How satisfied are you with your Prime?

[ManLike]

LOL thats my thread on XDA.

No Gary, I'm talking about this thread, not yours. Your poll only shows about 1/4 of the units having GPS issues.

Not that I think either sample size is large enough to be representative of any reality, but it still shows me that there is a problem with the Prime's GPS, if not the scope of the problem itself.

 

[rsarno]

Of those not experiencing GPS issues, how many of you are actually using the GPS?

Polls on XDA indicate that there IS an issue with the GPS on almost 2/3 of the units, so I find the big fat zero on this poll very suspicious.

how can i test it for sure? i opened maps and it found my location instantly

 

[andygu3]

Of those not experiencing GPS issues, how many of you are actually using the GPS?

Polls on XDA indicate that there IS an issue with the GPS on almost 2/3 of the units, so I find the big fat zero on this poll very suspicious.

I don't use GPS very much but in my opinion, I will use my phone as the GPS unit anyways. Never did I see in reviews that this tablet was a dedicated GPS unit. Should it work? Absolutely but when the tablet doesn't have cell service and it can't use cell tower coordinates, finding your GPS coordinates on a wifi-only tablet will take longer than a cell phone. But imo, with future updates, GPS will get better

 

[rsarno]

Got mine from bb yesterday and I have to admit I'm impressed. Anything in particular anyone wants me to comment on or try?

 

[n11]

I voted early in this poll and have since discovered that the gps is worthless from a practical standpoint. I wish I could change my vote to below expectations and having gps issues.

 

[rsarno]

I voted early in this poll and have since discovered that the gps is worthless from a practical standpoint. I wish I could change my vote to below expectations and having gps issues.

as someone said above, i never really expected it to have GPS. Cant imagine when i would ever use it. accept for getting local weather maybe?

 

[Kevin Vegas]

I have had mine a week. Games look awesome. Very fast scrolling etc. I spent over three hours trying to get GPS to work it was completely non responsive until I downloaded GPS essentials program. Then it at least found the satellites. Several of my favorite programs don't work correctly (Honeycomb problems?) either the graphics don't line up on screen correctly or they do random closes.
The video is a BIG disappointment. I was sure I read the prime would play some of the common video formats but so far It hasn't run any of my .avi .wmv .mpg or even my .mp4 video files! The only ones I have got working are ones I ran through a special converter program. That is really unacceptable.
The camera is great and I love its speed.
Boot up is very slow and you don't even get a cool animation to watch! No light bleed on my unit.
All in All I like the tablet and am hoping ICS will solve some of the issues

 

[rsarno]

I have had mine a week. Games look awesome. Very fast scrolling etc. I spent over three hours trying to get GPS to work it was completely non responsive until I downloaded GPS essentials program. Then it at least found the satellites. Several of my favorite programs don't work correctly (Honeycomb problems?) either the graphics don't line up on screen correctly or they do random closes.
The video is a BIG disappointment. I was sure I read the prime would play some of the common video formats but so far It hasn't run any of my .avi .wmv .mpg or even my .mp4 video files! The only ones I have got working are ones I ran through a special converter program. That is really unacceptable.
The camera is great and I love its speed.
Boot up is very slow and you don't even get a cool animation to watch! No light bleed on my unit.
All in All I like the tablet and am hoping ICS will solve some of the issues

1, how do i test my gps? I opened Maps and it was fairly accurate and quick, is that it?

2, how did you get a video on there to try it?

3, i find tons of apps i had on my phone, look like crap on the tablet. But the real bummer is that there arent many "Tablet" apps yet! WTF??

 

[golfernut78]

I voted early in this poll and have since discovered that the gps is worthless from a practical standpoint. I wish I could change my vote to below expectations and having gps issues.

have you installed the firmware updates?

 

[Kevin Vegas]

@rsarno
To test GPS be sure to turn off the google location services first because Maps can use that to find your approximate location also. Actually the best way is to download an App like GPS test which will tell you how many GPS satellites it found and whether the tablet has "locked" GPS signal.
In the car I plan to tether my tablet to my cellphone and then let my wife use the nice big tablet screen to do navigation and finding restaurants and gas stations with.
So far I haven't got that working. (Firmware updates didn't help)

I have a LARGE collection of videos movies etc. I just connect the tablet to my computer and drag over the files to the Movies directory on the phone. Then they are ready to play (except that they don't!) This is a critical issue for me because we want to bring the tablet to our vegas place (which doesn't have cable) and connect it to our HD TV and watch movies that way.

BTW if you really want to be impressed by the Primes screen get the "Project M" App.
It reacts to any music you play on the device creating fantastic graphical patterns.
Be warned, it will suck your brain in and you may spend the next few hours hypnotically staring at the screen!

 

[rsarno]

tried gps test but nothing is happening. how do i turn it on?

