#198 - Tablet in the house

PCSS now has an ASUS Transformer tablet PC! Shown on the left is the tablet and its docking station/keyboard. The Transformer is an Android Honeycomb tablet PC with the following specifications:
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• NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 1.0GHz dual-core CPU for excellent multitasking & HD video playback
• Android 3.1 Honeycomb O.S. with Adobe® Flash® 10.2 support*2
• Full QWERTY keyboard, touchpad input with Polaris® Office® for mobile productivity
• 16*1 hours long battery life for all day computing with docking station
• Brilliant IPS panel with ultra-wide 178 degree viewing angle made from scratch resistant and super tough glass
• One year of Unlimited ASUS WebStorage, two USB ports, SD and Micro SD card readers for easy sharing & storage expandability
• 3D stereo with max bass response with SRS premium sound
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That's a lot to chew over. First question I get is how does it compare to the iPad2? Its bigger (10.1" vs 9.7" screen), faster (Tegra 2 vs A5 CPU), has better screen resolution and can have a great docking station with keyboard that Apple does not make for the iPad2. To beat the iPad you have to be better all round then the iPad. We have put both side by side and the are very similar in quality and design. The Transformer had a textured back panel that makes it a bit easier to hold. Now there is no denying there are way more tablet based apps for the iPad2 then for all of the Android tablets. However the tablets will run nearly all the 200,000 Android apps from the Android Market. So no shortage of games, utilities (yes the bar code reader works!) and Internet browsing. Oh, did I mention that the Transformer runs Adobe Flash so 99% of all the websites can be shown on the Transformer?
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The last difference is that the Transformer costs $399 (Available from PCSS!) for the tablet versus $499 for the iPad2. The keyboard/dock is extra, but the iPad2 doesn't even have an Apple part equivalent.
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We'll be putting the Transformer through some rigorous testing over the next month. If you would like to see it let Nick know and he'll bring it by (Alleghany Highlands & Hawaii customers only!)