[Q] Thinking of buying this tab **help** - Asus Transformer TF700

Hi i need your suggestions on buying this tablet i found on newegg.com.
I need a good tablet for games and movies. that is able to be rooted and has good roms (stable)
would you guys recommend this tablet for 169.99
also i see the charger is different. its not micro usb has any of you guys had issues with the charging port?
I will most likely purchase it sunday. if it has good recommendations.
thank you for taking your time on reading this and posting your suggestions.

I would go for the successor, the TF701 (aka new infinity, as far as I know). The most serious issue with the TF700 is in my eyes the bad speeds of the internal flash memory. It also has only 1GB of RAM. As far as I know, both things are solved with the TF701, which is therefore much faster. The TF700 tends to be sometimes a bit slow. Especially Google Chrome is almost unusable for me. Also synchronisation in the background slows down the tablet quite considerably. I do not owe a TF701, so I cannot give you any comparison.
The charger port is not a big problem in my eyes. To charge it, you simply need to use the cable and the charger it comes with. Because I was afraid my cable could break at some time, I brought another one, which you can get quite cheap on amazon or so.
I have some mechanical issues after 2 years of use, though. The locking mechanism with the docking station is broken, so the tablet can be removed without unlocking it first. It is not a big problem, I just have to be a bit more careful when handling it while docked. Also my touch screen is somewhat broken, when connected with the docking station it sometimes generate fake touch events (especially when it is slightly tilted to the back, like one usually does it when using in the dock). I guess it is caused by some tension in the digitiser glass. This is quite annoying, but I did not found many reports of similar problems, so I guess it does not happen frequently.

Im still rocking the TF101 which, honestly, running a custom ROM is just fine for what I use. (Internet surfing, email, facebook, games (nothing crazy fast in gaming though).
I dropped it so may times that its finally at the end of its life..
So I found myself in the same predicament ... 201 vs 700 vs 701.
There's a lot of debates online between the 201 and 700 and then the 700 vs 701. In every case they pretty much recommend going to the next higher model. (shocking, right?!)
But in the end the 700 was going to cost me around 200 with dock (killer amazon deal) and the 701 about 350. (in both cases gently used or refurbished).
I may regret it... but for another hundred bucks I decided that the 701 wasnt worth the additional 150 bucks... Although its CLEARLY a faster hardware tab.
If I were working from it or playing high end games, or if I found a closer price spread... I would have maybe gone to the 701.
Anyway, for those reasons I pulled the trigger on the 32g CHPMG TF700 last night.
Good luck in your purchase either way.

