Asus Eee Pad Transformer Cons

Limitations and Drawbacks

This yet another impressive Android tablet on the market, and there will be many more to come in the future.  The Transformer is definitely a contender for the hearts and minds of potential tablet buyers, packed with hardware goodies, sleek and compact design this tablet cannot go wrong.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment would be the Transformer is not available in 3G models, with only Wi-Fi models available in the market, it is indeed one of the drawbacks.  But later down the line Asus will be producing 3G models

Other limitations would be similar to the Motorola Xoom as mentioned in the previous blog.  Not many apps available in the Android market compared to the Apple App Store.

Also considering in model choices Apple gives a wider range, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB available in both Wi-Fi and 3G, while Asus only exist in 16 GB and 32 GB in Wi-Fi only.

 Price Comparison:

	MODEL	PRICE
MOTOROLA XOOM	32 GB Wi-Fi	$599
	32 GB 3G	$799
APPLE I-PAD 2	32 GB Wi-Fi	$599
	32 GB 3G	$729
ASUS EEE PAD TRANSFORMER	32 GB Wi-Fi	$600 Wi-Fi only ( approx. $700 with keyboard )

Overall the 10.1-inch Asus Eee Pad Transformer is a great Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet, but it's the cleverly designed keyboard dock that makes it really stand out from the crowd. While not perfect, the Transformer's competitive price tag makes it well worth considering.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer

ASUS EEE PAD TRANSFORMER

Asus is known for its lap-tops and net- books in the market, but also have joined the tablet revolution.  The Asus ‘Eee Pad Transformer’ is yet again another Android tablet which comes with the latest 3.2 Honeycomb OS.  It was launched at March 30^th, 2011.

This tablet is packed with hardware as you would expect from Asus, running on a 1GHz dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 10.1-inch LED Backlight multi-touch screen with resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels equipped with 5 Megapixels camera with LED flash and an additional 1.2 Megapixels front-facing camera for video chat and many more.  And you might be wondering how the name “Transformer” came into conclusion, it is because Asus also gives you the extra option of buying a connectable QWERTY keyboard base which gives you the feeling of using a light net-book.  Not only that, it is also used as a charging dock for tablet, providing approximately 6.5 hrs of charge.  The tablet itself has a battery life of 9.5 hrs; together they give you impressive total of 16 hrs battery life.

Software:

The Transformer originally ran a modified version of Android 3.1, but has since been updated to Android 3.2. The physical keys (home, back, and menu) have been skinned to resemble the standard Android phone keys.

The tablet is bundled with MyNet, MyLibrary, MyCloud, Press Reader, MyDesktop and Polaris Office 3, for full document editing.  More updates have been realised since the launch date, this updated the system with extra widgets for MyZine, which is a desktop widget shop, for weather, email, calendar, gallery, etc. It also added MyCloud, a remote desktop app.

The browsing experience is same as the Motorola Xoom as I mentioned in the previous blog, because these are both Android tablets.

The Transformer has a brilliant display screen, it is delivered by 10.1-inch IPS.  The display does not disappoint, well saturated pictures maintains its vibrancy even as you tilt the tablet to test out Asus’ promised 178-degree viewing angles. Some brightness is lost at extreme angles, but it's a true IPS panel, of that there is no doubt.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Specs:

Price:

•          $400 Wi-Fi only for 16 GB ( approx. $500 with keyboard )
•      $600 Wi-Fi only for 32 GB ( approx. $700 with keyboard )

Operating system

• Android 3.2 Honeycomb

Power

• 9.5 hours; 24.4 Wh Li-polymer battery, 16 hours with dock CPU 1 GHz dual-core nVidia Tegra 2

Storage capacity

•  Flash memory 
• 16 or 32 GB, microSD slot (dock full size SD slot), unlimited ASU WebStorage

Memory

• 1 GB

Display

• 1280×800 px (aspect ratio 16:10), 10.1 in (26 cm) diagonal, 160 PPI

Graphics

• GeForce ULP

Input

• Multi-touch screen
• dock keyboard + touchpad
• compass
• GPS receiver
• Ambient light sensors
• 3-axis accelerometer
• 3-axis gyroscope

Camera 

• Back: 5 MP AF camera
• Front:1.3 MP front-facing (for video calls) 
  

Connectivity

• Bluetooth 2.1
• mini HDMI 1.3a
• Dock 2x USB 2.0
• DLNA
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n

Dimensions

• 10.6 in (270 mm) (h)
• 6.9 in (180 mm) (w) 
• 0.51 in (13 mm) (d)
• Weight  (680 g) 
  

Motorola Xoom Cons

Limitations and Drawbacks

There are not many drawbacks and there is a lot to like about the new Xoom.  It is most complete and clearly functioning version of Android, the hardware which is packed inside Motorola's tablet is really quite good.

However there are only few cons to mention about the Xoom.  On the sound side of things, the Xoom could produce reasonably clear audio at a mid-level volume, cranking the tablet up created some pretty nasty distortion on basic sounds.

Xoom Vs I-Pad 2:

The comparison is made to the current popular I-Pad 2, since the Xoom is competing for top spot, it is only fair to compare to arguably the best tablet available in the market.   Few cons were, not many apps were present to play around with at this moment of time for the Xoom, most of them are not formatted to the tablet settings.  Compared to I-Pad, Apple has over 100,000 apps in the app store.

When it comes to picture viewing quality, the I-Pad 2 beats the Xoom by a small margin, especially when viewing the picture from certain angles; Xoom just doesn’t have that sharp and crisp looking image which the I-Pad 2 delivers.

