Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime: details on the new Android, quad-core tablet
Asus' Eee Pad Transformer Prime is the world's first Nvidia quad-core Kal-El tablet. It will also be one of the first tablets to get Google's new Android operating system — Ice Cream Sandwich. Follow on below for the entire story of this much anticipated tablet.
Mobile
No 3G Transformer Prime, says Asus
The saga of the 3G Transformer Prime continues, this time with some bad news. According to Focus Taiwan, Asus has now said that it will not be releasing a 3G version of the tablet, and that "no such product exists on its current roadmap." Previously, we'd seen reports that a 3G Transformer Prime was coming out in March; even earlier, Asus downplayed the need for 3G on its tablets. According to the same report, the company is planning to add 3G to other high-end Transformer product in the...
Android
Asus Transformer Prime's latest firmware already rooted
The fun doesn't stop today for the Transformer Prime: we've seen Asus confirm the release date for Android 4.0, a new firmware update pushed out, and now the device has been rooted for the first time by xda-developers poster jcase and TeamAndIRC. There's video proof on YouTube showing the Transformer Prime running the latest firmware and accessing root-only apps like Superuser and Titanium Backup, but you'll have to be patient if you want to root your own tablet. The team behind this hack...
Android
Android 4.0 coming to Asus Transformer Prime on January 12th, bootloader unlock tool to follow
It's been a big week for the Eee Pad Transformer Prime — Asus released yet another firmware update for the tablet, and now we have official confirmation that Android 4.0 will be coming starting on January 12th. Asus made this announcement on its Facebook page alongside news that it will be providing owners with a bootloader unlocking tool. The presence of a locked bootloader had been a major point of contention for users since it was discovered a few days ago, so it's good to see Asus...
Android
Asus pushes out another Transformer Prime firmware update to fix GPS troubles
We've really enjoyed our time with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime, but it seems some users haven't been so lucky. GPS lock-on has been confirmed as suspect, and while Asus released a firmware update last week to improve stability, there's another over-the-air patch making the rounds. This update to build 8.8.3.33 purports to "enhance GPS speed" by automatically downloading satellite locations tables over Wi-Fi; other changes include improved touch response and better camera focusing (an...
Apps & Software
Asus Transformer Prime bootloader is locked, say xda devs
As if Asus didn't have enough software headaches with the Transformer Prime already, it's now added one entirely of its own making: an angry homebrew community that has just discovered that the Prime's bootloader is encrypted. A 128-bit encryption key stands between eager Prime modders and the ability to load custom ROMs of their own, which has been greeted with an understandable mix of disgust and frustration.
HTC was the most recent other company to dabble with encryption-locked...
Android
Asus Transformer Prime now shipping from some retailers
After many rumors that the Transformer Prime was delayed, Asus assured us that the quad-core Tegra 3 tablet would start shipping this week. It looks like the company stuck to its word. We've heard from a tipster (thanks, Ben!) that Amazon has started shipping the quad-core Tegra 3 tablet to those who pre-ordered the device, and there's also news that TigerDirect Canada is shipping it out as well. However, there are also reports coming in that Best Buy has delayed its pre-orders by one to two...
Android
Eee Pad Transformer Prime UK pre-order begins today at £499, includes keyboard dock
Asus has just informed us that the Eee Pad Transformer Prime, its latest and arguably Android's best tablet to date, will be going up for pre-order in the UK starting today. Currys, HMV, PC World, Carphone Warehouse, Ebuyer, and even Tesco.com will be ready to take your order in exchange for £499. Yes, that price includes the keyboard dock as well! The actual release date has been left strategically off the press release, but Asus expects to be shipping these pre-orders out in January and...
Asus Transformer Prime US release date official: Dec. 12 online, Dec. 19 retail
Although earlier rumors had pegged US availability for the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime a bit sooner, Asus has let us know that it expects US online availability for the tablet beginning on December 12th and December 19th for brick-and-mortar stores. Those release dates could change slightly depending on how many pre-orders Asus needs to fill first, but it looks like a sure bet you'll be able to pick one up before the year is out. Unfortunately, there's no word yet on when the 3G models...
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime review
What does a laptop in the post-PC era look like? Is it an ultrabook with familiar internals and software in a dramatically slimmed-down shell? Or is it possible to use a modern mobile OS like Android, energy-efficient chips, and build something that bridges the gap between the portability of a tablet and the power of a laptop? Leave it to two companies with deep roots in the PC industry — Asus and Nvidia — to take a stab at that question with the Eee Pad Transformer Prime. It’s the...