Related

My A700 Review: Pros, Cons, & Heat

Amazon delivered my A700 last Friday, and spent most of Friday & Saturday messing with it. I've install a large number of apps & games to try out. I have NOT yet unlocked my bootloader/rooted, in case I do decide to return the A700. I did not do a full factory reset when I got the A700 either. Finally, I'm using my A700 in conjunction with a Poetic HardBack Case.
Pros: The HD screen is fantastic. I compared it against my gal's iPad 1 and iPad 3, and it is easily comparable to the iPad 3. The iPad 3's resolution is a hair better, but one can only tell if you are looking very closely - for all practical purposes, they are on par. I found that using auto-adjust brightness, left the screen too dim to my tastes. Instead I manually set the screen to approximately 30% brightness, and found that that setting is suitable for everything except outdoor direct sunlight. When I tested outdoors, I kicked up the brightness and found that 80% was the minimum needed to be usable in direct sunlight. Additionally, there is no backlight bleed.
As an Android fan, I like to tweak my devices & am a strong believer that Android's 3rd party offerings are one of its strong points. That being said, I've disabled Acer Ring, and installed Chrome & Dolphin to replace the stock browser, Nova Launcher to replace the stock launcher, and QuickPic to replace the gallery. It is also trivial to unlock the bootloader & a rooting method has already been released.
The A700 has a very solid heft and feel to it. It does not feel like it is cheaply-built. I like having dual speakers and found that the sound was good. Finally, per the Service Guide, the A700 is very easy to dismantle.
Cons: Acer did install some redundant bloatware apps, which I will immediately rip out when/if I commit to the A700 & root it. These include the Amazon App Store, an Acer Photo & Video app, Acer Ring, and a worthless anti-virus app. Thankfully, this is the only con I could come up with except...
Heat: This deserves its own section. The A510 had reported heat issues and the A700 definitely shares that as well. Due to the internal design, the CPU/GPU mainboard is on the lower right and when used heavily, can become unbearably hot. In my experience over the weekend, I found that casual use such as browsing, e-mail, & other productivity apps, only caused the A700 to get warm but not uncomfortable.
However, when I play-tested several games - Heavy Gunner, Flick Football, & Cut The Rope, the A700 got HOT. I use a Poetic HardBack Case, which "insulates" my hand but inhibits heat dissipation. Additionally, the A700 did crash on me a few times while gaming. I presume that the crashes were due to heat, but am uncertain. After each crash, I'd remove the A700 from the case to feel it back "naked," and it was excessively hot... hot enough that I wouldn't have continued gaming had the tablet been naked. I spent about 1 hour TOTAL, play-testing the above three games and all crashes occurred within that timeframe.
Studying the photos from the Service Guide, I'm curious to open up the A700. Looking at the back panel, it is lined with some sort of metal panel. Then there are several "pads" which contact different points on the mainboard. I'm curious to see if those "pads" are thermal pads and/or whether the metal panel on the back is supposed to act as a primitive heatsink to help disperse heat. If yes to both, I'm interested in experimenting with changing out/upgrading the thermal pads and using some paste. Additionally, I'm toying with the idea of modding the back panel to make a vent.
That's it for now. I'll be happy to field any questions & post more thoughts as the week goes on.
UPDATE:
My curiosity got the best of me, so I went ahead, opened up the A700, and added some thermal paste to the thermal pads. Check out my write-up here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1735318
Beknatok said:
Cons: Acer did install some redundant bloatware apps, which I will immediately rip out when/if I commit to the A700 & root it. These include the Amazon App Store, an Acer Photo & Video app, Acer Ring, and a worthless anti-virus app. Thankfully, this is the only con I could come up with except...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should know with ICS you can deactivate most of those apps without root.
I would rather have an hour or even two so less battery life to afford a smaller battery and then Acer would perhaps had space to accommodate a wider dissipation of heat.
The Infinity in spite of its thinner frame and higher clocked chipset apparently does not get hot. Price is $50 more, but to avoid the heat, seems a better option.
DЯΦ[email protected]П said:
You should know with ICS you can deactivate most of those apps without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you do this?
Quick Note: The Infinity is $150 more actually.
On the subject of heat dissipation, I was thinking about modding the back of this case for venting as well. I believe the crashes may just be from bad software programming for certain apps. I don't think the tablet is actually OVER heating just getting warmer than other tablets. It should be within the processor's limits. I was hoping to overclock this tablet in the future to pump up it's gaming capabilities since right now it's a bit slower than the other Tegra 3 tablets due to the resolution. Hence why I want to mod the casing to allow for venting. Maybe a few vent holes properly cut will allow for the processor to release a lot more heat.
To Disable Apps: Just goto Settings --> Apps --> ALL --> Select the App you want to Disable --> Click Disable -- If the app has had updates, Select Uninstall Updates then go back to that app again and choose Disable.
I disabled Virus Scanner, WildTangent, Face Unlock, Google+, Zinio, and Evernote. Those are the only ones I found I will never use.
32gb is $500 for Infinity and launching mid July. The 64gb version is $600.
Whoops, I see now that I was wrong. It IS only $500 for the 32GB version. That's a kick in the balls. I bought the A700 because it was thought to be so much cheaper than the Infinity, now that it's only $50 cheaper it seems a lot better. Oh well I still enjoy this A700 so I'll keep it, plus a new custom ROM will probably speed this up to Infinity levels anyways.
Heat issue fix
Some people are reporting that disabling McAfee will fix the heat issue, at least for the a510. Hopefully this will fix it for the a700 as well.
rushless said:
I would rather have an hour or even two so less battery life to afford a smaller battery and then Acer would perhaps had space to accommodate a wider dissipation of heat.
The Infinity in spite of its thinner frame and higher clocked chipset apparently does not get hot. Price is $50 more, but to avoid the heat, seems a better option.
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Click to collapse
Devil is in the details. I'm considering A700 instead of the Infinity for two reasons:
- I/O problems: though associated with TPI's Tegra3, I've never read about similar problems with A700 in any of its reviews (browser hiccups and the like)
- Poor speakers: "stereo" speakers placed side-to-side under one (!) small grill located at the back (!) of the pad facing away from the listener and at the right (!) side of the pad. As a result, when you're playing\watching a movie, you're:
- getting mono sound
- the sound comes from the right, not perceived center, which is off-putting
- if you're watching it on the sofa with the pad lying on your knees, or in bed with it lying on the blanked, the speaker is muffled by the blanket\clothes so much it's a big problem.
So basically since one of the main functions of the pad I'm about to buy is to watch movies at home when the desktop PC is occupied, speaker quality is a big item in choosing the pad, and TPI loses to A700 hands down.
Of course, A700 also has speakers in the back (why in Lord's name can't they be in front?), but they're genuine stereo and have larger grilles.
All Tegra 3 devices have some form of occasional hiccups since single channel (this is why the new dual core S4 beats it- more than one channel memory). As per the Anandtech review (and others) the Infinity actually has less events since higher bandwidth from clock increase. In spite of the higher clock, the Infinity apparently does not get hot (if reviews are correct).
Acer should not have used the same exact chipset as the 510, but considering how hot the 510 gets, perhaps that would have been too much for the 700.
Will be nice to see a smack-down of both devices (Acer & Asus). Problem is finding the Acer in a store, since retailers have the 510 which is also new and the same price. Asus at least has an excuse, since the Prime is now "older" by electronic standards and will be price reduced (maybe the 510 should do the same).
Still, perspective is for $450 a person can get a 1920x1200 Android tablet that has good performance. If you can put up with the heat, or do not play many high resource apps, it would be web surfer or comic readers best cost option.
---------- Post added at 01:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:58 PM ----------
All Tegra 3 devices have some form of occasional hiccups since single channel. As per the Anandtech review (and others) the Infinity actually has less events since higher bandwidth from clock increase. In spite of the higher clock, the Infinity apparently does not get hot (if reviews are correct).
Acer should not have used the same exact chipset as the 510, but considering how hot the 510 gets, perhaps that would have been too much for the 700.
Will be nice to see a smack-down of both devices (Acer & Asus). Problem is finding the Acer in a store, since retailers have the 510 which is also new and the same price. Asus at least has an excuse, since the Prime is now "older" by electronic standards and will be price reduced (maybe the 510 should do the same).
Still, perspective is for $450 a person can get a 1920x1200 Android tablet that has good performance. If you can put up with the heat, or do not play many high resource apps, it would be web surfer or comic readers best cost option.
Added:
BTW, why no reviews yet? The 700 came out first- zero reviews, but the Infinity already has a bunch of reviews. Acer not send review units out?
rushless said:
BTW, why no reviews yet? The 700 came out first- zero reviews, but the Infinity already has a bunch of reviews. Acer not send review units out?
Click to expand...
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Why no reviews? Less, and mostly lacking detail and depth, but not nil:
http://www.slashgear.com/acer-iconia-tab-a700-review-25235533/
http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/acer-iconia-tab-a700/4505-3126_7-35117923.html
http://androidheadlines.com/2012/06/acer-iconia-tab-a700-review.html
http://androidcommunity.com/acer-iconia-tab-a700-hands-on-and-unboxing-3-20120622/
http://enjoyit.ru/predvaritelnyy-obzor-acer-iconia-tab-a701-bolshoy-i-moshchnyy/
I've also seen some in-depth reviews (with charts comparing various aspects of A700 display with the new iPad, really technical and detailed), but they were all in Russian, so I won't link 'em here.
no reviews, no custom roms. Please developers begin cooking roms, the device has been out a month ago and the development section is still empty.
agdroubi said:
no reviews, no custom roms. Please developers begin cooking roms, the device has been out a month ago and the development section is still empty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind that it was only very quietly released (in limited quantities via Amazon) here in the US last week.
Adoption takes time.
Our A700's were delivered on the same day... My review slash first thoughts would've been exactly the same as you (the OP). The heat is my number one concern. I did not buy this for gaming, but when I did install the car racing game that was already on it and a deer hunting game, I was totally hooked. Sadly, it crashes after the same amount of time passes playing each of these games. The back in each instance got very hot. I have been using mine with the Slim folio Case With Multi-Angle Stand that I bought on Amazon as well.
I really like this tablet--the speed is amazing, the display quality is excellent, the speakers are the best I have seen on a tablet (including iPad 3) even when compared to some laptop computers, and more... but if it's going to crash each time I play a game for, say, half hour, and gets hot to the touch, then I am not too sure what to do...
XooLoo said:
I really like this tablet--the speed is amazing, the display quality is excellent, the speakers are the best I have seen on a tablet (including iPad 3) even when compared to some laptop computers, and more... but if it's going to crash each time I play a game for, say, half hour, and gets hot to the touch, then I am not too sure what to do...
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Click to collapse
What a shame. I'm seriously considering buying A700 instead of Prime primarily because of the speakers; and though also not for gaming, this heat issue is still a concern. A device over $100 should be sensibly engineered.
Looks like I'll have to get a google pad for the meantime and wait for S4 Krait devices or even a w8 pad.
Shame indeed... I am literally one click away from returning it. As stated, my original intention was not gaming, but after having spent time playing games on this tablet, I find it a crime to not play games on it! And the thought of playing a game and losing it all in the heat of the moment (pun intended) just kills all the excitement for me. It's almost guaranteed to crash as the temperature rises. Also keep in mind that although it didn't crash, watching HD videos on YouTube definitely does cause the temperature to go up. Perhaps it didn't crash because in between videos I paused quite a few minutes each time, and in the end did not spend that much time watching HD videos in one session.
XooLoo said:
Shame indeed... I am literally one click away from returning it. As stated, my original intention was not gaming, but after having spent time playing games on this tablet, I find it a crime to not play games on it! And the thought of playing a game and losing it all in the heat of the moment (pun intended) just kills all the excitement for me. It's almost guaranteed to crash as the temperature rises. Also keep in mind that although it didn't crash, watching HD videos on YouTube definitely does cause the temperature to go up. Perhaps it didn't crash because in between videos I paused quite a few minutes each time, and in the end did not spend that much time watching HD videos in one session.
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Could you kindly answer a couple of questions for everyone's benefit?
1. If you launch a game, it crashes after a certain time, coinciding with a considerable heating of the pad's body?
2. If you try to launch the same game right away (without letting the pad cool down), what happens?
3. If you try launching a different (but also graphics-intensive) game right away, what happens?
4. Have you tried uninstalling\freezing the McAfee antivirus, which, as claimed by some, may alleviate this problem (not very believable, though)?
Thank you!
I've been gaming on mine and after turning off unneeded running programs, and turning off unused services (gps, auto sync...) it still gets warm but it never crashes. I've also been watching movies without issues as well. A vent or better heat sink option should have been used to alleviate this problem although I have some ideas....The Asus is not even an option for me due to their attention to detail with the speaker, and all the potential build problems that will likely occur just like their past 3 models.
I can confirm that after shutting down and disabling a few apps, specifically Virus Scanner, WildTangent, Evernote, and Google+. I can play games for quite a while without any crashing. The crashing may be caused by the virus scanner rather than the heat, cause I can run RR2HD for over an hour without a single crash now but the back does indeed get really hot. I'm currently trying to figure out how I might be able to dissipate some of that heat via a case mod of some sort.
Is there a program we can install that will run continually so that we get the tab heating up without just playing a game? Just to let it run and see if it ever crashes the tab?

[Q] what should l do?? What should l choose?

