Stuntman

There was no alternative product that had such a good keyboard dock as Asus at the time I purchased my Transformer. Nothing was even close.

I do admit that Asus needs to get its act together with its software updates. Each update did improve things, but causes some other issues elsewhere. Overall, I would still say that my Transformer is working well enough for me that the plusses still outweigh the minuses. As for whether I recommend it to anyone, I would only do so if they feel the keyboard is as important to them as it is to me. If not, then I cannot recommend it at this time.

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AutobahnSHO

Its gotglitches sometimes, but nothing else can type as easy, stand up for watching movies or webcam, while charging. I'm super frutrated with the random reboot, and a friend had a problem with ers booting at all after the update, but i still love it. I use it as much or more than my laptop when i'm at home...

fldude99

Excellent post #48 caravaggio. While I'm a happy android user with what I think is a great phone: the SGS2, I am fed up with this transformer. I don't mind tinkering a little, but I really don't have the time. I work hard during the day & get no enjoyment out of rooting, custom ROMs, etc. I never thought I'd say this but I think it's Ipad3 here I come. It's just going to be a PITA to not be able to share apps across the Android platform on my phone & tablet.

caravaggio

Thanks fldude99. I think there are a lot of people like you and I who bought the transformer to do things (play movies, play music, listen to radio, do some email, word processing etc..) rather than as an open-ended project that needs continual tinkering. Like you, I have another life that is quite demanding and I don't want to spend my spare time having to learn about rooting etc.. Also like you, I am seriously thinking of giving up and getting an ipad. A shame, but life is too short to spend it on such annoying trivialities.

Treknologist

I use my Prime to do all those things and I have no issues with it. I have not needed to tinker with it or do anything special. It has just worked. I'e converted DVD's and BluRay's to file formats I've been able to watch with no issues. I play all my music with it, again with no issues. I do email. I do word processing. Not issues. I'm sorry you are having issues with yours. Did you ever consider exchanging your Prime to see if you just had a defective unit?

El Presidente

It may well be a defective unit, but the TF101 has recently been updated to ICS and there's been a pretty serious bug which results in the unit rebooting randomly or getting itself stuck in a bootloop so the issues are probably related to that unfortunately.

It's just a case of waiting to see when/if Asus can provide a fix.

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vosg

With all due respect mr. president;-) but it's taking them far too long. ICS has been out for more than 3 weeks now, and all this time our tablets have been extremely unreliable.
If we don't get a fix from Asus, I'll be rooting and flashing a stable Honeycomb image onto mine.

Stuntman

Well, just saw a keyboard dock for the iPad that rivals that of the Eee Pad Transformer. Too late for me, but if I were to buy a tablet now, I'm not sure if I would get the Transformer over the iPad.

AutobahnSHO

iPad is still more money
square (who has a square computer monitor or TV anymore???)
no HDMI
no MicroSD
or any other type of storage available
EDIT: you HAVE TO USE iTOONS

that last one is the reason I refuse to let the wife buy or use an iWhatever in our house, unless she can do all her own computer maintenance... Tablets are full-blown computers, why make it mandatory it leeches off of another computer for anything??

Last edited by AutobahnSHO; March 17th, 2012 at 02:13 PM.

vosg

Apple is not a valid alternative imho. Rather a TF with problems than a rotten Apple.

Stuntman

I currently do not use the HDMI or Micro SD on my Transformer, so saying that the iPad doesn't have features that I do not use is not going to make it less desirable for me.

I thought that the new iPads and iPhones no longer have the iTunes requirement. I have had to use it when helping my wife and in-laws. My experienced is mixed. When I had to do a backup of an iPhone, it worked, but I was confused as I wasn't sure if anything was happening. When using it to manage music for my wife's iPod, it worked, but was rather slow and sometime I don't know what's going on. It works well enough for my wife to select which songs to sync to her iPod.

Stuntman

It all depends on the problems and issues and what they prevent me from doing. I don't expect any product to be flawless. It's always a trade-off between what each product can do for you and how much it hinders you. When something begins to hinder you more than help you, I start to reconsider whether or not it is the right product for me.

Mind you, I haven't had 6 months experience with an iPad, so I do not have a good comparisons between it and a Transformer. With these high tech products these days, they do so much that you really don't know if it really works for you unless you spend a few months using them. That's what I found when I first started using smartphones.

fldude99

My wife has the 4S and while it doesn't have to be cabled to a PC it syncs via wifi with Itunes. But I think one still has to use Itunes. Part of the walled garden of Steve Jobs making that has it pros & cons, depending on who you are and what you want out of your device. Regardless, it's great to have a choice.

