Asus Transformer Speaker | Asus Eee Transformer | Tablet Asus Transformer

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 3.1 Pure Root ROM

2011-10-07T18:42:00.001-07:00

So, if nothing else could be said about Honeycomb latest update for the Transformer, it is rather smooth and people (quite possible for the first time in the site’s history) are actually happy with stock. It is fluid, stable, and very much usable. As such, many members are leaning towards keeping the device stock, but would love to have an easy way to root the device to be able to do things such as Titanium Backup, using Root Explorer, and a few other things. You will not have CWM doing this, or a few other things that you may be used to having on rooted roms, but you will have the ability to do a lot more with your stock rom than what ASUS intended. The dev does give you a way to install CWM if you want to via APX, all wrapped up in the simplicity of running a file in .bat format.

Who knows? This being so much easier than the original root method may be a prelude to the awaited 1 click root method.
This is pure root kit for Asus Transformer.
It is only root but nothing else

After extract the package, turn off your TF.
Press volume up + power until it ask for install driver.
Install driver from usbpcdriver.
Your TF is on apx mode now.
root.bat (root the TF), after it is done.
If you don't need CWM, you can hold your power button for 10 sec to turn it off and turn it back on.

If you need CWM installed you have to run cwm.bat after root.bat.

After it is done, hold your power button for 10 sec to turn it off and turn it back on.
Please turn on the USB Debugging before run root_app.bat
root_app.bat will add superuser and su on your TF.

Download it here. Please leave some feedback for the dev if this method was useful.

AsusTransformer Root + CWM recovery

2011-10-07T10:19:00.001-07:00

Ok so here it is :) one note before hand please do not replicate / repost this guide (by all means use the method / code / files in other places) but due to things outlined here (http://androidroot.mobi/2011/04/28/some-thoughts-on-guide-reposting/) we would rather this just be linked in other places to keep information up to date :)

UPDATE 4/5/2011: New blob released! This blob is intended for latest firmware update (V8.2.3.9) and fixes the camera/bluetooth issues! Use V4 for previous updates! If you use V5, replace all occurrences of CWM_BLOB_V4 with CWM_BLOB_V5 in the guide below.

If you have problems with this guide, please post comments/suggestions/bitches etc onhttp://tabletroms.com/forums/showthread.php?185-Transformer-Full-root-amp-Custom-Recovery

[Notes]

On a later date there will be tools for creating your own blobs. Update: Tools are now available!

You need an microSD card in at all times

Asus OTA updates will not install after installing CWM recovery

This gingerbreak version will not work with 2.2.x or 2.3.x roms its will only work with 3.0.x

[Disclaimer]

Although we (bumble-bee + RaYmAn) test everything as much as possible we will not be held responsible for any bricks / fires / disasters caused by following this guide. This will also void your warrantee. So by undertaking the steps outlined in this guide you understand and accept the risks.

[What You Need]

Asus transformer tablet

ADB set up (if u dont just google it )

Micro SD card (backup all information as it could be wiped)

The files at the bottom of this page

[Guide]

1. extract all of the files from the zip to your adb folder

2. run “adb push gingerbreakBB /data/local/”

3. run “adb shell chmod 777 /data/local/gingerbreakBB”

4. run “adb shell” followed by “/data/local/gingerbreakBB”

5. Wait up to 10 minutes for gingerbreak to do its stuff, once its done you will have SU (#) symbol

6. DO NOT CLOSE THE SHELL.

## Note if you do not get the # su symbol the temp root fail, reboot and try again from step 4 ##

## This Part Of The Guide Is Installing CWM and insecure boot image ##

Update: As some people have pointed out, md5sum does not exist on android, so the guide has been updated to fix it.

Run steps 7 to 9 in a new terminal window

7. run “adb push CWM_BLOB_V4 /data/local”

8. run “adb pull /data/local/CWM_BLOB_V4 cwmblob_retransfer”

9. run “md5sum cwmblob_retransfer”

10. check that the output string matches the one next file list at the bottom of the page, if not re download and re-push the blob DO NOT CONTINUE if they do not match !

