home › Firmware › Review of the first transformer from ASUS: Eee Pad Transformer TF101. Asus TF101 tablet: characteristics, description and features, owner reviews Tablets asus transformer tf101 16gb

Review of the first transformer from ASUS: Eee Pad Transformer TF101. Asus TF101 tablet: characteristics, description and features, owner reviews Tablets asus transformer tf101 16gb

All tablets are similar to each other. And there’s nothing you can do about it - this genre, for many reasons, requires minimalism in design. So you can’t really go wild with decorative elements. The design of the front side of tablet computers is virtually canonized. The black glossy frame is an indispensable attribute of these devices, and the narrow border around it does not add much variety to the appearance.

For all experiments, designers have the back side. In life, it is not so important how it is framed - no one will really look at it anyway. Even on a store shelf, the tablet will be facing the buyer, so design flourishes won’t play a role here either. Nevertheless, in order not to be completely boring, the designers of most tablets try to do at least something original with the back.

The frame of the Eee Pad Transformer is a single metal piece of light brown color. Back panel- plastic with a rather intricate relief pattern, also brown, but of a darker shade.

The color scheme is for everyone. Perhaps it would be more reasonable to use some standard colors: black, gray, silver, white, finally. Because the most attractive feature of this device in any case is not its appearance, but something completely different - the ability to connect a docking station that turns the tablet into a smartbook.

What’s good is that all the mechanics with which the halves of the tandem are fastened to each other are located in the lower part. The tablet only has a 40-pin connector and two slots into which the latches fit.

This is good because it made it possible to make the tablet part relatively light, and the lower part heavy enough so that the device transformed into a smartbook would stand securely and not turn over. In general, from a mechanical point of view, the Eee Pad Transformer is very good: the lid tilts with the right force, the latches reliably connect the halves of the case - it’s pleasant and convenient to use.

The upper part of the docking station, like the edge of the tablet body, is made of metal. The bottom part is plastic. With exactly the same relief pattern.

The keyboard is quite comfortable - most of the ones actually used in Android buttons have large dimensions (key pitch - 17 mm). The “arrows” suffered a little, but this is a justified sacrifice - in a “robotic” OS they are still quite of little use.

In place of the usual row F1-F12 there are buttons that control various functions: turning on and off wireless interfaces, changing the volume or brightness, and so on. I was especially pleased with the presence of a button that allows you to take screenshots - usually for this purpose in Android devices you have to dance with a tambourine.

The touchpad is large (80x48mm), has the right coating and has easy-to-use buttons. True, you need to use the buttons with caution: the right one in Android works as Back/Exit, so it’s better not to accidentally hit it.

As for the interfaces, ASUS did a very clever thing with them. There are very few ports on the body of the tablet itself: an HDMI output (not quite standard, in the “mini” version), a combined audio jack and a slot for MicroSD cards. And, of course, the 40-pin communication connector with which the tablet is connected to the computer, charger and docking stations.

If you want to work properly with external drives or peripherals, as well as full-size memory cards, then willy-nilly you will have to fork out for a docking station. But it has two USB ports at once - one on the left, the other on the right, both covered with neat caps.

A positive point: the amount of total disk space can be increased to a very impressive one. After all, you can use two memory cards and two flash drives at once. In addition, the docking station has a second battery, exactly the same as in the tablet itself. That is, in smartbook mode, the Eee Pad Transformer lasts about twice as long.

Negative point: in a fully functional version, the Eee Pad Transformer will cost a very hefty 24 thousand rubles. Moreover, only the 32 GB version of the device is available with the docking station.

The ASUS tablet turned out to be quite large: it is almost a centimeter wider than the Acer Iconia Tab A500, but 7 mm lower. This Taiwanese pair is noticeably larger than most modern tablets.

Comparison of tablet computer dimensions
Model	Display	Width, mm	Height, mm	Depth, mm	*Rough estimate of volume, cm 3**
Acer Iconia Tab A500	10.1″ 1280x800	260	177	13,3	612
Apple iPad	9.7″ 1024x768	243	190	13	600
Apple iPad 2	9.7″ 1024x768	241	186	8,8	394
Archos 101 Internet Tablet	10.1″ 1024x600	270	150	12	486
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.1 v1	10.1″ 1280x800	246	170	10,99	460
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.1 v2	10.1″ 1280x800	246	170	8,6	360
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101	10.1″ 1280x800	271	171	12,98	602
* the value was obtained by simply multiplying the dimensions and, due to the complex shape of the cases, does not fully correspond to the actual volume

In terms of weight, everything is a little better, although the Eee Pad, like all other modern tablets, could still use some weight.

The main problem is that the docking station weighs almost as much as the tablet itself.

As a result, the weight of the device with the keyboard attached is quite large - the Eee Pad Transformer turns out to be heavier than netbooks with the same display size. Why, even some laptops weigh comparable!

Part of the help is the extremely compact and lightweight power supply - even with a massive British plug, it weighs less than 100 grams. But even such a head start does not help the Eee Pad Transformer beat its closest competitors from the PC camp.

However, compared to laptops, the Eee Pad Transformer has one important advantage. The display is head and shoulders above anything that can be found in any, even the most expensive laptop, including Apple products. The Eee Pad's matrix is an IPS type and provides excellent contrast, vibrant colors and maximum viewing angles.