 

[Kevin Vegas]

@rsarno
That is what happened to me also. Assuming you have turned on "Use GPS satellites" in the settings, you should be able to start up GPS test, put it outside where it can find signals easily and after a few minutes(<12) you should see satellite info popping up and the lock light turning on.

In my case, I left it outside for about 30 min. It found 2 satellites after about 10 min then those two went away and nothing happened after that. then, after I loaded the GPS essentials program (someone on a forum mentioned it loaded extra positioning software) I finally started finding satellites. Good luck,
If you need more detailed help try me at info@hallsofmagic.com

 

[rsarno]

im unclear on if the issue is in ALL devices, and some people just dont know how to test (like me) or maybe they dont care?

or are some devices working properly

 

[phasertone]

I received my Prime at 1:55 pm today (ordered from Best Buy on Dec. 23 evening). I am impressed so far. No damage, no screen bleed & no dead pixels. The battery is charging fast (it arrived at 23% and is at 95% already at 4:20 pm). Wifi & GPS are OK.
The only hitch is when it prompted me to log on in Gmail (the onboard app), it won't allow me. The reason is that I have a Google Authenticator, for extra security, on my account. I went to my google account and it generated a special code for me to input in my prime and it worked. The sound is phenomenal. I used my Sony in-ear megabass earphones. I will wait for 100% charge before I start loading up on apps.
A very happy camper here!

 

[golfernut78]

@rsarno
I have a LARGE collection of videos movies etc. I just connect the tablet to my computer and drag over the files to the Movies directory on the phone. Then they are ready to play (except that they don't!) This is a critical issue for me because we want to bring the tablet to our vegas place (which doesn't have cable) and connect it to our HD TV and watch movies that way.

could be the codec of the movies. while not saved to my prime, i have 31.5gb of movies on a microSD card in the tablet right now and they all play fine. i couldn't tell you what format that i ripped them to originally, but it was a fairly small file size as i did this originally for my laptop for when i travel.

 

[addcohen]

I am not able to pick up a wifi signal in a room that I am able to pick it up on my HP computer. I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab and downloaded Wifi Signal app on both. Samsung Galaxy Tab significantly picks up better signal and more networks than Asus Transformer Prime. Going to return Prime. Not sure if I will get another one since they are so scarce or switch to Galaxy. Anyone else having this issue?

 

[Kevin Vegas]

@addcohen
Thanks for the App tip, I downloaded the WIFI analyzer on the prime and a Galaxy Nexus Walked all over the house. The galaxy was slightly better than the prime but not by much. I assume that means I got one of the good tablets. I wish you could easily get another one so you could compare.
Good luck.

 

[n11]

im unclear on if the issue is in ALL devices, and some people just dont know how to test (like me) or maybe they dont care?

or are some devices working properly

Here is a GPS test protocol that I posted on the XDA gps thread GPS (possible issue) - xda-developers (over 47,000 views and over 800 replies).

For those who are just joining this thread here is a way to test your GPS. Most folks are finding that the GPS does work from a technical standpoint but is not useful in a practical way like driving in your car. This test should prove that your GPS DOES work under optimal conditions. Then...if you test further you should see where the challenges are. The steps refer to GPS Status which is a very useful free progam that is available in the Android Market. I've added a new step based on links provided in Gnopps post (thanks given on post xda-developers - View Single Post - GPS (possible issue) ). It refers to a free program from Google called My Tracks that can be found in the Android Market - https://market.android.com/details?...NvbS5nb29nbGUuYW5kcm9pZC5tYXBzLm15dHJhY2tzIl0.

I use these steps:

• GPS off
• Wifi off
• Airplane mode
• In GPS Status, menu, tools, manage A-GPS state, push reset
• Turn off and restart the Transformer Prime
• Open GPS status and test both indoors and outdoors
• Open Google Navigation, set a destination and drive there (or next step)
• or - drive with GPS Status open to see how it holds sats
• or - install My Tracks and drive a route you know - see if the recorded result matches the actual route
• or - install My Tracks on the TF201 and also on a known good device - see if the recorded results match for both devices

 

[wynand32]

I have a Gray unit from Best Buy and a Champagne unit from Abt Electronics. The Gray has minor light bleed and a rattle near one of the dock connectors. Otherwise it works well. The Champagne has no issues other than wonky haptic feedback (works intermittently at best, otherwise just makes a quacking sound).

I'll probably keep the Champagne unit and just turn off haptic feedback (although it still tries to work even when turned off when adjusting items on the home page and when selecting images in the Gallery, at least). That is, unless Best Buy gets some units in-store that I can try out to see if I can get an absolutely perfect unit.

