The eagerly awaited Asus Eee Pad Slider will finally be available in the US before the end of the month. According to Engadget who got some extended hands-on time with the tablet hybrid, the device will start at $475 for the 16GB model with the 32GB model jumping a hundred bucks to $575.
The Asus Eee Pad Slider features a 10-inch 1280×800 resolution IPS display, Android 3.2 Honeycomb and none of the heavy manufacturer skinning we’ve seen from OEM’s like Sony or Samsung. Is anyone still interested in this tablet? Still waiting for a quad-core Android tablet or has Windows 8 taken away some of the glitz and glamor of Honeycomb?
Asus’ upcoming Eee Pad Slider was up for pre-order for a few short moments via Amazon.com only to be yanked down once word got out. The 10.1-inch Honeycomb slider still doesn’t have any official launch date as of yet but more than one page on Amazon was pre-ordering the device giving more weight to that rumored September launch. According to Amazon, the 16GB version will run you $480 and $580 for the 32GB version. Unlike the older Asus Eee Pad Transformer, this Slider has a keyboard built right in so you wont have to worry about dropping down any extra dollies for a QWERTY attachment. Anyone else excited about this device? Or will you continue to hold out for that rumored quad-core Kal-El tablet later this year?
ASUS has taken the stealth way to release the enterprise tablet Eee Slate B121, that’s shown in the picture below. No bells and whistles or Unpacked events were used for it, maybe because it’s a 12 inch unit that’s designed for professionals, not the general public.
This tablet PC comes with a multitouch display, compatible with a Wacom digitizer pen. Drawing us back from this device is the huge price of $1499 for the device, which is a bit too much, especially if you’re not happy with Windows 7 Professional on it… The B121 comes with enterprise security options, like remote locking, remote data wipe features, locating lost and stolen devices and much more.
There’s also a dedicated recovery team working with the law enforcement to find your device, cool as that may seem. Windows Bitlocker and the Trusted Platform Module are also on board. And finally there’s the specs list of the new model:
Display: 12.1 inch LED backlit screen, 1280 x 800
CPU: Intel Core i5-470UM
Memory: 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD storage
Camera: 2MP front facing
Connectivity: mini HDMI, 2 USB 2.0 ports, SDHC card slot
Will you get one for the hefty price mentioned above?
The ASUS Transformer has gotten itself a pretty decent OTA update. Version 8.6.5.9 is said to have allowed people to use Netflix to its full capabilities, however it’s not going to show up in the market. You’ll need to grab the Netflix APK, but from there you should be on your way to streaming all your favorite content. The great part is that root isn’t required so everyone can get in on the fun. PS: those of you with docks should hook your tablets up to it as it too has gotten a bit of love in this update (though we’re not exactly sure what sort of love that is). [Droid-Life]
With the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer being truly a hit this year, it’s no wonder that everyone is excited about its follow-up. However, we’ll have to wait quite a while before we get to it… Initially, this device was rumored for launch in mid-August, but now it’s supposed to debut next month or even later than that.
According to Fudzilla’s sources, the slate will be among the first to use the quad core Tegra 3 chipset, that’s supposedly having some performance problems. Also known as Kal-El, this is a 1.5GHz design, that’s rumored to be at least twice as fast as Tegra 2. A while ago we’ve heard that it would be 5 times faster, but that sounds too good to be true.
Meanwhile, you shouldn’t get your hopes up too much, since ASUS has yet to confirm if Tegra 3 will be included on its product. In the end we could see a Tegra 2 device yet again and maybe some cosmetic improvements, maybe more RAM and an overclocked processor, but hey ASUS is not Apple to do minor improvements, right?
We’ve tested ASUS Eee Pad Transformer right here, as best we could, but we didn’t dare to harm it in any way… However, the guys of AsusRog.com are not that shy, so they scratched the display on the slate, using nails, a knife, coins and finally a bow and arrow. See how the Gorilla Glass took the tests in the vid below!
Obviously, the average tools, such as the keys and nails did close to no damage and not even the knife mattered much. However, the bow and arrow proved fatal, but it would do that to any tablet, to be honest… Meanwhile, I can’t help but wonder what happened to the Dragontail technology, that was supposed to rival Gorilla Glass
I remind you that this tech involves a scratch resistant cover that’s 6 times stronger than average soda lime glass. What about tablets and smartphones based on this technology? The company Corning Inc is behind Gorilla Glass and it doesn’t seem to be handing over supremacy too soon…
ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih promised the next iteration fo the Eee Pad Transformer would be impressive, and according to new reports his words could be an understatement. Multiple sources are claiming the next Transformer, scheduled for a launch sometime in the fall, will be the first device to feature NVIDIA’s quad-core Kal-El SoC. The timing is slightly off from the original timeline set forth by NVIDIA. August was initially pegged as the month for Kal-El’s debut, but it would now seem that things have shifted back slightly. Either way, we eagerly await the potential of four cores pumping out Android goodness.
