[Eee Pad Transformer General] jms_uk:
Ok, so the Transformer has firmly ensconced itself in my "Digital Lifestyle" (tm).. why am I posting this? Because with all the pieces starting to fall into place, this device is really still sitting there as the new hotness..

Those pieces are.. (ok, they probably won't mean much to your average joe consumer, but given the often bumpy ride we've taken to get here, means a lot to me..)

Timely updates from Asus (yeah, Honeycomb 3.1 delivered on time as promised put a big smile on many faces)

The Dock (and its subsequent fixes)

Increasing number of apps

Slowly increasing selection of accessories (yeah, I like my FolioGuard)

I'll admit to being a happy consumer of Apple's IPad First Gen.. I know its not for everyone, but for me and the missus, having a tablet to just pick up and use for web surfing, email, showing pictures, watching episodes of Fringe in a hotel room on a rained out holiday etc., the ease of use of a tablet class device both at home and when travelling for "media consumption" was something that fit right into our household needs...

..Unfortunately, with the iPad there was always something "missing".. The Wife wondered whether she'd be able to take it away to work conferences as a replacement for her netbook - giving her superior battery life, a better screen and just better "comfort" ergonomics.. The answer was no dice.. Given that as part of her work she had a need to handle decrypting and encrypting emails (amongst other things that necessitated her carrying at least a netbook class device and the overal 'flexibility' of a full fleged OS) the iOS solutions that existed were just for want of a better word.. messy..

..Then Google teased us all with glimpses of Honeycomb and Asus teased us further with the Transformer and what just might be possible..

Fast forward a little while and one quick install of K9 with APG later.. job done.. :)

She's off to another conference in Paris tomorrow, wants to take my beloved TF with her.. to see if she really can replace her netbook and extra batteries, with it and the dock.. see how she gets on with the better screen and superior battery life... see how she copes with doing the things she'd normally feel confident doing with a PC O/S... so far, all her key bases have been covered courtesy of the Android Market and a little learning curve.. but time will tell..

I do know that she also wanted to copy some episodes of Grey's Anatomy she'd recorded and put on her USB stick, to the tablet's SD card for watching on the flight if she didn't have the dock handy.. She took my TF to work today, to see how she got on with it, without me hovering like an anxious parent.. I got an instant message a short while later saying the files had been copied via to dock and she'd tested them in Moboplayer just fine..

..In an iOS world.. forget it.. (ok, not without a trip home to dock the ipad to the mothership, fire up iTunes.. copy/sync the .avi files to CineXPlayer and hope its compatible.. hardly the end of the world but, let's be honest.. its a faff fo' sho') ;)

The thing is.. I was left with the 'old' iPad today, for my casual surfing/the usual XDA lurking etc... and as great as that device still is.. it felt... primative.. behind the times.. I've seen the future of iOS as have a great many of you.. and it feels.. well.. lets just say its going to be a long week without my transformer (minor light bleed and the occasional force close - how I shall miss thee) :D