ASUS Eee Pad Transformer coming Tuesday 4/26

BobSutan said:
Can you use Swype on a tablet?
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Yeah swype works on the transformer but is difficult to use imo as the screen is so large and is better suited to phones that have it imo. I fooled with it a bit, but it's much easier just to type with to hands or even one if you're holding the device.

Plus if you have the dock with the transformer which I hope to soon get, then I don't see why you would bother.
 
bigdogchris said:
Uhh, the reviews I read said you needed to use Google Docs for word processing, which means being online.
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Link? Polaris office works with .doc and .docx, however I am disappointed it doesn't work with the ISO standard ods/odt/etc docs.
 
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bigdogchris said:
Uhh, the reviews I read said you needed to use Google Docs for word processing, which means being online.
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I just got done doing a ton of of work last night using polaris and we dont have wifi at work. No idea what you are talking about.
 
So how big and complex can documents be and still work well with Polaris? Would you be able to load a 5000000 row spreadsheet in it?
 
heatlesssun said:
So how big and complex can documents be and still work well with Polaris? Would you be able to load a 5000000 row spreadsheet in it?
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Can't say I've tried anything crazy like that, but if you'd like me to try something, post or PM a link to a test file.

The only "complex" thing I loaded up was a office 2010 .docx with dropdown menus. The document rendered PERFECTLY (tables, formatting, margins, etc), but the drop downs don't work. It was a work related document and I doubt I'd ever use something like that in my personal life so I didn't think it was a big deal.
 
heatlesssun said:
So how big and complex can documents be and still work well with Polaris? Would you be able to load a 5000000 row spreadsheet in it?
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Haven't tried anything on that scale yet, honestly I don't think I've worked with a spread sheet taht big ever.
 
I got my Transformer last night. I'm enjoying it a great deal. So far the only neg are the rediculously short power cable. It just feels so natural to surf around on the web while comfortable on the couch or whatever. Even more natural than my netbook feels.

My next plan is to try various videos on it as I've heard that it has trouble with some videos.

I've been getting more and more pings from that nowinstock.net website so I think the Transformer will be much easier to obtain soon. Thanks so much for those of you who mentioned that site. It really helped snag one.
 
AOM said:
Yeah swype works on the transformer but is difficult to use imo as the screen is so large and is better suited to phones that have it imo. I fooled with it a bit, but it's much easier just to type with to hands or even one if you're holding the device.

Plus if you have the dock with the transformer which I hope to soon get, then I don't see why you would bother.
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Oh. I was hoping it'd pop up a smaller keyboard you could "dock" on one side or the other and just use with your thumb.
 
Ugh. So frustrating that JR hasn't gotten a single bloody shipment in yet even with Transformers trickling into other vendors. Amazon's marketplace is still selling far above MSRP, and I refuse to pay $600+40 shipping for a bloody -B1 variant by itself. From what I've gleaned from NowInStock, there are a few other vendors worth buying from if they keep them at the proper prices..

Sears - Surprisingly, Sears seems to have reasonable shipping costs and a return policy that enables refunds. If I could "catch" one of these, I'd buy from there.
TigerDirect - Proper prices, but I'm not sure I'd spin the wheel of fate trying to get a refund. TD has horrible customer service every time I've dealt with them.
Target - Returns are viable, but subject to 15% restocking fee on "personal electronics". Not sure where tablets fall.
Amazon - Direct from Amazon themselves, the policies are good and within 12-30 days you can get a full refund less shipping.
BestBuy - Quagmire attempting returns at times, and a high restocking fee is almost always incurred.
Newegg - Prices sometimes are above MSRP for the Transformer at times of high demand these days, and there are NO refunds, only replacement. How the mighty have fallen...
WalMart - I have ethical reasons to avoid purchasing from WalMart, but for those who haven't come to such a conclusion, it appears that they have a return policy good on the tablet, provided you get it back in 15 days, for a refund. No info on restocking fees. Also, since any item over $300 is "high value" you must ship it via an insured/traceable method like Priority Mail.

These are the ones that have shown up multiple times on NotInStock that I've had the time to research upon. Hope it helps for those of us still looking to obtain one.
 
Xaeos said:
Ugh. So frustrating that JR hasn't gotten a single bloody shipment in yet even with Transformers trickling into other vendors. Amazon's marketplace is still selling far above MSRP, and I refuse to pay $600+40 shipping for a bloody -B1 variant by itself. From what I've gleaned from NowInStock, there are a few other vendors worth buying from if they keep them at the proper prices..