I-Pad 2 also beats the Xoom on battery life.  Xoom having around 8-9hrs while the I-Pad 2 having over 10hrs.

When it comes to choice, the Motorola Xoom is only available in 32 GB in either 3G or Wi-Fi version; were as opposed to Apples I-Pad you have the choice of 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB.

Price Comparison:

	MODEL	PRICE
MOTOROLA XOOM	32 GB Wi-Fi	$599
	32 GB 3G	$799
APPLE I-PAD 2	32 GB Wi-Fi	$599
	32 GB 3G	$729

If you are willing to pay 30 dollars more, the 64GB 3G I-Pad is available for $829.  You could say the Motorola Xoom is a bit pricey, but considering the latest Android software and future down the line upgradable to 4G, the price seems within reason. 

Motorola Xoom

 MOTOROLA XOOM

 It has certainly been the year of the tablets, and since the release of corporate giant Apple and its I-Pad, it didn’t take long before the other companies made their move into the tablet generation.

The Motorola Xoom is an Android-based tablet by Motorola.  With sleek design and I-Pad look alike, the Xoom 3G version was released on February 24, 2011, and the Wi-Fi version was released March 27, 2011. It was the first tablet to be sold with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the most recent mobile operating system by Android.  Xoom is equipped with formidable hardware. The 1GHz, NVIDIA Tegra 2-based slate boasts a sizable 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 capacitive display, 3G connectivity, along with front and rear facing cameras, HD video capability, and loads of wireless options.

There can be little question that the Xoom is certainly a contender for the hearts and minds of potential tablet buyers in the market.

Software:

Both the Wi-Fi and Verizon branded Xoom runs Google's Android 3.2 Honeycomb(initially 3.0), whose new features include a redesigned, tablet-optimized user interface , improved task-switching, a newly redesigned notification system, Google Maps 5 in 3D and browser enhancements including tabbed-browsing, form auto-fill and bookmark syncing.

Browsing experience is very similar to that of a desktop style, so you feel right at home.  The tablet has a much more authentic layout for browsing through YouTube and your personal music collection with sort of 3D-ish layout and the G-mail has given a new face lift.

The Xoom arguably has one of the best battery life, ranging between 8-9 hrs.

Motorola XOOM Specs:

Price:

•      $700-800 3G only
•     $500-600 Wi-Fi only

Operating system:

• Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)(upgradeable to 3.2.1)

Power:

•       6500 mAh

CPU:

•       Nvidia Tegra 2 T20, 1 GHz dual-core processor

Storage capacity:

•     Internal flash memory: 32 GB
•      external slot: microSD card after SW update

Memory 

• 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM

Display 

•    1280×800 px (aspect ratio 16:10), 10.1 in (26 cm) diagonal, 160 ppi,Gorilla Glass

Graphics

•      Tegra 2 T20, ULP GeForce 333 MHz

Input

• Multi-touch capacitive touchscreen display
• Ambient light sensors
• Microphone
• Barometer
• Magnetometer (Compass)
• S-GPS
• 3-axis accelerometer
• 3-axis gyroscope

Camera

•     Back: 5.0 MP with 4× digital zoom 
•     Autofocus, 720p video capture, 30 fps, dual LED flash
•     Front: 2.0 MP camera

Connectivity

• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Class 2
• micro-HDMI 1.4 (type D), 720p (out)
• micro-USB 2.0
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
• CDMA version: EVDO Rev. A
• GSM version: GSM/EDGE

Dimensions

•      249.1 mm (9.81 in) (h)
•      167.8 mm (6.61 in) (w)
•      12.9 mm (0.51 in) (d) 
•       Weight 730 g

Introduction to Tablets

Introduction to Tablets

Tablets are leading the way in cutting edge computer technologies emerging in today’s society. In this blog we will be looking at what these new and sleek devices are and exploring various aspects of them, things such as: their purpose, functionality, cost, types and forms they take and their effect on the traditional PCs and Laptops. We will also be comparing several tablet models and the pros and cons of each to see how they match up.

What is a Tablet Device?

A tablet device is a personal touch screen appliance that is made of glass and operates via touches made to the screen by hand or a digital pen.
They range in their size but are generally no thicker than 4-5 centimeters at most and can be as slim as 1.5 centimeters in height. The screen size is between 5 inches to 10 inches wide.

       These devices run an operating system (OS) that is computer like and in some instances is, Linux or windows.

Generally the OS is customized and open source operating systems such as Android can have apps written for them by anyone.

Image Source:  http://gadgetfeel.com/choosing-your-tablet-pc/

What forms do Tablets come in?

Slate Tablet PC

"A tablet touch device that has handwriting, finger touch or stylus recognition. Enables the option of connecting external keyboards through wireless connectivity or through the USB port. Created to withstand extreme conditions such as humidity, heat and even impact from accidental dropping."-Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5666095

Convertible Tablets

"Similar in appearance to laptops, except the fact that the display screen can be rotated at 180º as it is attached to the base of the PC. Convertible tablets are widely used across the world because they offer the advantage of using a keyboard and also a stylus or a digital pen."-Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5666095

Booklet Tablets

"These are twin screen computers and the name is derived from the fact that they can be opened like a book. Booklet tablets are built with digital pen as well as touch detection abilities and these can be used for a number of purposes including watching TV on the internet, internet browsing, e-reading, etc."-Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5666095

Hybrid Tablet PC

"Another type of tablet personal computer is known as the hybrid tablet PC. This type of PC incorporates the functionality of both the convertible as well as the slate tablet computer. They act as a convertible tablet when the keyboard and affixed and act as a slate tablet when the keyboard is removed."-Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5666095

"These are four of the most common types of tablet PCs that can be purchased today."