Ok, to make a long story short. I handed in my prime for RMA and got offered to alternatives , a TF700 or a samsung note 10.1.
Now , I had really ****ty experience with the prime. Primarily wi fi issues, but the performance in general was rubbish. With that said there were many aspects of the prime that l liked, Such as the keyboard and battery time.
My question is what are the known issues that with the note 10.1 and it's main drawbacks?
Keyboard isn't a must, nor is the pen, though l would love both! I could in short go for either.
It's kinda time urgent , I only have a few days to decide.
Help?
Thanks in advance!
The note is superior to tf700 in every way except screen resolution. I exchanged 3 tf700 then tried the note, the results is obvious. I only regret not taking the 3g version.
Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk HD
Could you be a bit more detailed?
There are no drawbacks as the software is more refined in every way and the hardware is solid and future proof atleast for year or two
But there only difference is the body and the screen resolution
Apart from that it is better then prime or any other tablet in the market even N10 once it gets JB the reason being the world class developement done by Samsung on the OS
The screen on tf700 was deformed, not well fixed on edges. Less ram, only 1 gb, no dualband n Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth 4, low end internal storage, not as fluent as the note. Much better battery on the note. A lot of random reboots on stock tf700, none on the note.
I have changed the 3 Asus after using each one for a few days. I admit that the resolution was great, but the note is a better tablet overall.
Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk HD
And the price to in India the prime is almost 200 dollars more expensive
the prime? Don't think it factors in as such into my question... Kinda keen on Tf 700 vs Note 10.1
I've read tons of reviews and they go both ways , but it seems the TF700 comes ahead a lot of the time. That's the confusing part. I've tested both in the store, with no clear winner. Screen on Tf is great and they both felt snappy. The pen on the Samsung was fun to use and accurate, but testet a few pens on the transformer and they were pretty good as well. Big issue is 1 gb DDR3 vs 2GB ddr2 , and Tegra vs Exynos. Kinda a bummer considering games and certain apps are tegra focused .
But the old Prime is still in the back of my mind, I\O performance etc...
BUT A BIG DRAW BACK WITH SAMSUNG, I can't plug in a HDMI and USB cable at the same time... kinda need it from time to time ( external drive and HDMI, or game controller and HDMI or...)
I think almost everyone that owns a Note 10.1 went through the same decision. And newer owners are also factoring in the Nexus 10. Obviously the people in this forum chose the Note. You'd get other opinions from forums dedicated to those devices and I suggest you ask and look in those too.
For me, the decision was easy. I dd look at the Asus forums as well as here. In the Asus forums there are tons of post of people having problems. Granted, people with problems tend to find forums. But why do you not see people here posting about problems? The few you do see are mostly folks that tried to either root or flash their units and didn't read the instructions fully. Sure you'll find an occasional legit problem post, but they are so few and far between that it's an effort to find them. That's not the case in the Asus forums.
I spent a lot of money for the Note 10.1. I bought it before any of the recent price drops. I have no buyers remorse at all.
Well good to know. I've posted a similar thread in the ASUS forum just in case, but response has been limited. The big issue l have with the Samsung is lack of ports and weaker battery compared to the ASUS. wouldn't mind a keyboard, but seen that there are dozens of keyboard folios and so on....but again one comes to the issue of battery being drained ( in this case by the bluetooth)
I'm on the fence , 50-50 so that's why I was looking for personal experience with the unit(s). I kinda missed the mark with the Prime , so don't want to mess up again.
BTW I see it mentioned a dozen places, how is the support from Samsung, ie updates etc....?
I owed a prime and had all the bad experiences. I read and read before getting another tablet and everything pointed at the infinity, so I got one. Had it a little over a week and noticed lag from time to time, but nothing major, until I bought the new need for speed... geez, it's unplayable on the infinity. I pulled it up on my note 2 and its flying. So I returned it and got the note 10.1. It flies! The screen is the only advantage the infinity have
I've owned the Transformer Prime for almost a year and I had the Transformer Infinity for about a month before I traded it for a Galaxy Note 10.1.
The memory issues with the transformers is really bad, when you use the browser it constantly hangs and gives ANRs (App not responding). It is basically unusable in the browser. I had the same problem with the Prime and the Infinity, it happens more often when you have multiple apps running.
I debated it for a long time because I really wanted the high resolution, but once I got the Note 10.1 I knew within a day that I made the right choice. Everything works as it should, everything is faster and smoother, graphics intensive games like N.O.V.A. and Dead Trigger actually run better (N.O.V.A was unplayable on the Infinity because it lagged so much). The screen isn't as good, but it isn't worth the issues you have to deal with on the Transformer line.
I used the keyboard dock on the Infinity and loved taking notes in school with it, but since I got the Note 10.1 I started taking notes with the S-Pen and I carry a bluetooth keyboard just in case I need it. I've liked taking notes with the S-Pen so much that I never even use the keyboard anymore.
As a previous prime owner of 8 months, id have to say i have no regrets
What i miss
-usb slot
-full sd slot
-hdmi
-extra battery
What i dont miss
-anr
-wifi/bluetooth issues
-slow playstore install/uninstall
-the cheap buttons on keyboard(one snapped off, too easilly)
The things i wish the note has but doesnt
-a decent port connected keyboard with, hdmi, usb, sd card
The comprimises
-usb/sd card adapter
-allcast(when sammy finally gets its finger out its bum).......stream game over wifi, while using bluetooth gamepad/keyboard/mouse
As a prevoius prime owner yourself, i think your in a position to appreciate this phrase "it just works"......and thats the main thing that makes the things ive lost bearable, trust me its a relief......another thing i like is that it feels more sturdy,
If you can find a tf700 without daily issues, then i'd say go for that, but me i wont trust their quality control on the tablet front for a while
On a side note, battery on the note, even without the extra battery is commendable..........at least 10h constant use on avarage......thats brightness dim, powersave on......by the way powersave is pretty impressive to (limit to1000mhz), no hiccups.
Just to reiterate what banderos101 said,
I'm a former TF101 owner (the original transformer from asus), and I miss the same things he misses. In addition, my transformer often had weird stutterings that may or may not have been associated with the roms I used on it (but it had them on stock too before I rooted and flashed custom roms).
That said, I don't know much about the TF700, but you probably should pick it based on what your primary usage will be. I got the Note instead of another transformer tablet because I take notes using a pen (physics is hard to type notes for) and because it has 2gb RAM. Also, the screen resolution doesn't matter to me much because it didn't put me in shock and awe when I used my friends' iPad retinas and TF700's, but maybe that's because I'm nearsighted.
DeBoX said:
Well good to know. I've posted a similar thread in the ASUS forum just in case, but response has been limited. The big issue l have with the Samsung is lack of ports and weaker battery compared to the ASUS. wouldn't mind a keyboard, but seen that there are dozens of keyboard folios and so on....but again one comes to the issue of battery being drained ( in this case by the bluetooth)
I'm on the fence , 50-50 so that's why I was looking for personal experience with the unit(s). I kinda missed the mark with the Prime , so don't want to mess up again.
BTW I see it mentioned a dozen places, how is the support from Samsung, ie updates etc....?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll come at this from a completely different perspective from everyone on this thread. I have an Acer A500. Had it for a few years. Sunday night, my wonderful children decided I needed a new tablet so they dropped my acer out of the car. Off to the store! LOL! I'm not dedicated to any brand at all. I want cheap and as much bang for the buck as I can get. My 2 contenders were the same as yours. Asus Infinity vs Samsung Note. The real question you have to ask is what do you really want the tablet for? What do you expect to get out of the experience? No matter what you read here, the Asus is a better tablet than the Samsung. It has a visibly better screen. It has more storage for the dollar. IE, the 32gb Asus is the same price as the 16GB Samsung. The processor is slightly faster, but the Asus has a 5th independent low power processor that allows it to run much less power therefore slightly longer battery in real world. Average test is about 8 hours for the Samsung, 10 for the Asus.
The Asus also allows you to add the keyboard with an additional battery in the keyboard as well as full sized USB ports etc. So if you are looking for a laptop replacement, it's hard to beat. Now, you're probably asking, why am I putting all this in the Samsung thread?
