Asus Transformer Prime - First impressions at launch

Asus Technology has launched the Eee Pad Transformer Prime in India, at a launch event in New Delhi today. We had a chance to use the device for a while. And here is what we feel.

• The Transformer Prime is slim. Oh boy! We have used its predecessor as well as the Galaxy Tab and the Apple iPad 2. At 8.3mm, you immediately know this has taken the game to the next level. The metallic spun exterior design looks very good.
• This one has Tegra 3, and whatever little we managed to game on the tablet, the performance did seem a tad better (read smoother and quicker load times) than the current Tegra 2 tablets. We will put this through a detailed test soon.
• With a 10.1-inch Super IPS+ panel, the Transformer Prime will make the calls for the Retina Display on the next iPad a lot louder. We used this tablet in a moderately lit room, and the auto-brightness settings made the display very dim. We had to manually bump up the brightness to 50%.
• In the settings, there is a Super IPS+ (Outdoor mode) that, when activated, bumps up the brightness level and makes the text slightly sharper and easier to read in bright sunlight.
• The 8MP camera is one that will work well only in very well lit ambiences. We tried this in low-ish lighting, and the lack of crispness and considerable edge noise ruined the images. This camera also as a panorama mode, but the few shots that we clicked didn’t impress us.
• We had used the dock with the Transformer TF101, and this one is a step better than that one. While we were impressed with the comfort of the predecessor, this one brings all that with a multi-touch trackpad and an SD card reader. Yes, a USB 2.0 hub is there as well.
• The tablet we used had ICS preloaded on the device. However, the one that you can buy now will come with Android 3.2 but will be updated with ICS at a later date.

While the package is impressive, the price of almost Rs. 50,000 is something that doesn’t convince us. With the rumours suggesting that the next iPad is coming in a week’s time, we wonder how many people will not wait before they splash their cash.