I chose this because I don't like the Apple approach, and the fact that everyone goes on about how wonderful their products are. (the rebel in me?) Even though there is no doubt they make excellent products I have always thought they were rather expensive, and I have been waiting for a viable alternative, and in the tablet market the EeePad transformer is it.
I read all the online reviews, including the Gadget Show recommendation, and decided that the tablet with keypad was exactly what I wanted, as it gave me the versatility of using it as a standalone Tablet, and as a more traditional style Notebook.
I am already familier with the Android interface as I have an HTC Desire HD phone, and love it. If you aren't familiar with Android it isn't a problem as you very quickly get used to it. It is pretty intuitive and user friendly.
You can purchase the EeePad with or without the keyboard, but it makes no sense to me to buy it only as a tablet, as I think the very thing which is its greatest USP is the ability to transform itself from tablet to notebook.
On receiving it I was very happy with the quality of build, and the ease of use. You have to fully charge the full unit before you start, and it was easy to put the two pieces together.
Once charged, and switched on it was easy to connect to my wireless network at home, and it immediately checked for updates. These downloaded and installed without any fuss. The keyboard has USB and card reader slot, and this is where it starts to become far more useful than an iPad. You have real connectivity and storage upgrade options that make it a really useful piece of kit.
After messing about on it for a few minutes, setting the background image to one of my own, (transferred by USB memory stick), setting up some of the supplied Apps, and making it feel like my own, I went onto the Android Market.
Finding Apps is easy, and I downloaded some of my favourites (Angry Birds, Unit Converter, Sketchpad etc). They all seem to work fine on the EeePad, though one or two others I have tried since aren't yet optimised for the tablet size yet and didn't work very well. However it is easy to remove them as it is simply a case of drag and drop into a rubbish bin icon, and hey presto it is uninstalled.
It easily linked to my Gmail account and I can get my emails straight to the screen.
The screen and display quality is excellent, and the key board is very good. Battery life is excellent.
On the downside there are a couple of websites that I have visited that haven't looked right, (writing overlaid over graphics etc) and I don't know what causes this. However this has really been very infrequent, and hasn't bothered me at all. I went onto the ASUS website to download their PC suite software, and didn't find it easy to navigate. Eventually found it, but I haven't found iit very user friendly, so ASUS could definitely improve things there. I haven't used the "MyCloud" online storage as I don't need it.
You can also set it up to act as a media Streamer, but again I don't want to do this, so haven't tried.
Watching video on YouTube is great, and I like the fact that Android uses Flash, so I can see websites as they are meant to be seen (apart from the couple above). This is definitely an advantage over iPad, as is the keyboard, and USB connectivity, and expandable and removable storage.
Overall I am very happy with my EeePad Transformer. It is good value for money, good quality, has lots of plus points over other tablets and its versatility as tablet or Noteebook is the winning formula for me.
Buy one - it won't disappoint.
| Brand | ASUS |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 1.29 x 27.1 x 17.1 cm; 1 Kilograms |
| Item model number | TF101-1B028A |
| Manufacturer | Asus |
| Color | Brown |
| Standing screen display size | 10.1 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1280 x 800 pixels |
| Processor Brand | NVIDIA |
| Processor Speed | 1 GHz |
| Processor Count | 1 |
| RAM Size | 1 GB |
| Computer Memory Type | DDR SDRAM |
| Hard Drive Size | 16 GB |
| Hard Drive Interface | Serial ATA |
| Connectivity Type | Wi-Fi |
| Hardware Platform | Unix |
| Operating System | Android 3.0 |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Lithium Battery Energy Content | 24.4 Watt Hours |
| Lithium Battery Packaging | Batteries contained in equipment |
| Item Weight | 1 kg |
