Asus has been quietly manufacturing great tablets while Apple iPad and Nexus tablets have been ruling the market (Even the Nexus 7 has been manufactured by Asus). Asus makes two types of tablets—Vivo Tabs, running MS Windows operating system and Transformer tablets running Android. Some if not all of these Android tablets are good based on tech specs. We will look at these Asus Android tablets in this review. The Windows Vivo Tab, we will set aside for later.
The tablets produced by Asus currently are these: Transformer Pad Infinity, Transformer Pad (TF300), Eee Pad Transformer Prime, Eee Pad Transformer, Eee Pad Slider. Here’s the comparison of tech specs. Click on the image to see the full size.
Based the specs, you can see the Eee Pad range is quietly going out of style. The Transformer Pad and Infinity pad are the current tablets with good specifications. If you check out our article about tablet processors, you can find out the Infinity’s Snapdragon S4 is slightly more powerful than regular ARM Cortex A9 processors. Also, the Wi-Fi edition uses Tegra 3 quad-core processor which is a good choice.
Transformer Pad Infinity
Infinity has a good display among Android tablets. The high resolution HD display gives true colors with the help of Super IPS technology.
Many people expect the tablet to come with the docking station, but it is not the case. When you buy the tablet at its relatively high price of around 499 dollars (as found on Best Buy) or slightly less on Amazon, what you get is the tablet only. The docking station, which is compatible with other Transformer tablets (with minor firmware updates), should be purchased separately for 150 dollars.
Other than that, Transformer Pad Infinity is an amazing choice for tablet buyers today. However, one or two of the aspects that could have been improved are there: firstly, the memory available, 2 GB or more could have been better. Among the slots, we would have loved a USB 3.0 port, albeit tablets with USB 3.0 are yet to come. Only a few low end Ultrabooks have USB 3.0 now besides high-end systems.
I would have loved also a price much competitive than the current one. At least, Asus could give away the tablet with the dock for that price.
If you don’t care about these drawbacks, Transformer Pad Infinity is an amazing purchase.
General Drawbacks
Asus’s major marketing gimmick is its promise of high battery life on all its devices. But you need to understand that the battery life it gives is not any different from any other tablet. Only with the dock, you can achieve a better, more-toward-the-promised battery life. This is because the separately sold keyboard dock has an independent battery that complements the tablet’s internal battery.
Another aspect is the thinness of the tablets. Asus exaggerates about the thinness of the tablet on its website. The tablets themselves are thinner than Apple iPad or Nexus 10. However, if you include the keyboard dock as well, the thickness increases quite badly. The actual thickness is more like twice that of other tablets in the market.
The tablets other than Infinity do not have HD capability. However, the screen resolution is good on all of them. Also, screen protection with Gorilla Glass is available only on Infinity tablet.
Verdict
Based on hardware specs, the only Asus Android tablet that is worthy of purchase in the current market is Transformer Pad Infinity. The price is the only factor that should affect your decision among these tablets. Transformer Pad (T300) is good lower-budget tablet, with not-so-bad features.