Laptop Thoughts: News & Reviews on Laptops, Netbooks, Slates, and More.

"I've been hanging on to the Asus Transformer Prime for the last month for a reason.

Even though the tablet launched a few weeks ago, the real news was that Asus was going to push out a major update to the new version of Google's Android called Ice Cream Sandwich."

Looks like a very good Android tablet has gotten better with Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) - better performance, better multitasking, and the hardware just feels faster. In fact, the author states that swiping between screens is now faster than on the iPad2. Improved browser performance is another advantage, and there is now a control panel "for controlling stuff." Unfortunately, quality tablet apps are still lacking, according to the author, and there appear to be bugs in the ICS update process, and with the tablet's GPS. Despite these improvements, again according to the author, the iPad2 still is ahead in the overall user experience, but this is the best Android tablet to date.

"Flustered with the original Transformer Prime you just purchased? We'd advise you to have a seat. ASUS just took the wraps off an all new Transformer Prime (the TF700T) here at CES, which is presumably designed to rival Acer's newly-announced Iconia Tab A700."

There are tons of new devices being announced at CES right now! How about a new ASUS Transformer Prime TF700T. It's a 10.1" quad-core tablet but with a 1.3GHz Tegra 3 CPU/GPU and a 1920x1200 Super IPS+ display!!! It also just weighs over a pound and will come with Ice Cream Sandwich! It will be compatible with the current tPrime keyboard/battery dock and is due to hit North America next quarter.

If you've been eyeing up the Kindle Fire you may want to consider the ASUS Eee Pad MeMO (ME171). It has a 7" 1280x800 IPS display and a 1.2GHz Qualcomm CPU/GPU along with 1GB of RAM and 16 or 32GB of built in storage. The Eee Pad MeMO will also ship with Ice Cream Sandwich.

Make sure you check the article for all the details on both of these tablets. Does either of these look like what you've been waiting for?

"ASUS has announced that due to the response they’ve had on the subject, they’ll be releasing a bootloader unlock tool for the device as well! Developers and hackers alike will be able to work with their NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core toting Transformer Prime on an intimate level, and will be able to do it with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as well, starting on January 12th, 2012!"

In case you missed it there was a public outcry due to the locked bootloader on the Transformer Prime over the weekend. Because of that ASUS said it will release a bootloader unlocking tool on January 12 and also start pushing out Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) to the Transformer Prime at the same time!!! This should make everyone happy! I'm impressed that they'll have ICS ready for the Transformer Prime so soon. Hopefully this will push other manufactures to get on the ball and release ICS for their devices sooner rather than later.

"When Intel initially put out the idea of the ultrabook as a new type of laptop, I admit harboring plenty of skepticism—isn’t the ultrabook just a gussied up rebranding of an ultraportable? Unfortunately, being a skeptic/cynic has served me well over the years, and so now here I sit in front of two ultrabooks trying to determine a couple of things: which ultrabook is the “best” right now, and are any of them actually worth buying."

A well-done review, that hints that buying a first-generation ultrabook means that some compromises are necessary. For example, both the S3 and the UX31E have decidedly mediocre LCDs, with the ASUS system being brighter, and with better contrast. The SSDs differ greatly in performance. Both have keyboards that are okay, but are not backlit. Performance is best with the ASUS, and it also has better battery life (but also a larger battery). The bottom line is that both of these system are trying to unseat the MacBook Air from the top of the heap, and while neither one really succeeds, the ASUS UX31E comes close. Samsung's S9 also is getting some good reviews, so if it has to be Windows, you'll probably want to look at (and try in-person) all three of these ultrabooks.

"It’s thinner, smaller and lighter then its predecessor and its made out of superior materials. The aluminum body has an improved look and feel and the higher integrity of the materials has allowed for an even more sturdy hinge for the keyboard docking station."

The ASUS Transformer got attention for being a tablet with a dockable keyboard. It apparently was an enough of a success to have a sequel which puts the Transformer Prime on par with more recent if not cutting edge hardware. Part tablet, part laptop, I do think that this is largely where mobile computing is headed, and what could ultimately put an end to netbooks, if it were not for the cost. An 18 hour battery life is most impressive, and likely will not be seen by laptops for a very long time. If only productivity apps were more caught up with their "desktop" counterparts it would be a real killer.

