ASUS Eee Pad Transformer - It's Morphing Time
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Multimedia and Battery Performance
Roll Out
ASUS positions the Eee Pad Transformer as a powerful mini-cinema entertainment on-the-go and it certainly has the specifications to back it up. The Transformer is equipped with a large 10.1-inch display made of scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass. In addition, it uses In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology, which promises crisper and more accurate color range, and side to side viewing angle up to 178 degrees. This is similar to what Apple is using for its iPhone 4 and iPad 2 models.
When using the Transformer for viewing videos, images and web browsing, it was indeed a great multimedia experience. The 1280 x 800 pixels resolution of the display puts it on par with the Motorola Xoom and Acer Iconia Tab A500, hence the user experience is similar across the board. However, it does has a flaw that the other two tablets suffer from, which is the reflective screen. Not only is the display too reflective for our liking, it also attracts fingerprints very easily. Having said that, we feel that it is handy to keep a cleaning cloth with you when using the Transformer.
The Transformer comes equipped with a 1.2-megapixel front facing camera and a 5.0-megapixel rear camera. As usual, we put the Transformer through the color and resolution tests (with the rear-facing camera).
Finally, we will run the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer through the battery test to see how long it can last on a single charge (without the keyboard attachment since it acts as an extended power source). The battery test will include running a 720p video with the screen brightness and volume at 100%. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections are turned on as well with regular data streaming through email and Twitter. In this particular section, we will throw in the Motorola Xoom, Acer Iconia Tab A500 and Apple iPad 2 as comparison.
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Taking a look from the results of the battery test, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer's performance was decent although we expected more from ASUS. Managing a battery mileage of 299 minutes, the Transformer is slightly ahead of the Acer Iconia Tab but trails behind the Motorola Xoom by more than an hour. The Transformer also scored fairly in the Portability Index. Being the lightest of the 10-inch Honeycomb tablets in this comparison helped the Transformer push past the Acer Iconia Tab A500 but not within reach of the Xoom.
Nonetheless, Honeycomb tablets do not have a good track record when it comes to battery performance. Google Android should work together with the different vendors to optimize power management on its tablets to improve battery performance. This is why ASUS packs in the optional keyboard docking station and claims a battery life of up to 16 hours.
As our battery test is a highly intensive one, we think that the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer will perform better under normal day-to-day usage conditions. We paced the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer through a normal routine of Internet browsing, checking emails, playing several rounds of games and downloading games to gauge its performance in reality. We found out that the Transformer could last a day on a single charge. Needless to say, with the aid of a secondary battery from the keyboard dock, this mileage will be increased two fold. The short of it all, it is important to note that different usage patterns will result in different battery mileage.