Sears - Surprisingly, Sears seems to have reasonable shipping costs and a return policy that enables refunds. If I could "catch" one of these, I'd buy from there.
TigerDirect - Proper prices, but I'm not sure I'd spin the wheel of fate trying to get a refund. TD has horrible customer service every time I've dealt with them.
Target - Returns are viable, but subject to 15% restocking fee on "personal electronics". Not sure where tablets fall.
Amazon - Direct from Amazon themselves, the policies are good and within 12-30 days you can get a full refund less shipping.
BestBuy - Quagmire attempting returns at times, and a high restocking fee is almost always incurred.
Newegg - Prices sometimes are above MSRP for the Transformer at times of high demand these days, and there are NO refunds, only replacement. How the mighty have fallen...
WalMart - I have ethical reasons to avoid purchasing from WalMart, but for those who haven't come to such a conclusion, it appears that they have a return policy good on the tablet, provided you get it back in 15 days, for a refund. No info on restocking fees. Also, since any item over $300 is "high value" you must ship it via an insured/traceable method like Priority Mail.

These are the ones that have shown up multiple times on NotInStock that I've had the time to research upon. Hope it helps for those of us still looking to obtain one.
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I think I may have found your problem in bold above. :p All kidding aside, it took me several days to finally snag one, but supply should be better here in the next 3 weeks so you should be able to get one soon.

I got mine from TD even though I had to pay tax in my state and 2day shipping was $11 & some change but I got it in 2 days. Packaging was extremely crappy, just some brown paper stuffed on one side of the box to keep it from sliding side to side but nothing to keep it from bouncing around vertically/top to bottom. Luckily my unit arrived and is perfect with no issues so far.

Honestly I would've bought one locally if I had the choice even having to pay tax just b/c if you're nice and something is wrong like dead pixels or what not then you can usually get a replacement without a restocking fee etc but that varies. I buy all of my pc stuff online but things like mp3 players, laptops, monitors I generally like to purchase locally if I can find a good deal just b/c of reasons with the screen etc.

If you're worried about returns/refunds then maybe you should wait till you can get it locally or from a place that you know from personal experience that you like dealing with so you feel more at ease.

I took a chance as I wanted it asap for my future wife and I'm glad I did b/c the transformer is awesome. Hope most of you still looking get yours soon.
 
I got my three yesterday. Actually the keyboards arrived ahead of the tablets on Wednesday which was kinda frustrating, but oh well.

My first impression is it's definitely a very well put-together package. Looks as nice or nicer than iPad 2 imo (although it definitely "feels" a bit cheaper). All of the stuff I've done so far (charging between the tab and keyboard, connecting to the keyboard, inserting a microSD card, turning on/off, system update, connecting a mouse) works flawlessly.

A couple drawbacks:

-The legnth of the tablet vs. an iPad is throwing me off a bit as far as weight balance. You definitely tend to want to hold it in landscape mode.
-The power cord is way too short. You'll essentially need a plug right on your desk or a stool for it to rest on to charge.
-Typing on the keyboard is a bit quirky in that it seems to want to jump unintendedly from fields (may just be my inexperience with Honeycomb)

I tried loading a hefty financial model into polaris I was working on last night with a couple array formulas and circ refs. It doesn't seem to want to calc more advanced formulas. Also, not unexpectedly, the lack of/different shortcuts are throwing me off.
 
harmattan said:
A couple drawbacks:

-The legnth of the tablet vs. an iPad is throwing me off a bit as far as weight balance. You definitely tend to want to hold it in landscape mode.
-The power cord is way too short. You'll essentially need a plug right on your desk or a stool for it to rest on to charge.
-Typing on the keyboard is a bit quirky in that it seems to want to jump unintendedly from fields (may just be my inexperience with Honeycomb)

I tried loading a hefty financial model into polaris I was working on last night with a couple array formulas and circ refs. It doesn't seem to want to calc more advanced formulas. Also, not unexpectedly, the lack of/different shortcuts are throwing me off.
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The length is almost entirely based on the docking solution asus wants you to use. It definitely doesnt need to be this long without the keyboard.

Power coord is horribly short. But it does act as a usb3 connector too so i cant complain even if i want to.