"The Transformer Prime, with its quad-core silicon and tasty OS, has rightfully garnered much attention lately. A PowerPoint deck detailing ASUS' Q3 earnings now gives us a peek at its Eee Pad strategy -- confirming the aforementioned Prime's November 9th release date, while also promising two more bot-powered slates in the first quarter of 2012."

Looking at the accompanying information from ASUS, translated into English (somewhere), and then extracted from a German-language site, the news is about an ASUS Transformer Prime, followed by an ASUS PadFone and a variant on the Eee Pad Slider. Two (2) Windows 8 tablets (Eee Slate E121 and the Eee Slate Business B121) are scheduled to be available in the autumn of 2012, giving ASUS two tablet technologies (consumer *and* business) in the marketplace.

The Transformer Prime looks to have NVIDIA's new Tegra 3 quad-core processor, a 10-inch display, 14.5-hour battery run time, and should run Android's newest OS. The current Transformer is a very solid tablet, and these updates should be welcomed by its fans.

ASUS estimates that it will sell roughly 1.8-million tablets in 2011, with an additional estimate of 600K still to be sold/delivered in Q4 2011 in addition to the 1.2-million sold to date. While the news is (and dates are) a bit contradictory in translation, we can expect some new competitors to the iPad from ASUS.

"Windows users don't need to hide in shame whenever they see someone whip out a MacBook Air at the local Starbucks. The ASUS Zenbook UX31 is a slim, stylish Ultrabook that not only packs a robust Core i5 processor and 128GB SSD into its 3-pound unibody aluminum chassis, but a high-res 1600 x 900 display and excellent audio."

Finally, an ultrabook that challenges the MacBook Air (MBA). Higher (1600x900) resolution, but not quite as good with viewing angles. Keyboard is flat, effective, but required harder touches to get keys to register. The large touchpad needs work. Cooling is excellent. Better audio, but the bass vibrates the deck of the UX31. Boot and wake slower than the MBA, but better than other Windows systems. More ports, but some compromises. Processor robust, but topped in the reported benchmarks by the MBA. Graphics performance slightly less than reported by the MBA. Battery life good, but, again, not as good as the MBA. But, starting at $200 less than the MBA, and with a larger screen, my impression is that the hardware is excellent, but that the software (mostly drivers) still needs some work. The MacBook Air still leads, but the competition is narrowing the gap. If I need a Windows laptop, this one definitely goes on my short list.

Now dubbed the "ZENBOOK", the much-anticipated UX21 and UX31 ultrabooks are coming very soon - as in, available for order tomorrow. Woot! I'm really excited about this personally, because I've been looking for a new laptop for quite a long time now. The UX31 looks like it's exactly what I'm looking for, though I'm reluctant to drop $1500 on one until I read a review or two. Asus has a good track record with recent laptops, so I'm cautiously optimistic this will be a solid product. What about you? Are you getting an ultrabook?

Full press release after the break. Read more...

"While most Android tablets make due with a touch keyboard, for many typists a set of virtual keys just doesn't cut it. It's for these users that ASUS has designed the Eee Pad Slider SL101, the first 10-inch Android tablet with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The $479 Eee Pad Slider also features a bright IPS screen, a full-size USB port (for attaching a storage drive or mouse), and a sleek soft-touch chassis. But do these goodies justify the 2.1-pound weight? And just how good is the typing experience?"

For those that prefer physical keyboards, ASUS has heard you! The Eee Pad Slider is larger and heavier than both the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (without the keyboard), but add a keyboard and the Slider is lighter. The wide bezel around the glossy IPS screen allows for a larger (but still smaller than a netbook) keyboard, and includes dedicated numeric keys. It is also possible to attach a mouse to better approximate a laptop. One point to note is that there is no palmrest, so support for the wrists is lacking, and no built-in pointing device.

If you do a lot of text entry, this is a good tablet choice, but if not, there are better (lighter, and less expensive) options.

This is the first video I've seen of the shipping version of the Asus Eee Pad Slider - if you're looking for an Android tablet that has a keyboard but don't want the added weight or cost of the detachable keyboard a la Transformer, this is worth considering. Although checking the prices, I see that the Transformer with the dock is only $20 more than the Slider. Hmm. Given the huge benefit to battery life that the Transformer offers with the keyboard dock, I'm not sure why I'd go for the Slider...you?

"We've heard the stories, but we've yet to appreciate it in the flesh until now. That's right, Pocket-lint was present and correct at the first UK showing of the Asus UX31, the company's new Ultrabook. Shown at an Intel Tweet Up in London to an unsuspecting audience, the new flagship Asus device and MacBook Air destroyer, according to some, settled in for a quiet 20 minutes with Pocket-lint."

I'm smitten...this may very well be my next laptop. The design is fantastic, the specs are right in line with what I'm looking for (256 MB SSD, Core i7 CPU) and, best of all, the 13.3" screen will come with a 1600 x 900 option. FINALLY someone doing something other than 1366 x 768! Assuming the price point is around $1500 (give or take) and the reviews are good, this is the laptop I'll be buying this fall. More photos here as well.

"ASUS has gone and made its super svelte Eee PC X101 official with a dedicated product page live on its site. We'd already gotten our hands-on with the crimson-colored ultraportable, but now there's a whole list of specs to flesh out this 920g wonder."

The specifications for the X101 do not look that impressive. In fact, it looks a lot like many of the netbooks of years gone by. Probably the biggest part of interest is the $199 price tag, which is finally starting to get the price of the netbook down to where it was originally supposed to be. I do not see the X101 saving the netbook industry, however. Netbooks will still play a wonderful role in our mobile computing, but tablets are the hot item, and what everyone is talking about. You will definitely not impress anyone at Starbucks with one of these.

"The ASUS K53SV-B1 is a handsome machine well suited for mainstream users. It offers plenty of power for day-to-day use, and when put to the test with video and games, its Intel Core i7 and Nvidia GT 540M graphics processor ensure that this system can handle itself. But at $969, is the K53SV a stud or a dud?"

At 6-pounds, with a crazy name, but with prices starting at $799 with an i5 processor, 6GB of memory, a 640GB drive, and a robust NVIDIA graphics card, this appears to be a great multimedia and gaming system. An extra $170 kicks up the processor to an i7, but the rest of the configuration is the same. The system is cool running, with a very good keyboard and touchpad, very good 1366x768 display, pretty good Altec Lansing speakers, a full complement of ports (but no USB 3.0), a webcam that was somewhat grainy, great graphics, a battery lasting about 4-hours (a bit below the average for this laptop class), but with relatively weak wifi performance. Another huge plus is ASUS' 2-year warranty, with 1-year of accidental damage protection. Not the lightest laptop in its class, but if you're looking for a multimedia / gaming laptop, this may be well worth a look.

"Two of the latest low-cost Honeycomb tablets to hit the shelves are the Acer Iconia Tab A500 and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer. The only trouble is, it's almost impossible to tell the two apart (beyond the $50 price difference). At first glance they are pretty similar. Both have a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 capacitive touchscreen, run NVIDIA's 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor and 1GB of RAM. Each has 16GB or 32GB of internal storage along with a microSD card slot that can handle an additional 32GB. Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n on both (the A500 adds in 802.11a support) and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, together with a mini-HDMI port for outputting up to 1080p HD video. 3G versions of each tablet will follow later in the year."

The improvements keep coming in the tablet market. The Asus Transformer looks very impressive. Both the tablets have about the same specifications. The Asus has the biggest glaring standout about 16 hours of battery life with its docking station. To me that is just amazing, as the Asus tablet will last for a business day and still have battery life to spare. The question that comes to mind are both the tablets better than an Apple iPad. From the hardware, I would say yes. When it comes to the software, Android market is just starting for the tablets. Keep in mind this is new technology and it is not cheap. However, if you are looking for that extra battery life (Asus), ports, portability (1.5lbs), and Android O/S these tablets might fit the bill. One other thing is the new laptop are cheaper than these tablets. It is something to keep in mind.

"We just got to spend some quality time with ASUS' newly unveiled Padfone and you can see the smartphone that doubles up as a tablet on video after the break."

Is it too early to start thinking about the holidays again? ASUS doesn't think so! They are working on the Padfone, a smartphone/tablet combo, and hope it will be released later this year. It isn't official, but they have hinted that it may ship with Ice Cream Sandwich. If we find out more details we will let you know!

"The thickest part of this new laptop is 17mm, its entire body is built from an aluminum alloy (weighs 1.1kg / 2.4lb), and the CPUs can be specced as high as Core i7. Anything else you need to know before drooling all over yourself?"