Our sister site Mobilissimo.ro had the opportunity to take some very impressive pictures of the ASUS Eee Pad Slider that we reviewed for you here. In case our detailed analysis wasn’t enough, you can feast your eyes on the photos below and some more in this gallery.
On a red background, you can see the sliding mechanism of the 10.1 inch slate, as well as its back side with the 5 megapixel camera and some exquisite close-ups. They also reviewed the device and they’ll publish it in a matter of hours and you’ll see our connection with the sister site, once you get a look at the WordPress app they showed, logged into Tablet News.
As far as the tablet is concerned, it looks like a solid buy, maybe even more appealing than the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer. The choice is up to you, especially considering that the device weighs almost a kilo and it’s not that portable, being more close to a laptop than a tablet.
For a moment there I believed that this new Tegra 2 ASUS Tablet was better than the Transformer model I’ve previously reviewed. However, when realizing that this is almost a kilo of machinery in my two palms, it’s hard to call this a very portable device. What’s more, it’s possible that the sliding keyboard is not to everyone’s liking.
However, I really, really liked this device and appreciate what ASUS is doing for the tablet segment, that is innovating its every aspect. They’ve delivered the Transformer, with its detachable keyboard and huge battery life, now the Slider and soon the PadFone, a combo between smartphone and tablet. Moving back to the Slider (unboxed here), this device comes with a 10.1 inch display, a dual core Tegra 2 processor and a 5 megapixel camera at the back.
You also get a full USB port, that I used to connect a wireless mouse to the tablet and an USB drive, that allowed me to see the media on it. There’s also a camera upfront and this model measures a pretty big 17.7mm in thickness. The full QWERTY keyboard is a breeze to use, but its drawback is that when closed, the speakers hidden at the back are covered and the volume goes down a notch.
As far as the display is concerned, we get a 10.1 inch LCD with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and the other specs include the usual microSD card slot, 32GB of internal memory, 1GB of RAM and Android 3.0. WiFi and Bluetooth handle the connectivity, while a HDMI port is also present for duty. ASUS customized the experience on this device, especially in the web browser, where you can view the entire screen without that address bar. It only appears as you’re typing the name of the website you’re searching.
Also, ASUS implemented an unique menu that appears on the side of the web browser when you keep it pressed. It’s a semicircular blue area with all the usual options of a browser: new tab, refresh, back, bookmarks and other such feats. Another customization is in the virtual keyboard on the Eee Pad Slider, that received a numeric row about the alphabetic one. Plus, you get a cool MyZine widget to have fun with. Other than that, it’s pure Honeycomb experience.
The movie playback is shown in HD on the device, but no .mkv support for now, in case you’re wondering. The physical keyboard is comfortable to type on and you’ll get used to it really fast, in spite of the strange angle that the screen has next to the keypad. A thing I didn’t quite like was the seemingly fragile sliding mechanism from the back of the slate. If you want, you can compare the idea of the slide part with the Nokia E7, which is good thing honestly.
The 5MP camera does its duty, but don’t expect the most beautiful shot on Earth from it. However, for a vacation, it’ll have to do. In the end, this tablet is excellent and if you don’t mind carrying a kilo of tablet with you, it’s the perfect choice. I wouldn’t even trade it for an ASUS Eee Pad Transformer.
ASUS is slowly but surely becoming the most original tablet maker, as it already has in its portofolio a sliding keyboard slate and a tablet with a detachable keyboard, the Transformer. Now it’s preparing the Padfone for launch, a combo between a phone and tablet, but sadly this product will be delayed.
Announced back in May, this handset inside a slate will have to wait till the release of Android Ice Cream Sandwich in order to erupt on the market, probably with huge sales, like the Transformer. The info comes from Alex Sun, the boss of the Personal Mobile Device section at ASUS. The hybrid device will run Android 4.0 from the start most likely.
It makes sense to implement this OS, that will be the unification of Gingerbread and Honeycomb, a smartphone and tablet OS, both parts of the Padfone idea. Let’s just hope that the ASUS gear makes it to the market this year and not in 2012…