Step 9 requires the md5sum program available locally on your computer. PROCEED FROM STEP 7 IF THE MD5SUM IS WRONG

Return to the shell from step 6 and do the following commands:

11. run “dd if=/data/local/CWM_BLOB_V4 of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p4″

12. reboot the device, on reboot you should see a progress bar indicating the flashing of the “blob”

13. boot the device. You now have CWM recovery and insecure boot

Once you have successfully done the above steps and have insecure boot, you can follow the below steps to get ‘full’ root and the usual SuperUser app:

1. run “adb remount”

2. run “adb push su /system/xbin”

3. run “adb shell chmod 6755 /system/xbin/su”

4. run “adb push Superuser.apk /system/app/”

5. reboot (you now have root and can run root apps)

[Credits]

RaYmAn (phrasing, editing blobs, coding tools and Ideas)

Bumble-Bee (Editing GingerBreak, Building CWM recovery and Ideas)

Guhl (Compiling the new gingerbreak as bumblebee fail)

Stridger (Testing, Ideas, General Help, and more testing)

Roebeet, Ryan45, DJ_Steve (Spell and fact checking, input for ideas, general encouragement)

[Files]

CWM_BLOB_V4 (md5 = d6939fb6b6cfe06a02106f63c24268d0 )

Download the file pack here

CWM_BLOB_V5 (md5 = 8c9ef19b726e76fd73de4632db7e4288)

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 Review

2011-10-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

Specifications

Operating System: Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) Platform
Display: 10.1-inch WSVGA IPS capacitive multi touch display built with durable and scratch-resistant glass; 178° viewing angle(1280 x 800)
Chipset: NVIDIA^® Tegra^™ 2 Mobile Processor
Memory: 1GB DDR2
Wireless: 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth: Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR
Storage: 16GB eMMC Flash (Memory expansion via microSD card slot with support for optional cards up to 32 GB (functionality requires future software upgrade)
Camera: 1.2 megapixel (Front); 5.0 Megapixel (Rear)
Speakers: SRS Sound
Card Reader: Micro SD Card Reader
Input / Output: 1 x Mini HDMI, 2-in-1 audio jack (head phone/mic-in jack), internal mic
Battery Pack: 24.4 W/h Li-polymer battery (up to 9.5 hours)¹
Dimensions: 10.67" x 6.89" x 0.47" –inches (W x D x H)
Weight: 1.5lbs
Color: Espresso

