ASUS Eee Pad Transformer gets US price and release date

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer gets US price and release date

By Darren Quick

01:42 April 14, 2011

8 Comments

3 Pictures

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and the optional docking station that turns the tablet into a netbook

Image Gallery (3 images)

While Taiwan and the U.K. have already seen the release of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, the U.S. release has been delayed until the end of April, with supply shortages due to higher than expected demand apparently to blame. With a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 IPS LED back-lit, capacitive multi-touch display, micro SD card slot, front- and rear-facing cameras, USB and HDMI ports, 1GB of RAM and powered by a 1Ghz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, the Eee Pad Transformer, which runs Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), is seen by many as the first serious Android challenger to the iPad's dominance.

But aside from the specs, it's the US$399.99 price tag of the 16GB Wi-Fi model Transformer that undercuts the price of the new 16GB Wi-Fi iPad 2 by $100 that could also help sway consumers away from Apple's device. Throw an optional portable docking station into the mix that provides a full QWERTY chiclet keyboard, an extra two USB ports, a touchpad, 3.5 mm audio jack, an SD card reader and ups the tablet's eight hour battery life to 16 hours, and its easy to see why the Eee Pad Transformer is generating some excitement in Android circles.

The 16GB Wi-Fi ASUS Eee Pad Transformer will be available in the U.S. through Best Buy and other retailers at the end of April for US$399.99. There's no word on the price of the optional dock that turns the tablet into a netbook or a release date for the 32GB model as yet.

Tags

User Comments (8)

This tablet sounds like a winner, except for one thing. Does it have a user replaceable battery or one of those built-in rechargeable, factory service replaceable only batteries? From what I've read, the keyboard device has a built-in battery. Dang. I am against any device with a built-in battery. It's the Apple engineering model, you know. I haven't purchased any of their products, either.

Dennis Learned - April 14, 2011 @ 11:58 am PDT

Is 1 Gb RAM enough to make the device useful?

tsvieps - April 14, 2011 @ 11:16 pm PDT

The RAM is a bummer. At least 2GB is not bad.

Facebook User - April 16, 2011 @ 03:14 am PDT

I own a ASUS laptop and as such I like the specs, but I am worried about the mechanical build quality and ruggedness. My laptop has performed well, but it is mechanically less rugged than other laptops I have owned (Dell, Compaq, IBM, Toshiba)

It would be nice to see a review of tablets that includes some real world drop tests.

Harry L Jin - April 18, 2011 @ 08:44 am PDT

Anyone that has used android tablets will be pleased to see that this has 1gig ddr2 memory. I have had 512meg on the tablet I am using now and find it to be adequate. You can install apps to the 16gig MicroSD card too. Many first generation android tablets had 256meg.

I am wondering if the "End of April" is from Asus or interweb rumors. Why won't they let us PREORDER? I would put my money down in a heartbeat.

Also, I would prefer a user replaceable battery on the tablet & keyboard dock, but if they last past the warranty I would bet you could buy a battery and crack open the case and replace it yourself anyway.

Paul LaBrier - April 18, 2011 @ 09:10 am PDT

Which capacity would you guys rather get for the money? 16G seems a bit small for the gazillion apps you can now find for Android. $399 sounds more than reasonable for me for a tablet qwerty keyboard.

netimagineer - April 21, 2011 @ 12:19 am PDT

ASUS had just announced release date of ASUS Eee Pad Transformer for US and Canada: http://bit.ly/fRDcP1 on ASUS FaceBook Fan Page

Guide Onehundredone Dot Net - April 22, 2011 @ 02:59 am PDT

A non user replaceable battery is a deal breaker for me. Without it I can only consider these tablets disposable electronics. Which I believe is a sin against the planet and all mankind.

McLovin - April 22, 2011 @ 11:00 am PDT