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I got my g-tablet from Sears on November 2 and returned it to the store yesterday. I told them it does not have flash as stated on the box and the display is of very poor quality. I got full refund.
Why did I return it?
- Nvidia quality sucks: I had dead laptop, because of defective nvidia chip. If you don't believe it check this: Apple, Dell and HP got a class action suit against Nvidia: www nvidiasettlement com. OpenGL drivers are full of bugs they may have fixed Angry Birds, but there are plenty other bugs I'm sure.
- Nvidia does not conform to standards. No NEON instructions in Tegra. They try to play their desktop video card game, by providing custom APIs and making their applications incompatible with other ARM CPUs. So far it is the opposite - applications that run good on every other Cortex A8, does not play on Tegra.
- Nvidia keep their specs closed. I tried to get information on how to hook a hardware JTAG debugger, but all specs are opened only for partners.
- The device has the worst display I've seen. In portrait mode it gives me distorted colors even when looked at 90 degrees angle.
- The device is made by Malata and not Viewsonic. There is no track history for this company and I don't want to risk my money with unknown hardware quality (software we all know sucks)
For all folks expecting Notion Ink Adam: I'm sorry but this is going to be the same crap. Notion Ink has no proven record (neither Pixel Qi),combined with a low quality Nvidia chip, this is going to hurt.
I'm going to wait for the upcoming Acer tablet with a 10-inch screen that will run a Qualcomm dual-core 1 Ghz processor (produced on the new 28nm technology, supports out of order execution).
One good word about the G-tablet: the apx mode allows you to flash any OS, but the tablet has only 512MB internal Flash, which is not enough for dual boot.
My perfect tablet needs to be a laptop replacement: that means dual boot Android/Gentoo Linux, ability to boot every other ARM OS(windows phone,etc) from a sdcard. Also it has to have a case with keyboard and mouse pad (to be used as laptop when needed).
The TnT interface shows how clueless are Viewsonic about what the people actually need.
I bought mine about 3 days ago.. and I'm returning it today because of the poor viewing angles on the screen.. and also because of the laggy ui.. even with custom roms
edit: changed my mind and I'm going to keep mine for a while. there's a lot of great work being done with custom roms that might fix the lagginess. looking forward to notion inks announcement on december 9th!
i have had mine for about a week, the only way i'm returning it is if something better comes out within my 30 day window. it certainly does have flaws but i'm gonna give it more of a chance.
I am keeping mine because I am running Android 2.2 which doesn't take advantage of the dual-core processor, and because it is more of an accessory than a laptop replacement for me. This is definitely a hacker's unit more than an out-of-the-box laptop replacement.
-=Sent from my ViewSonic G Tablet using Tapatalk=-
To get a better one
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Keeping mine. Roebeet has been working hard to make this tablet worth something. I have no compaints with this device while running tnt lite other than the screen viewing angles. Even still, 9 times out of 10, im holding my device right in front of me so viewing angles are not as big of factor. This device is really just ahead of its time. The hardware is there, just the operating system is yet to be optimized for a 10 inch tablet with a tegra 2 processor. Roebeets tnt lite is just a sneak peak at what this thing is capable of. Once there is a 100% stock android it will run even faster, or even android 3.0. With this thing being completely open, its only a matter of time. This is a hackers paradise. Its so new that not everyone was able to get their hands on it yet. Give this thing time, i think you will be suprised what this thing can do and regret returning it.
I'm keeping mine. With a good bit of modding its actually nice to use. The screen angles are pretty bad in good lighting but is fine in low light situations. So I just use it in landscape in good light areas. Aside from the screen and sadly the TnT software this Malta pad is great. It even has a potential to be a beast as new products are released and Tegra 2 support becomes stronger.
Anything we get until Feb of next year is going to be a bit of a mess. All the top tier companies who only want to release a 100% consumer friendly product are holding off for Honeycomb. The current releases are either mid tier companies hungry for market share, bottom of the barrel companies releasing crap, and start ups like Adam using time as an opportunity.
We're on the bleeding edge and it shows. Likely the only company thats going to put in the effort needed to make this a good experience is Adam. They're a new company with something to prove. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the their tab ends up going for $600 and still selling well.
Bottom line: If you can put up with the viewing angles and 1 reboot a day this is a decent deal. Especially if you got it for $280 like I did .
Keeping mine and bought up Sears stock for today's sale, sorry about that anyone who shops near me. These rock after being loaded up correctly
No way I'm taking my back. After flashing to TnT Lite 2.02 it's a keeper. Now if I could only get wireless tethering to work it would be golden.
does this question really belong in development?
switt said:
Bottom line: If you can put up with the viewing angles and 1 reboot a day this is a decent deal. Especially if you got it for $280 like I did .
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For $280 this tablet is a steal. There is no doubt in my mind that I would keep this tablet at that price.
However, at $417 after tax I'm on the fence about keeping this tablet. Performance wise, I can't complain. It's easily the fastest tablet on the market right now. After loading up TnT Lite with flash, this tablet is amazing. It's so much fun surfing the web. Battery life is great, this thing sips power.
but the screen, OMG the screen. It's just bad. I don't know any other way to say it. In portrait mode, it's usable but you can tell the image looks different at the top than it does at the bottom. I've found that there is really only one way to hold the tablet to get a good view and that is directly infront of you slightly below eye level.
linckraker said:
does this question really belong in development?
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That was my question also, but I decided not to comment as I had assumed that a mod would've moved it to general by now.
Anyways ATM I'm keeping it. My primary reason for returning it would be driven by the form factor, as I REALLY MUCH prefer 7" for tablets. Just more portable and better for reading fiction, which means IF I keep that I'll also want a complementary 7" tablet. I just find 10" to be unwieldly.
As secondary reasons I would point out the absence of various features advertised on the box itself.
Just wish that a 7" Tegra2 would come out... I'd be all over it.
Where do i get one for $280
switt said:
I'm keeping mine. With a good bit of modding its actually nice to use. The screen angles are pretty bad in good lighting but is fine in low light situations. So I just use it in landscape in good light areas. Aside from the screen and sadly the TnT software this Malta pad is great. It even has a potential to be a beast as new products are released and Tegra 2 support becomes stronger.
Anything we get until Feb of next year is going to be a bit of a mess. All the top tier companies who only want to release a 100% consumer friendly product are holding off for Honeycomb. The current releases are either mid tier companies hungry for market share, bottom of the barrel companies releasing crap, and start ups like Adam using time as an opportunity.
We're on the bleeding edge and it shows. Likely the only company thats going to put in the effort needed to make this a good experience is Adam. They're a new company with something to prove. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the their tab ends up going for $600 and still selling well.
Bottom line: If you can put up with the viewing angles and 1 reboot a day this is a decent deal. Especially if you got it for $280 like I did .
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Where do i get one for 280$, see them at staples for 399$?
acuralegendz said:
Where do i get one for 280$, see them at staples for 399$?
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some sears outlet stores have refurbs for 279
I think the problem with the question of "why did you return it" is that the people who did return it are probably not scanning this forum anymore.
I've been scanning the negative comments (which are mostly valid crticisms, I might add), and I've compiled a list in my head:
- The crappy UI
- The crappy UI (important enough to be mentioned twice)
- The viewing angles, especially when watching while laying on a desk. (btw, flip the device around, so that the camera is on the bottom, and you can get around that).
- No official Flash yet, even though the darn icon is on the box.
- App compatibility issues, in particular the g-sensor issue in games.
- Lack of h264 high profile playback support (this is a Tegra 2 hardware limitation, btw).
- Performance, even with the UI mods. That seems to be more of an Android limitation, given that dual core is not being exploited.
- Lack of HDMI given that there's no dock, and a lack of accessories like a case.
- The bang-for-the-buck.
The last one is important because I have seen more than few posts from people returning the item who mentioned that they might have kept it of were $300, or if they could snag a $279 outlet device. It's not that the device is "bad", but more that you didn't want to break the bank for a device that is really not fully optimized yet. And I can understand that 100%.
roebeet said:
I think the problem with the question of "why did you return it" is that the people who did return it are probably not scanning this forum anymore.
I've been scanning the negative comments (which are mostly valid crticisms, I might add), and I've compiled a list in my head:
- The crappy UI
- The crappy UI (important enough to be mentioned twice)
- The viewing angles, especially when watching while laying on a desk. (btw, flip the device around, so that the camera is on the bottom, and you can get around that).
- No official Flash yet, even though the darn icon is on the box.
- App compatibility issues, in particular the g-sensor issue in games.
- Lack of h264 high profile playback support (this is a Tegra 2 hardware limitation, btw).
- Performance, even with the UI mods. That seems to be more of an Android limitation, given that dual core is not being exploited.
- Lack of HDMI given that there's no dock, and a lack of accessories like a case.
- The bang-for-the-buck.
The last one is important because I have seen more than few posts from people returning the item who mentioned that they might have kept it of were $300, or if they could snag a $279 outlet device. It's not that the device is "bad", but more that you didn't want to break the bank for a device that is really not fully optimized yet. And I can understand that 100%.
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I'm FIRMLY in the $300 camp as BOTH Staples & Sears had the gTab right next to a $299 and $249 Atom based netbooks(ASUS, Acer, Toshiba and something else...). Kind of a smack in the face to be asked to pay $400 for a less functional device, although I can kind of understand part of the reason being that the Tegra2 SoC isn't quite as cheap as ALL of the other SoCs. $400 still just seems like a hype price to me, and I do feel kind of ripped... would feel better IF it had a better camera(maybe 2) and GPS builtin... ...and if I had any REAL expectations of longterm VS support and OS upgrades, e.g. next Android version...
Yes, and I'd have to add viewing angles to my list of possible return reasons from using it a bit last night(in bed) with some sideloaded apps that forced portrait mode...
gturnersr said:
I got my g-tablet from Sears on November 2 and returned it to the store yesterday. I told them it does not have flash as stated on the box and the display is of very poor quality. I got full refund.
Why did I return it?
- Nvidia quality sucks: I had dead laptop, because of defective nvidia chip. If you don't believe it check this: Apple, Dell and HP got a class action suit against Nvidia: www nvidiasettlement com. OpenGL drivers are full of bugs they may have fixed Angry Birds, but there are plenty other bugs I'm sure.
- Nvidia does not conform to standards. No NEON instructions in Tegra. They try to play their desktop video card game, by providing custom APIs and making their applications incompatible with other ARM CPUs. So far it is the opposite - applications that run good on every other Cortex A8, does not play on Tegra.
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Wow, glad you were given an opportunity to complain about NVidia.... The class action suit you're referring to was in reality a problem of the OEM which NVidia and most OEMs covered completely. My Dell laptop at work died and was replaced with a newer model in ONE WEEK. Two year old information = FUD.
I returned mine after about 2 weeks. Didn't work well out of the box and wanted something with smaller screen. I went ahead and got the Galaxy Tab instead.
But I will be checking out the Sears Outlet for the blackfriday returns to play around with it.
Because of touch screen
I got my g tablet from Sears the day before Thanksgiving and had a lot of time to play with it. I had gotten to market to work and installed several apps and had even gotten used to the stock UI. But I am extremely disappointed in the responsiveness of the touch screen. There are time you have to press very hard on the icon to open a program. And typing is a chore. Unless there is something you have to do to calibrate the screen I will be returning it Monday. Also, I thought I read that it came with a temporary plastic film over the screen, but mine did not. There was a foam protector attached to the inside of the box.
Is there anything I can do to increase the sensitivity of the touch screen? I would love to keep it - but not with the way the touch screen is working (or NOT WORKING)
cutterjohn said:
I'm FIRMLY in the $300 camp as BOTH Staples & Sears had the gTab right next to a $299 and $249 Atom based netbooks(ASUS, Acer, Toshiba and something else...). Kind of a smack in the face to be asked to pay $400 for a less functional device, although I can kind of understand part of the reason being that the Tegra2 SoC isn't quite as cheap as ALL of the other SoCs. $400 still just seems like a hype price to me, and I do feel kind of ripped... would feel better IF it had a better camera(maybe 2) and GPS builtin... ...and if I had any REAL expectations of longterm VS support and OS upgrades, e.g. next Android version...
Yes, and I'd have to add viewing angles to my list of possible return reasons from using it a bit last night(in bed) with some sideloaded apps that forced portrait mode...
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Tegra 2 is in the starting point of it's cost curve, so about $75 of the price is cost and correlating profit margin, since companies are not going to scale to their cost
You will find that the newer Tegra 2 devices in Q1 & Q2 2011 will all be around $500, since you will then also be paying for better displays and brand names too
The display on this device is how they were able to put a Tegra 2 in it -cost balancing. Ironically, if the OEM would have rotated the display 180 degrees when building them, it would not be an issue. Display looks as good as the Archos 101- when upside down
I have been on the market for an Android 10 inch tablet for close to a year. I have watching several of the devices that have come on the market there. I like the iPad for some things but I hate the proprietary nature and many other numerous issues to list.
Back to my original question though
I have been following reviews online and this is probably the 3rd or 4th time that I have seen reviews on Amazon.com or other sites that the ASUS TF700 has some "build quality issues" they have pointed out problems with the tablet making a squeaky noise when pressing on the glass in some areas and it appearing that the "glue is coming loose". I wanted to say that if I'm spending $500+ on a device. I want it to work, and work well, and not have to replace it in a year or less.
Another comment I have seen is that its sluggish when doing "heavy multitasking". I plan to do quite a bit of multitasking on it and wondered what other user's experiences are. I have read that ASUS will release the Jelly Bean update to this device and I would expect that this may help with some of that.
One of the reasons that I'm certainly considering going with the ASUS over the other tablets is that I prefer ASUS devices on other platforms. I have an ASUS laptop that originally came with Windows Vista (that tells you how dated it is). It's probably 4-5 years old at this point and it's still working off the original AC adapter, original battery and it still works flawlessly. I have owned several ASUS motherboards that work perfectly and last.
I wanted your opinions, since you guys are the Android tablet guru's and I've read some of the other posts. Even the one about the squeakiness by the speaker. But I' m wondering if this is a common issue or one to be concerned about.
One last thing is that I noticed there is an Atmel stylus that might be compatible with it. Has anyone purchased and used one yet? If so, what do you think about it? I'm seriously considering the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 as well because of this stylus capability and the 2GB of ram in there. Money is not that much of a problem since I will be using gift cards (like up to $700 worth) to buy it.
Yes, Asus definitely has some quality-control issues, but if you do get a "bad" one, you can always just return it for another. Personally, my TF700 is fine - some minor light bleed on the bottom and right sides, but it's only noticeable at full brightness, which I'll never use anyway. I don't have the clicking/squeaking noise either. I truly believe that most of these issues are very minor and most folks wouldn't even notice them if they weren't looking for them.
