Update from Asus on ICS and GPS ...

[rsarno]

Asus posted on FB and here are the contents:


Thank you very much for all of the support you have given to ASUS. Eee Pad Transformer Prime received excellent reviews and great demand when it launched in December 2011. Now, we are continuing to make the Transformer Prime available in the worldwide market, and doing our best to fulfill the incredible demand. ASUS strives to create the best products and provide the best service for our customers, and will be releasing an FOTA update for the Transformer Prime shortly. This update, version 8.8.3.33, will improve the focus of the camera, the fluidity of the touch experience, and the APK capabilities in Android Market.

ASUS has been working hard to make the highly anticipated Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich available on the Transformer Prime, and today, we have good news for you. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich FOTA worldwide update for the Transformer Prime will start from Jan 12th, 2012. Thank you for your patience and support through this process.

In addition, we would like to address your concerns related to GPS and bootloader on the Transformer Prime.

The ASUS Transformer Prime is made from a metallic unibody design, so the material may affect the performance of the GPS when receiving signals from satellites. Please note that this product is not a professional GPS device, and signal performance can be easily influenced by factors including, but not limited to: weather, buildings, and surrounding environments. Please understand there are limitations when using the GPS function. To avoid inconveniencing users who demand a powerful GPS device, we made the decision to remove it from our specification sheet and marketing communications. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Regarding the bootloader, the reason we chose to lock it is due to content providers' requirement for DRM client devices to be as secure as possible. ASUS supports Google DRM in order to provide users with a high quality video rental experience. Also, based on our experience, users who choose to root their devices risk breaking the system completely. However, we know there is demand in the modding community to have an unlocked bootloader. Therefore, ASUS is developing an unlock tool for that community. Please do note that if you choose to unlock your device, the ASUS warranty will be void, and Google video rental will also be unavailable because the device will be no longer protected by security mechanism.

Thank you for all the understanding and support for the ASUS Transformer Prime. Happy New Year!

Link: http://www.facebook.com/ASUS?sk=wall

 

[JAy3001]

Fantastic news for the most part. Great find rsarno, shame about the GPS issue tho but at least they have cleared it up.

 

[rsarno]

And towards the end they do mention the Bootloader will be unlockable

 

[JAy3001]

I just hope they won't disabled the GPS antenna on mine before it ships! Leave it, i'll deal with it as is thank you.

 

[jhawkkw]

It's nice to get some sort of transparency regarding concerns over this device. I never expected nor needed my tfp to be a turn by turn gps device. However having a device that can be rooted will finally allow me to remove the ads I've been wanting to remove for a while now. The ICS news is fantastic news to at least get some expected date to look forward to.

 

[GatorsUF]

I am glad they chose to unlock the bootloader, but if you can't rent movies with unlocked bootloader then that sucks.

Hopefully this can be fixed.

 

[JAy3001]

I am glad they chose to unlock the bootloader, but if you can't rent movies with unlocked bootloader then that sucks.

Hopefully this can be fixed.

Doesn't the same happen on iOS?

 

[wynand32]

I just hope they won't disabled the GPS antenna on mine before it ships! Leave it, i'll deal with it as is thank you.

The GPS works well enough when connected to wifi and for pretty much all uses except navigation. So, there'd be no reason to actually disable the GPS. ASUS is just removing from the specs to avoid problems when people take the thing in their cars and expect the GPS to work. Chances are, it won't.

My understanding is that if an Android device doesn't have GPS at all, then any apps that use location services won't show up in the market. That would be a problem...

 

[rdalev]

While happy to hear Asus at least acknowledging some of the issues, the one for GPS is inexcusable !

When first advertising the Prime, they never once mentioned "Limited GPS capabilities" and now they want to sweep the whole gps issue under the rug, by taking it out of the spec list ? I'm calling bull$h!t on this one !

Again, I will state that, gps was not the major selling point for me........I still paid full price, for this device, with the understanding that this device was "Fully" gps capable!

There are two ways Asus can rectify this matter in my eyes :

1: Make a new brushed aluminum back cover that has a piece of plastic over the area that is affecting the gps , that looks amazingly like bruhed aluminum and either ship this cover to all owners w/ instructions on how to replace the back cover or issue expedited rma's to current owners for Asus to replace the cover themselves. Either way, free of charge to owners !

2. Issue $50.00-$100.00 rebate checks to all who purchased the prime, before they decided to take the gps feature off their spec sheet !

It's like paying for power windows on your new car, then finding out they're really manual roll-up windows, and the manufacturer saying, "Err, the micro-switches on the power windows are faulty.........but either way, your windows still go up and down!"

 

[rsarno]

While i have nothing to base this on, im willing to bet the tablet would have been $499 with or without GPS. The cost of the production is almost secondary, the market price has been set and tested.

Right now Apple is the market maker ... we need to wait on them to set a new price point.

 

[rz22g]

While i have nothing to base this on, im willing to bet the tablet would have been $499 with or without GPS. The cost of the production is almost secondary, the market price has been set and tested.

Right now Apple is the market maker ... we need to wait on them to set a new price point.

What the cost would be with or without is mute. What matters is what features people took into consideration. Its likely I would not have paid $499 each for 3 of these if GPS were not one of the specifications.

 

[LSU316]

What the cost would be with or without is mute.

The point might be moot but it most definitely is not mute.

 

[ryguy5254]

thats what you get when people try to sound smarter than they really are

 

[rz22g]

Yeah I fumbled that one. No ryguy5254, thats what happens when you use siri and do not double check. Still would not have paid $499 if GPS had not been a feature. I may keep one of the three though in case someone does find a way to modify the shell so that it works. It should not be that difficult since two of them already had glass separating from the shell on one side .

 

[Ibrick]

Great find!

REALLY happy Asus decided to allow us to unlock the bootloader. At this point I really don't care much about the GPS. If it works with Wi-Fi great, I can tether it to my phone. If it still doesn't work accurately, I can use my phone, which I'd have with me much more often than my tab anyway.

I spose its a little disappointing, but its certainly not a deal breaker.

Now with ICS, and custom kernels lets see what this Tegra 3 can really do!

 

[atrain311]

Great find!

REALLY happy Asus decided to allow us to unlock the bootloader. At this point I really don't care much about the GPS. If it works with Wi-Fi great, I can tether it to my phone. If it still doesn't work accurately, I can use my phone, which I'd have with me much more often than my tab anyway.

I spose its a little disappointing, but its certainly not a deal breaker.

Now with ICS, and custom kernels lets see what this Tegra 3 can really do!

I just posted in the other thread, I just got mine tonight, did the update, but still get NO gps evenwith my WiFi go get full tilt. Looking good for help. Thanks.