Specifications ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101
CPU	NVIDIA Tegra 250: ARM Cortex A9 MPCore, 1 GHz frequency, two cores
Graphics controller	NVIDIA GeForce ULP, integrated into the processor
Screen	10.1″, 1280x800; IPS technology; Capacitive touch screen
RAM	1 GB
Flash memory	16/32 GB Free 1-year subscription to ASUS Web Storage with unlimited storage space
Interfaces in the tablet	1 x MicroSD 1 x Mini HDMI 1 x headphone output/microphone input (mini-jack 3.5 mm) 1 x 40 pin connection port
Interfaces in the docking station	1 x SD/MMC 2 x USB 2.0 (host) 1 x 40 pin connection port
Wireless connection	Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
Sound	Two speakers, microphone
Nutrition	Li-Pol battery 24.4 Wh Additional Li-Pol 24.4 Wh battery in the docking station Power supply 18 W (5V, 2 A or 15 V, 1.2 A)
Other	Keyboard and touchpad docking station, 1.2 MP front webcam, 5 MP rear webcam, rotation sensor, light sensor, GPS module
Size, mm	271x171x13
Weight, g	Tablet - 680 Docking station - 630
operating system	Google Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
Official manufacturer's warranty	12 months
Recommended prices for Russia	RUB 15,990 for the version with 16 GB of flash memory RUB 19,990 for the version with 32 GB of flash memory RUB 23,990 for the version with 32 GB of flash memory and a docking station included

Like most tablet computers in 2011, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 is built on the NVIDIA Tegra 2 platform and runs operating system Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The amount of preinstalled flash memory is also standard: 16 or 32 GB. As already written above, the drive can be significantly increased in volume using a MicroSD card or even a full-size SD/MMC with a docking station.

The tablet has a motion sensor, a full-fledged GPS module and a light sensor that adjusts the brightness to external conditions. True, it does not work quite adequately. If you entrust the work to automation, it turns out a little dark. But it will not be possible to adjust the base level, relative to which the brightness will be automatically adjusted in the future.

The set of wireless interfaces is exactly the same as in the Acer Iconia Tab A500. On this moment Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 are available. According to employees of the Russian representative office of ASUS, the 3G version will not be available until July. But all three modifications without 3G will appear on the shelves very soon - including the package with a docking station.

Of course, there is also a camera. The front one is quite weak, for video calls, and the back one is 5-megapixel. It’s actually kind of embarrassing to talk about the first one. As for the second, the quality of the pictures is about the same level as in the Iconia Tab A500 - that is, none. Plus there is no flash. So the only genre feasible for such cameras—“me and my friends in the bathhouse”—turns out to be of limited accessibility. Well, I didn’t want it to hurt.

ASUS programmers added to standard interface Android 3.0 has several extremely useful features. For example, it should be noted that it is possible to more conveniently work with external drives. When you connect the device, a small window appears in the notification area, allowing you to safely remove the drive or go to view its contents in the pre-installed (and quite sane) file manager.

What’s nice is that external storage devices are mounted not in a folder called “mnt” that is obscure to normal people, but in a more meaningful and much better visible folder in the list “Removable”. You can connect not only flash drives, but also hard disks- and there is support file system NTFS (they forgot about it in the Acer tablet computer).

If a docking station is connected, the virtual keyboard no longer appears on the screen while you enter text. It is most convenient to switch the layout using the standard Ctrl+Shift key combination. However, you can switch in another way - by clicking on the icon in the notification area.

With the advent of solutions from Nvidia in the form of Tegra several years ago with full support for the Android platform, a good half of the venerable manufacturers of mobile gadgets rushed to conquer the tablet computer segment.

The recipe was extremely simple: we take the most optimal modification of the video accelerator - “Tegra 2”, adapt the interface and standard software to version 4 of Android, and leave the rest to the discretion of the designers. The last thoughts and plans, as always, were stuck, so there seemed to be no problems with originality.

The Xoom series from Motorola can be considered the pioneer of tablet computers. The first pancake, as they say, came out lumpy, but other brands picked up the idea and, taking into account the experience of the American (now Chinese) company, they began to produce quite decent devices.

One of the brightest representatives of this segment is the Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101. The gadget is presented in several modifications that differ from each other in volume random access memory and a composite keyboard version. The latter allows you to turn an ordinary mobile device into something like a netbook.

So, we present to your attention a review of the tablet computer - Asus TF101. The characteristics of the gadget, its advantages and disadvantages, as well as the advisability of the purchase will be discussed in our article. When compiling the article, the opinions of experts in this field and reviews of ordinary owners of this model were taken into account.

Equipment

The device comes in a nice and stylish box made of thick cardboard with dark design. The Asus TF101 transformer itself is depicted on the front side, and the characteristics in the form of a brief specification are located on the back side.

The interior decoration is decorated very competently, the accessories do not “quarrel” with each other, but are neatly located along the entire perimeter. This made it possible not to inflate the packaging to the size of a laptop, so it can be transported in a small bag or even easier - under the arm.

Contents of delivery:

Asus TF101 itself;
power supply (charger) of a composite type;
keyboard;
micro-USB cable for synchronization with PC and recharging;
documentation with warranty card.

The package can be called standard, some additional accessories like cases, bags or headsets you won’t see here. But, judging by user reviews, it’s for the better, because such items are always bought “to suit your taste and color,” and an extra item in the kit significantly adds to the cost of the gadget.

Appearance

The cover of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 is made of corrugated plastic and has a matte finish. It is pleasant to the touch and does not collect fingerprints like a vacuum cleaner, and is more or less resistant to scratches.