(Read the original review here!)
I was lucky enough to wake up early today and go to Memory Express in Edmonton and they had one. Stores received a limited amount of tablets and they were all sold out within hours, including here on Amazon. I've been playing with this thing for hours now and so far I've only had great experiences with it.
The main feature for me is the remote desktop: you can access your PC, whether it's a Mac or a PC, if they're both connected to your home wi-fi connection. You can control your PC from anywhere and use all of its features. I watched a HD movie and worked on MS Word docs, everything went smoothly.
The tablet doesn't weigh much for its size and the IPS screen is amazing, it's the same screen used on the iPad 2. I'm not a person who needs to buy products made by just one brand. I like Apple and I own a iPhone 4, but when it came to deciding which tablet to buy, I went for the Transformer because it offers me a tablet/netbook function, the best of both worlds.
The tablet itself has a microSD card slot so I already have 32GB more to use it. The docking station (which can be purchased by 149.99) has 2 USB ports and 1 SD Card slot.
You can edit Microsoft Office docs on it using Polaris Office, it's great and this app comes pre-installed on it. Playing mp3s or acc files on it it's great too. You can use the app MyNet to play music from your own PC or Mac, via bluetooth.
I'm playing SNES games using SNESoid app and using a Wiimote/Classic Controller via Bluetooth and everything works great! It has native email (which Blackberry Playbook doesn't) and you can sync your calendar and contacts easily. It has full flash compatibility. For $399, there's nothing on the market with these specs. The Motorola Xoom has similar specs and it costs $200 more. It doesn't give you the option to attach a docking station with all those slots. When I buy computers, I want to be able to upload content to it easily, or transfer files from it easily as well. The Apple system is ok but needing iTunes for everything is kinda like a dictatorship. I had to jailbreak my iPhone to be able to play SNES games on it, or even listen to music on Grooveshark. That's where the Android Market comes in.
You can download any apps you want, any developer can create apps for it, it's a "free" system. It's not as wide as the App Store, but it's getting bigger and bigger by the minute. I downloaded the Kindle app and already transferred all my e-books to it (I also own a Kindleand I love it).
There are some quirks that have to be tweaked with Honeycomb 3.0 OS and that's something Google is working on. That's easy since updates will be released (an update is scheduled in 2 days). So that will improve the overall performance of the OS. But I honestly didn't have any issues with it, I really like Honeycomb 3.0 so far.
I definitely recommend this thing for people who want to use their tablets as an extension or even a replacement to their laptops. ASUS Eee Pad Transformerhas hit a home run with this one, since it costs much less than anybody else and its specs are great. It's hands down the best purchase I've had under 400 bucks.
The docking station is sold out anywhere else but I pre-ordered it on Amazon and I'm hoping to get it in a couple of weeks. I'll post a video with the combo once I get everything up and running. I'm a iOS person who's welcoming Android with open arms!
Review Update: Apr 29 2011 - Ok, so I've been using my Transformer for a few days so I'd like to add a few pros and cons to this review.
Pros: beside what's been mentioned above, I noticed that:
- multitasking is really easy on the Transformer: You can quickly jump from one app to the other, check e-mails, browse something on Wikipedia, listen to music and even have your Skype session open at the same time. I was chatting with my dad and multitasking and had no issues. The Skype app needs updates, but that's nothing to do with ASUS Eee Pad Transformer.
- File Manager: this feature is great! You don't have to hook up your Transformer to your computer all the time to move, copy or paste files. You can create new folders and even transfer files from your microSD card straight to it. I transferred a movie from my microsd Card folder (path is root\removable to access microSD files) to my Movies folder and it was very quick. And I didn't need to plug it in in order to access or move the files.
- Widgets: Your Desktop Area (Or Asus Launcher) is very wide so you can add many widgets to it, and they're very handy. That's something that can't be done on the iPad 2. Mind you Widgets can affect the speed a bit, but nothing noticeable at all. Those people running speed tests between iPad 2 and the Transformer need to bear that in mind.
- Weight: believe it or not, it doesn't feel heavy at all for its size.
Cons: ok, so here it is:
-smudges on screen : it's a fingerprint magnet but all tablets are, so not a big deal. I'm cleaning it whenever needed using a nice cloth (the one that I use for lenses) with a bit of water/alcohol and it looks pristine after that. Let me know if you find a better way to clean fingerprints.
It doesn't need wiping on a daily basis. I looked it up and for IPS screens, the best way to clean it is to use a mix of distilled water and alcohol, but I'm using tap water. I like this thing so much that I would buy another one tomorrow if something happened to it! (wait, maybe not tomorrow, it's still sold out everywhere)
-HD video playback in Fullscreen mode using the YouTube App: ok, this might be Honeycomb-related and therefore something that can be dealt with via future updates. You might notice a bit of choppy frames here and there. I find the iOS more stable for this type of playback. But there's no problems playing HD video from your microSD card or even if you upload a HD video to the Transformer hard drive, you won't have problems watching it. There's more than enough RAM to support HD video streaming.
-charger: I'm planning on using it all the time, so the cord is not long enough. If I have it on a desk, I need a power bar or outlet really close by, to leave it plugged in if I wanna save some battery. Well, tablet + docking gives you 16 hrs of battery... so you really don't have to have it plugged in. But this suggestion could be emailed to ASUS Eee Pad Transformer so they could release a charger with a longer cable, that would be sweet.
-Camera: not that great, it's an average camera. Am I gonna use it for super important pics? Definitely not, I got a nice camera for that. But for daily use, it's not too bad.
***UPDATE June 13*** - I've been using the TF for 6 weeks now, and I also have the keyboard dock, which I got 2 weeks ater getting the tab. I can safely say it has become my main "go to" device: web browsing, music, movies, games, word processing, reading books and comics, news, remote desktop, you name it. I still use my PC and my smartphone but not as much as I use the tablet.
- For people who wonder if light bleed gets worse as time goes by: I was lucky enough to get a unit with no light bleed other than a tiny spot (barely noticeable) on the left side of the tablet, and it's been the same since day 1. But compared to my friend's iPad, I can safely say mine has no light bleed whatsoever. Some of the newer batches got units with really bad lemons but I think this was due to ramping up the production like crazy. I heard they manufactured 300,000 units in June so I think they'll improve their quality control dept and make spanking sharp units now.
- Honeycomb 3.1: ASUS Eee Pad Transformer was one of the first ones to release the 3.1 update and it fixed the YouTube app HD video issue (at least on mine). I think 1080p is overkill on a 10.1 inch screen so the 720p HD on the YouTube app works like a charm. Playing movies straight out of a SD card or USB drive is easy and there's no lag either, so feel free to pack lots of multimedia and play straight out of them without having to use your device's internal memory.
Touchscreen is much more responsive, browser is faster, animations flow more smoothly, full gamepad compatibility via USB, better "relationship" between dock and tablet. What really bugged me about 3.0 was that when I used the dock a lot of features seems to be toggled on/off. That has never happened after 3.1. So, overall, the update fixed a whole bunch of bugs and made the experience even better.
- Wrapping it up: battery life is great, using the keyboard to type long texts is handy... and I was able to tether the TF to my iPhone via w-fi, so now it works as a 3G-like tab. I've done both bluetooth and wi-fi tethering. Wi-fi is faster but bluetooth saves battery life. I basically do it to use Google Maps and GPS, and it's been great so far. I know they're releasing a 3G Transformer in the summer, but I don't need one since I don't wanna pay more fees to my carrier, and sign another 1 year contract just for more data plan. I can use this as a 3G alternative whenever I need a bigger screen. It works with the iPhone and I know it does work with Android devices, but I'm not sure if works with Blackberry phones. Let me know if you wanna know more about tethering and I'll be glad to help.
6 weeks after purchasing the TF, I'm still very pleased with my device.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer - File transfer on OSX and Linux