I bought the Samsung. Why? Because the #1 thing I need from my tablet is the ability to take handwritten notes in meetings and it has to be easy and fast. Bottom line is, the digitizer system on the Note is unbeatable. Period. The Asus can't touch it. The Note is a great screen versus an amazing screen. It's nearly as fast processor wise, 1.4GHz vs 1.6GHz. So while the Asus in my mind is a better tablet, the Samsung Note is better for what I need. And by better I mean, lightyears better. There isn't a tablet on the market that can touch the Note for writing. It is truly paper and pencil good. But if you don't care about that, the Asus is a little better in a lot of ways.
I get 14 hours on the note on regular use, the record being 16 (talking about screen+ WiFi active, not about stand-by). With tf700 i had 11 hours with the first one, the other 2 devices never more than 8 hours (all without the dock, i did not buy one).
mobiushky said:
I'll come at this from a completely different perspective from everyone on this thread. I have an Acer A500. Had it for a few years. Sunday night, my wonderful children decided I needed a new tablet so they dropped my acer out of the car. Off to the store! LOL! I'm not dedicated to any brand at all. I want cheap and as much bang for the buck as I can get. My 2 contenders were the same as yours. Asus Infinity vs Samsung Note. The real question you have to ask is what do you really want the tablet for? What do you expect to get out of the experience? No matter what you read here, the Asus is a better tablet than the Samsung. It has a visibly better screen. It has more storage for the dollar. IE, the 32gb Asus is the same price as the 16GB Samsung. The processor is slightly faster, but the Asus has a 5th independent low power processor that allows it to run much less power therefore slightly longer battery in real world. Average test is about 8 hours for the Samsung, 10 for the Asus.
The Asus also allows you to add the keyboard with an additional battery in the keyboard as well as full sized USB ports etc. So if you are looking for a laptop replacement, it's hard to beat. Now, you're probably asking, why am I putting all this in the Samsung thread?
I bought the Samsung. Why? Because the #1 thing I need from my tablet is the ability to take handwritten notes in meetings and it has to be easy and fast. Bottom line is, the digitizer system on the Note is unbeatable. Period. The Asus can't touch it. The Note is a great screen versus an amazing screen. It's nearly as fast processor wise, 1.4GHz vs 1.6GHz. So while the Asus in my mind is a better tablet, the Samsung Note is better for what I need. And by better I mean, lightyears better. There isn't a tablet on the market that can touch the Note for writing. It is truly paper and pencil good. But if you don't care about that, the Asus is a little better in a lot of ways.
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Thanks for your post, it's nice to "hear" a slightly different approach. The problem in my case is that I'm kinda looking for the Jack of all trades , pref master of all
The pen idea is really tempting and l hear people praising it to high heaven. I have an old Lenovo x 201 Tablet and loved it for years, but it's kinda big and cumbersome to lob around for short trips and meetings / classes .
I'm looking for something that can at the very least cover these areas:
Media machine ( connected to a screen)
Gaming
Productivity (notes in class+ I work as an IT consultant so quick notes at work etc. In this case both have almost equal merit. pen vs keyboard )
Stable ( regular updates)
Connectivity ( ports and connections)
Good performance
HAS TO HAVE GOOD BATTERY ( average use wifi + bluetooth + browsing and note taking + maybe a short vid. here and there)
What l don't really care about
Screen rez.
Build materials ( ok, don't want it China cheap, but don't need super hyper space age Unobtanium)
Still trying to narrow down everything l need it for.
I know I want my cake and eat it too, but let's be honest, why have the cake if you can't eat it??
To be honest that was the note 10.1 out of the box... It really doesn't need constant updates because it just works how its supposed too... I've never owned an Asus tablet but wouldn't constant updates mean it has constant problems that are trying to be fixed?
Gaming is fine, you can run the chainfire 3d app for tegra games, I run with sonic and that works fine and a few other games (NFS most wanted, GTA3, Dungeon Hunters 3 and Assassins creed 3) and have no problem...
Notes are easy to take using the pen, think back to high school with a folder, about the same size and not that heavy.
You can get an adaptor for usb connectivity - Just cant use an HDD as it requires too much power but a thumb drive works fine (mines 32gb), I have a 64gb sd card installed and I got the 32gb 3g version, forgot phone, no problem...
Performance is fine, there's no problem and 2gb of RAM makes it snappy - even when you fill it with stuff, I have around 4gb left internally and about 2gb on the 64gb sd card - no lag or stutter...
There is a HDMI adaptor you can get but haven't tried it. If you have a smart tv from 2012 then you can share your screen wirelessly and you can get the wireless adaptor that plugs into the tv set. For older versions of TV sets freeing up your usb port you can use the wireless adaptor that plugs into the tv instead of the MHL Adaptor.
Screen resolution is fine for what I need, it plays 720P movies very well and I don't care that I can't magnify the screen into infinity when viewing pics or text...
I have had no problem with build quality, mind you most people I know seem to put it into a folder for protection - don't use anything with magnets as it might affect the wacom digitiser.
The S-pen makes it easy to enter notes or data, its a shame that Samsung used a little known format for s-notes but there's ways around that too...
Battery life is awesome, I use it 8 hours a day watching movies, surfing the web, listening to music, writing, taking notes and making calls and still have around 20-25% at the end of the day...
Overall I find it fine for what I use it for, the new JB update makes it so much better....
At the end of the day you will make your decision, if you live in America you might be able to change that decision, but I like my note 10.1. It is the only tab out there that allowed me to make phone calls and that's what pushed it over the edge for me.. That and the bluetooth stylus that doubles as a handset.... :laugh:
ultramag69 said:
To be honest that was the note 10.1 out of the box... It really doesn't need constant updates because it just works how its supposed too... I've never owned an Asus tablet but wouldn't constant updates mean it has constant problems that are trying to be fixed?
Gaming is fine, you can run the chainfire 3d app for tegra games, I run with sonic and that works fine and a few other games (NFS most wanted, GTA3, Dungeon Hunters 3 and Assassins creed 3) and have no problem...
Notes are easy to take using the pen, think back to high school with a folder, about the same size and not that heavy.
You can get an adaptor for usb connectivity - Just cant use an HDD as it requires too much power but a thumb drive works fine (mines 32gb), I have a 64gb sd card installed and I got the 32gb 3g version, forgot phone, no problem...
Performance is fine, there's no problem and 2gb of RAM makes it snappy - even when you fill it with stuff, I have around 4gb left internally and about 2gb on the 64gb sd card - no lag or stutter...
There is a HDMI adaptor you can get but haven't tried it. If you have a smart tv from 2012 then you can share your screen wirelessly and you can get the wireless adaptor that plugs into the tv set. For older versions of TV sets freeing up your usb port you can use the wireless adaptor that plugs into the tv instead of the MHL Adaptor.
Screen resolution is fine for what I need, it plays 720P movies very well and I don't care that I can't magnify the screen into infinity when viewing pics or text...
I have had no problem with build quality, mind you most people I know seem to put it into a folder for protection - don't use anything with magnets as it might affect the wacom digitiser.
The S-pen makes it easy to enter notes or data, its a shame that Samsung used a little known format for s-notes but there's ways around that too...
Battery life is awesome, I use it 8 hours a day watching movies, surfing the web, listening to music, writing, taking notes and making calls and still have around 20-25% at the end of the day...
Overall I find it fine for what I use it for, the new JB update makes it so much better....
At the end of the day you will make your decision, if you live in America you might be able to change that decision, but I like my note 10.1. It is the only tab out there that allowed me to make phone calls and that's what pushed it over the edge for me.. That and the bluetooth stylus that doubles as a handset.... :laugh:
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Click to collapse
Can you tell me more about the wireless HDMI solution. One of the BIG issues I have with the note is the fact that it's lacking ports and there aren't any docking stations etc with both hdmi and usb . I have several really good LED TV's at home , but non have wireless DLNA or similar setups ( have to buy extra plugs etc) so a HDMI port would have been great...
Another issue is the fact that there seems to be an increase in TEGRA optimized games... somthing that's a major bummer since l actually like using the tab as a mini game console .
KoRoZIV said:
I get 14 hours on the note on regular use, the record being 16 (talking about screen+ WiFi active, not about stand-by). With tf700 i had 11 hours with the first one, the other 2 devices never more than 8 hours (all without the dock, i did not buy one).
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Click to collapse
Is that 14h out of the box, or have you done some tinkering with it?
For the games run chainfire 3d... You can then run the tegra games with no problem...
Allshare cast dongle or Allshare cast hub - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2003478 & http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0089VO7MY/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

