ASUS Transformer (2) Prime Is the Tablet the World Has Been Waiting For [Video]

The Asus Transformer Prime is arguably the most hotly anticipated Android tablet to ever come to fruition folks – and for good reason. Dubbed the world’s first Tegra 3 tablet, it will be equipped with NVidia quad-core Kal-El Tegra 3 for incredible performance and exceptional battery life, and will be sporting a ridiculously thin 8.3mm profile. To make matters even more enticing, its encapsulated in a fingerprint resistant, brushed aluminum body – closely mirroring the aesthetics of Asus’ gorgeous Zenbook. Oh and did I mention it is to be the world’s first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet?

And the goodness doesn’t stop there folks. Featuring a full connectivity suite with USB, mini-HDMI port and an SD card slot for memory expansion support – it is also said to provide 14-hour battery life when attached to the keyboard dock. Asus CEO Jonney Shih also noted that the tablet will be the first tablet in the world to run the new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, with support for hardware acceleration, and all the other goodness we know that it brings. Ultimately, this will be the tablet to get not only because of its beautiful design, but because it will be able to transcend above normal tablets via its innovative and well designed keyboard dock, which will transform the tablet into a full-fledged netbook, and recharge the tablet at the same time too.

Specs:

8.3mm thin
10.1″ IPS 1280 x 800 display
1GB of RAM, Tegra 3
USB, mini-HDMI ports, and SD card slot
detachable keyboard

It wasn’t too long ago when we had received reports from ASUS that they were indeed already hard at work on a quad-core successor to what many consider to be one of the best Android tablets to date – the original ASUS Transformer.

While currently there is no official word on the release date of this particularly appealing piece of technology, we do know for a fact that ASUS will be making a formal announcement of the Transformer Prime on November 9, when ASUS plans to officially out the tablet for what I suspect is going to be some serious scrutiny for those looking for a tablet with, well, more.

Benchmarks of Tegra 3 vs Tegra 2

We’ve also reported previously that the happy CEO of ASUS told Digitimes that the Transformer Prime will be priced competitively – at $499. Judging from how ASUS priced the original Transformer at $399 – we think it’s highly likely that it will be priced in this range. Hopefully, ASUS has produced enough of these so as to avoid the stock shortages that everyone experienced when the ASUS Transformer was debuted earlier this year.

Jonney Shih also took the time at AsiaD to touch a bit on the Padfone. We haven’t heard much about the Padfone since it’sofficial introduction in May, but Shih has promised that phone-tablet combo device is currently slated to ship in Q1 2012 and that it’ll be doing so with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in tow. No pricing or launch details were given on the Padfone either, but hey, at least we know it’s still coming.

Since we’re all abuzz with Ice Cream Sandwich chatter – it should be known that ASUS has publicly committed via their Twitter channel -that the original Transformer will be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, too. History is usually a good indicator of what to expect from companies going forward, and with ASUS’ excellent track record in building one of the best Android tablets to date, selling it at an excellent price point, and providing prompt and timely updates, all bodes very well for the innovative company out of Taiwan.

More exciting details about the Transformer Prime — and even the original Transformer’s ICS update will all be revealed at the November 9th event, so stay tuned here on Android Authority as we provide you breaking coverage on the growing world of Android!

Are you excited for the Asus Transformer Prime? How about Tegra 3? Let us know in the comments! We love hearing from you.

Via AllThingsD, Asus

TAGS Android 4.0 Asus Asus Transformer 2 Asus Transformer Prime Ice Cream Sandwich

NEXT: Asus Eee Pad Transformer Gets First Unboxing Video

Asus-Eee-Pad-Transformer-Mixes-Tablets-and-Netbooks

ASUS to Release Eee Pad Transformer Successor in October

Asus Eee Pad Transformer 2 Gets a Price Tag, Release Date Looms Closer – Is This the First Quad-Core Ice Cream Sandwich Tablet?

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Video Review

Asus Transformer 2, Kal-El, and the Future of Notebooks (and Tablets)

Darcy LaCouvee

Author Feed Author Twitter Author GooglePlus

Darcy is the founder of AndroidAuthority.com and our resident Android guru. He follows the latest trends and is extremely passionate about mobile technology. With a keen eye for spotting emerging trends and reporting them, he works hard to bring you the best analysis, updates, and reports on all things Android. Darcy lives and breathes the latest mobile technology, and believes Android will be on a billion devices in the not too distant future.

