All the latest UK technology news, reviews and analysis 
Search Home SonySoftwareCommunicationsSecurity TabletsCloud computingGoogleMicrosoftAppleHPSMB channel News 7 daysSoftwareInternetSecurityGovernmentSocial networkingMobile phonesSMB Features AnalysisOpinionInterviewsPollsIn PicturesTop 10sShare Price CentreWhitepapersTech GlossaryEvents Blogs V3.co.uk LabsIT SneakThe FrontlineMac InspectorSecurity WatchdogDownload JunkieSilicon Valley SleuthTech Boutique Video Reviews LaptopsBusiness softwareTabletsMobile phonesDesktopsPrintersServersStorageNetworksSecurityCompetitions Downloads Software Store Forums
Home Reviews HardwareTablets Asus Eee Pad Transformer review by Ian Morris More from this author
10 May 2011 Be the first to comment Print Send Save Share Tweet this
With the Eee Pad Transformer, Asus has succeded in making a tablet that offers more to business users than the iPad. It's not a complete success, especially where some PC functionality is concerned, but it's still a fantastic piece of equipment.
Pros:Stylish, well built, sensibly priced, easy to use, brilliant performance
Cons:Not capable of everything a regular laptop can do, keyboard can be fiddly
Overall Rating:
Price: £429 as tested, £379 without keyboard
Manufacturer: Asus
Review SpecificationsThere were people who laughed when Apple launched the iPad. Firstly, the idea seemed ludicrous: the form factor hadn't existed previously and was not one in which anyone had shown any interest.
Secondly, the name was subject to much derision. Now, though, the market is aware of tablets and has accepted them in varying degrees, even when they have ludicrous names.
Well, no name we've seen yet is as bad as Asus' Eee Pad Transformer. But no product has caused as much excitement either. It's an Android Honeycomb tablet with dimensions similar to the iPad's, but with features that could make your laptop redundant.
The Eee Pad does this by offering a two-part solution. The main component is a tablet with a 10.1in screen and the usual features that come with the latest version of Android.
The second component - a keyboard with additional battery - costs around £90 extra but aims to allow the Eee Pad to compete with a PC. So does this system work, or will your compact laptop still triumph?
Laptop replacement
To dive straight in, we don't honestly think the Asus system can replace a Windows, Mac OS X or a Linux laptop. Honeycomb is a good mobile operating system, but there are several things about it that don't work as a serious computing platform.
Take, for example, copy and paste. This has never been the strong suit of most smartphones (although Nokia has never had a problem making this feature work). It took ages for Apple to introduce it and, while it does work on a phone, it's nowhere near as slick as on a desktop PC.
To use the Eee Pad like a laptop, you're going to need to copy and paste into and out of documents from time to time. This seems to involve transferring your hands from the keyboard onto the touchscreen. The way the docked tablet is angled makes this monstrously difficult and a very poor user experience.
Indeed, attaching the keyboard seemed to affect how we thought of the device. We have no problem using a tablet, but the addition of a dock with a decent keypad seemed to confuse us slightly, as if we were battling against the muscle memory of using a Windows laptop.
We found ourselves hardly using the touch screen, and tried to do everything with the mouse and keyboard. In the same way that Windows isn't designed for touch-screen displays, Android isn't really designed for keyboards and mouse inputs.
And then there's the keyboard shortcuts, which we're used to on all desktop operating systems. On Android, the likes of control+v don't work, and people who use PCs will find this frustrating. To be fair, these are early days for Honeycomb and future updates should improve all these concerns.
We also found that that the trackpad and arrow keys on the Transformer keyboard enticed us to do stupid things quite often. Several times we found our cursor jumping up the screen as we typed (because we leaned on the wrong bit of the keyboard). The good news is that you can switch off the trackpad. The bad news is that you can't turn of the arrow keys.
So far, you could be forgiven for thinking we don't much like the Asus. In fact, the truth is that we have loved every moment we've spent with it. The typing quirks are an irritation, but using the device as a laptop is still plausible.
SD card sockets on the tablet section and a full sized socket on the keyboard dock means that you can add storage, read and manipulate files from a digital camera (Adobe offers a mobile version of Photoshop for free on Android) as well as upload them to the internet.
1 2 Continued on page 2Android 3.0 Honeycomb, 10.1in 1,280x800 screen, dual-core 1GHz NVidia Tegra 2 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB or 32GB storage, MicroSD card reader (SD card reader on Keyboard dock), 2xUSB (on keyboard)
Topics: Tablets AsusAsus EeeTablet PCDo you agree?
