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ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime review
Is there any tablet that's hotter than the Transformer Prime right now? (Please, don't say the Kindle Fire.) For weeks we geeks, early adopters and people who love their tech toys have been awaiting this, and none too patiently. Make no mistake: this will be one of the slickest products we test this year and it isn't just because the original Transformer had such an inventive design. The Prime is the first device packing NVIDIA's hot-off-the-presses Tegra 3 SoC, making it the world's first quad-core tablet. This comes with promises of longer-than-ever runtime and blazing performance (five times faster than Tegra 2, to be exact), all wrapped in a package measuring just 8.3mm (0.33 inches) thick -- even skinnier than the iPad 2 or Galaxy Tab 10.1. Throw in specs like a Super IPS+ Gorilla Glass display, eight megapixel rear camera and a confirmed ICS update in the pipe and even we seen-it-all Engadget editors were drooling. All of which means we dropped just everything when a 32GB Prime showed up on our doorstep earlier this week, and soon enough, you'll have your chance to nab one too. ASUS announced today that the WiFi-only models will be available through online sellers the week of December 19th, and in retail the week after. (No word yet on 3G versions for the US just yet.) It'll start at $499 for the 32GB model -- not bad considering five hundred bucks is the going rate for a high-end tablet with 16GB of storage. From there you can get a 64GB number for $599, while that signature keyboard dock will set you back a further $149. Worth it? Read on to find out. %Gallery-140706%
Acer A700 and A701 tabs leak on support site, sporting Tegra 3 and full HD displays
Don't think that ASUS is going to be having all of the Tegra 3 fun by itself, Acer appears to have a pair of Iconia-branded tabs on the way also sporting NVIDIA's quad-core mobile chip. The A700 and A701 are showing up as hardware profiles over at the company's support site. The XML file doesn't give away too much in the specs department, but it does list the devices as having a screen size of 1920 x 1200. Seriously! We're talking about a panel of higher res than your 42-inch TV shrunk down to a portable device. The screen's physical dimensions aren't specified, but we imagine this is at least a 10-inch slate (otherwise, you're gonna be doing a lot of squinting). When exactly the WiFi-only A700 and GSM-equipped A701 might ship is anyone's guess, but it looks like they'll be doing so with Honeycomb instead of Android 4.0.
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime: 10-inch Super IPS+ display, 12-hour battery and quad-core Tegra 3, ships in December for $499
For three weeks now, Android fans have been fidgeting impatiently. Specifically, ever since ASUS chairman Jonney Shih took the stage at last month's AsiaD conference and teased the next-gen Transformer tablet. Though he only gave us a quick glimpse, he recited a laundry list of specs: a 10.1-inch display, 8.3mm-thick body, mini-HDMI output, microSD slot and an update to Ice Cream Sandwich by the end of the year, if not sooner. Not to mention, it'll pack NVIDIA's hot-off-the-presses Tegra 3 SoC, making it the first-ever quad-core tablet. We knew this: we'd learn more on November 9th. Well, that day has come, and so have the juicy details. We just got word that the tablet will go on sale worldwide in December, starting at $499 with a beefy 32GB of storage, moving up to $599 for a 64GB model. (That signature keyboard dock you see up there will cost $149.) In addition to those basic specs Mr. Shih revealed last month, we now know this has a 1280 x 800, Super IPS+ Gorilla Glass display with a 178-degree viewing angle and a max brightness of 600 nits. It also packs 1GB of RAM, GPS, a gyroscope, SonicMaster audio and a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera. Rounding out the list is an 8MP shooter with an auto-focusing f/2.4 lens and a back-illuminated CMOS sensor that captures 1080p video. Touch-to-focus is also an option here, and ASUS claims a 30 percent boost in color enhancement over competing tabs. As for battery life, we initially heard reports of 14.5-hour runtime, but ASUS is now saying the tablet alone can squeeze out 12 hours thanks to a 22Wh battery, and that the dock will add an additional six hours of juice. In addition, the slimmed-down, 1.2-pound dock brings all the other benefits the last-gen model offered, including a touchpad, USB 2.0 port and full-sized SD slot. Software-wise, it'll ship with Android 3.2 and apps such as SuperNote and Polaris Office, and we're told we'll learn more about that ICS update in "early December." In terms of design, you may have already noticed the Prime sports the same spun aluminum digs as the company's Zenbooks, though this is the first time we're seeing clear, close-up shots of it -- and in two colors, no less! At 8.3mm (0.33 inches) thick and 586 grams (1.29 pounds) without the dock, it's a smidge skinnier than the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1, which means, unsurprisingly, that your old Transformer dock won't be compatible. Finally, ASUS coated both the display and metal cover with a hydro-oleophobic coating that makes it more fingerprint-resistant. For now, we've got photos below and if you can wait a few more weeks, we'll most definitely be putting this thing through its paces in a full review. And if you're looking for something a little less expensive, well, the original Transformer should be getting Ice Cream Sandwich soon, and we wouldn't be surprised if Santa brought a few holiday rebates. %Gallery-138833%