The ends have metal inserts, which adds not only protection to the gadget, but also solidity. The frames bordering the screen are a little thick, but they do not spoil the overall style and only have a better effect on ergonomics. Users in their reviews of others tablet computers More than once they complained about too thin frames, where accidental clicks were common while watching video content or playing games. There is plenty of room for fingers here.

The performance characteristics of the Asus TF101 are at a quite acceptable level and the build quality can be called excellent: there are no gaps, nothing crunches, does not play or creaks. In a word - a good-quality device with which you can travel without extreme sports.

Interfaces

On the right side there is a classic 3.5 mm mini-jack for a headset, a mini-HDMI video output, a slot for external memory cards and one of two speakers. On the left side there is a volume rocker, a power key and another speaker.

The lower part of the Asus TF101 tablet is reserved for the docking station, and in our case, the keyboard. It can also be used both to recharge the device and to connect other peripherals. The interface itself is located exactly in the middle, and there are guide grooves for the keyboard on the sides.

The interface characteristics of the Asus TF101 allow you to easily synchronize with other mobile gadgets and specific peripherals, so the model can be called the most universal. Judging by user reviews, many service technicians use the model for their professional needs.

Screen

The 10-inch Android tablet has a pretty good IPS matrix that can easily cope with a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels. As such, pixelation is not visible here, but if you look closely, you may be able to see individual dots. At least a good half of the users did not note the presence of this effect in their reviews.

The matrix provides excellent color depth, good brightness and contrast, as well as maximum viewing angles. Therefore, you can safely watch any photo or video content in the company of one or two like-minded people.

It is also worth noting that the screen of the Android tablet is protected by glass from the venerable Gorilla. At least the manufacturer did not go broke on some kind of oleophobic coating, so the display surface collects fingerprints like a magnet, fortunately they are removed without any problems and very quickly.

Performance

The performance is driven by a dual-core processor working in tandem with the aforementioned Tegra of the second version from Nvidia. The RAM on board is not enough by modern standards - only 1 GB, but this is enough for the interface to work perfectly and standard applications.

By the way, about the latter. Quite a few distributors and unscrupulous sellers add their own advertisements to the operating system, and, as a rule, it is not possible to remove them using conventional methods. The only sure way to get rid of it is stock firmware for Asus TF101. You can find it both on the developer’s official resource (Jelly Bean) and on specialized forums like w3bsit3-dns.com.

As for gaming applications, problems may arise with launching “heavy” games. Modern software of this kind is quite demanding, and it is also deliberately adapted specifically for high-performance processors to increase sales of the latter. So in many applications you will have to reset the graphics settings to medium, or even minimum values, provided that they will start at all.

Keyboard

Judging by user reviews, they can’t say anything bad or good about the standard keyboard. Here we have a completely adequate analogue of the usual laptop workspace. You can both type texts and play on it.

Attaching the keyboard, also known as the docking station, is not as easy as it seems at first glance, so you will have to get used to this procedure. It is also worth noting that it is equipped with additional USB interfaces and a card reader.

Autonomy

With a good load, and this means the Internet is on, watching high-resolution videos and toys, the device will work for about six hours. Mixed time battery life can be significantly extended to one or even two days, if you do not get carried away with “heavy” applications and video content.

With a docking station (fully charged), the device approximately doubles its battery life. That is, at maximum load you can work almost the entire day. Users leave entirely positive reviews about the autonomous part of the device. Ordinary tablets are very far from such indicators.

Summarizing

Despite the rather mediocre set of chipsets by modern standards, the tablet is in demand among a wide range of consumers. Naturally, gamers are not included in it. The model is perfect for surfing the Internet and solving some professional problems. So, the money invested in the model, which is a little less than 10 thousand rubles, it works out to the fullest and does not filibuster.

The entire Internet is replete with inscriptions that the era of netbooks is coming to an end. Tablets are taking their place. However, if you cannot yet change your usual mobile PC to a touchscreen “tablet,” I advise you to take a closer look at the transformer from ASUSTek Computer. This wonderful device is called ASUS Eee Pad Transformer. It can be viewed in two ways: either as a tablet with a docking station, or as a convertible netbook. That is, you can use the device both as a tablet and as a subnotebook. All the hardware is hidden under the display, and the top case houses an additional battery. Agree, the device is very interesting! By the way, Lenovo had a similar idea.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 received a 10.1-inch IPS touch matrix with support for multi-touch functions, the NVIDIA Tegra 2 platform, two cameras and modules wireless communication. The docking station in the form of a keyboard includes a pair of USB 2.0 ports and a card reader. What else interesting can the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer present to potential buyers, we will try to find out.

Design

Perhaps, for a more accurate description of this device, it would be more appropriate to consider the tablet and docking station separately. So, the “tablet” itself has dimensions of 271x171x13 mm and a mass of 680 grams. She looks very attractive and stylish. The tablet is devoid of hardware buttons; several connectors are located on its edges. The frame and part of the display bezel are made of metal, but the rear convex cover is made of textured plastic. The latter, by the way, bends down quite strongly. The display is frameless. This whole “composition” looks coherent and monolithic.

The bottom of the docking station is made of the same matte plastic, but the working area and side edges are made of metal. On the tablet connector you can see a special pad, thanks to which the tablet panel will not be scratched during connection. There are also two ASUS Eee Pad latches, adjustable with a slider. The docking station itself weighs 630 grams, that is, the entire transformer will weigh about 1.3 kg. By the way, you can buy this top case either separately or as a set with the tablet.

