Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 review: Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700

The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 is the Transformer Prime as it should have been. A Gandalf the White to the Prime's Saruman. Asus has clearly listened to the grievances -- most notably, GPS issues -- of some Prime owners, and in most cases addresses said grievances and then some.

7.7

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700

The Good

The <b>Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700</b>'s high-resolution screen rivals the new iPad's display in sharpness and clarity. Also, apps launch quickly, GPS works well, and its rear camera is the best I've seen on any Android tablet. The tablet's body has the same great thin and light design as the Prime.

The Bad

So far, not enough Android apps take advantage of the TF700's higher pixel count and the Tegra 3 has trouble keeping up with newer games. Also, its battery life isn't as good as the Prime's.

The Bottom Line

The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 combines an already proven design with a better camera, a faster processor, and a beautiful screen.

The TF700 is more than just an upgrade to the Prime. It's also a chance to represent the full potential of the Transformer line, and despite having relatively little support from the Android OS, Asus succeeds at doing just that.

The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 chills out on an overcast day (pictures)

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Design
The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 is like a slightly modified, alternate-universe version of the Asus Transformer Prime TF201. It has all the same ports and connections (Micro-HDMI, microSD, headphone jack, microphone, and reset pinholes), but their placement on the tablet's body have been slightly adjusted. For example, where the volume rocker was located on the Prime's left edge (in landscape mode), it's located on the top right edge on the TF700. While these small changes could be annoying for Prime or TF300 users looking to upgrade, it's something you get used to quickly.

The TF700 measures 0.33 inch thick -- compared with the Prime's 0.32 inch -- and it encloses its innards in an almost complete aluminum unibody design. Almost, but not quite. The TF700 sports a unique back-panel design that replaces a small portion of the metal back with a tabletwide, inch-long plastic panel. The thought here is that enclosing the GPS radio in plastic rather than metal will allow the GPS signal to more easily enter and exit the tablet. The original Prime suffered difficulties when attempting to connect to GPS satellites, thanks to its aluminum unibody.

Despite the few, small design changes, the TF700 feels just as light and comfortable to hold as the Prime does.

Here are our battery test results in hours for the TF700 as a standalone tablet without the mobile keyboard dock: