Well with a heavy head I returned my Prime to PC World today. I got it on the 3rd so it is almost exactly a week. I returned it under the long distance selling. When I got it I was blown away with the device. I have a TF1 also. It is a marked improvement. Had read about a lot of the issues on the forum but thought they did not effect me and until today they did not. The browsing was not too much faster but apps opened quicker and more smooth transitions. Some nice touches to the software by asus.
I could locate myself with wifi so no problems with that. Have not used my TF1 as a sat nav so no issues there. The only slight niggle was a locking / hanging screen. I had posted this issue but got no solutions. I thought ICS may take care of it.
I was looking forward to the ICS update tomorrow. So even more happy it came today. I was a bit miffed at asus who have just announced a premium tab with 3g (that they were selling the prime as) at CES but thought that it would still be a good 6 months before release.
I was hoping ICS would sove my main issue the screen and the other issues. WARNING. It makes things a whole lot worse. I don't think it is ICS more asus's customization.
Following is a list of problems (Some may have been there pre ICS but I did not check):-
It did not solve my screen issue.
Option to turn GPS on and off removed. Why?
Wifi was poor. I tested next to my TF1. I got 15mb download on the prime but 32mb on the TF1. I max out at 36.5mb on my desktop. The signal strength was the same but only connected at 76mb on the prime.
Wifi gets even worse if you are streaming BT at the same time. I did not think this would be a problem for me but as netflix has just opened in the uk I tried it out with BT headphones. While streaming sound the speed dropped to below 1mb and kept loosing reception. Also a problem with Tune in radio as I stream this on BT. Both these apps work fine on my old TF and Galaxy S2.
The biggest one for me was that the ability to teather to a phone did not work. I tried a number of times but the prime would not connect to my phone. Again my TF1 connected first time. I use this feature a lot as I go away on holiday. I need to be able to tether to a phone to give me internet access. This is no longer an option. I know there are some apps that can get round this but it should be a built in feature.
On the plus side what little time I had with ICS was very nice. It is smooth and silky. The stock browser is much quicker. However this should be anyway as the prime has FOUR cores (well 5) running at 1.3. It should run rings around my TF1. It does not. I am so sorry as it is a lovely lovely bit of kit. I just would have to make too many compromises.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I would advise to cancel your orders or return using the long distance selling rule. I know all gadgets have issues but the above is on top of other issues that I can live with. The points listed above are a step too far. I could not wait for ICS and still cant but I think they have rushed this tab a bit just like Motorola did with the xoom.
If you want any more info post a reply.