Display

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 is equipped with a capacitive touch matrix with a diagonal of 10.1 inches. Its resolution is 1280x800 pixels. This LCD display is made using IPS technology. Today, IPS screens are the only LCD panels that always deliver full RGB color depth (24-bit, 8-bit per channel). For example, the display of black is close to ideal. The viewing angles on this screen are close to absolute and reach 178 degrees. This means that the colors will not be inverted at all. The maximum backlight brightness is 230 cd/m2. It can be adjusted either manually or automatically.

The display is covered with Gorilla Glass, which is highly resistant to scratches and impacts. That is, there is no need to worry about the safety of the screen - the developers have already taken care of this for you.

The screen recognizes a huge number of multi-gestures, that is, scaling, flipping, scrolling can be performed with two fingers of one hand. The color reproduction of the matrix is excellent, the colors seem deep, rich and bright. The developers did not forget about the gyroscope and accelerometer, which are responsible for screen orientation.

Keyboard and touchpad

We can assume that the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 is equipped with two input devices. This is, in fact, the tablet itself and a docking station in the form of a standard island-type keyboard. The touch matrix responds well to touches; controlling the contents of the desktop with your fingers is quite easy and convenient. There should be no complaints about the screen sensitivity. By the way, you can open a virtual qwerty keyboard on your tablet. On the side there is a volume key and a power button.

As you already understand, by connecting the “tablet” to the top case, the ASUS Eee Pad turns into a full-fledged netbook. The work area is equipped with an island-type keyboard and a touchpad. The docking station makes entering information much easier. You can use it to turn on and off wireless adapters, adjust brightness and volume, and launch the browser. Considering that the transformable netbook runs Android OS, the keyboard must have the corresponding hardware keys. They are. These are “Home”, “Back”, “Search”, “Menu”.

There is a place for a touchpad under the keyboard. A double mouse rocker button is hidden under the touch pad. If you use the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer as a netbook, a touchpad and keyboard will obviously not be superfluous.

Processor and performance

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer on dual core processor NVIDIA Tegra 2 clocked at 1 GHz (both Cortex-A9 cores clocked at 1 GHz). This CPU is a system on a chip (SoC). That is, NVIDIA Tegra 2 incorporates an ARM processor, GPU, memory controllers and peripheral devices. Energy consumption, at the same time, is quite low.

You also have 1 GB of DDR2 RAM and SSD drives with a capacity of 16, 32 or 64 GB. There is also access to the so-called online storage ASUS WebStorage.

Ports and communications

Once again, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer can be considered as two different devices: tablet and docking station. On the “tablet” itself there was a place for a volume control, an audio jack (headphones/microphone), a mini HDMI port, a microSD slot and two web cameras: front and main. The first has a resolution of 1.2 megapixels, and it is used for video chatting. But with the help of the main camera you can take quite high-quality pictures. It has a resolution of 5 megapixels and is equipped with autofocus.

On the bottom edge of the tablet there is a connector for the docking station and two holes for fixing. The developers did not forget about the connector for a 3G SIM card (optional). To exchange data and charge the tablet, you will have to use a proprietary cable. On the top case itself you can find two USB port 2.0 and SD card reader.

The tablet itself accommodates wireless adapters Wi-Fi networks 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. There are models also equipped with a 3G module (optional). By the way, the developers also did not forget about E-Compass and GPS.

Battery

According to ASUS representatives, the Eee Pad Transformer TF101 demonstrates simply amazing battery life. Thus, the device is equipped with a lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 24 Wh. Moreover, a tablet without a docking station can work for about 8 hours without recharging, and the entire “transformer” will work in offline mode for about 16 hours. Agree, it's impressive.

Conclusion

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer – tablet and netbook rolled into one. When taken together, this device looks like a full-fledged laptop. But “with a slight movement of the hand” it can turn into a “tablet”. The diagonal of the multi-touch display is 10.1 inches, it is based on the NVIDIA Tegra 2 platform, the device runs under Android control 3.0 Honeycomb. However, Google company at its recent conference announced that they will provide firmware updates to Android 3.1 Honeycomb as early as June.

After Apple launched first the first and then the second iPad, it seemed that it was simply impossible to produce something in the world of tablets, if not fundamentally new, then at least evolutionarily developing in the industry. Nothing is impossible - ASUS did the math and announced a tablet-netbook hybrid.

What seemed good was on the surface, but required competent implementation. The new device is not called Transformer for nothing; it really knows how to transform before our eyes from one type of equipment into a consonant, but completely different one. And if the model is “assembled”, then an ignorant person will not even think that this stylish mini-computer in fact is not such a thing.

Having got our hands on the Transformer, we will try to find answers to the most common questions - can a tablet really replace a laptop? How successful was the combination of the screen and the docking station? How does Android behave in the context of cutting-edge innovation? The journey into the world of a hybrid device is definitely going to be exciting - open the boxes and...

Design

We see neatly packed in protective film docking station and the tablet itself. When you pick it up, you immediately understand that the industry does not live on design “a la iPad” alone, and you don’t need to invent something extraordinary for your own “face.” The front side is made in the spirit latest tablets and is completely devoid of controls - those are provided by default in Android 3.x, which made it possible to completely remove the front part of the buttons.