Jaonea
he said 16.5 hours of battery not 14…
i’m gonna buy this baby but what dissapoints me is the design they could make de display larger on the same space (but still it’s 8,2 mm thin) but why just 1280×800 resolution? and still the same display as TF1?

http://www.AndroidAuthority.com Darcy Alexander LaCouvee
It’s a bit unfortunate – but I think the display will be excellent. When we compared the displays of the Motorola Xoom, the iPad 2, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Transformer, it held its own, and in many areas, was the leader. I think 1280×800 is more than sufficient and will not be as taxing on battery life. That being said, the Galaxy Nexus has near the same resolution, on a display more than half the size…

Jaonea
still a HD display would be great because one of the main reasons for me getting this thing is watching films…so display is a very important thing for me and i’am a little disappointed that there is no improvement in that area (same iphone 4s)
what bothers me why there isn’t a 64 Gb version but let’s just wait for the official annoucment maybe everything will change

Pack1
32gb on board plus 32gb sd card problem solved

Derp
That’s not nearly enough storage…
guest
I have the Transformer…..keep in mind, it comes with free *unlimited* cloud storage that you can also access from your PC (and load files into via your PC), then stream down to your Transformer. How much do you really need on the device itself, if you have that in the Cloud (as long as you have net access).
Jaonea
where do you have that info from?…sounds too good to be true
ScorpiusRaven
It’s part of the package Asus includes on the transformer, MyNet I think it is called. It’s “free” and “unlimited” for one year I think. I don’t know enough about it to say what the actual costs and caps are.

Anonymous
Great article man. I want this new gadget!

nismax2003
Yeah with increased resolution it taxes the processor more, 1280 x 800 is actually very good for a 10″ screen.

Burgmanmania
Owning the original, this new model better have a brighter screen, I don’t get why Apple has the best displays by far and no PC based manufacturer can match them. ID be willing to shell out a little more dough for an iPad equivalent screen.

Anonymous
This Tablet is amazing!! Wow! I’ve never been into tablets, but this definitely looks like the tablet to get!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SL26CMG3LUKOZSTRNBL2B2MCKA Bob
I honestly don’t see Asus selling 2 million units of these devices. I see them instead selling at least 8 million of these! I’m sold and I’ve got 6 more people wanting them for Christmas. Forget the Ipad, these are better all around! Shih and his team really are going to hit it out of the park with this one ( again ).

Luke Larsen
I completely agree. As an owner of the first model, i was very impressed. This one looks even better!

Anonymous
Totally agree. I’ve bought 40 for use in the College I oversee tech for. Everyone loves them.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SL26CMG3LUKOZSTRNBL2B2MCKA Bob
You must have done your homework and definitely made the right decision. To a college student, the Supernote app alone is worth buying the tablet.

Anonymous
Wow, I hadn’t even NOTICED that app…. but I still prefer note taking with the keyboard. I’ll be buying another 20 or so Transormer Primes for faculty
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SL26CMG3LUKOZSTRNBL2B2MCKA Bob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjJQecbr9Jg
You can do both.
Anonymous
Very cool
dans
Is it possible to use stylus?

me!
i am loving the prime. i knew i was going to buy it before i saw it, just because the tablet with keyboard and polaris would allow me to do my homework (i am a college student) but as soon as i saw the new aluminum body on both the pad and the keyboard. i felt in love! and my wife does not mind it at all! thanks for a great product.i hope it’s not too expensive!
http://twitter.com/andyhall89 Andrew Hall
As much as I like your comment, Asus will need to pull a miracle out of their arse in marketing and retail in order to get there. I’m not denying that this tablet (alongside the keyboard innovation) is a brilliant piece of hardware and software, but Asus have never been big on the marketing front, which is a huge tragedy.

Ruki411
Never been big? Do your research on Asus mother boards, GPUs and their annual sales profits.
http://twitter.com/brokenthorn Paul-Sebastian
Yeah, ASUS motherboards are legend ^-^
JonK
Mr. Hallyou’re funny, good joke.

http://www.shukri.my Shukri.My
I just bought the original transformer a couple of months ago…and now a new tempting unit is coming out soon already…

Cherrypress
yep should of done your research… iv been waiting for this..

Anonymous
Wow they’ve out done them selves with the prime. Sounds awesome. I may have to pick one of these up. Good thing I sold my shitty xoom lol
Bob
Looks awesome… But I have to say that interviewer guy in the video from all things digital seem like a bit of a douche … come on English isn’t the guys first language so give him a break!

dru
Complete douche

Kerruma
I totally agree!

david Wu
wow i just watched it right now….
what material is that cover? “its finely crafted aluminum through out”
“aluminum is the answer”
SERIOUSLY?!??! i always hated that guy…. especially when his sidekick is with him too… shes always interrupting..

