(06-26-2011, 09:53 AM)KorJax link Wrote: I bought this thing. I'll post a quick review on why it is 80% tablet and 20% netbook when I get back from work later otnight!

(06-26-2011, 10:06 AM)at0m link Wrote: Definitely want to hear this.

Quote:I won't get into the minor details a lot of other reviews have indulged, as you can find a wealth of information about this product first-hand everywhere on the internet and youtube.

However, having used the EEE Transformer for several days now as a complete Android noob and someone who has only used Windows, I thought I would share my expereinces and what you can expect.

The most important thing about this product is that it IS NOT a netbook nor a suitable replacement for one. I bought a Transformer as a sleek current-generation replacement for the really aged netbook I had. Make no mistake, this is definitively a tablet above all else. Android Honeycomb was designed for dedicated tablet use, and it controls like dedicated tablet. The keyboard, honestly, feels tacked on from a software point of view (hardware wise it is very solid).

A few issues I've had is that the default browser is very basic in functionality compaired to browsers I am used to on PC, and it only supports the most basic of keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+T), which opens new tabs. You can't control how the browser opens tabs either, every single link will open a new tab even if you don't want it to. The tabs never condense and you'll never know how many tabs you have unless you swipe them with your finger. There is also EXTREME typing lag with the browser when using the keyboard, making any kind of input into the browser much more sluggish than it would be on a normal PC.

There is also the issue that the touchpad doesn't work like a standard touchpad for PC/Mac, in that it simply emulates the touching on the tablet itself. This means accidently bumping into the highly sensative touch pad on the keyboard while you type will cause your cursor and typing to jump between address bar/text field/search bar/etc. So if you plan on typing, you must turn off the touchpad every time.

On the internet itself, it works great if you plan on just reading or lurking. I LOVE the touchscreen, even when using it as a netbook. It is so much more natural and fluid to scroll by simply sliding your finger than to deal with swiping your finger on the side of a touchpad. Navigation using your finger is a breeze to. If you want added percision, the touchpad on the keyboard provides it in the same way it would for PC/mac. That is one area that Asus really did well with, and works really well with this combo.

Unfortunatly, if you were hoping for full flash support, think again. It is basic at best. Only videos that are specifically optimized for mobile use, such as YouTube, will play properly or smoothly. If you try and watch something from Vimeo, or a basic video player on any website, good luck. It will either not play at all, or play very choppy. What you would think would easily be able to play HD video instead chuggs along in SD as if this were a first generation netbook for any non-youtube video or non-mobile optimized flash content. It is a good thing YouTube has the vast majority of internet video content, but still, it doesn't have the versatility a windows netbook or mac netbook has.

A lot of these issues might be due to the default browser,as far as internet experience goes. However, the problem with all the marketplace browsers, which are vastly better in functionality from what I've seen, have absolutely no keyboard support at all (it only works in textfields), and were all optimized for mobile phones. Dolphin, for example, inexplicably hides all your tabs and address bars when you scroll down the page even outside of fullscreen mode. There is no option to keep them visible at all times, which is pretty much required for comfortable netbook usage. The only effective way to navigate dolphin is to use gestures on the screen... which is entirely useless if you are using this as a netbook.

This is a problem with the entire marketplace really. A large amount of the apps are all designed for mobile phone use, with only a small selection having proper tablet support, and almost 0% supporting keyboard functionality. Sure you can run the mobile versions on the tablet. Just be prepaired for a giant interface that doesn't work well with the size of a tablet or netbook. For instance, there is currently not a single IM client that is "Honeycomb Friendly" on the marketplace except for Dolca. And Dolca is terrible, as it is extremely basic (as of June 2011) and doesn't support any kind of basic features like changing your status.

Anyways, that is all I really want to shed light on. If you are wondering why I am still rating this 4 stars despite being pretty much only a Tablet with very tacked on Netbook support (for an OS not designed for Netbook use at all), the product itself is very very sleek. For a tablet, you can't get much better than this. The keyboard dock is also incredible from a hardware standpoint, and the battery life is massive. Even though it is seriously lacking support from the OS and software, when you want to use it, it is still much better to use than the on-screen keyboard or trying to buy a "tablet mount" for your tablet (like what you have to do with the iPad or other tablets).It also works as a great screen protector when you aren't using it.

Make no mistake. This is a great product but be aware if you are buying this, you should probably be more in the market for a Tablet than a Netbook. This is definitively 80% Tablet with 20% netbook, instead of the 50/50 ratio that the ASUS marketing implies.

Quote:11:08:36      @at0m2remote | i really would appreciate people weighing in
11:08:45      @at0m2remote | despite that being a review thread for the 101 and not the 201
11:09:00        +Dtrain323i | Well, I don't have a tablet so I have no imput
11:09:00          @ainmosni | well, I'm very happy with mine
11:09:07        +Luinbariel | I fucking love my tablet.
11:09:12          @ainmosni | but I also have it for dev purposes
11:09:17        +Dtrain323i | I love fucking my tablet
11:09:18        +Luinbariel | I have it for fun purposes
11:09:21        +Dtrain323i | wait wat
11:09:29          @ainmosni | but yeah I'm enjoying it besides that as well
11:09:32      @at0m2remote | what do you use it for / what do you like the most about it / what do you dislike about it etc etc
11:10:08          @ainmosni | games, movies, reading, social media, news, comics
11:10:08        +Luinbariel | I use it for fiddling around, playing games, looking at recipes while in the kitchen, to use while travelling, that kind of thing. I like just about everything about it, just wish I'd gotten the keyboard as well. Otherwise no complaints.
11:10:10          @ainmosni | for now
11:11:35      @at0m2remote | the keyboard extends battery life?
11:11:40        +Luinbariel | I don't know
11:11:56          @ainmosni | yes
11:12:07          @ainmosni | it has an extra battery

(06-04-2012, 09:04 PM)at0m link Wrote: Fair enough.

Only question remaining then is, go for the (affordable) 32GB one, or the (difficult to find) 64GB one?