The main trump card of the model lies in back cover. It is made of durable plastic covered with a deep relief mesh with a pattern. This has never happened in any tablet before and, if you don’t constrain yourself with conventions, is rarely found in laptops. It looks so authoritative that there is no doubt that the tablet belongs to the business class. It can be seen that the thickness of the plastic is on the order of several millimeters, that is, it does not bend in principle.

The use of matte patterned plastic eliminates any hints of preserving fingerprints (which cannot be said about the screen) and any other contamination. In addition, it allows the device to lie firmly in your hand and not try to slip out. There is a edging along the sides, not made of aluminum, but of metal with a “copper” color to match the entire tablet. By the way, the same Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 did not escape complaints - the lid is made of smooth plastic, which is subjectively significantly inferior in strength to the Transformer, moreover, it noticeably flexes on the hard “bottom”, creating voids.

Transformer is heavy, there's no hiding it. It weighs 680 grams and is unlikely to be comfortable for long-term use for girls “on weight”. However, the mass is distributed evenly and does not cause critical pressure on the fingers. And I don’t want to call the heaviness a disadvantage - it’s clear that the Transformer is assembled from durable, reliable materials, which will only benefit its durability.

Note that Transformer is not the most “aggravating” tablet, a record Acer ICONIA He failed to beat Tab with 765 grams. Absolutely all the connectors of the tablet are located on its sides, thereby saving the model from the “disease” of many colleagues in the workshop – the removable cover. By its very presence, it increased the likelihood of breakdown and often contributed to the formation of creaks and backlashes.

One of the reviews said that with the advent of the iPad 2, manufacturers suddenly set a course for an extreme reduction in thickness and weight. So, ASUS did not succumb to the trend, as we can see this only benefited the tablet. Its solidity is undeniable, and the question of build quality itself seems somewhat unnatural.

Overall, the device looks stylish, all its elements fit together perfectly and make the Transformer stand out against the background of competitors’ crafts. The main goal for the Android tablet has been achieved - the model has completely distanced itself from any associations with the iPad. And at the same time she managed to find her own unique face. Maybe this is the same alternative design to follow?

Connectors and controls

Tablets for Android based 3.x are distinguished by the complete absence of buttons on the front panel. In theory, they are replaced by painted buttons placed on a panel at the bottom of the screen, which, by the way, noticeably distinguishes such tablets from the iPad, which the rampant Apple “protects” with all its might. TF101 was no exception in this regard.

The front panel is covered with highly glare protective glass. There is a peephole at the top of the screen front camera, and to the right of it is the name-logo of the manufacturer.

All physical buttons, including three, are located on the left side: turning the tablet on/off and adjusting the volume. A little lower behind the small perforations is the speaker.

The right side accommodates all connectors: 3.5 mm audio output, Mini HDMI, card slot microSD memory. There is also a second speaker here.

At the bottom end there is a connector for connecting charging and synchronization with the computer is carried out through it. There are a pair of ventilation holes on either side of it. There is nothing on the top end.

The back cover completely covers the device and is non-removable. In addition to the manufacturer's logo, there is a camera peephole in the upper part.

Dock station

The main difference between the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 and many similar tablets is its attachment with a keyboard, touchpad and additional connectors. In this capacity this accessory It looks more like a docking station than a means of improving the usability of the tablet. For example, a keyboard is also sold for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, but there is no touchpad on it, as well as connectors (except for the power/sync connector).

The design of the TF101 keyboard is extremely interesting. At its top there is a curved metal grip that can only be rotated when you insert a tablet into it and change the position of the latch.

After such an operation, the device begins to very much resemble a regular netbook, especially when opened. By the way, the grip opens quite tightly.

As for the layout, in some places it is quite different from the usual one, which, however, is natural. But the symbol keys are located in their usual places and no problems should arise here. The only pity is that the TF101 keyboard does not yet come with Cyrillic alphabet. But I was very pleased with the keys , , , and - they are all in their places. Even their size did not cause any criticism, except perhaps for the short one on the right. The arrow block is “squeezed” into the two lower rows of keys, which does not have the best effect on the ease of use. However, here we can make a allowance for the fact that we are not dealing with a laptop or netbook, and therefore we will not have to use this unit often.

The most important difference lies in the top row of keys. Instead of a block of function keys, there is a continuous row of 17 keys for various purposes. So there is a return key (a kind of analogue), a couple more are responsible for the operation of wireless controllers, adjusting screen brightness and volume, the rest call various applications and control playback in the media player. In addition, in the bottom row there are a couple of “non-standard” keys. In particular, these are “Home”, “Search” and calling an additional menu.

In general, typing on such a keyboard is no less comfortable than on any 11.6-inch laptop. Of course, the office suite in Android is completely different from that in Windows, but if necessary, you can work with documents without any problems. True, it's not enough multi-window mode, but these are already details. The main thing is that if an urgent need arises, it will be quite simple to quickly create or edit a particular file with text.

The touchpad seems to help speed up the work to a lesser extent. Actually, a mouse in an operating system focused on touch control is not so much in demand. We were well convinced of this in Windows 8 with its Metro shell. Android 3.x is no exception. But we will dwell on the experience of working with the mouse pointer in more detail below.

Here we will say a few words about the touch panel. It is quite large for the TF101 docking station. The designers took advantage of all the available space. As a result, the height of the touchpad is maximum, but still not great. However, this was compensated by the large width. The surface of the touchpad is rough-matte and allows precise control of the mouse pointer. The buttons on the bottom are thin and hard to press.