Don't let this hold you back from an awesome tablet - that's why they make warranties! My original TF101 is still running great (hardware-wise, at least - ICS is another story!) - never had any hardware issues with it and my wife still uses it daily.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
I'm surprised. From what I see here, I think I got one of the nicer tablets. My screen has no obvious light bleeds, no dust trapped under the glass, or scratches. The display is bonded firmly and doesn't squeak. I guess it may be potluck with the build quality, but mine is built well.
Like jtrosky said, if you get a bad one, you can exchange it.
rightonred said:
I'm surprised. From what I see here, I think I got one of the nicer tablets. My screen has no obvious light bleeds, no dust trapped under the glass, or scratches. The display is bonded firmly and doesn't squeak. I guess it may be potluck with the build quality, but mine is built well.
Like jtrosky said, if you get a bad one, you can exchange it.
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First one had dust under screen.
Second had huge bright white crater-like defect in center of screen. Really bad defect - can't understand how that passed quality control.
Third one is perfect....so far....
Asus should stay with what they do best..build computers. They sucks with pad, problems after problems. The TF700 is not ready for prime time. They did the 201 and still making too many mistake with the 700. I can named many like, USB,SB card, I/O bottle neck, phone jack volume, noise when pressed on glass, not fitting well with dock..and on and on. I would wait for Samsung Note 10.1.
buhohitr said:
Asus should stay with what they do best..build computers. They sucks with pad, problems after problems. The TF700 is not ready for prime time. They did the 201 and still making too many mistake with the 700. I can named many like, USB,SB card, I/O bottle neck, phone jack volume, noise when pressed on glass, not fitting well with dock..and on and on. I would wait for Samsung Note 10.1.
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But then what would be the alternative: Acer? Apple? Samsung where you're stuck on the same firmware forever?
I think the problem is the separation of design and production these days. These tablets are made by faceless Chinese workers, and then shipped over here. Its not like it used to be where the factory workers and the manufacturer and quality control were all in one place. In fact, do we even know if ASUS ever even sees the tablets after they leave the factory and get shipped to the warehouse?
You should be honored. You're now an ASUS employee - we get to inspect the tablets and return the defective ones - we're quality control technicians!
Digital Man said:
But then what would be the alternative: Acer? Apple? Samsung where you're stuck on the same firmware forever?
I think the problem is the separation of design and production these days. These tablets are made by faceless Chinese workers, and then shipped over here. Its not like it used to be where the factory workers and the manufacturer and quality control were all in one place. In fact, do we even know if ASUS ever even sees the tablets after they leave the factory and get shipped to the warehouse?
You should be honored. You're now an ASUS employee - we get to inspect the tablets and return the defective ones - we're quality control technicians!
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Asus sold the product, they're 100% responsible for their product, doesn't matter how/where they were made. I payed Asus with my own hard working money and I do have the right to complaint when the product is not working as advertise. I will be glad to contribute my free time to test for them for free if they allowed me to have the product for FREE.
buhohitr said:
Asus sold the product, they're 100% responsible for their product, doesn't matter how/where they were made. I payed Asus with my own hard working money and I do have the right to complaint when the product is not working as advertise. I will be glad to contribute my free time to test for them for free if they allowed me to have the product for FREE.
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That sounds nice. But you have to vote with your wallet. And the public already has. People want cheap stuff. The Chinese make cheap stuff. So regardless of weather ASUS is responsible or not, if people continue to buy it, why would ASUS have any reason to change? The days of real premium quality merchandise are over.
Every product on the face of the planet is now made in one place. We chose to abandon our factories and manufacturing facilities. So cheap lower quality stuff is now the norm.
buhohitr said:
Asus sold the product, they're 100% responsible for their product, doesn't matter how/where they were made. I payed Asus with my own hard working money and I do have the right to complaint when the product is not working as advertise. I will be glad to contribute my free time to test for them for free if they allowed me to have the product for FREE.
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I believe that he was just being sarcastic with that last statement!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
I was in the same boat as you, waiting for a 10" tablet that I thought fit my needs and was worth the premium we pay for tablet devices.
I was concerned about quality as well. I kept seeing all kinds of stories on the forums (loose glass, dust, light bleed, etc). I ordered from Amazon knowing that it would be easy to return if there was a problem, but mine is just fine and fortunately has none of the problems that some other people have had.
Re: multitasking - I do a lot of multitasking. I usually have it on "balanced" mode and it's super smooth. It slows down a very little bit when I'm updating 2+ apps simultaneously, and the odd occasion where I'm running multiple CPU-intensive apps, but I just switch to "performance" mode for that short period of time and it's back to being snappy.
If you get a bad one, just return it immediately and get a new one. I'm loving this tablet =)
Thanks, I appreciate your input. I think I may end up going with it. We'll see...The samsung note 10.1 doesn't even disclose how much it will cost yet. I'm worried that even $700 may not be enough. I have heard some rumors of around $750. Plus, I don't know how much I would honestly use the Stylus. It would be a fun toy, but not practical for day to day use for me most likely. I'm so used to using touch interfaces all my other android tablet devices and a prior iPhone now anyway.
Keep in mind as well that it'd usually not the happy people that write or speak out. Its often the dissatisfied. There are plenty of happy and satisfied users out there as well.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Got my T700 a couple weeks ago
I've had enough time to grow accustomed to it and I love it so far. I can see what same are saying about the build quality issues. The glass feels slightly loose in some areas but not so much that it would come apart.
into_311 said:
I've had enough time to grow accustomed to it and I love it so far. I can see what same are saying about the build quality issues. The glass feels slightly loose in some areas but not so much that it would come apart.
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I hope it works out for you. I think this is a terrific tablet (and keyboard dock).
I have been considering posting this for some time, and a couple of posts I saw in the past few days convinced me it's time. After seeing Asus CEO Jonny Shih showing off a "Pre-Production" Transformer Prime to Walt Mossberg last fall, I was one of the customers... scratch that... "suckers" who sold my Asus Transformer - the original, and waited patiently for the Prime. After the horrendous "roll out" wherein Best Buy oversold their pre-orders, Amazon dropped pre-orders and canceled hundreds more, I finally got my Prime. You know the rest, so I won't go into what a huge disappointment and letdown that became, but the worst part? Asus showing off the "fixed" product 3 weeks later, in the form of the Infinity. Then lying and claiming it was NOT the replacement for the Prime, but another BETTER Flagship. I challenge ANYONE to show me where I can still order or by a Prime in the US. (and don't bother showing me URL's with old stock for sale.)
Fast forward almost 1 year from when I sold my TF101, 8 months from the arrival of my sub-Prime and now I actually HAVE an Infinity (some of us are just gluttons for punishment, it seems) Anyway, I FINALLY found out what is at the root of the issues with this polarizing piece of hardware. How is it that something can have such an aura and presence and "quality" in terms of materials, and yet have defects, (light bleed, screen creak & separation etc. ) performance issues (I/O)
If you got to Asus Web Site and visit the section dedicated to the Transformer Pad Infinity. there are a couple of stylistic videos along the lines of "The making of the Transformer Infinity" showing some of the concepts, and engineering that contributed to the design. First, here is the "shpeel"
"While the specs of the tablet are hardly a surprise, it is the level of craftsmanship which impresses. An aluminum forging process, normally found in the aviation industry has been used to compress the metal of the tablet. A molding of the plastic parts with the metal at nano level has lead to the lack of any screws on the slate’s body. And of course, Corning Gorilla Glass 2 is protecting that precious screen at the device’s front."
