[Transformer TF300T General] BarryH_GEG:
My assumption (and all any of us has now is assumption) is that they'll use the same PCB, introduce a plastic back cover, reposition and simplify the antennas, and solder the leads to the board the way they did with the TF101. If the TF300's back cover is plastic, that's where it will receive its strongest signal from and there won't be a need for the antenna gymnastics employed in the Prime. It'll cost less to produce also. This approach would let them re-use the Prime's design and components and get the TF300 to market quickly.

I apologize to both you and e.mote. I wasn't trying to rub salt in the wound. I faced a similar situation with the G2X and should have been clearer as to why I was trying to make such a fatalistic point.

You can learn from what happened to G2X owners though which, unfortunately, the Prime seems to be emulating. I was one of the early G2X adopters and had one from the first batch available. There's not enough space here to list what the issues were but it was clear the phone was severely troubled.

In the first couple of weeks their forum looked and acted just like this one - "mines perfect" vs. "this device is plagued." It turns out it was plagued and T-Mobile pulled it until LG could get 2.3 out which was supposed to correct its issues (it didn't). During all of this, neither LG nor T-Mobile admitted the issues were widespread (they were). A bunch of us saw the handwriting on the wall and returned ours during the 30 day remorse period. Others sold theirs on eBay/CL while the device was still "hot" and got out whole.

A lot of people paid the full $499 retail price out of contract to get the phone. Eventually a class action suit was filed against LG (T-Mobile's arbitration only) which was picked up by the online media and then T-Mobile pulled the phone for almost two months. That caused it to drop to $300-350 on eBay/CL almost overnight. People that paid full price lost their shirts. There are still people claiming their G2X's are "perfect" even though an MIT grad did an analysis and found a faulty design caused all of them to overheat.

Moral of the story - if a device appears to be troubled in its infancy avoid it or get out early. If you sell your Prime now you'll get full price. If the TF300 does turn out to be a replacement you'll take a bath. In addition, development will be limited as who knows how many Prime’s will eventually be sold. Especially if the TF300 is really just a Prime with a plastic back cover which means getting it to market wouldn’t take that long. Again, I'm not trying to spread gloom just share a similar experience.

And until we know more this is all pure conjecture

.

---------- Post added at 10:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:02 AM ----------

The Toshiba Excite is even thinner and has a plastic back. So does the G-Tab. But your point is valid as the Prime was designed around a metal back and its strength and flex resistance could be different than plastic. But look at it this way, the new Lenovo and Acer appear thicker than the Prime so to add some depth to get working wireless and a more effective manufacturing process might be a worthwhile trade-off.