[Q] Is it worth buying despite the build quality?

I bought the TF700 because I thought it was the most solid tablet out there (in terms of looks, tegra 3, resolution). I noticed that for every tablet I bought (as in, I bought it 3 times and returned it 3 times), the build felt... quesitonable. Near the bottom of the screen (camera pointing north), I was able to push into the screen about a milimeter or two. One even made an audible clicking noise which concerned me. I've read that some tablets have this issue and I'm wondering if it's been a problem (i.e. if dust got under the screen, sound became super annoying, the screen pressing got worse) or if there's any easy way to remedy this problem without calling up ASUS or returning a tablet until I get a "solid" one (I'm really anal about build quality at this price point). Are there any skins/cases that puts more pressure on the sides so it doesn't pop out? I'm still trying to convince myself into buying this tablet to be honest.
If you have to force yourself in buying it its not a good idea.
For the pushing issue..its no problem.
im in the same boat. found a good local deal on the TF700. but shops here have no moneyback guarantee like they do in some shops in the US or like Apple (14 days you can try their product and return it if you're not happy).
and I've sold my iPad3 already. It is this or the iPad 4
I am an original Transformer Prime owner who migrated to the Infinity after news initially broke that Best Buy was honoring manufacture warranty returns.
So I knew a lot about the issues that plagued the Prime which was weak Wi-Fi, GPS, and poor I/O . The only thing that kept me in lock for another ASUS product to use my gained store credit and get the Infinity was because I still had the $140 Keyboard dock and that it is 100% compatible with the Infinity. I didn't want be left with a useless keyboard so I gave ASUS another go. Luckily 2 of the 3 issues that plagued the Transformer Prime fixed, Wi-fi signal strength and GPS.
The I/O is still lackluster, but personally I am okay with it because it still functional when I'm running uTorrent downloading some pRon, it's sluggish, but it's kind of what I would expect from a heatsink fanless quiet device.
I'm even okay overlooking that this device is equipped with only 1GB of RAM as the Prime, even though ASUS points out the Infinity uses DDR3. What was the Prime on DDR2? 1GB is not bad I guess for Linux based mobile OS.
But what's got upset lately is finding that this tablet is limited as far as it's Wireless N bandwidth goes and that it's only connecting at 65Mbps. That is pretty sub-par for a modern day computer.
My laptop with a 2006 Wireless N (DraftN) can achieve 270Mbps.
I bought and returned mine from Best Buy with no restocking fee. It was far too sluggish for a $500 tablet. The I/O was enough to turn me off for good.
Maybe the next one will be better.
Asus's QA is quite ****e. I love the design of the tablet, I hate that the battery failed in 4 months for me.

[Q] Would you recomend the TF101 after nearly 2 years?