In the second of two videos on this page: http://eee.asus.com/en/eeepad/transformer-infinity/features/
Titled: "The Next Transformation", one of the engineers says Asus CEO Jonny came up with the concept of "The Hard Way" - THIS is the root of the evil that inflicts ASUS tablets. The concept is to "come up with something that is worth doing, but challenging to accomplish, instead of choosing the easy path to success"
As noble as that sounds, it's plain stupid. WHY would atech company want to do things, build things, design things "The hard way" The build quality of the Infinity is the number one example of how this concept just DOES NOT WORK. The design is too difficult to build consistently. Sure they look awesome, feel solid, and are thin as insert your favorite anorexic chick here, but witness the defect rate. Oh wait... we don't KNOW what the defect rate is. Guess what? I believe It's pretty high. Samsung, with all their plasticiky products, that often look and feel cheap at least has a very good record of build consistency and few defective units.
Witness, I exchanged my Infinity 8 times. Yes, I know that's a ridiculous number, and I know you are thinking: this guy is all OCD, and picking on every tiny little quirk or issue. Maybe. I will grant that I am somewhat OCD, a bit of a perfectionist, but I still consider myself a reasonable person, and not over the top insanely picky. Here's why I returned 7 tablets, so you can decide for yourself:
First, every single one had a defect of some type, some minor, some cosmetic, but NOT ONE was defect free. At first I thought it was bad luck, but by exchange number 4 I KNEW there was some underlying issue; based on serial #'s it was NOTa particular "run" - In fact, I am now100% convinced that these are so difficult to build, that Asus is basically INCAPABLE of building even ONE without some issue. Over the 8 Tablets, I saw (sometime in combinations, but usually one issue per tablet. Ultimately, I ended up keeping one that had an "acceptable level" of issues. You know, like the Dead Pixel" policies companies use? This was "defect issues that are acceptable.
* Screen Back-light Bleed 6 of 8 tablets had noticeable and significant Light-bleed.
* Scratches, dents etc. Only 2 affected, one VERY minor (I almost kept it, until I saw the screen was also coming out of the frame mid-way across the top in landscape orientation) It had a tiny dent, and a tiny "shiny spot" where the anodized gray coating was missing- about the size of a pin head. The other one had a noticeable scratch from the plastic strip on a diagonal, about 1.5 inches long, and had chips out of the plastic strip where it joins to the metal back. Asus claims to us some type of Nano-molding technology to bind plastic and metal. I guess it failed on that one.
* Glass seperating or "Coming out" of the frame. This took the form of the glass being extremely warped, so much so, that I was concerned it would ultimately crack or shatter, as Gorilla Glass 2 is suppossedly thinner than the original, and just as strong, but under a constant stress, and temperature changes? I suspect that is how the "mystery screen breakage" occurs, when people have them docked, then open the tablet to see a broken screen. (Prime had a bunch of these stories, i have only seen a couple on the Infinity, but I suspect it could be worse, as there is no bonded strip around the outside, just a metal back with bent edges to hold the screen, and Lots of reports of screen separation.
TWICE along the way, I though I was all set. The first time, it was the screen warped and coming out of the fram I described above. Even though it worked perfectly, I was seriously afraid it would get worse, or shatter. If it got worse, i would have to shudder RMA the tablet. I went through that once. Never again, is all i can say on the subject. The other one was also really good... cosmetically very nice (by the way, the brushed circular pattern they apply to these is VERY inconsistent. I have seen huge variation on this, with some looking really nice, and some having inconsistent (there's that WORD AGAIN!) finishes, with deeper brush marks in "stripes" across the back, and others being smooth and super shiny.
The LOGO Cut - Done with a Laser? That's the only way I could conceive that they could precisely cut the back in a pattern to fit the Asus logo and have it inset into the aluminum. 2 of my exchanges had a ridiculously mis-cut back, and the logo was coming up, and the cut out was so sharp it would cut your hand easily - my daughter ended up bleeding onto the tablet, so that one went back. They other I was keeping, but failed some other way- I forget how now after all these tablets.
Number 7 was a keeper... I thought. It koooked PERFECT. Beautiful, They pretiest Infinity I ever had. But the Wifi was all over the place, and slow. I was seing 10 Mbit, maybe 12 Mbit speeds. then dropping to 3-5 Mbit. (Others I had would do 20+ Mbit every time, no matter when or how often you tested them. Some hit 30+ Anyway, all of a sudden I remembered the infamous "Pogo Pins" from the Prime, and I sueezed the tablet along the top edge. Not only did it IMEDIATELY shoot straight up to 30 Mbit, but the top left where I squeezed made a super loud creaking, and the screen deviated by a whole lot. You could SEE it moving in relation to the frame, with a loud creak and a clicking sound... great... there goes another one! (#7 - the last one I returned. And Best Buy had to pass it around so they could ALL give it a nice squeeze. Thanks Mr. Whipple!
Ripple effect (I would NOT return a tablet for this, but when it is present, but it looks noticeably less quality than ones that do not display this issue. It looks like several dozen tiny ripples running the length of the tablet, and in bright light it is obvious if you have this. Not all do, and some have no ripples at all.
Volume and power buttons are total crap. Some click and have a detent, others just "mush"
I mean, is this the price we must pay for all that sexy aluminum? This kind of "Delorean Motors build quality"? Hey! They DO sort of look like the Delorean, now that I think about it!
So this is my list. Do you have any of these:
1 Dents, divots or chips out of the metal.
2. Chips out of the plactic strip.
3. Spots where the anodized color is missing.
4. Glass that is rising above the frame, is notably warped (hold it level under some light, and look across the top. If it looks like a brezzy day on the lake, I would not feel too good about it.)
5. Poor application of the "Circular" pattern.
6. Poor laser cut of recessed Logo area. (including sharp metal edges)
7. Poor or failing Power buttons and Volume buttons.
8. Scratches of all types (on a factory sealed box)
9. Creeks, squeaks, Clucking, Clunking, Popping sounds when you squeeze the glass at the border.
That's mostly it for the Physical stuff on the tablet... It IS a beautiful tablet. I just think it's too difficult to build consistently well.
One final gripe: The Power Supply, same design since TF101, and really poor.
Poor grounding of power supply - feel that nice "tickle" when you run your fingers along the metal while on the charger? The Prime would only do this when the plug as oriented one way, switch it around and it stopped. The infinity does it on both polarities. How can they sell it like that? By the way, some are worse than others, I know, I have sampled enough. This is unacceptable.
If they could make these consistently well, there is a very short wishlist I would like to see filled:
* Better memory bus design. I am not sure this is entirely Asus fault, or if some falls on Nvidia, with the single channel memory controller, or whatever it is about Asus Tablet memory architecture ALL Asus tablets have some degree of IO issues - I know the Nexus 7 has I/O issues, though not as bad, but there ARE other Tegra 3 designs that are not plagued with this issue.
* Separate Bluetooth / Wifi chips. or at LEAST a 5 Ghz WiFi...Come ON! The iPAD 1 had 5 Ghz, as does EVERY Samsung Tablet.
* Better Buttons
* Micro USB Port on Tablet
* Real Stereo Speakers, preferably pointing at the user, on Keyboard would be the logical place (if that proves difficult, PERFECT: Jonny Shih's people will be ecstatic!)
Finally: STOP saying: "Dock attached: Use Keyboard to type WORDS" What the heck else are you going to use it for, sending morse code?
Poor I/O - Design of memory bus
Combined (cheap) WiFi/Bluetooth chipset - Thus the poor wifi when Bluetooth streaming.