NVIDIA says Tegra 3 is a 'PC-class CPU,' has screenshots to prove it
Asus can't be absorbing all those limelight photons today. Not when its freshly detailed Transformer Prime depends so heavily on NVIDIA's special sauce. Admittedly, we already know a lot about Tegra 3 from its Kal-El days, but we haven't seen much in the way of real-world performance claims. Until now, that is. Below you'll see newly released screenshots of Android games that have been souped-up to capitalize on the imminent Asus Eee Pad as well as other Tegra 3-powered devices -- including smartphones -- that are expected early next year. NVIDIA has also put out slides containing in-house benchmarks and head-to-head comparisons with the Tegra 2, which you'll find right after the break. %Gallery-138769%
Transformer Prime gets mysteriously and imperiously benchmarked
We're getting restless waiting for the Transformer Prime, which is why we'll cling to the meagerest gossip about its performance. Speaking of which, a couple of Asus Eee Pad TF201 devices have cropped up on the AnTuTu benchmarking app, parading scores that apparently crown them lords of the Android mountain. The graph shows a standard 1.4GHz tablet, but the highest result actually purports to come from a Transformer Prime clocked at 1.6GHz, which achieved 12872. By comparison, the top Transformer TF101 score is just 7596. Benchmarks are hard to verify and even harder to translate into real-world talent, but at least our Kal-El hunger has been sated for a while. Nope, there it is again. [Thanks, Timlot]
Transformer Prime gets official landing page, shows mostly bezel
After getting its first showing at AsiaD, we know ASUS' Transformer sequel is super thin, powered by NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra 3 chip and coming soon. And now we really know it, because the Transformer Prime has been gifted an official landing page, along with a requisite shadowy product shot. There's no trace of the original's mocha hues, which have been replaced with something brighter, and we think it looks mightily enticing. Those with a similar fetish for modular tablets can ensure they're up-to-date by bookmarking the source link below.
ARM unveils Cortex-A7 processor, 'big.LITTLE' computing
Fancy a glimpse of the future? That little psychedelic beauty on the right is ARM's brand new Cortex-A7 processor. Its spec sheet might not seem so colorful at first glance, because it doesn't really do things any faster than existing high-end smartphone processors. However, this UK-based chip designer isn't known for bumping its gums, so it pays to look a little deeper. For a start, the Cortex-A7 is built using a 28nm process that makes it five times smaller and more efficient than the current-gen Cortex-A8. It's also cheap enough to power sub-$100 handsets, so we could be pulling GSII-like tricks on budget phones within a couple of years. Is that it? Nope, there's more: perhaps the most important feature of the A7 is that it can be combined with much higher-power cores like the Cortex-A15 side-by-side on the same chip. This allows a super-phone or tablet to switch between two totally different processing units depending on how much power is needed at the time. ARM calls this "Big.LITTLE" computing," and a similar concept is already in use on NVIDIA's Tegra 3 (aka Kal-El) SoC, which we'll see imminently in the next Asus Transformer. However, the Tegra 3 uses five identical Cortex-A9 cores, whereas a device that mix-and-matches the A15 and A7 could potentially deliver higher highs and lower lows, giving you speed when you need it and amazing battery life when you don't. How cute is that? Full PR after the break.
ZTE T98 tablet with next-gen NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor spotted in Beijing
Until now we'd only come across NVIDIA's Tegra 3 (aka Kal-El) in reference tablets and demos, but here we are finally looking at an actual product revealed at PT/Expo Comm China. It's a 7-inch slate from ZTE called the T98, apparently running the quad-core 1.5GHz processor slightly underclocked at 1.3GHz, beneath Android 3.2, a 1280x800 display, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, a 5MP rear camera and 2MP front-facer. The 11.5mm-thick body also houses a 3G modem and a 4000mAh battery, which won't see many easy days powering this beast. No definitive word on price or release date yet, but click past the break for a reverse shot.