Hello all
I have been given an opportunity to buy this tablet with the dock for not much money. It's second hand but used lightly and in great shape. The price is about 25% lower than the price of a NEW Asus Nexus 7 16GB in my country (no google play store here ).
My main concern is that it could be outdated. I had an Tegra 2 device (optimus 2x) and it was a pain to load any custom roms on it. I could only load Gingerbread roms on it. Sold it very quickly.
Is the TF101 showing its age? Does it run smoothly and are your batteries in good condition after this period? Any problems with apps? Games?
This would be my first tablet, so i'm not very much informed about them. I have been in the market for one a long time (1 year) and this is the first good opportunity I have seen. I would use it mainly for writing at college, some web browsing (flash running ok?) and casual gaming.
So would you recommend it now?
Any problems I should know about?
Only if you get it VERY cheap. And I say that as a TF101 owner.
The Tegra2 SoC is ****. It cannot play back standard 720p scene MKV-files without recording. Much less 1080p. XBMC and similar products don't want to support it because it lacks NEON-support which makes it easy to offload video-decoding to the GPU. Only thing I've gotten to play in a watchable state (but with occasional stutter) is Futurama.
It has also been plagued by unstable firmware updates, random reboots and sleeps of death. Asus has completely abondoned it and no further firmware updates are expected.
Your only chance of getting this tablet past ICS and onto JB (and whatever comes next, whenever that comes) is through third-party ROMs. If you get a model you can root. You may or may not be that lucky. Asus never unlocked the bootloader for the TF101.
So yeah. Unless you get it very cheap ($100 and less, keyboard dock included), I say no. Not worth it. There's much better things you can buy these days.
Its about 270 USD, but keep in mind that the nexus 7 is over 380 USD :crying:
Basically you will be paying 75% of the price for 25% of the goods.
You will be paying almost full price for a discontinued product instead of one still receiving updates, and one being ensured good support, both from AOSP/Google and from the Android community.
At this price, you will regret buying it.
Again: I say this as a current TF101-owner.
Get the serial number, and make sure it is Not a 3G variant, haggle it down to 200-225 and it would be worth it IMO.
ONLY if you rooted and made it custom though.
I have a N7, and I had a TF (until it died)
Personally they work nearly the same except for video playback. Videos with the proper kernel did work, just not HD without stutter. Games and other things are wonderful. (Of course assuming you rooted and rommed it, both of mine are/were)
Thing O Doom said:
Get the serial number, and make sure it is Not a 3G variant, haggle it down to 200-225 and it would be worth it IMO.
ONLY if you rooted and made it custom though.
I have a N7, and I had a TF (until it died)
Personally they work nearly the same except for video playback. Videos with the proper kernel did work, just not HD without stutter. Games and other things are wonderful. (Of course assuming you rooted and rommed it, both of mine are/were)
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lujo_zgb said:
Its about 270 USD, but keep in mind that the nexus 7 is over 380 USD :crying:
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I'm going to disagree with all of you guys about the 200 USD Price... That's completely ridiculous for an used TF101. I got my TF101 2011, last black friday, at bestbuy for $249.99 and with all the cases and other stuff I got for that device it came around $270. (This is without the dock and it was brand NEW).
Now this device is outdated and I see listing on ebay for the device used for around $75 with dock. NOT Worth it; you can buy better stuff.
Clocked at 1.5GHz mine plays practically any 720p scene release I throw at it.
DTS support can be a pain but other than that, no issues.
I'm not exactly sure what and how much of it you need to smoke to find them on Ebay for $75 with dock though, docks alone go for that price or above.
I bought my TF101 from a friend and we both looked at current eBay prices. I agreed to $200 for tablet and dock and I agree that someone must be high if they think they can get that for $75 on eBay. Just doing a quick search, I see one without a dock that's at $177 with 6 hours left and a refurb with dock at $275 - these prices are pretty typical of what I've been seeing, too. Refurb's a bit high in price, but not ridiculous compared to the $250-ish average we'd been seeing.
Additionally, using the awesome eValuator app, $220-260 is average and that goes to $280-299 when I search "TF101 and dock".
Even the ones that are broken and won't power on are still going for over $100.
To the OP, I would recommend making a choice depending on if you want a 10" or 7" tablet. I don't think 25% less is a great deal if you really only want a 7" tablet. I was actually looking at the N7, too - when I was shopping, I went with the TF101 because I liked the keyboard dock, I trust my friend that nothing is messed up with it, and I wanted the 10" size. I'd tried some 7" tablets and since my phone is 5" the 7" tablet wasn't a big enough difference to appeal to me.
I also appreciated how easy the TF101 is easy to take apart if I want to replace the battery. I think it's a great design and I wish newer tablets still had these features.
I've had this for maybe a month and I have no complaints. I have watched Netflix in HD on it for a few hours at a time and had no issues - I don't know how this differs from other video playback, but perhaps I'm not picky, I thought it looked fine (and there wasn't any stuttering). I don't really play any intensive games on it, so I can't comment on that. I'm on stock ICS rooted right now, but going to mess around with ROMs.
Best Android tablet from it's time, hands down!
If you can get a refurbished one (they seemed to be everywhere at one point) then it's worth it. I found the tablet and the dock at different stores for under 250$ two different times and haven't had any issues with them whatsoever (I have 2). B&H had the refurb dock for 99$USD I think newegg was 120$CDN... but that was a while ago.
I'm running JB 4.2.1 and overclocked to 1.6GHz, watching 720p mkv natively in mplayer without any lag or issues. The dock makes it a must once you get used to it and learn the hotkeys and the extra battery time kicks ass! The USB ports means I can connect a usb to serial adapter to connect to devices at work, no need to carry around the laptop... or just connect external ntfs storage or whatever.
Overall I'm very satisfied, the only "problem" I have is the lack of updates from Asus but oh well, there are some awesome devs working here to bring us the best. I'd go watch the other forums on xda to see how active other tablets/devs are, compare your choices to make an informed decision.
My wife owns a Nexus 7, I own a TF101 w/ keyboard dock.
I'd take the TF101 hands down.
That isn't to say the Nexus 7 isn't a wonderful tablet. But I use my TF101 almost as much as a work computer; the larger screen and durable build, the nice speed even if it is a dual-core instead of N7's quad, the 1.5ghz (overclocked via EOS 4 Rom) speed.... I love this thing.
I love my wife's Nexus 7 mainly because it is small enough to fit in some pockets and very light.
You have to figure out what you want from your tablet and proceed accordingly. I'm a firm believer that trailing edge technology often is a much better deal than chasing after the newest (the minute you leave the store it too is trailing edge!).
The price range on these is almost NEVER below $200, and that is without a keyboard. The poster w the neg comments early on is either badly misinformed about everything he mentioned or just trolling. Easiest way to test that thesis? Go to either Amazon or Ebay (w/ sales where time is almost out) and note the price ranges there. Even Craigslist, where I got mine for a steal ($225 w/ keyboard). Read the other comments, make a list of what you expect from your tablet, and go for it. Both tablets are great in different ways.
And did I mention my wife says she sorta covets my TF101?
One add'tl edit.... The TF101 has TWO SD-Card slots, a mini-HDMI output, TWO USB ports (on keyboard), and a few other jingles. Nexus 7, like its competitors (iPad, Nook, and KindleHD) have few to none of them. Just another thought...
Price range without keyboard for NEW is $150ish (Not misinformed at all). Newegg was one of the sites that had this deal. Also, I got mine for $250 new in 2011 (That was when this tablet was good/ at the top of the market)- it was a black friday doorbuster. The BB Mobile store near my house had stock when I went in.
There are better tablets out there that will go on sale and I personally wouldn't buy a USED TF101 unless if it was $100 or less.
lujo_zgb said:
Hello all
I have been given an opportunity to buy this tablet with the dock for not much money. It's second hand but used lightly and in great shape. The price is about 25% lower than the price of a NEW Asus Nexus 7 16GB in my country (no google play store here ).
My main concern is that it could be outdated. I had an Tegra 2 device (optimus 2x) and it was a pain to load any custom roms on it. I could only load Gingerbread roms on it. Sold it very quickly.
Is the TF101 showing its age? Does it run smoothly and are your batteries in good condition after this period? Any problems with apps? Games?
This would be my first tablet, so i'm not very much informed about them. I have been in the market for one a long time (1 year) and this is the first good opportunity I have seen. I would use it mainly for writing at college, some web browsing (flash running ok?) and casual gaming.
So would you recommend it now?
Any problems I should know about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
Newegg has the TF101 for $250 refurbished right now, and the dock for $99.
Big sales really can't be used to determine going price and market value. eBay averages are really the most accurate measure of what people are currently asking and what people are willing to pay.
I just cashed in a a Newegg super deal a few days ago, myself - and that's what it was, an awesome super deal that was way below the market price.
If a person wants to hold out for a super sale that may or may not happen that's their choice.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Remember, I am not from the States. Prices here (Croatia) are much higher.
For example, I can buy a 9.7 inch Prestigio multipad with 1 GHz and 1 GB RAM for 350 USD - USED.
I'll probably buy the TF101 I found and live with it. If not, I will sell it for profit, because I can probably make some 50-100 bucks of it.
shonkin said:
The poster w the neg comments early on is either badly misinformed about everything he mentioned or just trolling.
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Yes, misinformed troll creating and hosting CM-builds for the TF101 community, that's me. </sarcasm>
I'll keep my tf101 until I stop setting value in it, but Asus/nvidia seriously oversold the thing and I'd be lying of I said I was 100% happy about it when I got it delivered.
It gets better with Roming though.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
HA!
AsusT said:
Price range without keyboard for NEW is $150ish (Not misinformed at all). Newegg was one of the sites that had this deal. Also, I got mine for $250 new in 2011 (That was when this tablet was good/ at the top of the market)- it was a black friday doorbuster. The BB Mobile store near my house had stock when I went in.
There are better tablets out there that will go on sale and I personally wouldn't buy a USED TF101 unless if it was $100 or less.
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Click to collapse
you, my friend, are a liar and/or a fool. you will NEVER find a tf101 "under $100" unless it was broken. you will also NEVER see a new one for $150. period. look at ebay....cheapest place to find anything most of the time. good luck finding one with the keyboard for under $275. and good luck finding one without the keyboard under $200. USED. most of them listed that are $100-$150 are BROKEN. learn to read. cracked screen...chipped case....sound doesn't work....the $100 to $150 ones are severely abused transformers. if you can get one for $250-$300 with the keyboard dock, you have a good tablet that's worth the money. period. if you're not completely retarded and can follow basic instructions from this very website, you can then put the newest CM10 nightly build on the tablet, overclock it to 1.5Ghz or more, use "swapper" to make a 1GB swap partition, and you have - in theory - a 1.5Ghz, 2GB ram tablet with 2 usb ports, a keyboard, an sd slot, micro sd slot, hdmi out, the newest android OS....and in the 10.1" form factor. you can't find that ANYWHERE else on the market. people on here that say otherwise simply don't know what they're talking about. stock, it's a good tablet. modded, it's by far the best buy for your money and will smoke most others on the market that are three times the price (you know, the big goofy white ones) in performance, features, and all-around look and feel.
Just to update you guys... I have bought the tablet today. I like it pretty much. Finding the screen a bit awkward when using in portrait mode though.
It's kinda heavy, but I'll get used to it, after all, it took me some time to get used to a 4.65" mobile phone screen. I rooted it and I am still using the custom rom, as I usually do with all the stuff I buy. Eventually I will put a custom ROM on it because I had some serius hickups and a reset.
As far as the price point goes, I think that I couldn't have bought a better tablet for this price. I paid about 270 USD for it and it even has some of the plastic foil on it. Not even a scratch.
Now im off to find a custom ROM that has the ability to use all the buttons on the keyboard and thats overclockable.
Google Now and pinch to zoom in emails would be great too.
Thanks to all of you who replied, you helped a lot! Including the poster with negative comments.
I know you've already bought it, but I wanted to chime in that comparing my TF101 to my son's Nexus 7, I'd take the N7.
I liked the TF101 a lot, but as others mentioned, the stock firmware had become unstable. I had apps crash and freeze, even when I wiped and reflashed it. Unfortunately, the 4.2 ROMs are okay but lack some features. For example, I've seen some complained that the dock keyboard isn't fully functional. One of my complaints with the custom ROMs that I've tried is that Google Talk crashes anytime I try voice/video chat.
I'll still use, but I admit that I covet a newer tablet with the quad core.
Keyboard dock and Google Talk fully working here on 4.2, although I'd rather use Google+ Hangout for video chat.