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime with Ice Cream Sandwich teased in a short video
You know what can top a homemade, out-of-focus video of Ice Cream Sandwich running on Asus' old Eee Pad Transformer? An official video of ICS running on Asus' new Eee Pad Transformer Prime. Nvidia has just released a polished (yet insanely short) video of the new quad-core Tegra 3 tablet running Android 4.0. While the tablet won't launch with the OS in early December — shipping units will boot up Android 3.2 — Asus has promised an ICS helping before the end of the year. And it looks...
Transformer Prime available for pre-order on CDW for $536.99 (update: Amazon and other retailers, too!)
Last time we checked our calendar, early December was right around the corner, which means one thing for us Android tablet lovers: Transformer Prime time. While we still don't have an official release date from Asus, signs are finally starting to point to the impending arrival of the world's first quad-core tablet. CDW has the 32GB version of the Honeycomb tablet up for pre-order at $536.99 (slightly more than the previously reported $499) and our tipster was told by the retailer that it...
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime: the first quad-core Tegra 3 tablet arrives in early December for $499
Asus promised an official launch of its Eee Pad Transformer Prime on November 9th, and not a moment too late, the company is ready to give up the remaining details on its forthcoming tablet. However, those hoping that "launch" meant the world's first quad-core Tegra 3 tablet would start hitting stores today should be prepared to be disappointed — the $499 tablet (with 32GB of storage) and its $149 keyboard dock won't be arriving until early December. (The 64GB version will ring up at...
Mobile
Nvidia Tegra 3 official: a 1.3GHz quad-core chip with five times the performance of Tegra 2
It's been a long road since Kal-El's debut at MWC this February, but Nvidia's quad-core system-on-chip for mobile devices is finally ready for launch. The superhero codename is being replaced by the more logical Tegra 3 branding and the first host device has now been announced as Asus' Eee Pad Transformer Prime.
Tegra 3 promises to quintuple the performance of Tegra 2 with its four-core Cortex A9 arrangement while also tripling its graphical capabilities with a new 12-core graphics...
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime hits the FCC
There are very few surprises left about Asus' Transformer Prime — at least on the hardware front — but that doesn't make its FCC passing any less exciting. Indeed, the first tablet to have Nvidia's quad-core Kal-El processor is making its way through the regulatory stomping grounds just ahead of its November 9th launch date. Besides the back cover diagram (pictured above), the documents don't reveal much, unless you consider the presence of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to be shocking. We know...
Microsoft
Asus: Transformer Prime won't launch with Ice Cream Sandwich, two Windows 8 ARM products coming in 2012
As we learned a few weeks ago at All Things D's Asia D conference, Asus' next version of the Transformer -- the Transformer Prime -- is set to launch on November 9th. And while we were fairly certain it wouldn't launch with Android Ice Cream Sandwich on that date, Asus' German team has now confirmed that on its Facebook page. However, as Chairman Jonney Shih said, it will be getting the upgrade to the fresh Android OS before the end of the year.
But that's just this year. Naturally, Asus has...
Android
Asus Transformer Prime pictures surface
Given that the Asus Transformer Prime tablet is due out on November 9th, it's no surprise that photos of the device have leaked out. There's not a lot of new information to glean from the pictures that originally appeared on a Chinese site beyond what you see above. The Transformer Prime looks to have a good-looking aluminum build in a silvery shade and chiclet keyboard that doesn't look radically changed from the keyboard on the original Asus Transformer. We found ourselves pleasantly...
Android
Asus Transformer Prime release date is November 9th, landing page is live
The Asus Transformer Prime was just unveiled last week at Asia D by Jonney Shih, and it looks like its teaser page has already gone up, just in time for its November 9th release date. Similar to the original Transformer which we reviewed and liked quite a bit, the Prime has a 10-inch screen and keyboard dock, but it features the long-awaited Kal-El quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 chip. We don't know whether it's shipping with Ice Cream Sandwich, but its predecessor is getting it before...
Asus' Jonney Shih announces Transformer Prime tablet, coming November 9th with Tegra 3
Wondering about the whereabouts of the Eee Pad Transformer 2? It's right there in Asus Chairman Jonney Shih's hands -- except we're hearing it's called the Transformer Prime. (Hasbro might have something to say about that.) Shih took the stage this morning at Asia D to talk about the company's direction and brought along a suitcase with its new quad-core Nvidia Kal-El tablet inside. Like its predecessor, the Transformer 2 has a 10-inch screen and keyboard dock, but this slate measures just...
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer with Kal-El and 'Android 4.0' expected to cost $499
ASUS CEO Jerry Shen says he has no plans to cut the price of the Eee Pad Transformer and will launch the second generation Transformer with a $499 sum, according to DigiTimes. The second generation Eee Pad Transformer is expected to feature NVIDIA's five-core Kal-El System-on-Chip. Shen also reportedly said that Android tablets will see improvements with the upcoming Android 4.0 release excepted before the end of the year -- a reference Ice Cream Sandwich presumably, since Google has never...