2011-10-04T06:31:00.000-07:00

This article is for you who have issue with your Eee Pad Transformer (see also android file transfer linux). For some people with their OSX or Linux distros running on their tablet, this just has a problem while transferring files. But this does not occur for windows based tablet. This is due to the fact that MTP drivers by default which honeycomb now uses instead of USB Mass Storage protocol is only on Windows. So you can use the tablet, even if it is mounted on the PC internal storage.
Here the tools that you need:

Android file transfer for OSX:

link
This will give you a simple file transfer interface for OSX, just run the program with the tablet connected by USB.

gMTP for Ubuntu/Linux:

link
if gMTP doesn't work for you or if you prefer having storage show up in nautilus:
link
gMTP is actually made for managing music on PMP devices but it will let you manage files as well.
OK, hope I help you :)

Fix Left Speaker Balance ASUS Eee Pad Transformer

2011-10-04T06:28:00.001-07:00

Unperfect. There are a slew problem at the first batch of ASUS Transformer speaker (Tablet PC). There have been glitches in Honeycomb, connectivity issues with the dock, and a few others. However, the one that stood out the most (or at least the one that people have complained about the most) is the issue where some Transformers have unbalanced audio coming from the speakers.
It seems that the sound coming out of one of the ASUS speakers was much lower than that of the other one, with some people even getting devices with one working speaker. This was thought to be a hardware issue in the device, but we can decided to start tinkering with the gadget for a while and not only discovered the real culprit. You will need to have your TF rooted and you will need to use ADB (root explorer can be used as well, according to the dev).

Requirements:

Root
Left speaker actually working
Root Explorer or similar file manager (recommended method)

ADB if you don't use Root ExplorerText editing program (Notepad++ is recommended and free) if you decide to use ADB

Method 1: Root Explorer

Open Root Explorer and navigate to /system/data.
Tap on the "Mount R/W" button.
Tap and hold on the file "srs_processing.cfg" and once the menu comes up, select the "Open in Text Editor" option.
Scroll down to:

//BLOCK: ( srs_spk_int : ) TruEQ - Internal Speaker Tuning

Here's where things can get kind of annoying, because you will have to change values, save & exit, then reboot and test your results. Anyway, there are 4 values you will want to focus on, and those are:

srs_spk_int:trueq_lband0 = 900.000000,-9.000000,0.700000 // TruEQ Left Band 0 Tuning (CF Gain Q) -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband1 = 11000.000000,6.000000,0.500000 // TruEQ Left Band 1 Tuning -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband2 = 400.000000,3.000000,0.7000000 // TruEQ Left Band 2 Tuning - srs_spk_int:trueq_lband3 = 2500.000000,-9.000000,0.700000 // TruEQ Left Band 3 Tuning -

The values in bold are the only ones I've messed with so far with very good results. The beginning values have a maximum of around 16000, and 17000 results in your left speaker not working, something above 16000 but below 17000 may work but I haven't tried it. The two middle ones, I don't know the maximum because It wasn't necessary to up them that much. For example, mine look like this:

srs_spk_int:trueq_lband0 = 1400.000000,-9.000000,0.700000 // TruEQ Left Band 0 Tuning (CF Gain Q) -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband1 = 16000.000000,10.000000,0.500000 // TruEQ Left Band 1 Tuning -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband2 = 900.000000,7.000000,0.7000000 // TruEQ Left Band 2 Tuning -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband3 = 7500.000000,-9.000000,0.700000 // TruEQ Left Band 3 Tuning -

For me, this works out wonderfully! However, results may vary.

Once you've changed those values, save & exit, then restart your TF and examine results. Repeat steps if necessary.

Method 2: ADB. NOTE: Make sure USB debugging is enabled.

Connect TF to computer.
In a command prompt/terminal navigate to where your Android SDK is and type adb devices to make sure your TF is recognized, if so, type adb remount. If it succeeds, proceed to step 3, otherwise you may need to either enable USB debugging, or install drivers.
Type "adb pull /system/data/srs_processing.cfg" It will save the file in the same directory as adb.

NOTE: Do not close command prompt/terminal.

Step 4: Open "srs_processing.cfg" in Notepad++ or whatever qualified text editor you use.
NOTE: Due to the nature of how Windows reads files, Notepad might not save the file correctly and definitely will not open it looking pretty. Wordpad might be the same. Basically, the file needs to be saved in UNIX format.
Scroll up to Step 4 of the Root Explorer method and proceed.
Save the file with Notepad++ or whatever qualified text editor you use.
Back in command prompt/terminal, with the file saved over the original type "adb push srs_processing.cfg /system/data/"
Reboot your TF as you normally would, or with adb method "adb reboot"

Examine results and repeat steps if necessary.

