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The sides of Transformer Prime have an brushed aluminum finish and are separated from the aluminum backing of the tablet. Along the top edge of the Prime is (assuming the tablet is docked in the keyboard accessory) where the rather small power button is located on the far left side. I must admit that it can be pretty awkward to press although you do get used to it after a few days of use.
Implanted within the power button is also a small LED light, unfortunately its only two functions is to shine orange whilst charging and green when fully charged. There is also one of the microphones located directly above the light sensor on the top edge.
Along the left edge is where the vast majority of ports are found, from top to bottom, the two stage volume rocker, Micro HDMI port, MicroSD card slot and the other microphone pinhole.
The volume rocker does its job well enough and gives the same tactile feedback as the power button. It is neither too stiff or loose, preventing accidental presses as well as making it easy enough to adjust the volume.
The bottom edge is where Asus' proprietary connectivity and charging port is found in the centre. Sadly, you have to plug the tablet into the AC adapter to charge it, plugging it into your PC will only allow for the transfer of files.
There is also two slots that are used to secure the keyboard dock. These two slots are a bit disappointing though, I wish Asus had made some kind of cover for these ports as they take away from the otherwise magnificent design of the tablet.
Finally, the 3.5mm headphone jack is found two thirds of the way up the right edge.
Wow thats a hell of a review. so much information my brain hurts 🙂
Its impressive, but the Ipad 3 has put a real dampner on these due to the low resolution and the catch up they all need to play now against Apple.
I think its a little expensive for what you get if I was being blunt about it, but its a nicely designed product and it seems powerful for even casual gaming. Retina display has pushed everything forward really which has made this look already a little out of date.
Two weeks with this tablet were more than enough for me to experience all the issues already pointed out by other reviewers plus a brand new one: the shockingly poor build quality.
Yes, the WiFi is faulty. I use both the TF201 and a Galaxy Nexus in bed and, although the signal is quite weak on the smartphone, it never disconnects and the browsing/downloading speed is very good. The same can’t be said about the tablet, which often disconnects and sometimes requires a reboot so I can use the internet again (and what’s a tablet with dodgy WiFi? A paper weight?).
Yes, the GPS is useless. Asus dropped the ball twice here, first by not testing the unit properly and then by removing the function from the specs list. Shameful, to say the least.
Now to the build quality: although the TF201 is a stunning device and both its screen and its metallic body look fantastic, my unit proved to be cheaply manufactured when the glass started detaching from the main body a few days ago. It’s a month old tablet and I’m extremely careful with my electronics.
Right now all I can do is regret as I purchased this tablet in the US and brought it back to Ireland, so sending it back will be a costly pain in the neck both for me and for my wife’s friend who would have to drop it at UPS.
I’m really disappointed with Asus and the current selection of Android tablets in the market. No wonder the iPad is flying off the shelves, all that Apple has to do is release products that don’t suck.
Cheers Davy!
I have to agree Davis, perhaps the reason it is taking so long for other Tegra 3 tablets to come out is because everyone is running around trying to find a decent supply of FHD display to create a tablet that can go head to head with the new iPad’s
It’s decent value to me Rt23ds, 20 quid more than the new 32GB iPad. It really depends if you’d prefer a higher resolution screen or the ability to type anything of length
Guil, I encountered no Wi-Fi problems that I could attribute to my review unit (the dodgy router is to blame). Completly agree on the GPS points. The review unit I had could have been cherry picked but it has definitely been around the place and all it had to show for it was a few collections of scratches on the back. Have you tried getting in contact directly with Asus? Either way it’s really bad to hear you’re having issues with your Prime
Its impressive, but the Ipad 3 has put a real dampner on these due to the low resolution
I’d have to agree Ieeko, it’s not majorly noticeable by itself by switching between a decent phone and the Prime the extra pixel density is noticeable. Shouldn’t be too long until we start seeing Full HD tablets though