It’s finally official: our favorite Taiwanese manufacturer, ASUS, has unveiled its high-end tablet, and we’ve also learned the prices and release dates.
The list of knowledge for the not-so-short Eee Pad Transformer Prime isn’t short either: it runs Android 3.2, but after its release, the update will also be available for 4.0. The 10,1-inch touchscreen features an IPS panel for true-to-life colors and 178/178 ° insertion angles, a scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass cover and a resolution of 1280 × 800, so you can watch 720p movies with confidence on. All the more so because there is a real novelty under the hood, NVIDIA's big gun - the Tegra 3 SoC - which has 4 + 1 cores, of which the four high-performance core cores operate at 1,3 GHz, while the fifth core for basic tasks is responsible if it activates it disables its faster siblings, thus saving energy.
In addition to the Tegra 3, 1GB of LPDDR2 memory, 32/64GB of eMMc storage and an 8-megapixel rear camera (with 1080p video recording, autofocus, LED flash) are also important features. Of course, nothing is missing from the list of fashionable and expected accessories in 2011, we get Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, gyroscope, light sensor (this means the system automatically adjusts the brightness of the display), compass, microSD card reader, micro HDMI output, microphone, stereo speakers and a 1,2 MP front camera. We may be missing the USB port alone, but why would we?
The Prime was named Transformer for a reason, because you can buy a "docking station" for it, which actually turns the tablet into a laptop, since the device that can be connected has a keyboard and touchpad, an SD card reader and the mentioned USB 2.0 connector. Thanks to Tegra 3, we have a faster processor than an Intel Core 2 Duo notebook CPU — which was quite successful at the time and even today we can't say much about its speed, but all this is hidden in a hair-thin cloak (the tablet itself is 8,6 millimeters thickness" and a weight of 586 grams), just like the standard MacBook Air, and in addition, ASUS enclosed the components in a beautiful, durable housing. In the machine itself, we can find a 25 Whr battery, which can provide up to 12 hours of operating time, but together with the solution built into the dock, we can increase the time of working without an electrical network to 18 hours.
The Eee Pad Transformer Prime will be available in traditional metallic color (Amethyst Gray) and champagne color (Champagne Gold) in the last month of the year. The 32GB model will cost $ 499, while the 64-gig version will taste $ 599 and the dock will ask for $ 149 in stores. In addition to the many useful programs on Android, ASUS staff leaves us with pre-installed Polaris® Office, which also handles Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files excellently.