Update1:

srs_spk_int:trueq_lband2 = 400.000000,3.000000,0.7000000 // TruEQ Left Band 2 Tuning -

I've updated the default file as well as my edited one to remove this extra 0. While this did boost volume in the left speaker for me, it still was not on par with the right one.

Update 2:

Verkion suggests "turn off the Hard Limiting in the Internal Speaker Boosted section by setting:hlimit_skip to 0 instead of 1. This gave me a little more "headroom" before distortion became unbearable. A hard limiter is a CLIPPING filter...it just "snips the sound" when it goes over a preset value instead of trying to "scale down the volume.""

Amazon's Kindle Fire. Is it Worth $199?

2011-10-03T06:44:00.000-07:00

Kindle Fire

It's official. Amazon has a few new Kindles, and one is the color Android-based Kindle Fire. The press was stunned when the Fire's $199 price was announced. The hardware specs are competitive but missing a few standard components. Some estimate 5 million or so will be sold before the end of this year. The Fire isn't the first 7" tablet out there, and it isn't even the cheapest one. Walmart.com has a half dozen 7" tablets available for under $200. You can buy the Maylong 7" tablet for as little as $97.

Here are a few:

Maylong M-250 7", $97
E-Fun Nextbook 8.4", $168
Kaser's Net'sGo 7", $138
Boss Electronics 2182 7", $124
Velocity Micro Cruz T301 7", $178
Pandigital Planet 7", $178
Naxa Core 7", $132,
Coby Kryos 7", $148, Front camera 1.3mp

So what magic makes the press think Amazon's Fire will sell better than any of these? Sure, most of these have worse specs than the Fire. Yet many also have hardware features (Cameras, HDMI-out) the Fire doesn't include. All have WiFi. All are touchscreen Android tablets. All run apps including all of Amazon's apps. Lined up spec for spec the Fire doesn't glow for what it can do.  It blushes for what it doesn't do.

So what is the secret?   I'm blaming it on Respect. Amazon, like Apple, has built up a reputation for treating customers well. They have both simplified the process of buying media and products from them. We respect Apple and we respect Amazon. They are both American originals. We surrender our beliefs to Apple in exchange for designful and productive devices we didn't know we needed. The press and Amazon fans have done the same concerning the Fire. I've pre-ordered mine out of the same respect.

Let's do a reality check though. The Fire is a first generation device. Remember the first wedge Kindle?   Original, but far from evolved. The second and later generations were better in every way. My experience repeatedly demonstrates that 1st generation devices are poor investments. This is more often true for ground-breakers, and Amazon is a ground-breaker. Late comers/Followers can learn from the mistakes made by others. I expect the second generation Fire to be thinner, faster, and have a few more features than this first gen Fire. It may also be less expensive. Previous Kindles have gotten cheaper each year since the first one came out at around $400.

So is the Kindle Fire a good investment? I'm going to rate it a tentative "yes". From what I can tell the hardware is similar to the Blackberry Playbook. Made by the same manufacturer I'm expecting the Fire to be similarly well-made. The dimensions are a little different, but the details are very similar. Each specification the Fire lists is equal to or better than the competition. A 1024 x 600 screen when many have 800 x 480 screens. Capacitive multi-touch when many have resistive single-touch input. A dual core processor when many have single core chips. The Fire will have a liquid user interface (UI) and shouldn't stutter or pixelate displaying movies or photos. The screen will react instantly to your touch, and using it should become a mere extension of your thoughts.   I expect Amazon to do it right. The Fire should delight the user. Should it not you can certainly expect the 2nd generation to.

Yes,  I believe the new Kindle Fire is worth $199.   The Blackberry Playbook and HTC Flyer are more capable tablets, and at $299 they are also priced proportionally correct given their additional features. If you think you might want a Fire, don't wait. Reviews will be out before new orders are shipped and you can always cancel should you change your mind.

Comments are welcome. Feel free to contribute.
4D

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BlackBerry Playbook Review. Finally a Realistic Price!

2011-10-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

BlackBerry PlayBook

With most 10" tablets hovering around the $500 price point it never made sense to me why the major vendors thought they could ask the same for their 7" tablets. HTC's 7" Flyer is $499. (edit: Oct 1st BestBuy lowered the price of the HTC Flyer to $299). RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook was $499 until a few days ago when they dropped the price to $299. The PlayBook finally offers a compelling set of specs and an innovative OS/UI at what is now a reasonable price.

Headphone Jack, Volume and Play, and Power. Rear Camera on Back.