Strictly speaking, we don’t see much use from the touchpad for an Android tablet. However, there is a “side” plus that appeared precisely because of the addition of the touchpad - the work area. It comfortably rests your wrists, making typing easier and reducing fatigue. The keyboard for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is devoid of such “excess”, which somewhat reduces the number of positive emotions from working with it.

But that's not all. The keyboard for ASUS TF101 is a truly unique accessory. In addition to two purely “laptop” manipulators, it adds several more connectors to the tablet, making it almost a real laptop. In particular, these are two USB and a card reader for full-size Secure Digital memory cards. And, of course, the power connector and synchronization with PC are duplicated. The latter, when connected to a dock, becomes even more relevant, since a second battery is hidden inside the accessory - it’s not for nothing that the keyboard is so heavy and massive.

I am very pleased that the USB connectors are full. That is, you can connect not only a storage medium to them, but also, for example, a regular mouse. The latter works great, complementing the touchpad, as if we were dealing with a regular laptop. Of course, it’s unlikely that anyone can guarantee the functionality of any peripheral, even a regular printer (due to the lack of drivers for Android, and not because of the connector itself), but such functionality is already more than enough.

Coupled with USB, two card readers (the second on the tablet itself) and an HDMI output, the ASUS TF101 tablet can really become a good business device. Without a docking station, this is a solid tablet, but with it, it’s almost a full-fledged laptop, with which you can quite comfortably and quickly complete urgent and not so urgent tasks.

Screen

The first generation of tablets based on Android 3.0 had the same resolution of 1280x800 pixels. This was required by the artificially imposed limitations of the system, and therefore most tablets automatically became potential competitors of the iPad. With the release of Android 3.2, the restriction was lifted, but 10.1-inch models, which include the ASUS TF101, did not change the screen resolution and are unlikely to change it (unless it is increased).

In general, 1280x800 for 10.1" is quite good. The picture is quite clear, working with websites is a pleasure, you can view large PDF documents, it’s convenient to work with text files and spreadsheets. What can we say - just recently, most laptops with a diagonal of up to 15.4" were equipped with a screen with this resolution.

However, the advantages of the TF101 display do not end there. Another, no less important thing is the type of IPS matrix. It has long been known that this type provides the best viewing angles and color rendition. Confirmation of this is clearly visible from every pixel of the screen of the tablet in question. The display is really very good and there are no complaints about it. In our subjective opinion, it is even better than samsung screen Galaxy Tab 10.1. The latter is based on PLS technology, recently launched commercially by Samsung. In terms of its operating principles, it is very similar to IPS, but is approximately 15% cheaper to produce. However, PLS has a well-known disadvantage of IPS - the screen filled with black color gives off a strong purple tint. Moreover, IPS technology has practically gotten rid of this feature in the latest generation modifications, which also applies to the TF101.

In short, the screen of the ASUS tablet is wonderful and we had absolutely no complaints about it.

Camera

Transformer has front and rear cameras, both located at the top of the lids in the center. If the location on the back cover is not important, then on the screen, just like in a netbook, it facilitates comfortable communication in video chats, for example via Skype. The front and rear have 1.2 and 5.0 megapixel sensors, respectively. The maximum shooting resolution is 2592x1944 pixels. There is no LED flash or proximity or light sensors.

There are very few shooting settings, which is surprising after Android 2.3 on smartphones. The user sets the image quality, exposure, white balance, color effects and literally a few more settings.

The quality of the images is mixed. It would seem that under the same weather conditions, Transformer can produce both acceptable pictures and frankly blurry ones. This is the main disadvantage of shooting - the camera does not guarantee stable quality and from time to time gives the exact opposite result, be it a long-range panorama or macro photography.

The front camera did not cause any complaints; at close range, for which it is intended, objects are quite clear, with natural color reproduction.

Characteristics

IN model range ASUS Eee Pad tablet Transformer TF101 is not the only device. There is also a modification of the TF101G with a 3G module, an Eee Pad Slider SL101 with a built-in slide-out keyboard, and a couple of representatives of the 12.1-inch Eee Slate - tablets based on Windows 7. However, we will compare the device under review with its direct competitor - the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The characteristics of the TF101 are not very impressive. If you think about it, flagship smartphones are even better than the largest Google tablets. However, it is obvious that such a configuration is quite sufficient for comfortable work. Manufacturers did not put pressure on high processor clock speeds, preferring a balance between CPU frequency, graphics accelerator and number of cores. The NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip is quite suitable for these purposes. Its ARM component operates at 1 GHz and has two cores, and the ULP GeForce graphics card is considered one of the best on the smartphone and tablet market.

In terms of communication capabilities, both tablets are also very similar. They are equipped with Wi-Fi controllers (supporting 802.11n) and Bluetooth. However, the latter of the ASUS TF101 is less advanced - it is based on version 2.1, while the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has already “mastered” the faster version 3.0. There was no 3G module in our TF101.

Volume of operational and permanent memory It's the same for tablets. However, regarding the latter, options are possible. So there is a version of TF101 with 32 GB of memory, and samsung device can be completed solid state drive for 32 and 64 GB.

However, the TF101's possible lack of internal memory is more than compensated for by the presence of a microSD card slot, which can be supplemented with another SD card reader on the docking station. And don’t forget a couple of USB connectors on the dock to which you can connect external drives.