No 5 Ghz Wifi (
Poor fit of the Primes Dock - Oh yeah, Asus has a blurb saying the TF201 dock is incompatible with TF700, but not the opposite. meanwhile, those videos I mentioned on Asus site? One of the goes on about how they spent a lot of time balancing the tablet to "make it work better in the TF201 Dock" Then they go and repackage Prime docks and charge a premium for them.
There... now I got all that off my chest. Can't WAIT for Jelly Bean!
......waaaaaaaaay to long of a post....
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T
A good post. Agree 100% with all of the problems.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using XDA Premium HD app
It's okay. I returned my tablet 9 times to Best Buy. The last two times I had my gf do it cause I was tired of getting my ID registered to their 3rd party company (The Retail Equation) who handles returns to find fraud. I finally got a good one. On my fourth exchange, I started opening the box right in their store to make sure nothing was wrong. I think it was about 9 exchanges in a total of 3 days.
the first I had was perfect, then I bricked it...
I got another one and it is also perfect, I can't understand you guys.
I had no light bleeding, no cracking sounds, no scratches on the metal, no seperated screen.
Nothing what you write about, not even a bit.
I got my two tablets from Amazon Germany, maybe WW Build quality is just better than US?
Good post!
Very informative and interesting.
I guess I was lucky, having gotten my mitts on one about two weeks before official retail <gnagna>. I can find no fault externally or with the screen, although I do have the same I/O issues everybody else is having, obviously (that's a clear design error).
Good post, had a good laugh -- I hope that JB will flip the coin for us and makes the 700 perform more like it should have out of the box -- though it remains uncertain at best if we will ever have the performance we paid so dearly for...
SmartAs$Phone said:
One final gripe: The Power Supply, same design since TF101, and really poor.
Poor grounding of power supply - feel that nice "tickle" when you run your fingers along the metal while on the charger? The Prime would only do this when the plug as oriented one way, switch it around and it stopped. The infinity does it on both polarities. How can they sell it like that? By the way, some are worse than others, I know, I have sampled enough. This is unacceptable.
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Click to collapse
This is truly unacceptable! And you should also add to your list the power supply noise, it is very annoying sometimes.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
I must be lucky, all i have is a little light bleed. My buttons are good and pretty solid feeling, I have a ipad 2 to compare to and after the update this thing flys.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
I also must be one of the lucky ones.
This thing is perfect in every way.
I loved your post. It is always good to speak your mind.
Agree 100% Exchanged my TF101 7 times, Prime twice and gave up, Tf700 twice (still not happy) and now I'm waiting for the Nexus 10. Done with Asus. And yes, I know Nexuses are built by Asus, but Google holds their feet to fire when it comes to QA.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using XDA Premium HD app
So all you guys who have perfect device Asus just put in two antennas for perfect WiFi Bluetooth connection and faster nand chip so no more sloppy io performance? Interesting..
I got ww model and I can't believe why Asus decided to save maybe 10$ there.
Apart from my 3 hot Pixels seems that no problems.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using XDA Premium HD app
I'm pretty lucky too compared to some of you. I bought mine off of Amazon and its been absolutely perfect! I also got the dock + splashtop = lots of funny looks when docking and undocking while using window in class
I've only had mine a week now, but agree with others, mine is great! I had my Transformer Prime for 7 months. I never did an RMA or anything. Other than a poorly functioning GPS and a slightly weak WIFI signal, the TPrime was great. I'm expecting the same with the Infinity, and as I said, so far, just great!
Sorry, but I just don't understand returning a product 7 or 9 times. I look at technology this way: there's bound to be a few glitches here and there. I've grown to accept that and live with them. Now, obviously I admit there are certain hardware failures and other issues which shouldn't be accepted in an expensive device. I'm not saying I've never returned anything. I have. It took me two phones to get to a properly functioning Galaxy Nexus phone. Stuff happens, but 9 returns?! I just don't get that.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
SOTK said:
Sorry, but I just don't understand returning a product 7 or 9 times. I look at technology this way: there's bound to be a few glitches here and there. I've grown to accept that and live with them. Now, obviously I admit there are certain hardware failures and other issues which shouldn't be accepted in an expensive device. I'm not saying I've never returned anything. I have. It took me two phones to get to a properly functioning Galaxy Nexus phone. Stuff happens, but 9 returns?! I just don't get that.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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I bought a keychain camera for about $40 on ebay (look up 808 cam). I researched the tech, i made sure to find a buyer that reportedly sold what he said (a #16 instead of a re-labled #3) and when i got the product i was generally happy with it. It had a few glitches but i got what i paid for.
When i spend $650 for a tablet and dock, especially when there are other similar quality devices for $100 cheaper, i am expecting to get what i pay for. I paid for perfection. I COULD have gone on ebay and bought a bargian basement tablet for, say, $75, and maybe it would do what it claimed!
The reason we are upset is this:
We were sold a quality product
top of the line specs
from a trusted manufacturer with a history of meticulous perfection
Instead what we recieved was a product with many build issues
imperfect construction
sloppy workmanship
poor design
bad internals
and finally, extremely poor customer service.
Asus had been, in my books, one of the top companies. I would never think twice before buying a laptop or computer from them. Now.... I dont know. I had a prime, i should have learned from that. Now i have an infinity. Not perfect but considering (through a series of fortunate events) it cost me about $250 i can live with that.
Usually, if you have something that was mid-tier and doesnt work perfect you could say "should have bought the top end device", or justify those problems with saying you saved because its not the highest end model.
Well this is the highest end model. The galaxy note 10 comes close but unless you want the pen the infinity is the winner by specs. How can we justify poor quality when we pay top dollar? We cant.
What i dont get is how, after 9 returns, did this person not say "maybe i'd be better off with a tab2.0 or a galaxy note". I am at that point, i really, really love the specs for the infinity on paper, and i love the form factor, i love how light it is, how solid it feels (when its not falling apart), how thin it is, i think its awesome. I dont like how they charge $650 for something that should cost half that with the amount of problems it has.
Let me put it this one other way...
If you went to a car dealership and bought a car off the lot, brand new, never been driven before, and one of the tires was flat. Or one of the break rotors was misaligned, or one of the cylindars was misfiring, or the transmission didnt work, or the breaks were spotty, or the headlights didnt work properly.... if you had ANY problems you would say "hey, this isnt right, its brand new give me one thats perfect." Thats what we want from Asus. We want a tablet that is perfect. Yes, android itself has some quirks, and i can deal with software issues, but hardware issues? Not for my money. No sir!
Sorry for the long post but i, like OP and many others, are ready to throw in the towel with this infernal thing. And dont even get me started on the keyboard dock....
My Infinity was also almost perfect right away i opened the box. Except for the little, little light bleed, everything was OK - HW wise.
SW is another story, but not a part of this discussion I think.
Thank, because this is not really a cheap piece of HW, i handled it very gently.
After almost 3 months of using it, I decided to actually use it for what it is meant. It goes with me wherever I go.
I've been on vacations for 10 days, it goes with me to work and back, currently it is with me on a business trip.
Well well well. A lot of people were reporting detachments, screeches an so on. I never had them. Until now.
Left part of the tablet has started to screech few days ago, also i can feel a detachment.
I am right handed, which means i hold tablet with my left hand, on the left side. As the tablet is pretty heavy you have to hold it pretty hard.
Whenever i pick it up it screetches and i can see the screen "waves" on the left side of the screen.
