[Eee Pad Transformer General] foxmeister:
My thoughts on the Transformer

I've had my Transformer for 4 full days now, and I've a few comments to make for prospective purchasers.

First of all, a little background - I've had Android phones since the original G1 was released in the US (I was there when it was released), and since then have owned the HTC Hero, the HTC Desire, and now the Desire HD (and a Pulse Mini as a backup device).

I also have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7", which I've been using since October last year and I still think is a fantastic device, so most of my observations on the Transformer (henceforth called the TF) will be in comparison to Galaxy Tab (henceforth called the GT). As an aside, I also have a Toshiba AC100 Android netbook, so I think I have some feel for how the TF will be once the keyboard dock arrives.

Build quality

The TF feels like a really high quality device. I know some people have reported issues with back light bleed etc, but I've had no such issues. The aluminium case is really nice to the touch, as is the back of the device which is a plastic made to look a bit like carbon fibre.

Design - the design is generally really nice, though if I had one criticism it is the size of the bezel is rather large. Additionally, it does feel a little odd holding the device in portrait mode as it comes over as very tall and thin, especially when compared to the GT.

The IPS display is lovely and crisp, though it does seem a little less bright than the display on the GT.

OS and software

This is both simultaneously the best and worst feature that the TF has over the GT. In general browsing use, the TF is much more like a laptop/desktop experience than the GT, and you can see Honeycomb has great potential. However, it does feel very much like an unfinished product.

When the GT first came out, the stock browser was notoriously laggy (fixed in later iterations), and the TF suffers from the same issue - in fact it is worse because whilst the GTs browser was basically just laggy, the TFs browser is laggy and buggy.

Specifically, clicking on links in other applications often causes the browser to pop up, but it doesn't load the new page - this can be fixed by "killing" the browser and restarting it, but it shouldn't be this way. Whilst I much prefer the native browser when it works correctly, I'm now using Opera Mobile for day to day use.

Honeycomb Gmail on the TF is a revelation - it is a far superior client than the client on the GT.

Other minor Honeycomb/TF complaints are:

1. There doesn't seem to be a way to clear all notifications easily.

2. Just getting to the Settings menu is overcomplicated.

3. The keyboards do seem overly large in my opinion, and there don't seem to be enough long press options to get to alternate characters, though I'm aware these are easily replaceable.

4. Overall the TF performance is good, but I don't feel that Honeycomb is taking advantage of the dual core Tegra 2, and thus in general use it doesn't really feel any faster than my single core GT.

Media Playback

This is an easy one - the GT is a better media player than the TF, simply because it natively supports more formats (e.g. DivX).

I'm not unused to transcoding video to H264, as I had to do this often on my earlier Android devices, but with the advent of Cortex A8 class devices with Neon, I found software players like RockPlayer more than acceptable. This does not seem to be the case for the TF, since Tegra 2 doesn't support Neon instructions. However, the AC100 is a Tegra 2 device, and the built-in media player is much better than the stock TF one too, so really I think that Asus should have done more here.

With the TF, I'm back to having to transcode media, and to be honest for the most part that means I'll just my GT instead.

Overall Usage

Here's where it gets interesting!

The TF provides a very different experience to the GT and for the most part it is very enjoyable- when I bought the device, I knew it be mostly be a "coffee table" device, and that the size, weight, and built-in 3G of the GT was going to a distinct advantage over the TF when it comes to travelling.

What I didn't expect is that the GT still holds some advantages at home too.

Put simply, the TF is still too big and heavy sometimes - when I get up in the morning, I usually take my GT off charge and slip it into the pocket of my dressing gown, and this means it goes with me when I go to make a coffee, visit the "office" in the bathroom etc.

Also, late at night, if I want to watch something whilst lying in bed, the GT is simply much more comfortable to hold for any period of time, and coupled with better media support is always going to be the preferred option.

The Future

I don't think it is really fair to judge the TF until the keyboard dock becomes available, because I honestly think this will significant change the nature of the device.

When I first got my AC100, it was running Eclair and to be honest it was pretty rubbish, but it got so much better when Froyo landed.

I can see the TF similarly getting a completely new lease of life once the dock arrives.

Also, Honeycomb does feel like a work in progress, and I'm hoping for regularly updates to this device, which again should improve the experience, along with more Honeycomb specific apps on the market.

Conclusion

I think the TF is a fantastic product and the price is extremely good for what it is. I certainly wouldn't want to put anyone off buying one if they have a genuine interest this form factor. In the UK at least, I think the Xoom has priced itself out of the market massively, which currently leaves the TF as the 10.1" tablet of choice.

The biggest issue for me is that 10.1" tablets are generally too big and heavy, and whilst newer tablets may be lighter, they will still be similarly sized unless they can dramatically reduce the size of the bezel.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9" may well be a better compromise, and I will be looking closely at this once it arrives. However, it won't fit in a jacket pocket, so would still likely just be a coffee table tablet for me.

Ultimately, I think my ideal tablet device would be a 7" form factor device like the GT, similar internal hardware to the TF (dual core, IPS, memory etc), and built-in 3G. Until something like this ships, I think my GT will still be my primary media consumption/browsing device.

Steve Jobs may think that there is no market in 7" tablets, but in my case he's wrong!

Regards,

Dave