Getting used to the default keyboard takes some time, if you dont like the default i would recommend another 3rd party one.
 
rei1574 said:
Where can I buy one of these!!!!!! Been itching to buy one for weeks now.
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Set up nowinstock to send you texts when they are in stock at any of the etailers you like. I gotboth mine from walmart including the dock.
 
For anyone who is annoyed with the short charge cord, I purchased this one on Amazon and it works perfect. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YNQ6DK - 6ft USB3.0 extender cable. I only link to this one because I have it and know it works. It seems there are a few out there that have problems.
 
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AOM said:
I think I may have found your problem in bold above. :p All kidding aside, it took me several days to finally snag one, but supply should be better here in the next 3 weeks so you should be able to get one soon.

I got mine from TD even though I had to pay tax in my state and 2day shipping was $11 & some change but I got it in 2 days. Packaging was extremely crappy, just some brown paper stuffed on one side of the box to keep it from sliding side to side but nothing to keep it from bouncing around vertically/top to bottom. Luckily my unit arrived and is perfect with no issues so far.

Honestly I would've bought one locally if I had the choice even having to pay tax just b/c if you're nice and something is wrong like dead pixels or what not then you can usually get a replacement without a restocking fee etc but that varies. I buy all of my pc stuff online but things like mp3 players, laptops, monitors I generally like to purchase locally if I can find a good deal just b/c of reasons with the screen etc.

If you're worried about returns/refunds then maybe you should wait till you can get it locally or from a place that you know from personal experience that you like dealing with so you feel more at ease.

I took a chance as I wanted it asap for my future wife and I'm glad I did b/c the transformer is awesome. Hope most of you still looking get yours soon.
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Haha! Saw my typo. Thanks for your input, but sadly I have no local shops that carry the Transformer, save for big-boxes. I do wish I had a Fry's as I hear good things about them with relative frequency. I was lucky enough to get in on the latest 32gb in stock online, though. Now to start hunting for the Dock/Keyboard!
 
Wish they would have put the on/off volume switch on the same side as the audio jack.
 
-=PESTILENCE=- said:
For anyone who is annoyed with the short charge cord, I purchased this one on Amazon and it works perfect. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YNQ6DK - 6ft USB3.0 extender cable. I only link to this one because I have it and know it works. It seems there are a few out there that have problems.
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Thanks for the info and link. I read some posts on XDA that said the cables were hit or miss so I was debating what to do as I would like a longer cable and that's not a bad price and I know it works.

Now Zagg needs to hurry up and get out a screen protector or full body coverage for it. I emailed them about it as a product recommendation and if any of you are wanting one as well I suggest you do the same to hopefully get them to speed it up if they're working on one.

Would also like a good case because we're taking vacation in a couple of weeks and plan to take it with us. So hope to grab one plus a screen protector before we leave on June 4th.
 
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-=PESTILENCE=- said:
Hell yea! I was running all last night at 1.4ghz on the v1.0 kernal located here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1090510

Really great working going on now. I'll have to install v1.1 when I get home today. It has some voltage tweaks.
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Wow! What an OC, can you notice any thermal increase or a huge hit to the battery?

Also I would like to say with the keyboard this thing is more like a clamshell then a regular laptop is, the tablet and keyboard dock are really well made. I understand the "soft" back idea behind this thing now, it also acts as a small shock absorber.
 
No difference in temperature. From what I can tell the battery is a little worse, but that is understandable as there hasn't been much voltage tweaking yet. I'm running v1.2 @ 1.4ghz now. Running pretty great.
 
-=PESTILENCE=- said:
For anyone who is annoyed with the short charge cord, I purchased this one on Amazon and it works perfect. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YNQ6DK - 6ft USB3.0 extender cable. I only link to this one because I have it and know it works. It seems there are a few out there that have problems.
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Thanks, I had an extension cable that didn't work, and was kinda wondering what might. I just placed an order for one of the ones you linked, appreciate the info!

For anyone looking for a better PDF reader than the included mylibrary software, I bought the 99-cent ezPDF Reader software and it works SPECTACULARLY on the Transformer. It's got everything you could want, is fast, renders quickly (no "blocky text" then several seconds later clear text from mylibrary), even has optional page turn animations, etc. It's also got niceties such as text reflow, horizontal scroll lock, volume buttons for page changing, etc. etc. as well as color alterations if desired.