Keep tf700 or wait for tegra 4?

I bought the tf700 about 2 weeks ago from best buy using the 50$ coupon that best buy messed up on. I actually bought it for 419 w/ tax going up to 450 which also includes the dock. Is this a good price for this? Well I have 2 weeks left for a full refund and I'm still debating if I should get a refund and wait for tegra 4 tablets or just keep it. There is slight flex on the screen which makes a clicking noise when I press on it but it doesn't really bother me. At first I was looking into ultrabooks but I gave tablet a try. Besides it's hard to find i5 ultrabooks for under 500. Help me decide!!
odorfreedk said:
I bought the tf700 about 2 weeks ago from best buy using the 50$ coupon that best buy messed up on. I actually bought it for 419 w/ tax going up to 450 which also includes the dock. Is this a good price for this? Well I have 2 weeks left for a full refund and I'm still debating if I should get a refund and wait for tegra 4 tablets or just keep it. There is slight flex on the screen which makes a clicking noise when I press on it but it doesn't really bother me. At first I was looking into ultrabooks but I gave tablet a try. Besides it's hard to find i5 ultrabooks for under 500. Help me decide!!
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That is a good price IMO.
I'd say this is a factor of your budget and how much you use your tablet. I got the first Android tablet, a Motorola Xoom, on launch day. I had it for a few months and used it a lot then decided to sell it prematurely in order to wait for the next best thing which in my eyes was an HD screen. Well I ended up having to wait almost a year before I got my next tablet, a TF700. That entire year I was kicking myself for not holding on to the Xoom until I actually had another tablet in my possession.
So I guess you have to ask yourself how important to you is having a tablet? At that price I'm guessing you could probably sell it for a ~$100 loss a few months down the road. Who knows though the next generation of tablets might take longer to come out, like the delay we had on the 1080P tablets. With that in mind, if I were you, I'd keep it!
$450.00 for tab and dock?
I'd say that's a good deal.
If the click bugs you trade that in for one that doesn't click.
Just picked up a TF700 myself and I was literally asking myself the same question. I've got a little less than 60 days to return this to BBY if another tab is announced for release soon.
I guess, there are a few things to consider.
1) Is the better performance/battery life of the new device going to be significant? If they jack up the resolution like the N10, it will probably be closer to par with the TF700.
2) Will a new tablet have any hardware issues (e.g. TF-Prime GPS & Wifi problems)? The TF700 is a mature product and it's limitations are well outlined. If you buy a TF700 now, you know exactly what you are going to get.
3) What new features will be on this Tab, and are they worth waiting for? TF700 has SDXC, mini HDMI, a dock with full USB, Full HD, etc. It's a good feature set. TF700 is a bit low on ram with only 1GB, I'd rather have 2GB. It's missing an integrated LTE modem that is said to be in T4, but TBH, I would always buy the wifi version anyway. Better battery life, I wouldn't pay for the extra data plan, and my phone is now tethering fine (thanks TrevE). N10 like resolution looks impressive on paper, but not so in person. I have good eyesight, and the difference isn't noticeable. It's an advertising point over the ipad. Google needs to stop chasing Apple and build more hardware features into their tablets that Apple didn't already do a year ago, but I digress.
4) Are there any applications you cannot run on the TF700 that a new tab would fix? I picked u the TF700 because my Touchpad (running CM9) keeps crashing skype; which I use daily. I run a somewhat recent nightly, and since the Camera fix (thanks for that Dorregaray) being able to use skype at all is awesome. However, having to reboot the tablet 6 times in a night and constantly mucking up the conversation is real pain. Since using the TF700, I haven't had one hiccup in skype. That is worth a lot to me, but a newer tab won't make it better.
Anyway, those are the things I've been mulling over. I will need to see what the new Transformer will look like before I make any kind of decision.
Edit: FWIW, I paid $468 for the tab & a 32GB micro sdxc card. I think you got the better deal.
Have they given a release date for any Tegra4 device? I thought one was shown at the last electronics show but it was still a development model and didn't mention anything about release times or price. You could be waiting awhile and in meantime if you keep the TF700 start stashing away some money monthly for the next wave of tablets. That could help on any loss you take or cover the difference to a model with more storage.
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1 - I don't think anyone can tell what the performance and battery life will be like right now. New devices and cpu's are marketed as more performance while reducing energy needs but the tech community needs products to test before accepting what is said as fact. Are Tegra4 chps supposed to run at the same power that today's Tegra3 chips do but have the better performance? That is a performance improvement while reducing the power needed if they were to make a Tegra3 to equal that performance. Someone may have a better answer regarding power saving but remember a bumped up screen size will probably draw more power anyway.
2 - Again probably hard to answer. Until the product hits the market we really won't know how it performs and what problems it may or may not have. It is a risk you take by buying the next and greatest device. Prime was the next and greatest device and we know how that turned out. We can only hope they get the message after 3 devices that they need better I/O components.
4 - As far as applications I think many people have issue with games that are released or already out and "not supported" by our device. It will take some time once a new device comes out for companies to tweak the code or whatever they do to have the games run on the device. That is done on their whim. Why some haven't not done now on the TF700 (Gameloft and EA) is a question I don't think anyone truly knows. Some guess it's screen resolution and they don't want to change the code to render the graphics properly for our device.
But really you can wait and wait and still not be satisfied because something else is a few months away. This technology is moving fast.
fsured said:
But really you can wait and wait and still not be satisfied because something else is a few months away. This technology is moving fast.
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Click to collapse
Well, I had really wanted a "Wayne" (Tegra 4) device, and was waiting for that to launch to replace/augment the touchpad. The marketing slides showing kepler tech integrated into the SoC is actually a little bit exicting to me. However, I took advantage of a time limited offer to get the TFI at a reduced price. I use google docs for invoicing clients, and the Touchpad wasn't handling that well enough for me to do it on site. I found myself just waiting to get home to do it & emailing an invoice back. The TFI with the keyboard dock provides an excellent solution, and I had considered getting an ultra book for this purpose, but at about half the price of the ultrabook I was looking at, while fulfilling essentially the same purpose, having the same size profile, and better battery life, well it seemed like the better bargain.
That said, if I could get my hands on a next gen transformer within the next 60 days, I'd likely trade this in, in a heart beat.
My opinion the TF700T is viable for a while longer.
Glad the FHD tabs didn't shoot of into a numbers game as quick as I thought they would.
All I can say is after the "lobotomy" lol...my tablet has been a satisfying adventure.
It's smooth no jitters, games well (light gaming), plays my Xfinity downloads without a hitch, wifi connects stays connected, gps is quick,
browser is hanging in there...etc.
Just for a bit of comparison:
I've side by sided the tablet with my 2 year old HP AMD A6 notebook, and for what it is the tab has about the same amount of annoyance that a Win7 notebook has.
Not comparing Windows to Android just noting all devices big and small can of course suffer glitchiness.
Once the system settles in and with a little restraint as far as collecting\installing poorly written apps the Infinity remains a buy at least for me.
Hopefully when the newer tabs start popping perhaps some of us hold-outs will benefit from a much better selection of HD tablet applications.
Toastysoul said:
Just picked up a TF700 myself and I was literally asking myself the same question. I've got a little less than 60 days to return this to BBY if another tab is announced for release soon.
I guess, there are a few things to consider.
1) Is the better performance/battery life of the new device going to be significant? If they jack up the resolution like the N10, it will probably be closer to par with the TF700.
2) Will a new tablet have any hardware issues (e.g. TF-Prime GPS & Wifi problems)? The TF700 is a mature product and it's limitations are well outlined. If you buy a TF700 now, you know exactly what you are going to get.
3) What new features will be on this Tab, and are they worth waiting for? TF700 has SDXC, mini HDMI, a dock with full USB, Full HD, etc. It's a good feature set. TF700 is a bit low on ram with only 1GB, I'd rather have 2GB. It's missing an integrated LTE modem that is said to be in T4, but TBH, I would always buy the wifi version anyway. Better battery life, I wouldn't pay for the extra data plan, and my phone is now tethering fine (thanks TrevE). N10 like resolution looks impressive on paper, but not so in person. I have good eyesight, and the difference isn't noticeable. It's an advertising point over the ipad. Google needs to stop chasing Apple and build more hardware features into their tablets that Apple didn't already do a year ago, but I digress.
