrastructure mode, therefor Transformer will have no problem connecting to those as it is identical to connecting to the wifi router at your home.

However, certain phone/apps that creates hotspot for your phone does not actually support infrastructure mode, the hotspot created are normally ad-hoc mode. Exactly like what littlekev's problem above, he create hotspot via Iphone, transformer don't see it (cuz dun support adhoc) but pc laptops all sees it (cuz window support both adhoc and infrastructure maode natively)

Solution:
For non-rooted users: Too bad, find a proper infrastructure wifi network unless your Phone are able to tether via bluetooth. Your transformer is able to connect to bluetooth tether

For rooted users: read this Ad Hoc Wifi Hack and enjoy , actually this hack is available for most android phones/tabs

open browser>settings (top right)>advanced>user agent string>set to desktop

Get from facebook....Asus Malaysia

Address Menara Keck Seng, 203, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 KL Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia · Get Directions
Phone (Hotline) 03-6279 5077 | (Office) 03-2141 6650/6605
Website http://my.asus.com/
Hours Mon - Fri:  9:00 am - 6

I called this number many times so it should work well.

So go to your FB account, search for Asus Malaysia and click like. So you can get some update and perhaps contact in your FB too,

Yes confirm fixed..I also found a way to fix the keyboard lag on forums..but this fix will take away your flash functionality...u can toggle it though...here it goes:

Type about:debug in the address window then press enter. You will not get any feedback. Then click the action bar icon on the top right of your browser then go to settings. You will notice a new section called debug. Go there and uncheck open gl rendering...problem solved but this will disable flash. Hope Google will come up with a fix for this soon :-)

Here's the list of supported and non-supported countries:  
http://www.google.com/support/androidmarke...?&answer=138294

For those in the country that are currently not supported, here's a work around (this works on my Eee Pad Transformer   )
1) Go to Settings -> Accounts & Sync -> Manage Account and select your Gmail account, then click <remove account>
2) Go to Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications -> All
Select every single Google App (Google Accounts, Google Backup Transport, ...) and click <Clear data> for each of it

This gets rid of all location information  

3) Power off and then power on the device.
4) Click on the Market icon, it will request you to key in your gmail account
5) use the same gmail account but use @googlemail.com instead of @gmail.com
6) the apps that are not allowed to be installed in the device's country will have the file size of 0.00B (that's ok!)
7) click on the <download> button**

There are some apps that are not compatible with the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer/Android 3.x Honeycomb (eg. DME mail client). 
** The apps that are not compatible will not download. The above steps are only for the apps that have the error message "cannot be installed in the device's country".

Repeat the above the next time you encounter that error message! Good luck.
[Thanks to Ms. Siti of Asus Customer Care Centre, Malaysia!]

If (5) above doesn't work... ask your friend in one of the supported countries to forward your new GMail account's verification sms to you  

The Eee Pad Transformer is amazing especially with the Tegra optimized games!!!  
www nvidia com/object/tegra-zone.html

BR//Timothy

I found out the reason behind why we have to "try our luck" with the proxy we found in hidemyass.com. It is because we are not using HTTPS proxy. In order for market to get connected to google market place, it has to establised a secured connection. I tried to filter out and take only the HTTPS proxy server, one time already success and I am now downloading apps from market without problem.

mydragoon, You might want to update the steps in your first page.

1) Download and use anycut to create shortcut to hidden proxy setting
2) Go to http://hidemyass.com/proxy-list/
3) select only the United States
4) Port(s), select "all ports"
5) Protocol, select ONLY HTTPS
6) Anonymity level, planetlab, speed and connection time, leave it by default or select all.
7) select the highest speed proxy and make sure the IP address is in 3 or 2 digits format. For example: DO NOT select 69.132.96.2 <--- not only 1 digit, it might be error or your honeycomb won't accept it. A good one would be 173.212.227.188
8) Remove your account from pad/tablet from account & sync in settings
9) Run android market, re-enter your account
10) I think you can remove the proxy after this as it is no longer required (after the next update or whenever android market cache is cleared)

Guys,

is this call bleeding ? See the pics enclosed is it normal ?

Unfortunately I was one of the many people who have received a TF where the right speaker was significantly louder than the left. The reason for this is unknown by me as I've not disassembled my TF, and there are conflicting answers as to whether or not it is a software or hardware issue. However, with the help of fellow XDA member verkion for the initial fix and pointing me in the right direction, I've tinkered around enough that I feel comfortable sharing with the rest of the community. Let's get started.

Requirements:
-Root
-Left speaker actually working
-Root Explorer or similar file manager (recommended method)
--ADB if you don't use Root Explorer
--Text editing program (Notepad++ is recommended and free) if you decide to use ADB

oh ya, just to remind u all "Please double check the mouse pad button"

just now a TF brother checking his dock and found that button right side not function properly and got strange sound "klat klat" when pressing.

it shd function as "Back/ Return" most of the time.

better open a blank document and test all the key before walk away.

simple. close the lid and see the tablet part is "jutting" out or not. you need to push the tablet a bit harder/further to get it properly snapped/aligned otherwise it will be misaligned

collected my dock today. okay lar evernew service not that bad. opened two sealed keyboard today coz first one doesnt aligned properly although i felt the second one is a lil harder to get it in

Those collecting their keyboard dock from Evernew please becareful they tried t give me a dock that was opened and not wrapped in plastic. I made noise then they give me and annoyed look and said "you want to change can change one......" luckily this is going to be the last time I am dealing with them.