Otherwise, I love the Prime. The screen is simply outstanding--great colors, incredible viewing angles (I can watch video almost on the horizontal), and of course outstanding brightness. I can use it outside in the direct SoCal sun, which is exactly what I wanted. I did a quick video that kind of shows the difference (ASUS Transformer Prime - Sunlight Visibility - YouTube) between the Prime and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and original Transformer. I'm very impressed at how much better the Prime's screen is than the GT 10.1 in particular. Oh, and if anyone can explain the sync thing on the Prime, please chime in--it's weird, but I do notice absolutely no issues whatsoever outside of this video.

Performance is stellar. Build quality is good (other than the wonky vibrator). Wifi is weaker than some of my other devices but still entirely usable everywhere I need it to be. GPS works, although I haven't tried it in my car yet. Battery life is excellent. Overall, it's a great tablet and still $100 less than the equivalent iPad 2. Once I have the dock, my original Transformer will be going on eBay.

I think that ASUS really need to clean up production and fix some component issues (even in the Gray unit where haptic feedback "works," it's so weak as to be pretty much useless). Once they get things ironed out, I think they have a winner.

 

[vectorman]

I received my 32GB champagne Prime yesterday, part of the second wave of shipments from Amazon (ordered on 11/22). Overall, I am very pleased with the build and performance of the machine, and have none of the issues some others have noted; no light bleed, no dead/stuck pixels, no FC's etc. Regarding the GPS: I turned wifi off, stepped outside in full view of the open sky, turned on "GPS Essentials" (free download in the Market), and selected "satellites" from the menu; within less than one minute, there were 12 satellites in view, and I had locked on to 6 of them. This varied as satellites came into and out of view on my screen, so my GPS seems to be working, at least from a static position. I have not tried to use it for navigation, but I was never interested in that usage in the first place; I have a Garmin for that. I hope this helps someone else in testing their Prime.

 

[Kevin Vegas]

Loved the transformer but just returned it. I really wanted to use it in my car as a GPS device. My wife was excited about using it as a Navigator and Point of interest finder while I did the driving. The big screen would make the experience much easier than looking at a tiny cell phone screen. Unfortunately,
ASUS screwed up the design of the unit and the metal backing blocks the GPS signals.
When I was in Vegas last week the Prime kept insisting we were in Ohio!
I think if you are paying premium prices for a tablet, everything should work on it.

So I returned it. The good news is that ASUS will have a new unit out in 2nd quarter that will have a plastic back. This will eliminate the GPS and WI-Fi issues. I will repurchase it then.

Other problems: Every video I've tried from my collection. (movies TV shows etc) had to be converted to a special format in order to play on the Prime. My PC can play dozens of formats why can't the Prime?

 

[agentjonnyb]

Other problems: Every video I've tried from my collection. (movies TV shows etc) had to be converted to a special format in order to play on the Prime. My PC can play dozens of formats why can't the Prime?

Had that same problem before ICS, so I go MX video player, and it was perfect. After ICS, I no longer need it so far, it's been playing my .mov, .wmv, and .mp4 videos wonderfully (I make a lotta videos, so this is actually a very high priority for me).

Anyway, I'm sticking with it, I need it now, and it is performing amazingly with ICS, I cannot believe the difference! The keyboard is also such a huge plus!

Quick question: Anyone know how I could go about getting my wired xbox 360 controllers to work with mupen64plus or n64oid?

 

[lashmonster]

Got mine yesterday and SO wanted to love it - but it's going back. Sitting 2 feet from my wireless router it can't keep a connection. And when it does it can not seem to get to a website reliably with either the stock browser or Dolphin. I am sitting next to someone using a TAB and they get get to the same sites that my prime tells me is not available. Sigh...

 

[phasertone]

I am very satisfied. I bought Prime for my foremost personal intention. They are for web browsing using apps especially for news. For watching movies, listening to my music collection, reading books, collecting songs with guitar chords, using Google maps to prepare for my travels, accessing gmail and running other specialty apps. I love Prime for its ultra-portability.

 

[JackG058]

Had that same problem before ICS, so I go MX video player, and it was perfect. After ICS, I no longer need it so far, it's been playing my .mov, .wmv, and .mp4 videos wonderfully (I make a lotta videos, so this is actually a very high priority for me).

Anyway, I'm sticking with it, I need it now, and it is performing amazingly with ICS, I cannot believe the difference! The keyboard is also such a huge plus!

Quick question: Anyone know how I could go about getting my wired xbox 360 controllers to work with mupen64plus or n64oid?

+1 for MX Video Player. I still prefer it, even after the ICS upgrade, just because the videos play with a greater clarity. Outstanding product, and just a few bucks to support the developer with the Pro version. Or you can do free with banner ads.

Also, I was playing some of my music ripped from my CD's the other night, post ICS upgrade, and using the stock music player. All of a sudden the screen just flaked out, where everything was faded with lines running through it, really hard to describe. It was just music too, not video. I closed the program and reopened, and same thing. I moved to Doubletwist and everything played fine. After Doubletwist, I was able to use the stock player again. Thankfully we have third party options which sometimes do perform better than what is included!