In terms of connectors, the ASUS tablet is also very good. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has only a 3.5 mm audio jack, while the TF101 is distinguished by the presence of Mini HDMI and the already mentioned USB on the dock. Mini HDMI can be useful for giving a presentation or even watching a movie on a big screen on vacation or a business trip.

As for device screens, we wrote above about the difference between PLS and IPS technologies, and their resolution and diagonal are the same. It remains to mention the cameras. The front one turned out to be better in Samsung, and the rear one in ASUS. But, in our opinion, the difference in resolution in this case is not fundamental at all. Here you can easily get by with less – it’s unlikely that anyone will often use a tablet as a camera.

We wrote above about the advantages of an aluminum body. However, its disadvantage is more weight. Compared to the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the ASUS tablet weighs more than 100 grams more, which is noticeable. The docking station adds another 640 grams (almost the same as the TF101), for a total weight of 1.32 kg. Typically, 10.1-inch netbooks weigh less, although they are made of plastic. But this weight is comparable to 13.3-inch MacBook Air or any analogue thereof. However, all these laptops are not equipped with a pair of batteries, which contribute a significant share of the weight.

What remains are the operating systems. Both tablets were initially available with Android 3.0, but Samsung still began mass shipping the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Android 3.1, and ASUS is already offering an update to Android 3.2 on its website. The latter is installed very simply, which we will discuss below. In the meantime, let's see which tablet is faster at work.

Performance testing

Both tablets being compared are based on the same processor and have the same amount of RAM and storage. The only difference between them is the different versions of the operating system and shell that were preinstalled by the manufacturer. So for the most part, expect relative parity.

Benchmarks testing the overall system performance showed approximately equal results, with a very slight superiority of the ASUS TF101. It will clearly not be noticeable during operation.

The popular Quadrant test, on the contrary, showed noticeable superiority Samsung tablet. The result could be influenced by many factors: from the OS version to the proprietary shell.

In the purely computational Linpack benchmark, both devices are neck and neck. The difference between them easily fits into the measurement error.

Browser tests also showed nothing unexpected. There is a difference between the tablets, but it is quite insignificant, which is what we predicted above.

It's interesting to see the results in the 3D game electopia. She suggests running the test in the native screen resolution of the device, or in a kind of “compatibility mode,” which means a resolution of 800x480. In both cases, the expected parity can be observed.

In total, we can state that the performance of ASUS TF101 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is approximately equal. So when choosing between these devices, you should look at their other parameters.

BY

Since the third generation of Android was introduced, Google has released three versions: 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2. The first release was extremely “raw”, which fully reflected the Transformer, since it was the one that was installed in the first batches of the device. And here ASUS has shown a worthy example for current and future manufacturers of Android tablets.

The company has organized a quick and simple way that allows the user to painlessly carry out the system update operation. If we omit some details, then the owner of the Transformer only needs to download the firmware from the official website, copy it to the internal memory, after which the device will find itself new version The OS will prompt you to update. Then just a few touches will lead to the system automatically “growing up” to the latest version.

What’s even more impressive is that they are completely saved after the update. system settings and files in internal memory. Therefore, the user does not have to make any “backups”. ASUS has clearly shown that its installation mechanism has been worked out, so with the release of Ice Cream Sandwich, no additional steps will need to be taken to deploy it.

Installing Android 3.2 gives a noticeable increase in performance, menu transitions become smoother and faster, and the list of preinstalled services also expands noticeably.

When you turn on the tablet, you can see an unlock ring similar to HTS Sense. Remove the “lock” and get to the main menu. In it, Android shows its ever-more visible commitment to separating smartphones from tablets with the introduction of the local taskbar.

In the lower left corner are the very buttons that allowed the device to get rid of physical control buttons: returning to the previous screen, going to the main desktop and calling up a vertical list of recently launched tasks.

On the right side of the line there is a tray area where you can see all notifications related to wired and wireless connections.

There is a shortened submenu and an extended one with several popular options.

To create a working environment, only five desktops are presented. The central one is also subject to change, which is necessary in the light of far from the most best set shortcuts.

In the upper right corner, by clicking on the “+” button, the user is taken to the screen element settings menu. Here in the appropriate bookmarks there are widgets, shortcuts to all available programs and wallpapers.

Let's go to the application menu, where we will study the preinstalled elements.

First on the list is the Kindle online store, in the only possible English version with the only possible books in English. How necessary its presence is in tablets sold in the CIS is rather a rhetorical question.

As always, there is a place for Google services, the email client Gmail, Google Talk and Google search. In addition to Gmail, there is also an “omnivorous” email program.

An interesting element is the Layar service, which is missing from new Galaxy Tab 10.1. It is a kind of program from the future and is intended for use with a camera. While walking around the city, you can point your lens at various architectural structures and receive information on them without manual search, if any. The app detects the user's viewing direction and location to display information.

Book reading is organized in a separate application with a visual shelf of available publications.

Movie Studio remains a mystery to us. Logically speaking, it is designed to edit images, but it did not accept any of the proposed files. More precisely, it reported a notification at the end of the video process, but never showed it.

MyCloud is a collection of two cloud services. MyContent stores media content on a server on the Internet, making it accessible wherever you are. MyDesktop allows you to remotely control your computer, again regardless of its location.

PressReader and Zinio Reader are convenient services for purchasing magazines and newspapers, of which there are hundreds of items on a wide variety of subjects to choose from. For those who don't want to pay for content, PressReader will be most appealing. It has enough Russian publications, and for each half a dozen of the latest issues you can download for free.