NVIDIA releases Kal-El white papers, announces a fifth 'Companion' core for less demanding tasks
We've known about Kal-El -- the quad-core mobile processor from NVIDIA -- for a fair amount of time, but a lot of the finer details have remained a secret as we've anxiously awaited its debut in tablets and smartphones. Fortunately, we have some reading material to bide our time as the company published white papers discussing benefits of the new CPU, and for the most part it's what you'd expect: NVIDIA touts higher performance, better battery life and improved physics-based gaming when more cores are involved and working together. What came as a surprise to us was the fact that this quad-core CPU actually utilizes five cores: in addition to the standard four main Cortex A9 high-performance cores, Kal-El throws in a fifth Cortex A9 "companion" core specifically designed to handle less demanding tasks in effort to minimize power consumption caused by active standby processes. How is it done? The Companion core's max operating frequency gets capped at 500MHz, offering higher performance and greater efficiency per watt when running menial tasks such as push email, Twitter / Facebook sync, widgets, background apps and live wallpapers. This leaves the four main cores free to take care of the stuff it does best -- games, web browsing, transcoding / editing audio and video, 3D, physics simulations and image processing, to name a few -- allowing performance bumps of up to 50 percent when compared to Tegra 2. We can tell that quad-core devices are going to make us very, very happy. If charts and geeky stats brighten up your day like it does ours, head to the source to read the papers in their entirety. %Gallery-134330%
ASUS' next gen Eee Pad Transformer to pack NVIDIA's quad-core Kal-El, launch this October?
Fan of ASUS' affordable, yet competitively specced Eee Pad Transformer, but still haven't committed your credit to its 10.1-inches? Well, if this bout of rumor-mongering proves true, you might want to put the wallet down until early fall. Harbinger of supply chain gossip Digitimes is reporting that the electronics maker has just enlisted Wintek to provide touch panels for its next gen tablet, slated to launch this October. The parts supplier is said to be working in tandem with HannStar Display to ramp up production should this iteration be met with its predecessor's unforeseen popularity. Adding more ambiguity to the speculative fire, ASUS' Chairman Jonney Shih recently confirmed to Forbes that an updated Transformer is on its way, saying only that it'd be very "impressive," and would be available before CES. Jonney didn't comment on the upcoming slate's supposed use of NVIDIA's quad-core Kal-El, but with the chip's promised August launch date, we wouldn't rule it out. While talks of a Transformer 2 are still just gossamer promise, you can always snag that Eee Pad Slider while you sit and wait.
NVIDIA Tegra 3, equipped with 1.5GHz quad-core madness, teased by a familiar slide
How aggressive can NVIDIA get? That's the question puzzling our brainboxes right now as we gaze upon the complete version of the slide that let us know about a potential Tegra 2 3D chip over the weekend. It's not every day you hear of a 1.5GHz quad-core mobile SOC, but our discovery of corroborating evidence for the T25 module sitting alongside it makes us more willing to credit the possibility of a Blu-ray-crunching, 13,800 MIPS-capable, multicore Cortex-A9 Tegra 3. Moreover, the roadmap of production samples in Q4 of 2010 fits perfectly with NVIDIA's claim that Tegra 3 was "almost done" in September of that year. The ULP designation on this listing stands for Ultra Low Power in NVIDIA parlance, which would indicate an aggressively tuned power management system -- the only way we can envision a quad-core anything operating within a tablet. Fall 2011 is when we should know for sure.
Caption Contest: NVIDIA CEO flaunts tattoo on stage, still serving cans of whoop-ass
Oh sure, NVIDIA might not have had any physical chips to show off at the GPU Technology Conference earlier this week, but CEO Jen-Hsun Huang did have one very, very special exhibit up his sleeve. Paul: "And below the logo is a picture of all the shipping devices running Tegra 2." Don: "Here are the new logo designs we've been working on, Mr. Huang." Ross: "Take a cue from Peter Moore and go with temporary. You never know where you'll be in even just a few years' time." Chris: "Huang's Boxee Box tramp stamp, of course, would remain a secret." Joanna: "And this is why I hate gun, er GPU shows." Darren: "Whatever. At least it's not a Zune tattoo." Richard Lai: "Yo Intel, this is how embedded is done." Vlad: "Jen-Hsun's displays of support for Notion Ink are starting to get out of hand..."
NVIDIA CEO: Tegra 3 almost done, Tegra 4 on the way, expect a new Tegra annually
Though NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference is primarily about the applications of GPU computing, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang hasn't shied away from revealing new silicon, and he just promised something quite unexpected to attending press: new Tegra chips. Though the Tegra 2 has yet to leave a single dent on the consumer marketplace -- the Boxee Box famously tossed it out -- Huang told us that not only is a Tegra 3 almost done and a Tegra 4 currently underway, but that we should expect a new Tegra SOC "every single year." Forgive us for being a mite skeptical of the company's ability to attract customers, but the only notches we see on Tegra's belt are the Zune HD... and Microsoft's failed Kin.