P.S. I didn't realize people were already doing custom OC ROM's/etc. for this thing... I don't really see any need just yet but I may toy around with it sometime. Mainly, I'm waiting on 3.1 before I fiddle at all.
 
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-=PESTILENCE=- said:
No difference in temperature. From what I can tell the battery is a little worse, but that is understandable as there hasn't been much voltage tweaking yet. I'm running v1.2 @ 1.4ghz now. Running pretty great.
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I saw a story at engadget saying this over clock was not considered stable. Is your experience different?
 
Yes. Mine is running fine. I've had one bout of force closes since last night, but I've had those on the stock rom without an over clock too, I chalk it up to the current state of honeycomb.

That engadet article has actually become a point of contention in this thread over at xda, mostly because it doesn't seem engadget did any testing whatsoever, they just took the dev's disclaimer as gospel and said it is unstable. All devs on xda say that stuff when it is the first version of something, so that people don't expect a completely stable piece of code, even though it very well may be.
 
-=PESTILENCE=- said:
No difference in temperature. From what I can tell the battery is a little worse, but that is understandable as there hasn't been much voltage tweaking yet. I'm running v1.2 @ 1.4ghz now. Running pretty great.
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Good news, I wonder if NV decided to massively undervolt just to compete against battery life with other Tablets. Honestly with the life I'm getting with this thing I'd rather have more power.
 
My 13 in Toshiba Portege with Windows 7 does 6 to 7 hours, weighs 3.2 pounds, has a DVD Burner, boots in 12 seconds with my SSD and runs a heck of a lot more than Honeycomb can. It also has all the ports you want and none of the bugs this thing has.

Think about what you are trying to accomplish with this thing before you spend the money and then just buy yourself a nice netbook/notebook for around the same money.

Still need convincing? Go to craigslist and do a search for Ipad, Galaxy tab, even Xoom....the place is littered with them. Why do something light when you can do it Hard.

Still not convinced.....do you remember reading about the problems you WILL be getting with this toy: typing delay, icon delay, port and keyboard recognition problems, finicky touchscreen, poor app/game support, etc

Just my two cents :eek:)))
 
IMO, this tablet was a lither too large for me, so I just returned it recently (it also had a touchscreen dead zone that got annoying rather quickly).
As for comparing to a laptop - different purpose. Though I have never seen the purpose for tablets, admittedly. I do use my Nook Color, since I can get away with a flat tablet on a table, while a laptop would stand out, however, even then, I rarely use it outside of book reading - which the ASUS Transformer was too large for me :(

I dunno. I'm tying this post from a google chome CR48, which, in a sense, is far more limited than the tablet I just returned. However, for some reason, it still feels more complete. Maybe it's just the form factor. Maybe it's just the web experience delivered by each one. Maybe I travel on airplanes too much, and don't saunter around cities on foot enough. I dunno. I stil like this heavily limited thin client in netbook form more than I liked my Nook Color, and more than I liked my ASUS Transformer.
 
TheDigs said:
My 13 in Toshiba Portege with Windows 7 does 6 to 7 hours, weighs 3.2 pounds, has a DVD Burner, boots in 12 seconds with my SSD and runs a heck of a lot more than Honeycomb can. It also has all the ports you want and none of the bugs this thing has.

Think about what you are trying to accomplish with this thing before you spend the money and then just buy yourself a nice netbook/notebook for around the same money.

Still need convincing? Go to craigslist and do a search for Ipad, Galaxy tab, even Xoom....the place is littered with them. Why do something light when you can do it Hard.

Still not convinced.....do you remember reading about the problems you WILL be getting with this toy: typing delay, icon delay, port and keyboard recognition problems, finicky touchscreen, poor app/game support, etc

Just my two cents :eek:)))
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But that thing cost what...$1400+? Versus $550? When you add the keyboard dock, you get up to 12+ hours of battery life and two usb ports.

On the iPad...lots of people like to upgrade....
 
heatlesssun said:
Wish I could say that about my EP121!:( So what kind of battery life are you getting?
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No youtube time, light music, heavy gaming and surfing i didnt plug it in for two days and i had more then 30%. With the dock i havent been below 90% yet. But i have to say my rips of family guy are playing PERFECT.

I wish i could get an ep121, but my light document work i dont need that kind of horse power. Im using this with my laptop that has a t3500, cumbersome? For now until i can pick up a chep i3 or i5 laptop.
 