MyNet suggests an analogy with Samsung AllShare and allows access to materials on the tablet from other devices within reach via Wi-Fi.

The standard Gallery may well disappoint - there are practically no editing options, which is an unforgivable omission compared to the HTC and Samsung shells.

The file manager allows you to perform operations both with individual folders and files, and with their arrays. It is necessary to mark the objects of interest, after which a context menu with copy, cut and delete operations.

There will also be a Tegra Zone store, where games specifically for NVIDIA Tegra are presented. The titles have extremely attractive graphics, but so far there are too few of them - we think that over time the range will become much larger, since the NVIDIA hardware platform has become almost the standard for 10-inch tablets.

Navigation is more than standard, Google services always ready to find the way and indicate where the user is.

The updated Android Market shows a tiled menu, but may also return to a more familiar list of application categories.

Music is one of the main disappointments of Android 3.2. The settings are kept to a bare minimum; there is not even an equalizer or sorting of tracks by artist.

Despite the absence of a shortcut, the system has a built-in player that flatly refuses to be “friendly” with videos in 720p and 1080p formats. Variations with players made it possible to achieve playback of one of the files in normal mode, but no more. With the same files on Samsung smartphone Galaxy R, based on the same hardware platform, had no problems. Let's make a reservation that this may be due to a high resolution screen. In addition, an absolutely identical situation is observed with the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

In continuation of common tasks, let’s mention reading PDF files. It is almost impossible - if the overall rendering of the page takes a tolerable couple of seconds, then any approximation will force you to wait up to 30-40 seconds, which is simply unacceptable.

Strange changes have occurred with the keyboard - ASUS decided to replace the standard Android unit with a proprietary solution, but one that is extremely far from ideal and also extremely paradoxical. The gray palette with blurry edges is a direct greeting from the archaic Android 2.1. Narrow elongated letters in portrait orientation are a premise from the same distant version. Otherwise it's standard keyboard Android, therefore, begs to be replaced by more convenient variations from independent developers.

The browser compensates for Transformer's limited functionality. First and foremost, it supports full tabs. That is, on top panel you see a list of all tabs just like on a computer. The browser consistently rendered bulky sites, did not crash frequently, and worked at a high level. Except that not all videos, with the exception of those from YouTube, were willing to be launched.

Just for show, let's mention ordinary applications whose visual variations do not in any way affect the main purpose: a voice recorder, a calculator and a calendar.

With the docking station connected, the tablet turns into almost a full-fledged netbook. Practically - because its limitations are caused purely by the capabilities of Android and the lack of a multi-window mode. Let's say you won't be able to see a player open in one window. Text Document and browser. However, if there is no need for this, then Transformer turns out to be an extremely successful solution.

The main advantage of the docking station is that together with it the tablet looks completely finished ready-made solution, which other manufacturers can only focus on. He can say with confidence that in terms of design, materials, execution and overall thoughtfulness, Transformer will not have even far-fetched competitors for a long time. And this is another victory over the iPad, since Apple doesn’t even have anything like that in its plans.

As we already wrote, the docking station is equipped with two USB ports. ASUS could have limited itself to one port, but this would have looked like a demonstration opportunity; here the unit turns the hybrid into an effective workstation.

Connection of a regular USB mouse is supported. The matter is not limited to this, the device is even able to recognize and work correctly with external keyboards! Flash drives are also serviced correctly, although Android cannot cope with hard drives.

Not only an external mouse is suitable for control, but also a built-in touchpad with two buttons. The left one is responsible for “clicking”, while the right one returns to the previous screen. Regardless of the connected devices, the touch screen remains functional. This is extremely convenient, since sometimes it is faster to directly point your finger at the required element than to point at it with the mouse pointer. The mouse really isn't very useful on Android. This system is designed for finger control, while the mouse pointer is useful for aiming at something small. In the browser it is more or less useful, when working with documents it is also quite good, but otherwise there is little use for a touchpad or an external mouse.

The keyboard takes some getting used to, just like any other keyboard on a regular netbook. Further, the short key travel ensures speed dial, and Polaris Office provides a viable alternative Microsoft Office. If you have not yet come across this open package, then let us clarify - it performs all the basic functions of viewing and editing in text and spreadsheet documents. Therefore, both for students in lectures and for those who simply need to work with text on the go, Transformer becomes a competent assistant.

Plus, the docking station has its own battery, so the total battery life of the tablet increases to the stated 16 hours. Needless to say, the achievement exceeds the performance of netbooks and makes Transformer ideal solution for long trips and air travel.

Conclusion

To summarize, I would like to draw attention to the Transformer as a completely new generation of tablet devices that change the understanding of the purpose and capabilities of this class of devices. After Transformer, questions about why analysts began to equate tablets with computers in their reports disappear.

From the point of view of practicality, ASUS has created an ideal product. It has no design flaws; the body is made of strong and reliable materials, as is the docking station. The set is convenient and organically combined with touch controls, and support external devices and storage, coupled with a sensitive touchpad, completely elevate the Transformer to a level previously unattainable for tablets.

And as impressive as the work done by ASUS is, the “rawness” of Android, even in version 3.2, is so disappointing. The system still has not learned to read PDF normally, and the small set of codecs and poor optimization make viewing video in 720p format almost impossible.

Be that as it may, Transformer looks like a reasonable and complete product, and software flaws, unlike hardware ones, can always be fixed, which is what Google is constantly doing.

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