Add your commentAdd your comment
Your name: Your email address: We won't publish your address Your comment title: Your comment: By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms & Conditions. Your comment will be moderated before publication. Submit your commentRelated reviews
Acer Iconia Tab W500 review 
Motorola Xoom video review 
Motorola Xoom review Review categories
Laptops (86)Tablets (30)Mobile Phones (121)
Acer Iconia Tab W500 reviewAcer Iconia Tab W500 reviewMotorola Atrix review Desktops (24)Displays (22)Printers (36) 
Apple iMac 27in (2011 edition)Samsung BX2350 reviewSamsung ML-3310 review Business Software (9)Utilities (10)Servers (29) 
Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 office suite reviewCertero PowerStudio power management softwareDell PowerEdge M-Series blade server review Other product categories
ComponentsMobile SoftwareOperating SystemsStorageDeveloperMultimediaPeripheralsWebGadgetsNetworksSecurityWireless Most Read Most Discussed Most Watched Top 10 technology marriages made in hellACS Law owner Andrew Crossley escapes with £1,000 fine from ICOShoreTel scales up with latest unified communication offeringMicrosoft unveils Azure toolkits for iPhone, Android and Windows PhoneMicrosoft agrees $8.5bn deal to buy VoIP giant Skype Update: Virgin Media email problemsFBI moves against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute PokerFacebook helps to fight crime as criminals brag onlineObama plans fundamental rethink of software patentsAndroid 2.3.4 Gingerbread update comes to Google Nexus S
McAfee and Intel explain the Cloud Security Platform - video Firms outline plan to secure web services
Acer Iconia Tab W500 video review Hands on with the Windows 7 hybrid tablet
Livescribe Echo video review We take a look at the latest 8GB smartpen
Views from the Valley: Apple's iOS privacy fix and Intel's transistor breakthrough The top stories from the US
More videos Newsletters Amend subscription Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters: Daily Breaking Technology News
Weekly News Review
Product Reviews Fortnightly More NewslettersEnter email address to edit your newsletter preferences
Case studies and reports
Are you exposed to Firesheep wi-fi attack? Firesheep allows an attacker connected to the local network to monitor the web sessions of other users on that network
Business intelligence - democratising the enterprise Moving BI out of the backroom and into the frontline - where it belongs
Technology jobs
Drupal Web Developer - LondonNegotiable:London:Join a growing and highly respected...
Senior QA Test Engineer - Video, Graphics, C/C++Negotiable:Cambridgeshire:Client looking for Senior...
Web Developer (UniProt)Competitive:Hinxton, Cambs:We are seeking to recruit...
Freelance Games Visual UI Designer - LondonNegotiable:London:Ideal candidate: visual designer...
search job White paper library Latest white papers
Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies. IThound.com brings you over 2,000 white papers case studies and analyst reports.
More white papers Supporting a lifetime of serviceField marketing business saves €22,000 in year one with Purchase Control4 video and web conferencing myths debunkedBusiness Intelligence: democratising the enterpriseThe Evolution of Integration HomeNewsFeaturesBlogsVideoReviewsDownloadsForums 
© Incisive Media Investments Limited 2011, Published by Incisive Financial Publishing Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, are companies registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 04252091 & 04252093
SearchAbout us:
About V3.co.ukAbout Incisive MediaAdvertisingTerms & conditionsRSS feedsSitemapPrivacy policyAccessibilityBusiness & technology web sites:
Technology newsIT newsGreen business newsComputer reseller newsBlogs & community:
Labs blogIT SneakSilicon Valley blogMac InspectorSecurity blog
Software downloadsNews blogTechnology forumTwitterFacebookYouTube
Reviews:
Business software Desktops Laptops Mobile phones Networks SecurityServers Storage TabletsSoftware downloads:
AudioBackupBrowsersBusiness softwareCommunicationsDesktop toolsDeveloperDisk managementFile managementInternet toolsMobile softwareMultimediaOptimisersSecuritySoftwareStorageUtilitiesWebTools & resources:
DownloadsIT jobsIT salary calculatorWhitepapersAccreditation:
Digital Publisher of the Year 2010 Friend's email address To send to more than one email address, simply separate each address with a comma. Your email address Message To: Your email: Subject: Message: Submitting... $(function(){ if (window.location.hash == "#add_comment_form") { $('.display_form a').click(); } });