I am afraid it will get worse. It feels like some day everything will just come apart and i get ending with two piecev of tablet.
Hope not.
This is my experience, and i hate to say, but i am slowly starting to regret this investment.
pileot said:
Asus had been, in my books, one of the top companies. I would never think twice before buying a laptop or computer from them. Now.... I dont know. I had a prime, i should have learned from that. Now i have an infinity. Not perfect but considering (through a series of fortunate events) it cost me about $250 i can live with that.
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Click to collapse
I feel the same. Previously I have bought two ASUS laptop I have been satisfied with. But after owning a Infinity for less than 3 moths my LCD suddenly cracked without a scratch on Gorilla Glass and poor ASUS costumer service, I will say no more ASUS.
kabauterman said:
the first I had was perfect, then I bricked it...
I got another one and it is also perfect, I can't understand you guys.
I had no light bleeding, no cracking sounds, no scratches on the metal, no seperated screen.
Nothing what you write about, not even a bit.
I got my two tablets from Amazon Germany, maybe WW Build quality is just better than US?
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Click to collapse
Mine is a WW and also zero defects. I had 2 units opened at the store here in Bangkok so I could choose the between the champagne and amethyst and both were fine with no issues.
Do we actually know that the I/O issues are hardware related? The reason I ask is I have a HTC One X with Tegra 3 and no matter how hard I try everything keeps flying smoothly. I can start a ten app update while switching between as many apps as I want without it even breaking a sweat. My vote is for ASUS software being sh*t.
maedox said:
Do we actually know that the I/O issues are hardware related? The reason I ask is I have a HTC One X with Tegra 3 and no matter how hard I try everything keeps flying smoothly. I can start a ten app update while switching between as many apps as I want without it even breaking a sweat. My vote is for ASUS software being sh*t.
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Click to collapse
Yeah but HTC didn't choose a cheap NAND drive as Asus did. This is not completely tegra related. Just cheap internals which Asus using.
Same goes with the wifi speed dropping when using bluetooth. Those bastards have the same antenna for both wifi and bluetooth and not even supporting 5ghz signal. So lame. I think the price difference for Asus would be something like 10$ but they decided to go cheap on this.
I was seriously considering to opening this up and installing faster NAND and another antenna but unfortunately that would result 100% surely into non working tablet.
I see Microsoft reported on version of the surface sold out of pre order. initial estimates were 2-5 million units (including all the models) were on hand for pre order.
I'm curious if anyone has seen links to estimated numbers of sales of the sold out units. a million,100000, 10000?
haven't seen a big grinning "I told you so" mug from balmer yet... hmmm
post whatchafind here.
I'm sure that the stock they have made available online is nowhere near the number of units that they have actually produced for availability. The online stock was probably a small quantity. Of course, I'm sure we won't know much about numbers till after launch.
Don't forget they need to have units available to ship to other retailers and they need to have units to ship to their own stores. I think at this point, pre-ordering at a Microsoft Store is your best bet.
The number would be really small maybe even not an amount but a clever marketing person going after x amount of time we will display the cheapest version as out of stock! This then creates a panic in the wait and see crowd who then jump in and pre order the higher models. Basically I wouldn't believe anything you see till they produce numbers as this is the typical rubbish people pull. I mean isn't it amazing how EVERY xmas the current games consoles go out of stock only to all of a sudden have loads in the last couple of weeks??? They know that loads of people would want to wait and see but if they do then you don't get high first sales and you stall but if you make people think they might miss out its amazing how many people will jump at it.
That said I hope they have sold loads and cant wait to get mine, after an initial worry on pricing I have decided its worth it, after all you can run bluestacks for apps so that's now not a problem
lumpaywk said:
The number would be really small maybe even not an amount but a clever marketing person going after x amount of time we will display the cheapest version as out of stock! This then creates a panic in the wait and see crowd who then jump in and pre order the higher models. Basically I wouldn't believe anything you see till they produce numbers as this is the typical rubbish people pull. I mean isn't it amazing how EVERY xmas the current games consoles go out of stock only to all of a sudden have loads in the last couple of weeks??? They know that loads of people would want to wait and see but if they do then you don't get high first sales and you stall but if you make people think they might miss out its amazing how many people will jump at it.
That said I hope they have sold loads and cant wait to get mine, after an initial worry on pricing I have decided its worth it, after all you can run bluestacks for apps so that's now not a problem
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Click to collapse
BlueStacks is a regular desktop application - RT does not run desktop applications, unfortunately.
Valerianus said:
BlueStacks is a regular desktop application - RT does not run desktop applications, unfortunately.
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Click to collapse
Please check this link http://bluestacks.com/technology/ You will see that there will be an ARM bluestacks for windows 8 launch (maybe a small wait).
"•Android on Windows (for ARM):
Run Android on Windows on ARM architectures starting with the Windows 8 release"
lumpaywk said:
The number would be really small maybe even not an amount but a clever marketing person going after x amount of time we will display the cheapest version as out of stock! This then creates a panic in the wait and see crowd who then jump in and pre order the higher models.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The trouble is that the higher models of the Surface are now on backorder too. Some people may not bother preordering, anymore.
Looks like the last week of October will be a fun week. All three of the Big Boys (APL, MSFT, GOOG) will be releasing new toys: iPad Mini, Surface RT, and rumored Nexus 10 by Samsung.
The Samsung Nexus 10 if true should be a beast. 2560x1600, likely Exynos 5 Dual (5250) based on Cortex-A15. Base pricing should be same as iPad. If so, we'd be looking at three 10"-ish tabs from the three platforms at the same $499 price.
Out of the three, Nexus 10 would win on hardware, iPad on software (apps). Doesn't look good for Surface RT, no matter how MS spins the "low-res is just as good as hi-res".
e.mote said:
Looks like the last week of October will be a fun week. All three of the Big Boys (APL, MSFT, GOOG) will be releasing new toys: iPad Mini, Surface RT, and rumored Nexus 10 by Samsung.
The Samsung Nexus 10 if true should be a beast. 2560x1600, likely Exynos 5 Dual (5250) based on Cortex-A15. Base pricing should be same as iPad. If so, we'd be looking at three 10"-ish tabs from the three platforms at the same $499 price.
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Click to collapse
Meh... It's still just Android, only on a bigger, high-res screen, running smartphone apps... Double meh for iPad Mini and the same boring UI on a 7" screen...
Although, I do agree on the screen resolution. I don't understand why MS didn't specify at least a 1080 screen on the RT especially with Office pre-installed. Windows Phone 8 on a 4"-5" screen, Windows 8 RT on a 10" tablet, Windows 8 Pro on a 27" desktop, Xbox w/ kinect on a 50" TV and SmartGlass to connect them all... what more do you need?
>I don't understand why MS didn't specify at least a 1080 screen on the RT
I think it's because of a long development cycle. The Surface specs were probably finalized some time last year, when 1280x800 tablets (and the $499 price) were still the norm. The low-priced KFs and N7s didn't exist then.
BTW, here's a good read on Steven Sinofsky, the exec in charge of the whole Windows initiatives, including Surface. His rigid management style, as depicted in the piece, may be the underlying reason for Surface's current state.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57536905-75/steven-sinofsky-microsofts-controversial-mr-windows-8/
e.mote said:
>I don't understand why MS didn't specify at least a 1080 screen on the RT
I think it's because of a long development cycle. The Surface specs were probably finalized some time last year, when 1280x800 tablets (and the $499 price) were still the norm. The low-priced KFs and N7s didn't exist then.