Hardware:
- Dimensions: 7.6" x 5.1" x .4" thick. Weighs 0.9 lbs/425g.
- Cameras: 3mp front. 5mp rear.
- Touch-Sensitive bezel.
- Bluetooth DUN, HID, SPP. A Bluetooth mouse worked, but I failed with Bluetooth keyboards.
- WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
- Front-facing Stereo Speakers
- Two Microphones. Voice Notes sound excellent.
- Notification LED
- External Volume rocker
- External Play/Pause button.
- Headphone jack.
- Mini HDMI port. Full mirroring of the UI on your HDTV.
- Micro USB port.

Bottom Edge: microHDMI, microUSB, and Dock Port.

With more features than the upcoming Kindle Fire, the $299 price may be right on track to help RIM sell a few million more of these. They'll still need more apps in their apps store. Adding the ability to run Android apps will be a step in the right direction even if there are limits on what apps will run. Updating the Playbook with Email, Contacts, and Calendar app will also go a long way to bring this tablet into the mainstream.

The Playbook is well built and comfortable to hold. It doesn't feel flimsy or squeaky, and the matte-finish rear is both fingerprint-shy and non-slippery. Tapping on the back only finds a small hollow right in the middle where the logo is, with the rest of the area sounding solid. I greatly appreciate the play/pause button between the volume + and - buttons on the top edge. The front facing speakers are loud and efficient. The included soft slip-on cover was a nice touch too.

Cons: No dedicated email app. No dedicated contacts app. Limited app store compared to Android. The power button is also hard to press when you want to turn the Playbook ON. Very slow to boot up from the OFF state.

Music App

Media: Codec support is decent. AVI, WMV, and MP4 videos play just fine with the stock Video app. An MKV sample I had would not play. MP3s, WMAs (+ WMA lossless), AAC and M4A audio files would play. FLAC files wouldn't. The Music app allows sorting by Songs, Artists, Albums, and Genres. You can shuffle or play sequentially though a list. There is an on-screen volume slider, progress bar, and full play controls within the app. You also have a dynamic Search function. No Bookmark or Playlist options I could find though. The video app takes advantage of the Touchscreen capabilities and lets you stretch your video with two-fingers to enlarge or shrink them, as well as pan around the moving video as if it was just a photo. No bookmarking in the video app either, and it won't remember where you left off when you return to a video either.

Video Scene

UI: I'll give RIM some credit here. The Playbook's User Interface is original, practical, easy to understand, and fascinating to use. Far more clever than any iOS or Android device has implemented to date. I have to believe it was only the high price and missing apps that kept the Playbook from catching on faster. The price has been corrected now. Hopefully an Apps update will show up soon.

Multi-Tasking

Summary: This is a very capable tablet. The $299 price is fair for what you get and what it can do. Screen reaction is fluid. Media playback is beautiful though not fully-featured. The OS is refreshing compared to Android and iOS, but the missing email app and android app support is a wound that needs repair before I'll recommend this to anyone. Are you listening, RIM? I'm parking mine until that update shows up. The HTC Flyer is also $299 now, and it's an Android 7" tablet with some useful enhancements.

4D

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Asus Slider Review. Clever, but Practical?

2011-09-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

My Slider arrived via UPS on 9/29/2011. I bought it from CircuitCity.com as they had it in stock ready for shipping. The box was typical Asus with the tablet in a plastic tray and included accessories stored beneath it. All the glossy surfaces had clear plastic to protect them that you'll get to peel off. It came with an AC/USB Power Supply, USB cable, warranty card and a User's Manual. "Inspiring Innovation Persistent Perfection" printed on the last two to put you in a good mood.

The Slider came with Android 3.1 installed, but started downloading the 3.2 update as soon as I had it connected to my wifi router. 20 minutes later or so 3.2 was installed. Out of the box and unpeeled the Slider is a thing of beauty. The front, of course, is mostly a big piece of glass. The setting for this glass is a wide bezel that bows out on the ends with a brushed metal edging on the sides and top. A spin around the edge discovers the power button, volume rocker, and microSD slot on the left end. Asus's docking port and a mini-HDMI port are along the top. The headphone jack and USB port are nicely articulated on the right end.

That metal edging wraps around to the back where it widens to a 1.375" band across the bottom. A chrome strip seperates the brushed metal from a bronze field with the camera lens centered near the top. The top center edge has a raised lip at the seam between the front and back, with an arrow hinting something will happen if you pull here. Indeed, with a slight lift the front half rotates up to park itself above the newly exposed keyboard. The screen comes on and confronts you. The screen's resting angle is roughly 38 degrees above horizontal and not further adjustable.

The keyboard keys are smaller than usual, but have a good action and nice feel to them in action. There are a few android-specific keys. They have included the number keys along the top row. The One and Six have a bright circle around them to provide a visual location aid. It appears as if it is carved from a bronze ingot, but is likely a high density plastic. Not the best keyboard for android tablet use, but it is certainly handy. Folding under the screen as it does leaves the screen exposed. I'll definitely need a case for this tablet.

