At Mobile World Congress Asus clarified its plans and naming scheme for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablets.
You may notice that the word "Prime" is missing. The series is now called the Asus Transformer Pad series which is divided into the Asus Transformer Pad 300 Series and Asus Transformer Pad Infinity.
Asus is becoming very popular in the tech world and the latest tech rumors point to Asus making the Google Nexus tablet supposedly named "Google Play,' with a quad-core processor like the Asus Memo.
The other Asus Android rumor is that Asus will be the first company to launch Android 5.0 Jelly Bean. As with all rumors we have to remember that they may or may not be true.
The original Asus Transformer Prime continually sells out while Asus is planning to change the line making it cheaper and better. All of the new models will be able to be docked to keyboard that turns the tablet into a netbook like the Asus Transformer and the Asus Transformer Prime.
The Asus Transformer Pad 300 Series will offer more color choices blue, white and red. The case is expected to relieve Wi-Fi and GPS issues caused by the Transformer Prime's metal case.
New to the Asus Transformer Pad 300 Series is that models will support 3G and 4G LTE while the Transformer Prime is Wi-Fi only. The 3 refers to the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core1.2 GHz processor. There is an 8MP camera, micro-D HDMI port, microSD card slot and 16GB of storage onboard. Storage space is lower than the Asus Transformer Prime.
The Asus team is learning to write more better English, because the description says "but this 10.1" tablet has one more thing going for it– it got style."
The higher-end Transformer Pad Infinity will be the first tablet powered by a Cortex A15-class SoC from Qualcomm and is called full HD with LTE connectivity. It will have a similar-looking metal spun finish to the Asus Transformer Prime and features up to "64GB of onboard storage."
So, should you wait for the new models Asus Transformer Pad 3/Infinity, Google Nexus Tab or buy the Tranformer Prime now?
You always pay the highest price for breaking latest technology in the form of price point as well as working out the software bugs. However, those with the latest gadgets from Asus can rest assure that Asus launches updates and fixes glitches quickly. Asus is known for its twenty-four hour technical support.
B-U-T- if Google gets into the tablet business to compete tablet-to-tablet with the Kindle Fire the price should drop significantly.
Tablets act as a secondary device for some and a primary device for others, the docking keyboard makes this Transformer lines very appealing. Cheapskates can wait for a company to go out of business like the now famous ImmortaPad HP TouchPad fire sale while your chances of winning are much better in Las Vegas.
Transformer Pad Infinity Specs:
- 10.1" 1920 × 1200 FHD Super IPS+ screen with 178° wide viewing angle and
- 600 nits out door readable mod, Scratch resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2 OS Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Platform Qualcomm MSM 8260A/8960 Snapdragon S4 Krait Dual-core 1.5Ghz CPU(3G / LTE) /
- NVIDIA® Tegra 3 T33 Quad-core 1.6GHz (WiFi) CPU Memory 1 GB Network Wifi/3G/ LTE
- Data rate: a. 3G SKU: HSPA+ 21/5.76 Mbps, b. LTE SKU: 100/50 Mbps.
- Storage WiFi : 32/64GB
- 3G - LTE: 16/32/64GB
- Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n, WI-FI Direct, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR &Bluetooth 4.0 LE
- Camera 2MP (front) /8MP Auto focus (rear) with flash, F2.2 large aperture, backlit CMOS Input/Output.
- PAD: 2-in-1 Audio Jack (Headphone / Mic-in); 1 × micro HDMI port1 × Micro SD Card Reader ; Internal Microphone & Stereo Speaker.Mobile Dock: 1 × USB2.0 port ; 1 × SD Card Reader.
- Battery 10 hours; 25Wh Li-polymer Battery.16 hours pad with dock ; 25Wh(pad) + 22Wh(docking) Li-polymer Battery .
- Size/Weight 263 × 180.8 × 8.5 mm ; 586g (pad only) .
- 263 × 180.8 × 8~10.4 mm ; 537g. (dock only) .
- 263 × 180.8 × 17.2~19.6 mm ; 1123g (pad with docking).
Transformer Pad 300 Series Specs
- Operating System Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS).
- CPU NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30L Quad-Core @1.2GHz GPU GeForce 12-core, 3D stereo (built-in) Memory.
- Storage RAM:1GB / ROM:16GB.
- Networking Wifi/3G/4G LTE.
- Data rate: a. 3G SKU: HSPA+ 21/5.76 Mbpsb. 4G LTE SKU: 100/50 Mbps.
- Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v3.0.
- Display 10.1" WXGA (1280 × 800) LED Backlight 178° wide viewing angle IPS panel, 10 finger multi-touch.
- Camera 8MP auto-focus (rear), 1.2MP ( front ) camera with F/2.2 large aperture.
- Interface 2-in-1 Audio Jack (head-out/MIC-in 2-in-1) .
- 1 × micro-D HDMI 1.4a port / 1 × microSD Card Reader / built-in microphone / .
- High Quality Speakers Battery 10 hours; 22Wh Li-polymer.
- 15 hours with mobile dock; Dock: 16.5Wh Li-polymer Keyboard Mobile dock with full QWERTY Keyboard (Optional).