BTW, here's a good read on Steven Sinofsky, the exec in charge of the whole Windows initiatives, including Surface. His rigid management style, as depicted in the piece, may be the underlying reason for Surface's current state.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57536905-75/steven-sinofsky-microsofts-controversial-mr-windows-8/
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I think also going with a higher res screen has its tradeoffs - requires more battery consumption(screen is the main factor in battery life) and smoothness of the OS. Isn't this an issue wit hthe Ipda3 vs the Iad 2 - I head battery was worse. My wife has a Nexus 7, and the great thing about it is the OS is snappy, partially because its only a 7 inch screen but running a quad core to drive it.
I know the screen display has become a big issue with Apple - But the Surface is at least better than the Ipad 2 (maybe not the Ipad 3) but again, aren't we all getting caught up in specs without knowing implementation and real world use. Its funny how Apple is focusing on how their screen is better, but they are still running a dual core processor, and fall short in so many other areas including usb, micro SD. But one thing I am curious about is implementation of USB devices on RT - how compatible will it be considering there may not be drivers for everything.
I do agree with MS that resolution alone isn't everything - Contrast has a lot to do with it. I am still running a 2005 50" Panasonic plasma at home that is only 720p but I have to tell you it looks just as good as some cheap 1080ps I have seen lately. There's the same argument when it comes to megapixel counts on camers with cheap CMOS (More is not always better).
We have to remember we are also just talking about a 10" screen.
I have my 64gb Surface with touch cover on orderand will have on or before 26th (Ordered it before the backorder came on). I Am curious what the return policy is for Microsoft Online store if this thing turns out to be a dud after all.
>I know the screen display has become a big issue with Apple - But the Surface is at least better than the Ipad 2 (maybe not the Ipad 3)
This is PR spin coming out of MS. Nobody knows how Surface RT fares in a head-to-head match against iPad 2/3, because MS still hasn't let anyone review it. May be the spin is right, and may be not, but I'd rather hear it from a less biased source.
Anyway, the spin falls apart when one considers that MS is pricing the RT against iPad 3 (actually higher than the 3), not the 2.
>aren't we all getting caught up in specs without knowing implementation and real world use
Sure, geeks tend to obsess with specs. Regular Joes care about other things, like screen image, size/weight/style, brand, price, and apps. RT loses in most if not all these categories.
>Its funny how Apple is focusing on how their screen is better, but they are still running a dual core processor, and fall short in so many other areas including usb, micro SD.
I thought we weren't going to talk about specs. About that, you do realize that the Teg3 used in Surface RT is a year-old design that's now used in the $200 Nexus 7, right? You also realize that the Exynos 5 dual blows away the Teg3 quad, right?
>I do agree with MS that resolution alone isn't everything - Contrast has a lot to do with it.
Here's a counterpoint: If low-res is just as good as high-res, then why not put the same low-res on Surface Pro?
Yes, the PPI thing is partly a marketing thing, just as was the megahertz war of yore. Part of it confers real benefits, part of it is hype. But understand that MS is pooh-pooh'ing high-res display because its own product use dated components. Surface RT has 2011 parts, and MS simply didn't keep up with the fast pace of advancing technology.
>I Am curious what the return policy is for Microsoft Online store if this thing turns out to be a dud after all.
http://google.com/search?q=microsoft+store+return+policy
e.mote said:
>I know the screen display has become a big issue with Apple - But the Surface is at least better than the Ipad 2 (maybe not the Ipad 3)
This is PR spin coming out of MS. Nobody knows how Surface RT fares in a head-to-head match against iPad 2/3, because MS still hasn't let anyone review it. May be the spin is right, and may be not, but I'd rather hear it from a less biased source.
Anyway, the spin falls apart when one considers that MS is pricing the RT against iPad 3 (actually higher than the 3), not the 2.
>aren't we all getting caught up in specs without knowing implementation and real world use
Sure, geeks tend to obsess with specs. Regular Joes care about other things, like screen image, size/weight/style, brand, price, and apps. RT loses in most if not all these categories.
>Its funny how Apple is focusing on how their screen is better, but they are still running a dual core processor, and fall short in so many other areas including usb, micro SD.
I thought we weren't going to talk about specs. About that, you do realize that the Teg3 used in Surface RT is a year-old design that's now used in the $200 Nexus 7, right? You also realize that the Exynos 5 dual blows away the Teg3 quad, right?
>I do agree with MS that resolution alone isn't everything - Contrast has a lot to do with it.
Here's a counterpoint: If low-res is just as good as high-res, then why not put the same low-res on Surface Pro?
Yes, the PPI thing is partly a marketing thing, just as was the megahertz war of yore. Part of it confers real benefits, part of it is hype. But understand that MS is pooh-pooh'ing high-res display because its own product use dated components. Surface RT has 2011 parts, and MS simply didn't keep up with the fast pace of advancing technology.
>I Am curious what the return policy is for Microsoft Online store if this thing turns out to be a dud after all.
http://google.com/search?q=microsoft+store+return+policy
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Regarding return policy - I guess I was looking for a more real world understanding from someone. Had previously read the official, and it basically says that if its a computer, which it is, and it has been opened, then they won't take it back. So basically we are all screwed if we don't like this thing after opening it and bought it from Microsoft online.
not a very good return policy.
Nobody really knows about MS return policy, because this is the first time MS is selling a whole computer (as opposed to just peripherals). I think your best bet is to phone or go to a MS store and get the low-down on Oct 26.
Really, if you're unsure, just don't get RT on launch day. Wait for reviews, and to see what other choices are there. There'll be lots. Personally, I think once Clovertrail tabs show up at $499, that'll be the best option for Win users who want regular Windows on a tablet.
BTW, news peeps who went to the MS Surface "Hardware R Us" shindig have all gotten a Surface RT unit for review, and NDA should be lifted today (Tues Oct 23), so we should have a better idea of what Win RT is shortly.
e.mote said:
Really, if you're unsure, just don't get RT on launch day. Wait for reviews, and to see what other choices are there. There'll be lots. Personally, I think once Clovertrail tabs show up at $499, that'll be the best option for Win users who want regular Windows on a tablet.
.
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Or AMD-Z60 as it should be cheaper has more graphics ability (run call of duty at 30fps) and has better support for bluestacks. That said it uses more power gets hotter and needs more airflow.
Now that NDA is lifted, looks like the first Surface RT review is up. Unsurprising verdict: Still too many unknowns.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-rt-review/
Hello all
I am the owner of the Nexus 7 and i'm thinking to get the Microsoft Surface RT. I heard it was a lot laggy but these sources last from November 2012 and I guess Microsoft had the time to update and fix a lot of bugs.
So, how is as today the Microsoft Surface RT? Still laggy? Are there case where it always lags? Are games running smooth? Is Microsoft Office running smooth by now? Is the slow typing issue fixed? I want to know everything
Comparing to a Nexus 7, which will I find smoother? Which will I find best for games?
PS: I don't really play games but it tells more about specs
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
For the most part it is fixed. You may get lag in PowerPoint and ink in word. Other than that... Smooth.
Sent from my Evo V 4G using XDA Premium HD app
mines fine, but I am having a replacement.... (all cosmetic damage)
Performance; fast, no lag, smooth gaming(what ever games you can find)
Design; the magnesium case makes the surface amazing to the touch, it feels solid yet light.
it gives you confidence for when you drop it. Kickstand is brilliant (mine is still attached)
All The Good Stuff;
the surface has expandable memory(supports up to 64GB Class 10 SD)
battery life is acceptable(about 8 hours give or take - depending on what your doing)
kickstand (not adjustable)
type cover (I've had a few problems with this, but all have been replaced for free)
Not All Good;
speakers (but they can be made louder in settings)
crappy app selection (a few xbox games)
standard screen
heavy ( a little heavier than ipad)
glitches in the OS
type cover is hard to use
Hope I helped a little, things maybe added to the list!