Dimensions: 10.75 x 7.1 x .72 inches. 2.21 lbs. Not light. Not thin.

Hardware:
- Screen: 10.1" IPS, 10 point multitouch, 1280 x 800, Gorilla Glass Screen.
- Processor: NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core mobile processor 1Ghz.
- Battery: 25W/h Li-Polymer. Estimated 8hrs between charges.
- Cameras: 1.2MP front. 5MP rear
- WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n@2.4GHz
- Bluetooth: V2.1+EDR
- Memory: 1GB,
- Storage: 16GB/32GB + MicroSD card reader (up to 32GB). 12.63GB available when new.
- Ports: mini-HDMI port, Full size USB 2.0.
- Single (mono) speaker.
- Microphone.
- G-Sensor
- Light Sensor
- Gyroscope
- E-Compass
- GPS
- Volume +/- rocker
- Headphone/Mic jack.
- Keyboard: Android-specific keys include Home, Back, Search, and Menu. You also have Brightness up/down, and Wifi & Bluetooth toggles.

Build Quality: Impressive. When folded the top and bottom are a graceful compliment to each other. The front edge chamfers down then tapers to round over the back edge. The body is a composite of brushed metal, bronze (paint), and a little chrome. Cable connections are nicely articulated from the bottom edge. Buttons are inset yet project just enough to exhibit their function and permit their use. Reset is a button rather than a hole on this tablet. Speakers are a bit muffled when the tablet is closed, but perk up when you lift the screen to reveal two columns of slots as speaker grills. Strong magnets hold the screen down and up. The user manual warns against leaving your credit cards too close to the Slider. The lift mechanism is an offset parallelogram. The exposed face of this brace is a mirror polished rectangle with "ASUS" etched into it. The IPS screen is easy to see from any practical angle.

Media capabilities: AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, and WAV music codecs are all listed as supported in the User's Manual. I was also able to play WMA and WMA lossless files, along with FLAC files with no problem straight from the file browser and in the Music app. H.263/H.264 MPEG4 is the only video codec listed as supported. I was able to play MP4 videos with no trouble. AVIs played but with pixilation. MWV movies wouldn't open. There are apps available in the Market that will play just about any video though so don't let the limited initial video support disturb you.

Audio output from what sounds like a mono speaker source is limited to middle and upper frequencies. Audio levels only dropped a little with the keyboard closed tablet down. Quality out the headphone jack to good headphones is a pleasure though. Their "Supreme SRS Sound with max bass response" is a step or two better than the typical android tablet sound quality with no enhancements. I'll warn you to turn the sound down if you've been listening to the onboard speaker when you switch to headphone or you're in for an ear-busting surprise. This tablet can easily get loud enough to drive the most demanding headphones I have.

Asus applications: ASUS Launcher, MyLibrary, MyNet, MyCloud, ASUS Sync, Asus @Vibe
Other Include Apps: File manager, Kindle books, Zinio Magazine, PressReader, Polaris Office
Google Apps: GMail, Google Maps, Google Places, Google Navigate, Google Latitude, Android Market, Google Music, Google Videos, Google Books, ...

In use it is a heavy tablet but as capable as any of the competitors out there. Unless you'll always have a horizontal surface to open the keyboard up on, the extra weight is a bit of a penalty to have to carry. Yet if you plan to use the Slider as a laptop/notebook replacement it may be the perfect solution. The included Polaris Office app (word/spreadsheet/presentation) and that keyboard will let you get some serious work done. When folded away you have tablet simplicity behind a beautiful touchscreen to entertain yourself with. This tablet also has bluetooth and a USB port on the side. It is easy to add a full-sized keyboard and mouse if you really want to get serious. HDMI-out lets you mirror the android UI onto any HDTV or computer monitor with an HDMI port. Don't buy it if you only want to check email and play a game of Angry Birds. Consider it if you were considering a netbook to shrink your travel load. This has a nicer screen and broader array of uses than any netbook, and you can still get your work done on it for half the carry-on weight. It'll fit perfectly on that seat-back table too.

Conclusions? I've spent the last few days with my Slider. It is easier to lug around than my Asus Transformer and it's keyboard dock. Far easier to tote than my notebook PC. It connected quickly and reliably to my home and work WiFi networks. It allowed me to check and reply to my email. I could browse the web when I needed to. I passed the boring moments playing Soduko or Angry Birds on it. That clever keyboard let me work on this review with relative ease. The screen is great. The Build is great. The engineering is clever. With nothing bad to say and only the size and weight to pick on I have to give the Asus EEE Slider an A+ Great Buy. It's unique features require a unique user though. If you fit that description then this is the tablet for you. Don't buy it if you want thin and light.

