Asus TF700T, Google Nexus 10, or smart phone?

[jason41987]

my asus transformer infinity TF700T was sent in for repairs... the said they had no more spare parts so they sent me a brand new one... but i was incredibly angry to find the warranty is lost for unlocking these, so im thinking of selling this new one still in its wrapper on ebay and buy one of these other options

so my question is... is the nexus 10 bootloader unlocked, or can it be unlocked without voiding its warranty like the asus does?... is it a much better product than the TF700T (i dont care about a keyboard, and could always just use a bluetooth keyboard anyway)

im also wondering if i would be better off just buying a smart phone... i intend to use a tablet for traveling and thought it would be fun to browse the internet while traveling, and use GPS... however, i travel via motorcycle so i obviously couldnt handle-bar mount a 10 inch tablet.. i doubt theres enough room and without a windshield, the wind would destroy it...

so im certain id like to get rid of this asus tablet due to a very long and horribly awful customer support ordeal ive had to go through which may be worth it if i was going to use the keyboard dock, which i dont.. so putting up with this tablet as it is just seems pointless.... im just not sure if i should get another 10 inch tablet, a 7 inch, or a 4 inch smart phone and am looking for advice or suggestions

 

[jhawkkw]

I think you meant nexus 10, not 4 in your post, but yes, the bootloader is not encrypted, but comes factory locked. If you unlock it, it does void the warranty, but Samsung has no way of knowing you did it, and can be relocked before sending it in to avoid raising red flags.

I have the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, and TF700, and they each serve their own purpose. If you intend to use gps, you'll probably want to be able to use data. If that's the case, I would recommend a smart phone, or the 3g Nexus 7.

 

[jason41987]

i think its best i get a GPS system dedicated to the motorcycle.. theyre only $100 or so and i can secure this to the bike itself in a way that it cant easily be stolen.. i could get a standard cell phone with a pre-paid plan for important calls, and use emails or softphones with wifi (like skype) for the bulk of communication

what i would like to do with a tablet.. is use a more stripped down ROM, and install the linux libs to run on the installed kernal along-side android... one downside to the asus tablet is it does void your warranty to unlock and you cant use nvflash to restore or replace the bootloader.. this angered me a lot to find out and im not sure the nexus 10 is any better... but i could be wrong... and how do the processors stack up together?... the lesser camera is a downside to the nexus, but the extra gig of ram is quite attractive

 

[jhawkkw]

The processor in the Nexus 10 is probably the better processor for overall usage, being a dual-core A15 instead of quad-core A9. Nexus also has a better resolution, and is overall a better tablet if you don't plan on using the keyboard dock. As far as being open, Nexus devices are about as open as they come, and have huge developer communities because of that. It does sound like your priorities would favor the usage of the Nexus tab over the transformer.

Like mentioned earlier, you can unlock the bootloader, as well as relock it if you ever need to send it in for repair, and Samsung wouldn't know any different, unlike the TF where once you unlock, it's stuck unlocked and leaves a permanent voiding of the warranty. As long as you return to stock and relock the Nexus tab before returning it, you shouldn't have any problems claiming the warranty.

 

[jason41987]

so... then i should sell my asus transformer TF700T to someone who would rather have the option of adding a keyboard dock, and pick up the nexus 10 instead

 

[jhawkkw]

That would be my advice, but the decision is ultimately yours. I love my TF, but I use the dock like crazy and couldn't imagine a 10 inch tab without it. If you do want to, you could try posting in the classifieds section and see if someone will trade or buy it off you.

 

[jason41987]

i might do that.. im thinking of converting a netbook into a tablet as well by fabricating an entirely new shell to fit the circuitry and touchscreen into.. so thats an open im looking into more as well