Stuntman

I've had an opportunity to use the Google Chrome beta browser on my Eee Pad Transformer for a while. The Chrome beta does not support Flash like the iPad. While using Chrome, I actually found that I visit sites that use Flash more often than I thought. I guess I was spoiled with the many Android mobile browsers that do support Flash. I must say, I would likely miss it.

I do realise that there are browsers for the iOS devices that do support Flash. I have not had any opportunity to try any of those third party browsers and how well they stack up against Safari or other Android browsers.

In the mean time, I am awaiting to hear back from Asus about the issues I have been having with ICS. I am hopeful that they will have a satisfactory solution in a timely manner.

AustinTech

So if I buy a Eee Pad Transformer (looking at a refurb) that is still on gingerbread, can I just refuse the ICS update until the problems are corrected? Or do I have to upgrade to ICS?

mhotovec

You can refuse the ICS update, but it's a 'nag', you'll have to refuse it at least once per day - possibly more.

rfortson

For how I use mine, yeah I'd still buy it, even with the current bug in ICS. The only time mine reboots is during sleep (both mine and the device's), so it's really not disruptive. For light word processing, displaying photos (with minimal editing), reading, browsing, game playing, music, it works great. My only complaint with the keyboard is the right shift key is too small. When touch typing, I'll instead hit the up arrow and start typing in the middle of the row above.

But functions, battery life, portability, screen resolution, and even updates, are all things I like.

Yeah, the ICS update is buggy now, but I'm confident they'll fix it. Many of my other devices are orphaned shortly after release, yet this tablet got ICS, a major update, 10 months after product release. I think that's pretty good support. Plus, they are actively working with the XDA community to help solve the problem. I haven't noticed any Apple, Motorola or Acer representatives communicating with the general public about fixing issues with their machines (and all machines have issues, even Apple).

So, for me, yeah I'd buy it again.

luvdemheels

NO!! I hope someone from asus is reading this!! NO way!! Fix our transformers asus then maybe you can win some back!!

octoberdana

I would not repurchase this tablet. I sold my ipad 1 to get this and I was so delighted with it until ICS. Since ICS it has been virtually unusable. It constantly reboots and when I am lucky enough to have it stop rebooting randomly over and over, it freezes up on the boot screen. I've tried everything but I have a $500 tablet (with dock) that I can't use at all. I so wish I could get my money back, but I can even sell this thing cause no one will want something that won't even work!

caravaggio

Everybody will want to lynch me for saying this........but I think it' may be important to understnd what is going on.

My Transformer TF101 (purchased in Hong Kong) was upgraded to ICS on March 8 in the UK and has been working like a dream ever since.

I get no random reboots, no battery drain and no other noticeable issues. It seems to be doing everything it should do.

Why is this?

Am I just lucky?

Am I the only one with a working TF101?

There must be others like me, but maybe they don't bother writing in.

What I'd like to know is who is in the majority? Those with working TF101s, or those with defective units?

There might be a common factor for those with defective units. Like date of manufacture, place of manufacture, date and place of upgrade to ICS......etc.

Also, is there some way I can check if I have any of the issues that you are experiencing? My TF101 is the standard unit and nothing has been changed or modified (no rooting etc),

I really feel sorry when I read here of all the problems you guys are experiencing and I just want to share my information with you in case it helps locate the source of the problem.

Maybe others with working TF101s can do the same. We might see a pattern emerging.

Doit2it

If you are looking at refurbs, Newegg has it for $290 today. $390 with keyboard. TF101-16GB-refurbished

And the issues with the ICS are more of a nuisance than a problem. None of the issues have prevented me from using my tablet, just delayed me for a minute or so. Of course, I personally wouldn't pay $300 for a nuisance, but the issues are not affecting every TF101 tablet. You just might make sure where you purchase from has a decent returns policy on refurbs if you just can't live with it.

