23
Dec
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Last Updated: January 12th, 2012

In our first giveaway of the day (there will be another one a bit later, stay tuned), we're handing out the last of our holiday goodies provided by our pals at NVIDIA. Two lucky winners will be selected, one will get the unique ASUS Eee Pad Slider tablet, and another will receive the new Acer Iconia A100. Both winners will also get a Jambox portable speaker and a $25 AMEX gift card. This is a "lightning giveaway," so you'll have until midnight tomorrow (December 24th) to enter.

This contest is now over. Here are our winners, selected at random:
  • Lucas Borntreger
  • Jeff Cole

Congratulations, guys - all of you will be contacted for your information in the near future!

21
Dec
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In a not too surprising move, toy maker Hasbro has sued ASUS, claiming that the Transformer Prime tablet's name infringes trademarks related to Optimus Prime and Transformers children's toys.

Hasbro filed the lawsuit late last week in Los Angeles federal court, seeking damages and a temporary injunction. Hasbro wrote to paidContent:

Hasbro continues to aggressively protect its brands and products and the specific actions we are taking today against Asus underscores yet again Hasbro’s willingness to pursue companies who misappropriate our intellectual property for their own financial gain.

In reality, Hasbro's case is not likely to succeed. MocoNews rightly points out that trademarks generally only cover limited categories of goods, and that it is not realistic to think that consumers might confuse ASUS' latest tablet with a popular children's toy line.

21
Dec
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Last Updated: December 30th, 2011

Well, we started today off right by offering our US readers a Galaxy Nexus, but we figured it's only fair to bring our international readers into the mix for another awesome giveaway. Today, we're giving away one ASUS Transformer Prime 32GB Wi-Fi tablet to one lucky person, courtesy of Beansoft, the developers of the extremely popular third-party keyboard app Thumb Keyboard, along with a pair of Klipsch S4A headphones provided by Klipsch (read our review here).

This contest is now over. Here is our winner, selected at random:
  • Soukthachone Vilaysack

Congratulations, you will be contacted for your information in the near future!

20
Dec
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One of the hottest gadgets of this holiday season, the Transformer Prime (see our preview and review), is scheduled to be released the week of December 19th - that would be any day now starting today. In anticipation of the launch, Amazon re-launched pre-orders for all four color/size combinations after they went dark, disappeared completely, and even got cancelled in some cases shortly after the first wave was sold out.

Update #1: ASUS issued the following statement today:

ASUS started filling the inventory pipelines this past week for our new Eee Pad Transformer Prime and will continue to do so on an expedited basis for the foreseeable future.

20
Dec
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Although we heard rumblings that the Prime would be delayed, some lucky customers have already received their Asus Transformer Primes, and it was briefly available (again) on Amazon before quickly selling out (again). Based on the universally glowing reviews (including my own), you're probably well aware by now that the Prime is a truly excellent piece of tech. But how does it compare to its older brother, the Transformer (TF101)? Is it worthwhile for TF owners to upgrade to the TP?

The Specs

Before diving in, let's run over the Prime's specs:

  • 10.1-inch 1280x800 Super IPS + display with Gorilla Glass
  • 1.3GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 Processor with 12-core GPU (up to 1.4GHz in single-core mode)
  • 1GB RAM
  • microSD slot and microHDMI port (with support for 1080p video output) on tablet
  • SD card slot and USB port on dock
  • 8MP F2.4 rear shooter with 1080p video recording and continuous flash, 1.2MP front camera
  • Tablet: 8.3mm thin, 263mm wide, 180.8mm tall, 586g (1.29 lbs)
  • Dock: 8 - 10.4mm thin, 263mm wide, 180.8mm tall, 537g (1.18 lbs)
  • 12 hour battery life playing 720p video, 18 hours with keyboard dock
  • Metallic spun finish
  • Two available colors: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold
  • Android 3.2.1 - will be updated to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) as soon as possible after release

Size and Build

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Dimensions and build quality are probably the two most significant factors in tablet purchases for casual consumers, so it should be no surprise that Asus placed an emphasis on how thin and light the Prime is.