I picked up the transformer primarily as a laptop replacement. So far the experience is good. Typing on the touchscreen is tough but otherwise it is perfect. Haven't picked up the keyboard yet but its on my list.
 
TheDigs said:
My 13 in Toshiba Portege with Windows 7 does 6 to 7 hours, weighs 3.2 pounds, has a DVD Burner, boots in 12 seconds with my SSD and runs a heck of a lot more than Honeycomb can. It also has all the ports you want and none of the bugs this thing has.

Think about what you are trying to accomplish with this thing before you spend the money and then just buy yourself a nice netbook/notebook for around the same money.

Still need convincing? Go to craigslist and do a search for Ipad, Galaxy tab, even Xoom....the place is littered with them. Why do something light when you can do it Hard.

Still not convinced.....do you remember reading about the problems you WILL be getting with this toy: typing delay, icon delay, port and keyboard recognition problems, finicky touchscreen, poor app/game support, etc

Just my two cents :eek:)))
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Different strokes for different folks. I find myself using the Transformer when I get home from work to do my browsing, music, youtube, facebook, any quick things. I haven't turned my laptop on in a few days now.

As for the issues you listed, I haven't had them. I am on the latest firmware. I don't have typing delay unless there is heavy flash on a website I'm trying to enter text on, don't really know what you mean by "icon delay", my usb ports and keyboard dock have been functioning perfectly, my touchscreen hasn't had any issues either. I'll give you "poor" support for apps and games, but that's because Honeycomb hasn't been out all that long. It has been a few months, but it was only on one commercially available device. obviously devs wouldn't put too much work into it until it catches on and is on a ton of devices, which looks to be this summer.

As for battery life, with some pretty heavy youtube, browsing, gaming, etc. I burn about 10-12% battery an hour. So that seems on par with tests saying it is near 9 hours by itself. Hooked to the dock it is even better.
 
Has anyone using either native or Honycomb 3.1, found a really great ebook-reader that works well with Calibre? Bonus if it displays manga well, but I don't mind getting a separate comic reader app. I've heard that "Laputa Reader" is one of, if not the best for Android Ebook reading. Others are "Moon+ Reader Pro" and "Aldiko Book Reader", all of which have premium versions but aren't too costly. These are rated highly as well.

For anyone who reads any content on their Transformer (or really, any Ebook reader, tablet, or phone) check out http://calibre-ebook.com . Its cross platform, open source, and pretty much the best reading library software out there at the moment, I've found. It can even go online to news sites of any type, scrape their RSS feed or all the day's news, download it, convert it to your device, and upload on a schedule you set. It even does this with content normally behind paywalls, like The Economist, New Yorker etc.... I'll have to try out getting Al Jazeera sent to my tablet daily (no paywall here!). If you want to buy ebooks, it searches all the major stores and compares prices. If you have a DRMed variant it can strip most DRM and convert to whatever formats your device reads. Auto-metadata tagging is available too, as are downloadable covers - there's even a "CoverFlow" like display of content. There's a built in reader/viewer as well that's pretty extensible. I think it can even basically connect to databases and there's a module to connect and borrow from the USA Library system (not sure if this is active by defaut). Every sort of paid ebook management software on the PC seems to really fail in comparison to Calibre. It may make a nice companion for the Transformer!
 
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600 to 800 bucks, 400 used on Ebay.
my point is after you add the dock which locks it in...you basically have a netbook, small notebook which you can buy for barely more (if more) and have tons better specs and no bugs. Is it really worth it so you can use pinch to zoom?
 
I do agree....different strokes..
I have a dell streak 5 which i immediately took to Froyo 2.2 and I have to say, it rocks for a small tablet and works as a decent phone too. You can get a streak 5 for less than a 100 bucks with contract (saw a $49 on dealnews not long ago). I have researched the heck out of these newer tablets and I suppose my Streak combined with my Portege r705 just completes me, haha.
 
TheDigs said:
600 to 800 bucks, 400 used on Ebay.
my point is after you add the dock which locks it in...you basically have a netbook, small notebook which you can buy for barely more (if more) and have tons better specs and no bugs. Is it really worth it so you can use pinch to zoom?
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Not really sure about the bugs, I haven't experienced anything game breaking honestly. Nothing will touch this thing on battery life with the docking station. I absolutely love the fact I can take it anywhere that has wifi and don't really care if I have a place to plug in or not.
 
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