4) Are there any applications you cannot run on the TF700 that a new tab would fix? I picked u the TF700 because my Touchpad (running CM9) keeps crashing skype; which I use daily. I run a somewhat recent nightly, and since the Camera fix (thanks for that Dorregaray) being able to use skype at all is awesome. However, having to reboot the tablet 6 times in a night and constantly mucking up the conversation is real pain. Since using the TF700, I haven't had one hiccup in skype. That is worth a lot to me, but a newer tab won't make it better.
Anyway, those are the things I've been mulling over. I will need to see what the new Transformer will look like before I make any kind of decision.
Edit: FWIW, I paid $468 for the tab & a 32GB micro sdxc card. I think you got the better deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get the 60 day refund period? On my best buy receipt it states 30 days hassle free returns. Also it's a little weird that my tf700 freezes and randomly reboots. It doesn't do it frequently but once in awhile it does that.....very weird. This is actually my second tablet because the first one had slight flex but the current one actually makes a small clicking noise too. Honestly it doens't really bother me but ASus def needs to work on their quality control
Personally, waiting for the next tablet from ASUS (I assume you want a Transformer tablet) will be a very painful experience. Our tf700 was announced at CES 2012 (in January 2012), but only became available for sale at least 4 months later (depend on your location). Given the fact that ASUS has not announced any successor to our Infinity yet, I am inclined to believe if there is a Tegra 4 tablet from ASUS, it will only be available to us on the second half of the year. I have been waiting for the Transformer Book for many months but it is still not available. To me, waiting for something that is not even announced yet is a waste of time and effort.
I would strongly reccomend this tab to anyone who needs something with similar functionality to a netbook or ultrabook but I am looking forward to see what will come next. I would love to see something with a little more power hit the same nitch and with about the same price point... I'm actually waiting on the razer edge tablet to see what it turns into. anyways, I plan on hanging on to my TF700 even if I do get an ultrabook or the edge.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
odorfreedk said:
How did you get the 60 day refund period? On my best buy receipt it states 30 days hassle free returns. Also it's a little weird that my tf700 freezes and randomly reboots. It doesn't do it frequently but once in awhile it does that.....very weird. This is actually my second tablet because the first one had slight flex but the current one actually makes a small clicking noise too. Honestly it doens't really bother me but ASus def needs to work on their quality control
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Premier Silver. Drop enough cash at best buy and you get side benefits, like a doubled return period. Most of the the other benefits are less useful. I don't bother with the complimentary Geek Squad services, for example. Even if I wanted or needed their services (I don't), I still wouldn't use it. Mostly, that's just an opportunity for them to come into your home and look for things they can sell you.
Honestly. ...maybe a extra gig of ram would make this tablet perfect for me. The resolution is ideal for me and the speed is great (running CleanRom) and it does what I hope to get from it. And I use my note 2 for the extra stuff (multi window, nfc sharing etc). And to top that, the mobile giants still have not made 100% use of the quad core as it is and until then, asus infinity is a keeper.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Tegra-4-Wayne-Project-Shield-Nvidia-Grid-Fiscal-2013,21082.html
Tegra 4 isn't shipping until QTR 3 2013. Given that time frame, I'm reasonably happy with my purchase. If the SoC isn't even shipping until then, you won't see devices until QTR 4, and that's nearly a year away. No doubt there will be better performers from Qualcomm sooner than that, but even so, I'm happy with the device I have for now.
searched but haven't even found rumors on a successor - had the TFPrime before and since it got nicked I am waiting for sth new to play with.
Have started considering the Samsung Tab Plus (whenever announced) given the higher res. Still seems that the TF700 has enough muscles and the add keyboard (+battery) is clearly a plus...
Anyhow - have there been any news on the TF700 successor that I missed
Its becomming a bit rusty given the time its already in the market :laugh:
nellycruzz said:
Honestly. ...maybe a extra gig of ram would make this tablet perfect for me. The resolution is ideal for me and the speed is great (running CleanRom) and it does what I hope to get from it. And I use my note 2 for the extra stuff (multi window, nfc sharing etc). And to top that, the mobile giants still have not made 100% use of the quad core as it is and until then, asus infinity is a keeper.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree about the extra gig of ram. But in response to the OP's question, yes that is a very good price. You could always dualboot it with rabbits' linux so as to gain some of the functionality that you would get with an ultrabook. The infinity will not become redundant for a while yet in my opinion so I say go for it.
For tablet with awesome dock integration the tf700 cant be beat. You also got a great deal on both. As far at Tegra 4 devices in particular Asus ones, no one knows yet when they will actually release one so you will have to play the waiting game. Vizio is the only one I know of that is coming out with one but not sold in the U.S. and doesn't have a keyboard dock option.
As someone mentioned the tf700 is a good laptop or netbook replacement. So if you're not going to play high graphic games on it like gameloft games then its a good tablet. But I do recommend you unlock and install custom rom on it as it lags quite a bit in stock form.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
The price is good, considering you got the dock with it.
Toastysoul said:
Just picked up a TF700 myself and I was literally asking myself the same question. I've got a little less than 60 days to return this to BBY if another tab is announced for release soon.
I guess, there are a few things to consider.
1) Is the better performance/battery life of the new device going to be significant? If they jack up the resolution like the N10, it will probably be closer to par with the TF700.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless the device has a battery-powered dock, I'd suspect battery life is going to be on par at best -- expect it to be worse. This may not apply if the new device carries one of those funky new battery design which last for a week and are charged in 10 minutes, but those will only get on the market in about two years, they reckon.
2) Will a new tablet have any hardware issues (e.g. TF-Prime GPS & Wifi problems)? The TF700 is a mature product and it's limitations are well outlined. If you buy a TF700 now, you know exactly what you are going to get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obviously true, and very significant remark. Any device will have its issues, and given the fact that the TF201 suffered from some of these as well, I'd not expect the next Transformer to be faultless either. :S
3) What new features will be on this Tab, and are they worth waiting for? TF700 has SDXC, mini HDMI, a dock with full USB, Full HD, etc. It's a good feature set. TF700 is a bit low on ram with only 1GB, I'd rather have 2GB. It's missing an integrated LTE modem that is said to be in T4, but TBH, I would always buy the wifi version anyway. Better battery life, I wouldn't pay for the extra data plan, and my phone is now tethering fine (thanks TrevE). N10 like resolution looks impressive on paper, but not so in person. I have good eyesight, and the difference isn't noticeable. It's an advertising point over the ipad. Google needs to stop chasing Apple and build more hardware features into their tablets that Apple didn't already do a year ago, but I digress.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And the N10 has both QA and availability issues, for example.
Following your digression for a bit: Apple had already lost the innovation game in the tablet and smartphone worlds a few years ago. All they have done is increase screen size, and (sometimes) resolution.
4) Are there any applications you cannot run on the TF700 that a new tab would fix? I picked u the TF700 because my Touchpad (running CM9) keeps crashing skype; which I use daily. I run a somewhat recent nightly, and since the Camera fix (thanks for that Dorregaray) being able to use skype at all is awesome. However, having to reboot the tablet 6 times in a night and constantly mucking up the conversation is real pain. Since using the TF700, I haven't had one hiccup in skype. That is worth a lot to me, but a newer tab won't make it better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If anything, the older device will probably support more apps altogether -- if you have experienced the transitions from Froyo to Gingerbread to Ice Cream Sandwich to Jelly Bean, you have noticed that we lost a lot of apps along the way that were pretty good in themselves, but just weren't given the TLC to update them to function on the new version. Backward compatibility is less of an issue when the programmer takes it into account when developing his/her app, but too often an app is just hacked together and subsequently, essentially, abandoned.[/QUOTE]

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