Asus Transformer Prime unboxed, in the flesh!

Villman did not get back to me regarding my online order of the Asus Transformer Prime the other day. Fortunately, the good folks from Asus PH gave me a tip that Accent Micro still has units left and took the liberty to reserve one for me.

So yesterday afternoon, I shelled out Php32,995USD 562INR 47,665EUR 536CNY 4,095 to get the first Tegra 3, quad-core tablet in the Philippines. The package price includes the keyboard dock.

I am told by the sales guy that the units came only this week and are in very limited stocks only. It wasn’t even on display yet (I think mine was only the second unit they sold so far).

There’s no option for the tablet only package and the box already came with the keyboard dock.

Asus Transformer Prime TF 201 specs:
10.1â€³ Super IPS+ display @ 1280Ã—800 pixels
Gorilla Glass Display
NVidia Tegra 3 1.6 GHz quad-core processor
32GB and 64GB internal storage
1GB DDR2 RAM
1.2MP front-facing camera
8MP autofocus camera with LED flash
3.5mm mic & headphone combo jack
micro HDMI port
micro SD card slot
USB 2.0 port (dock)
SD Card slot (dock)
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 w/ EDR
up to 18 hours of battery life (w/ dock)
Google Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich

The tablet has the genetic make-up of an ultrabook, albeit a smaller one and could have been easily mistaken for an Asus Zenbook.

[uds-billboard name=”primebillboard”]

What is most surprising with this batch is that they already run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and according to Antutu and Quadrant Standard, the processors run at 1.6GHz each (not the 1.4GHz originally reported).

I also have the first Asus Transformer tablet with me and placed them side by side for a quick comparison. Even the USB charger is also the same as the old one.

The Transformer Prime looks much thinner than the Asus Transformer because the edges are tapered, just like the Zenbook. The keyboard has sunk a little bit and trackpad seems wider with the left and right clickers now integrated into it (not separated as it used to the with the first one). This could have help shave a few millimeters off of the thickness of the device.

Will post full review in a week so stay tuned for that.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

36 Comments

dokieee says:

13 years ago

wow… ganda tablet… sana meron d2 sa Cagayan de Oro city.
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kevin says:

13 years ago

i’m sooo wanting that…that Manny Paquiao doll at the background! Is that him? Where can I buy one?
BTW, the tablet is also cool. =)
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JC says:

13 years ago

Want!
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rod says:

13 years ago

Why are the back, home and multi-task icons still look like from that of Honeycomb?
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Jeff says:

13 years ago

I like this one. But they say that the Asus Transformer Prime TF201 is somewhat faulty, that’s why they made an upgraded version, the Transformer Prime TF700T. Let’s just wait for the review.
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fyre says:

13 years ago

can you check if the wifi is as bad as some people are saying?
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yoda says:

13 years ago

The Prime is also reported to have issues when bluetooth and wifi is on simultaneously (e.g. wifi signal will drop significantly or disconnect while bluetooth streaming or transfer is on-going).

I would like to know if this is also present in the units that arrived here in the Philippines.
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Nonoy says:

13 years ago

Nope the rumor about faulty wi-fi and bluetooth signal is not true. I had mine online for 48 hiurs and transferred files via bluetoothand upgraded to icecream, via wi-fi. This tab is a monster. Ice cream is beautiful and i can even type using swipe. One word: amazing!
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alainL says:

13 years ago

I’m posting this from my prime. There’s no problem with the WiFi so far.
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EM Espinoza says:

13 years ago

I called the two numbers of Villman (SM North Edsa) on Friday afternoon, no one answered. I called their Trinoma branch and they said stocks ran out since there were only 40 in all their branches.

I actually have a long story for my Transformer Prime “saga”. But in the end, I was able to purchase mine from Accent Micro in SM Baguio! Bought the only unit the arrived there!
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EM Espinoza says:

13 years ago

Also, I am fairly confident that this batch of TF201’s that arrived in the Philippines are not part of the original wave that hit – and missed!

By “missed”, I mean the numerous and sporadic reports of “backlight bleeding”, which was the case of some of the first ones that came out.
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Winsy says:

13 years ago

I want one!!!!!! Any contest for this one?
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EM Espinoza says:

13 years ago

Have you upgraded to ICS yet? Apparently, mine does not have ICS out of the box.
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Marc says:

13 years ago

here’s an in-depth review regarding the said issues with wifi. http://blogs.computerworld.com/19602/transformer_prime_wifi_performance

too lazy to read?

bottom line- “the Transformer Prime appears to perform as well as or better than other Android devices in most typical Wi-Fi usage scenarios, where the Internet signal ranges from strong to moderately weak.”
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Eli B says:

13 years ago

What are the available colours locally?

Only amethyst (grey) only or do we have a choice of champagne (gold) as well?
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smasher says:

13 years ago

i looked at moa and megamall yesterday and what happened was umuwi akong luhaan… isip ako ng isip… bad trip… saan ako makakabili nito??? sabi ng mga taga-octagon may bumili na nga raw nung una nilang stock at isa ka dun… maswerteng nilalang…
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celestia says:

13 years ago

As advised, it will be of limited quantity for the local market. And exclusive to partners.
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Enat says:

13 years ago

I am so jealous right now! hmmff…
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EJ says:

13 years ago

Any screenshots of the version?
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marko says:

13 years ago

do you have any idea where I could buy a casing for this?
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imbos says:

13 years ago

where can I buy at this point? Villman lacks units (with mobile docks).. =(
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retrac says:

13 years ago

Hay naku, bwisit na bwisit na ako!
Bought mine last Feb.2 at Villman Megamall. Felt lucky at first kasi last unit na yung nakuha ko.
Pero ilang araw lang nagtagal yung akin. After kung mag-upgraded to ICS, laging naghahang/restart yung unit ng kusa. Maswerte na ako kung makatagal ng 15 minutes na tuluy-tuloy ang gamit.

Kaya binalik ko yung unit sa Villman… They said it will take 2 to 3 weeks to repair the item… Tapos, hindi ako eligible for refund kasi may nakita silang maliliit na gasgas sa likod nung pad… Ingat na ingat ako sa unit pero nagasgasan parin, sobrang scratch prone yung likod!

One time na tumawag ako sa Villman, second week na, sabi daw ng Asus ay for replacement na lang yung item kasi hardware daw ang sira. Sabi din nila first week ng March daw darating ang next batch ng Asus Transformer Primes.
Well, wala akong magawa kundi maghintay…
First Week of March: Everyday ko silang tinatawagan. Then one time, sabi nila ay second week na naman daw. Nadelay daw yung shipping blah blah blah…
Second week of March: Nung napatawag ako, sabi na naman ay First week of April na daw darating… GRRRRRR!!!
April 1: Baka next week daw!
Today: Wala pa daw units! Di pa daw alam kung kelan!..
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Harlequin says:

13 years ago

When will be the next shipping of the Asus Transformer Prime to the Philippine market? I heard that Asus had stop the production here in the Philippines just so to cater first other Asian countries?
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rose says:

13 years ago

asus transformer series are very limited for sale here in the phil. hard to find one even though the 1st one was on the market since last year. why is this so?
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