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ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime review: ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime

Headshot of Eric Franklin
Headshot of Eric Franklin
Eric Franklin Former Editorial Director
Eric Franklin led the CNET Tech team as Editorial Director. A 20-plus-year industry veteran, Eric began his tech journey testing computers in the CNET Labs. When not at work he can usually be found at the gym, chauffeuring his kids around town, or absorbing every motivational book he can get his hands on.
Expertise Graphics and display technology Credentials
  • Once wrote 50 articles in one month.
Eric Franklin
11 min read
2011

Editors' note: The Asus Transformer Pad TF300 was released in April 2012. Check this blog post for details on the key differences from the Prime.

8.0

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime

The Good

The <b>Asus Transformer Prime</b> sports an iPad 2-inspired design that's even thinner and nearly as light, while also managing to include microSD and Micro-HDMI support. The Prime delivers smooth and clear 1080p video, and the 8-megapixel camera captures detail and color more accurately than any other tablet camera we've reviewed. Android 4.0 makes small but significant improvements to Honeycomb.

The Bad

Not every game takes advantage of the quad-core CPU, and frame rates can suffer as a result. When connected to the dock keyboard, the tablet is top-heavy and can easily slide off a lap or table if you're not careful.

The Bottom Line

The Asus Transformer Prime is the best full-featured Android tablet yet, with a sexy design, thoughtful features, and an impressive camera.

Also, we changed the Prime's review text to reflect the Android 4.0 update the tablet received in January 2012. Check out this exhaustive interview with Asus detailing -- and putting into perspective -- some of the Prime's technical issues.

Since the launch of the iPad 2, we've been kind of waiting for the Asus Transformer Prime. While we didn't know it existed until a few months ago, the thought of a powerful, robust, and sexy Android tablet has been invading our tablet dreams for months.

Is the Transformer Prime that tablet? With its quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, it definitely has the potential.

Photo gallery: Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
Photo gallery:
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

Design
The Prime comes in two colors, amethyst gray (gray and purple) and champagne gold (silver and gold). We got the amethyst gray version for review, and while a purple tablet admittedly wasn't the highest item on our holiday wish list, the gray and purple are blended in a sleek, sexy, and appealing way. Although the aluminum back does a good job of resisting fingerprints, the glossy screen and bezel succumb to them easily.

8.0

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime

Score Breakdown

Design 8Features 8Performance 8