18
Dec
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Update 12/18/11: It's back again - all other variants are still showing the "sign up for availability alerts" message.

Looks like Amazon may be gearing up to start (re)taking pre-orders for the Transformer Prime, with the 64GB version in champagne being the first one to make its way back to the site. As you may already know, Amazon started taking pre-orders several weeks ago, but abruptly stopped (no reason has really been made clear as to why) and ultimately ended up cancelling many users' orders.

Much like the original Transformer, the amount of demand for the Prime has been overwhelming, and ASUS has been struggling to keep up with production.

15
Dec
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Last Updated: February 24th, 2012

Another day, another awesome giveaway. Once again, our truly amazing pals at NVIDIA are providing the Tegra-powered tablet goodies. Today, we're giving away four tablets: 2 Sony Tablet S's, and 2 ASUS Transformers (the Transformers also come with the truly great keyboard docks) - and every winner will also receive a $25 AMEX gift card to purchase some of those sweet Tegra Zone games the day their prize arrives. This is an international contest.

This contest is now over. Here are our winners, selected at random:
  • Tablet S + $25GC: Jessica Leyva
  • Tablet S + $25GC: Mike Brocchi
  • TF + dock + $25GC: Saurabh Luthra
  • TF + dock + $25GC: Martin Ogborne

Congratulations, guys - all of you will be contacted for your information in the near future!

02
Dec
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Last Updated: December 8th, 2011

The Asus Transformer Prime: the first Android device to ship with a quad-core chip, courtesy of NVIDIA's brand new Tegra 3 (Kal-El) CPU. But there's more of a hook here than power alone - Asus has gone back to the drawing board for the Prime (model number TF201) and revamped the device from nearly head to toe compared to its predecessor, the TF101. It's substantially thinner, lighter, and more attractive than the rather portly 101, while packing a much more powerful CPU, better display, and reportedly better battery life. But can they really improve upon all those aspects without cutting any corners?

30
Nov
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Around midday yesterday, I received my review kit for the Transformer Prime, complete with dock, wireless gamepad, and HDMI cable - meaning I'm well equipped to take a deep dive into the hottest new tablet to hit stores. But to be completely honest, an in-depth review on a product this brand-spanking-new requires more hands-on time than can be had in two days. The full review will be up on Friday, but in the interim, enjoy the initial impressions and gadget porn below.

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First up, let's run over the specs, largely from our official announcement post:

  • 10.1-inch SuperIPS + display with Gorilla Glass
  • 1.3GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 Processor with 12-core GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 32GB or 64GB internal storage with microSD card slot
  • microHDMI port
  • 8MP F2.4 rear shooter with continuous flash for video recording, 1.2MP front camera (1080p camcorder!)
  • 8.33mm thin
  • 586g (1.29 lbs.)
  • 12 hour battery life playing 720p video, 18 hours with keyboard dock
  • Metallic spun finish
  • Two available colors: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold (show below, respectively)
  • Android 3.2.1 - will be updated to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) as soon as possible after release
  • $499 for 32GB model, $599 for 64GB, and $149 for the dock
  • North American availability is expected to begin the week of 12/19 - this is straight from Asus's mouth in the Prime details that were sent to us (and again confirmed a few hours ago), contrary to the other "official" date of December 8 that we heard earlier today.
30
Nov
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Last Updated: August 2nd, 2012

Adding to the heap of Transformer Prime mania, ASUS has revealed to us the official release date for one of the most hotly anticipated Android tablets to date.

ASUS tells us that the Transformer Prime, (the world's first Tegra 3 tablet), should be available starting December 19th in North America (the previous estimate of December 12th has been ruled out, in an update from ASUS), with a rumored December 1st release date in Taiwan. European and Asian markets are expected to formally announce availability soon.  ASUS also mentioned a 3G model headed for the US, but did not specify a release date just yet.