I haven't found lag to be a problem in general when running native apps (emulated x86 is a different story, although even there most apps that work at all work pretty well). Both tablets use the same CPU/GPU and have the same RAM, so performance of the hardware is nearly a wash (the Surface RT has marginally higher resolution than the Nexus 7, which will probably have a trivial impact). Games that I've played on it run smoothly, if not necessarily at *very* high framerates. I can't compare it to the Nexus 7 as I haven't spent enough time using one, but performance is not a problem for me either gaming or browsing the web. The email client used to be laggy as hell; that's now much better. I've actually done a non-trivial Powerpoint deck on the Surface RT, and had no noteworthy problems with lag there either (scrolling was just a little stutter if I went fast, but that happens even on my work PC) although my slides weren't terribly complex.
The biggest differences, specs-wise, between the two tablets are that the N7 has GPS, NFC, and optional cellular data, but comes at 16 or 32 GB of non-expandable storage, while the Surface RT has a rear-facing camera as well as the front-facing one, 32 or 64GB of internal storage, and a microSD slot. The Surface RT also has a standard USB host port, which makes it easy to add additional storage or connect other types of devices like gamepads, cellular dongles, and even phones or other tablets (although no, it cannot run ADB).
EDIT: I'm wrong, the Nexus 7 has only 1GB of RAM, which is half as much as the Surface RT. Surface should support heavy apps and multitasking far better than N7.
Thanks for all those comments if other people have some stuffs to add I'm willing to hear them
What do you guys mean by OS Glitch?
Also, is the tablet scratch proof? (screen and back)
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
The Surface line is *extremely* durable. The chassis has been shown to survive everything from being used as a skateboard (at one of the announcement presentations) to flying off a car roof on the freeway (albeit with some denting); search and you'll find these incidents. It's intended to withstand multiple drops onto concrete from "person height" of like 3.5' or so (mid-torso-ish; I should ask my friend who works in that department again). I've personally stepped on mine by accident (lying on carpet, though) with no damage at all. The screen is Corning Gorilla Glass 2, which is extremely scratch resistant, and with the metal chassis protecting the edges, it's also very shatter-resistant. In other words, it's as close to "scratch proof" as any real-world consumer object is going to be. It is technically possible to break the kickstand, but the demo video I saw required putting a large part of a grown man's weight on the top edge of the tablet (with kickstand open) before the hinges gave.
Also, in case you didn't see above, I screwed up on the spec comparison in my previous post. The Surface RT has 2GB of RAM, twice as much as the N7. Windows RT will probably have a larger base memory footprint than Android, but the difference should still allow for a lot more multitasking and also for larger programs or data sets (I've loaded really huge Excel spreadsheets with no problem, and regularly have dozens of browser tabs open, for example).
Thanks you Just watched a lot of videos on destructions test and performance So far so great
Now isn't a great time to buy hardware, since this is the tail end for last year's hardware cycle. Models, especially RT ones, are hitting clearance. There's the Dell XPS 10 RT (posted in Windows RT forum) for $250 if you want to jump. No firsthand knowledge, but the XPS 10's Snapdragon S4 is faster than the Surface's Tegra 3.
Edit: Looks like the Dell XPS 10 deal is dead. Please ignore.
jamesst20 said:
Thanks for all those comments if other people have some stuffs to add I'm willing to hear them
What do you guys mean by OS Glitch?
Also, is the tablet scratch proof? (screen and back)
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Screen has had no scratches so far.... And for the back of the device, well that has had a few scratches, I think they are from my keys and loose change.
e.mote said:
Now isn't a great time to buy hardware, since this is the tail end for last year's hardware cycle. Models, especially RT ones, are hitting clearance. There's the Dell XPS 10 RT (posted in Windows RT forum) for $250 if you want to jump. No firsthand knowledge, but the XPS 10's Snapdragon S4 is faster than the Surface's Tegra 3.
Edit: Looks like the Dell XPS 10 deal is dead. Please ignore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean? I don't think the Microsoft Surface RT 2 will be out before end of 2013 or maybe start of 2014 :$ and rumors says it will be smaller
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Gorilla glass has a very high hardness rating, in general in order for an object to get a scratch the object scratching it has to have a higher hardness rating (no innuendo intended).
There are few common items with a higher hardness than gorilla glass. Some precious gems like diamond and sapphire (by extension ruby) will easily do it, so basically don't try scratching a wedding ring (if you happen to be married and using a diamond ring if course) against your screen. A few rare alloys can do it. Gorilla glass shards are of course the same hardness as gorilla glass so can also damage the screen. Sand (both builders and beach) is also capable of scratching the screen. That's about it. If you really tried you could do it with a material softer than gorilla glass but chances are by that point your not scratching the screen but plain shattering it (which is one thing, gorilla glass is damned scratch resistant and pretty tough but still possible to shatter)
>What do you mean?
My dad did fortune-telling as a hobby, mostly for friends and acquaintances. He did palm-reading, and had all these complicated astrological charts. One thing I've learned from him is that people don't want to hear the truth (inasmuch as "truth" can be divined) if it's bad news; they only want good news. Fortune telling isn't about reading people's fate as much as reading people.
Likewise, people asking for opinions from existing owners aren't looking for advice as much as affirmation, because the natural tendency for owners is bias toward their already-made choice. It's called the confirmation bias.
>I want to know everything.
You won't know much by asking questions with only one answer. Do the work and start reading. Windows RT and Surface RT have been covered ad nauseam on tech sites, including this forum.
But that's not what you want to hear, so I'll oblige: I think the Surface RT is perfect for you. Buy now. Don't wait. There's always something better down the line, and you can keep waiting forever.
e.mote said:
>What do you mean?
My dad did fortune-telling as a hobby, mostly for friends and acquaintances. He did palm-reading, and had all these complicated astrological charts. One thing I've learned from him is that people don't want to hear the truth (inasmuch as "truth" can be divined) if it's bad news; they only want good news. Fortune telling isn't about reading people's fate as much as reading people.
Likewise, people asking for opinions from existing owners aren't looking for advice as much as affirmation, because the natural tendency for owners is bias toward their already-made choice. It's called the confirmation bias.
>I want to know everything.
You won't know much by asking questions with only one answer. Do the work and start reading. Windows RT and Surface RT have been covered ad nauseam on tech sites, including this forum.
But that's not what you want to hear, so I'll oblige: I think the Surface RT is perfect for you. Buy now. Don't wait. There's always something better down the line, and you can keep waiting forever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry I did read a lot
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
By the way, I forgot to give some news here!
Ar first I bought the Microsoft Surface RT. I really realky enjoyed it! The only thing I didn't like from it was a few missing apps (such as Facebook) and maybe a missing Microsoft Visual Studio. I really wished I could do some programming on it So yeah after a week I returned it.
I then bought the Surface Pro wich I liked way more. Faster and I could use my Windows Programs I didn't like the fact the Pro version couldn't receive notifications in sleep mode, that really disapointed me. Also, it was impossible to set alarm since in sleep mode it wouldn't ring.
I had to sell it about 3 months later because I needed money to afford my school books and stuff but really, I really liked that tablet.
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