Anonymous
He completely falls over himself about Apple. Jerk.

http://twitter.com/andyhall89 Andrew Hall
Bob, it’s well known that both Walt and Kara (the two big faces of ATD) are Apple fans down to the bone. Basically, unless it’s Apple itself, everyone else has basically copied Apple.

http://twitter.com/brokenthorn Paul-Sebastian
Which is to say that they haven’t really copied Apple, just went for the obvious better materials.

Bob
I agree with both of you 100%. When Shih showed him with a Zenbook he asked “so this is your copy of the Mac Book Air?” His credibility is questionable at best.

Bob
When I typed showed I meant presented. Oops. I had it right the first time. I’m very busy at the moment.

Shoneuns
does it include 3g?
Sleepycharlie
The anticipation of this has been the only thing preventing me from buying the first generation transformer. The wait will soon be over!
I know a few others that are either making this their first tablet or selling their existing tablets for this one. Another exciting run for Asus.
Anonymous
I have the original transformer and use it CONSTANTLY. Honestly, I barely use my Windows machines for email anymore because it’s so much more simple to use in Android on the Asus tablet.
My only hope is that they don’t eliminate the stand-alone GPS that the original Transformer boasted. It’s a killer feature that makes this amaing tablet even better!
I already find that the Transformer loads webpages almost as fast as a Windows PC, but I’m really looking forward to Kal-El improving the Flash performance, rendering in Acrobat reader, and making for smoother scrolling and zooming in every app.
Without a doubt, this second Transformer is on my to buy list. My girlfriend has been pining after my Transformer for quite some time, so this may be a great tech hand-me-down gift idea. . .

http://twitter.com/brokenthorn Paul-Sebastian
Is should scroll and mover faster since ICS is the first Android to implement accelerated 2D drawing which is why iOS has been so far sleeker than Android.

Anonymous
Any word if the Slider is also going to get ICS?
Also any word on the combined weight with the dock attached/ Are they releasing a new dock or re-using the existing one?
I’ve long waited for the Slider but the Transformer Prime looks awesome. I’ll be using it with a keyboard most of the time, hence why the Slider originally interested me. The Slider is now old though (and it’s still not even been released in The UK).
Trevor M
I just wished they would put the USB port on the tablet and not the dock. I guess I will just have to rely on the cloud to get my data from one place to another which I am OK with as long as there is not some stupid monthly or yearly cash I have to put down….where did the personal cloud devices go?? GO ASUS! This is definatly a leap and a jump into the right direction. Can’t wait to see NVIDIA take us into adopting these amazing devices and getting rid of the desktop computer. Microsoft better get in the race fast or they may just become history…Hope win8 is all they are wanting or they could be out for good.
edit: haha just noticed how the article said “finger print resistant” and you can clearly see fingerprints on a closeup…who cares about fingerprint resistance? we are just going to put it in a case anyways and forget about it. What I want to see is these things survive a fall from 4 feet to hard surfaces then I would see tablet cases not being used very much and then finger print resistance would become something bigger

http://profiles.google.com/mtran2988 Michael Tran
Dropbox,Sugarsync,Amazon Cloud, some other one that starts with an M, or the SD card slot

Provost485
Holding off buying a tablet till I see the new Asus
Donmcdougall
I have a Transformer 101, hard to argue that a thinner faster version will be anything but a hit.
15PayneL
i feel the same as bob
Anonymous
no 3g ..Y????
white cloud
In my opinion, very new keyboard dock is a really bad idea (as the proprietary charger connector and similar gadgets that would be thrown away sooner or later). The keyboard for the original Transformer functions just fine and the ability to use it would make many users like me happy (as they would preserve previous investment). I would probably not buy Transformer 2 and stay with my Transformer 1 just for that reason
Jonas
Sign this and we will show ASUS that there is a need for 3G in our Transformers
http://petitionbureau.org/transformerprime3G
Jajcim9
Optimus Prime has come to save us from Apple’s tyranny
guest
when is it going to be released? because other sites say early december, but in the video he says it is already on the market?
Jdeltree
I’m crying in anticipation of this. I just can’t wait :’(((
Sigi35
wonder how the Acer A700 will compare

ASUS Transformer (2) Prime Is the Tablet the World Has Been Waiting For [Video]

by Darcy LaCouvee on Oct 23, 2011 with 54 Comments">54

Specs:

Darcy LaCouvee

Android News

POPULAR POSTS

STAY CONNECTED

Android Authority

Back to Top

APPS

ROOTING

HOW TO