Too late, I've already started to drool. The specs on this system are incredible. Extremely close in size to a MacBook Air, but with (up to) a Core i7 processor, SATA-III SSD at speeds up to 6GB/sec, and USB3. A glass trackpad, reinforced hinges, 7-hour (claimed) battery, and a metal keyboard (backlit?) appear to be standard. An InstantOn feature promises to resume (Windows) in seconds, and the UX21 can hibernate for a full week. Funny, but each successive product announcement blurs the lines between Mac and PC further. At some point I expect it to become like a Volkswagen vs. Audi debate: Identical features for the most part, but different packaging and pricing. Windows or OS X may become no longer important. No information on availability or pricing is currently availability, but in another review, PCMAG's direct question to ASUS was "will the UX21 be less expensive than the MacBook Air?" The answer "was a resounding yes."

"As the name would suggest, there is much more than meets the eye with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer. The tablet’s spec sheet reads nearly identical to its biggest Android-powered competitor, the Motorola Xoom. Both are powered by NVIDIA’s incredibly capable dual-core Tegra 2 processor, augmented with 1GB of RAM, and enter the market amidst significant hype. "

If you like the portability of tablets, but find yourself sometimes in need of some more heavy text input, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer may be what you are looking for. The specs are nice and about as speedy as one would expect any pricey Android tablet to be, but the big draw for the Transformer of any other tablet is its optional keyboard dock. A standard dock would raise questions with me, as if you are doing enough data entry to need a keyboard, would you not be better served with a netbook or Macbook Air? And at the price of the keyboard dock and the tablet, you are already in that price range. Still, it is an interesting addition, and it might be an indication of the netbook of the future. I read reports that the original netbooks that had Linux installed were often returned in favour of Windows based ones. With the market, consumers and expectations much different now, a netbook might be seen as no longer needing a traditional desktop OS.

"At the tail end of last month, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Best Buy listing appeared then disappeared for the Eee Pad Transformer tablet from ASUS. It U.S. release had been set for April, and now the Pad Transformer is here, and completely sold out at any major online retailer you can think of, including Amazon and Best Buy."

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is one of the more interesting Android-based tablets: it brings a lot of of hardware to the table, including a clever keyboard dock that boosts battery life to an estimated 16 hours of run time. Any Laptop Thoughts readers try and fail to get one?

I can't say much for Asus' marketing tag line on the Transformer - "My Multiple Life, I decide" sounds like a bad translation of bottle of Chinese bipolar disorder drug - but the device itself is shaping up to me quite impressive...at least on paper. It has all of the standard goodness that we've come to expect from a modern Android tablet - the NVIDIA Tegra 2 1 Ghz dual-core CPU, 1080p playback support, a nice 10.1 inch IPS display running 1280 x 800 resolution, 16 Gb or 32 GB of storage, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 1.2 megapixel front camera, and the usual assortment of sensors (G-Sensor, Light, Gyroscope, E-Compass, GPS).

What's really interesting about the Transformer is the fact that it docks with a keyboard that takes the 9.5 hour battery run-time and boosts it to an impressive 16 hours. If those are real numbers, and not inflated marketing numbers, this tablet will be an amazing breakthrough for people who need a device with incredible endurance. The fact that it has two USB ports, and an SD card reader in the keyboard base station, make it all the more tempting.

The best hardware in the world though won't make up for a lack of tablet-friendly applications, and based on my experience so far with the Motorola XOOM, this is a significant problem. I can only hope that as more Android 3.0 tablets come to market, developers will take note and gear up their coding efforts.

"Before it hit store shelves here in the US MoDaCo founder Paul O'Brien managed to get his hands on one of the upcoming Android devices and, with a little help from Twitter user BumbleDroid, gained root access to the tablet."

The quote above pretty much says it all. The Asus Transformer has already been rooted! So why would anyone want this? Well, apparently this Honeycomb tablet will be available with a Tegra 2, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, 1.2MP webcam, and a WXGA 10.1" IPS LCD for $400. Not bad and you already know you can root it, plus you can add a keyboard to the thing if you want (that's the "Transformer" part)! Will anyone be picking this up when it's released or will it at least make you hold off on a purchase until you get to try it?