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Last edited by Doit2it; March 30th, 2012 at 06:51 AM.

amardeepj

Would I buy another Asus transformer? Yes. Would I update it to the newest software the day it comes out again? No. It's not just Asus that has these rebooting and battery issues with ICS. Other vendors are having it too. Yes, other vendors may be doing more to help customers diagnose the issues but at the end of the day, its a software issue and not something physically wrong with the hardware. I can understand everyone's frustration with ICS and the lack of Asus support. Asus dropped the ball with ICS for the Transformer. I'm sure these issues popped up during their internal quality testing but still pushed it out anyways. I finally have my transformer running ICS with no random reboots and freezing like it used to with Honeycomb. Bugs are always expected in new releases of software. This wasn't just an update to Honeycomb, it's a totally new operating system. There's definitely going to be compatibility issues with Apps. With the way it's running now, I have no regrets buying Asus.

vosg

You will have to. You can only postpone 3 times or so, after that the upgrade (if you can call it that) is forced. Quite frustrating. Asus remotely messes up our tablets and there is nothing we can do about it.

Just how long will we have to put up with this? These issues have been discussed all over the internet for MONTHS now, and Asus remains silent.

I will never buy another Asus product.

Stuntman

I'm sure you are not the only one. It's just that generally people do not start a thread to say that their device works flawlessly. I have many devices that work flawlessly, but I'm not going to start a threat for every single one.

There does seem to be a significant number of people with the rebooting issue. It seems that Asus is now aware of it and is actively investigating the issue. For those of us who do have this problem, it's hard for us to self diagnose it because we would have to make a change and wait a couple of days to almost a week before we can determine if the change worked or not. For me, the problem happens once every few days, so if I try something, it could take several days to determine that it didn't work and then try the next thing.

fldude99

Now that the wake lock app has been the workaround for the ICS bugs, I say yes, I would buy the Transformer again. I just haven't seen an alternative tablet that gives you the versatility of the keyboard..I also say that Asus has a pretty good track record-this ICS thing is, IMO, something that is unique and not totally Asus' fault. For those that are bellyaching about the ICS issues, try wake lock. It's the first workaround app that has seemed to belay the issues of shutdowns, SOD, etc. Even gmail is working as a functional app. It was useless after the ICS update-at least for me.

AutobahnSHO

MONTHS?? Really? When did ICS hit?
And they're not silent- they went to the XDA Forum to ask for volunteers to help log and report what's going on... People there are much more tech-savvy than most around this forum..

vosg

ICS was released on october 19th, 2011. And yes, I know they have asked for volunteers on the XDA forum (actually I was one of those who submitted their details to them), but they didn't even care to reply. And they remained silent since then (march 21st).

rfortson

Don't cloud the issue with facts! :-)

ams30gts

My TF101 would be perfect if only the sound balance issue was fixed. If there was a way to fix it non-root I would be a happy camper.

AutobahnSHO

NOT for the Transformer!!! Manufacturers never release new Android builds when Google does- they all test it, tweak it, add their stupid apps or interfaces, then finally put it out for public consumption.

EDIT
I went and looked it up on the ICS thread. Feb23. Hardly means "MONTHS" of problems.

I agree that the ICS "random reboot" bug is very very very annoying- but hardly anything that I would freak out over.

Last edited by AutobahnSHO; April 1st, 2012 at 09:22 PM.

El Presidente

No point in arguing over something so trivial as release dates. We're all a little annoyed that ICS hasn't panned out as expected. Hopefully Asus are had at work on a fix, they've been aware it's an issue since just after ICS was rolled out.

blackjaguar25

Exactly. At least we have ICS, unlike many Samsung tab owners. And Asus should get it worked out relatively soon.

vosg

Well well.

April 27 and still suffering RR/SoD/video/audio issues. And every 'fix' just brings more instability and even new issues.

I really think owners of some other brands should count their blessings for still being on HC.

s_special

The keyboard it still its greatest feature but since this last update I realize that asus really can't figure out this software glitch. I can not recommend a transformer to my friends and I surely wouldn't purchase another.

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prankstare

Well, to be honest, not that I really really truly would buy another Transformer but yes, I would definitely insist on a Android tablet rather than iPad's. Yes, I think we all have to admit that the iOS system is much more stable compared to Android and that the iPad's are somewhat better in all aspects (e.g. IPS panel, build quality, hardware, etc). But there is one crucial thing I totally hate about Apple and if there's a reason why I consider never buying their products is definitely because of their philosophy.

So, as buggy as Android runs, I still put faith on its development, knowing that one day Android tablets will actually surpass the Apple iPad's in all possible aspects.

Last edited by prankstare; May 8th, 2012 at 11:30 PM.

s_special

I agree

mbob63

I'm with you 100%. My TF was a wonderful device. It has so many issues now that it is almost unusable. I also don't care for Apple's philosophy but consumers don't need my experience. I would gladly take HC back!