4D

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Cradle for Sony Tablet S. My Review.

2011-09-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

Sony's S Tablet includes the Chumby app, an alarm clock app, as well as a great TruBlack screen for movie and photo viewing. When you put your tablet on the dock it pops up the choice of Desk Clock, Chumby app, or Gallery. Laying flat on a table isn't the best position for taking advantage of these features, so Sony has now released a dock to hold the S upright and charge it at the same time. My dock arrived the Sept. 20. I've had a chance to use it a few days now.

Desk Clock/Alarm

It doesn't come with an AC adapter of its own. You have to commit the one that came with your tablet or purchase a spare from Sony. A shame, really, as I had intended to keep the dock at home and take my charger to work so I could top my S off when I wasn't using it.

high angle

low angle

The dock also allows two slightly different support angles. One best for passive viewing functions and the second a better angle if you'll need to tap on the screen repeatedly. Made of a stiff plastic and all black except for the rear support, it does a fine job of holding up the tablet in landscape with the thin edge down. The tablet's charge port aligns with the connection on the dock. You plug your adapter into the bottom. There is no way to use this cradle with the tablet in portait (vertical) mode. There are no other ports or outputs.

Bottom cable jack.

For $39 this cradle/dock is a useful accessory and fairly priced compared to docks I have purchased for other tablets. I wish it had been more capable (HDMI-out perhaps?) and had come with its own power supply. If you need a cradle for the Sony Tablet S though this is your only choice at the moment, and it is considerably better than a picture stand.

My recommendation? If you need it get it. It works as advertised. Best recommended for your bedside table. A great alternative and improvement over the standard alarm clock.

4D

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Asus Transformer Keyboard Dock. With Photos.

2011-06-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

One of the nicest features of ASUS' Eee Pad Transformer is the Keyboard/Docking Station. For $150 (MSRP) you get a nice keyboard, two full sized USB ports, a full sized SD-HC slot, a second battery for your tablet, and a trackpad. The dock is as well made as the tablet. When connected you have a nice touchscreen netbook that shuts off when folded closed. The hinge is stiff enough to hold the tablet at any angle, with the weight of the battery in the dock keeping it from tipping backwards.

Together they make a perfect pair.

Good friction in the tablet hinge.

Top row includes Android, media, and utility keys.

Special top row keys include (left to right)

Back
WiFi
Bluetooth
Trackpad on/off
Backlight dim
Backlight bright
Backlight Auto
Screenshot capture
Web Browser
Settings
Previous Track
Play/Pause
Next Track
Mute/Unmute
Volume down
Volume up
Lock/Unlock (sleep/wakeup if no lock is set)

Left side features cable jack, reset, and USB port (under flap)

When docked, the tablet's charger and cable connect to the dock instead. It will charge both the dock's battery and the tablet when connected. Also notice the slight lift of the keyboard's back edge by the tablet bracket when rotated up.

The right side features an SD-HC slot and another USB port (under flap).

One of the nicest features the Dock brings to the tablet it the SD slot. It reads cards up to 32gb, and is the perfect way to import photos from your digital camera. Simply take the card from your camera and slide it into the side of the keyboard. A notification will show up on the tablet which you can tap on to bring up options to display the card content (folders and files) or eject it safely. You also have two USB ports for accessories or external storage. Android 3.1 supports an array of keyboards, mice and game controllers. That should make the ASUS Eee Transformer the best device for Android game players out there.

Conclusion: If you own the Transformer, you need this keyboard/dock. Well built. Feature rich. A great value. Be warned though, as any price over $150 is from a scalper. Demand is high for this dock, and people are taking advantage by buying them up at MSRP and reselling them for more. Mine came from Newegg.com

4D.

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Asus Transformer Details (with Photos).

2011-06-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

Plastic Back. Not gloss black boring though.

One thing I hear often when there is a debate between iPad fans and competing tablets is that no one make devices as well as Apple. Tech pundits who generally are also Apple fans dismiss the clever Asus Transformer as cheaply built. Here are a few photos I took of my Asus Transformer. You decide for yourself.

Headphone, USB, HDMI, Speaker on right edge.

Volume and Power, Speaker along the left edge.

Dock and Latch slots on bottom edge

YouTube App Cylindrical View

This is just the tablet. Click on most pictures to see an enlarged view. Monday I'll be getting the keyboard dock that includes another battery to power the Transformer. Stay tuned. I also have a showdown between the iPad2, Acer Iconia Tablet, and the Asus Transformer in the works.

Amazon.com Links:
Apple iPad 2 MC979LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi, White) NEWEST MODEL
Acer Iconia Tab A500-10S16u 10.1-Inch Tablet Computer (Aluminum Metallic)
Asus Transformer

4D

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