Summary: The Transformer Pad Infinity retains the superb physical design of its predecessors, adding a new high-resolution screen without impacting battery life. We'd like to see mobile broadband support, a lighter weight for the tablet/keyboard combo and a lower price, but the Infinity is still a class-leading product
The unique Asus Eee Pad Transformer, which we analyzed last May, set the conventional for tablet/keyboard mixture gadgets. The follow-up Transformer Primary included a quad-core CPU and Operating system operating system mobile phone 4.0, generating itself an Editors' Option prize. Now we have the Transformer Pad Infinity TF700, which copies the two-piece style of its forerunners and further refines the requirements. Due to become available in the UK at the end of Aug for around £600 (inc. VAT; £500 ex. VAT), does the year-old Transformer style still have what it takes?
Design :
The short response to the style question has to be 'yes'. In clamshell function the Transformer Pad Infinity looks for all the world like a small, slim laptop computer — yet the way it divides in two to free up the product continues to be as eye-catching as when we first saw it.
This is testimony to both the appearance and sturdiness of the previously products, and to the point that no other components producer has so far equalled Asus for the actual application of the tablet/keyboard mixture.
The steel framework of the laptop key pad area and steel back plate to the product are powerful but large. Asus doesn't quotation the put together body weight, only specifying the tablet's body weight as 598g. It likely our machines at 600g, with the laptop key pad connect including 528g. That's a complete body weight of around 1.13kg.
Key criticisms of previously designs apply to the Transformer Pad Infinity — especially the point that asking for is via a exclusive 40-pin plug (which also hyperlinks the product and key pad areas together). Elsewhere, the propensity we seen in previously designs for display faucets to cause it tip in reverse when in laptop computer function is also apparent here.
The key pad style continues to be excellent. The separated important factors feel under the fingertips and it's completely possible to touch-type at a reasonable rate. The key pad provides a variety of Android-specific functions such as Home and Selection important factors. The top row, as in previously designs, contains useful manages for amount, wifi, display lighting and stopping the touch pad.
One of the Transformer Pad Infinity TF700's key functions is a major update to the display. The 10.1in. Extremely IPS+ board has a full HD quality of 1,920 by 1,200 p and the result is an remarkably sharp, clear watching experience.
The apparent display evaluation is with the newest iPad, whose 2,048 by 1,536 p are filled into a 9.7in. display, providing a a little bit higher pixel solidity. In daily use there's little to individual the two gadgets, although the iPad just sides past the Transformer Pad Infinity with regards to published text quality. Once you've knowledgeable this stage of display quality there really is no going returning.
Features :
Another key differentiator between the Transformer Pad Infinity and its Transformer Primary forerunner is the selection of CPU. The Prime's 1.4GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 brand has been improved to a quicker 1.6GHz edition in the Infinity, reinforced as before by 1GB of RAM. A low-power fifth primary in the Tegra 3 brand is designed to deal with undemanding projects and preserve battery energy pack.
With 64GB of inner storage space there's a lot of potential. There's also a 32GB option, but we have no UK costs or accessibility information on that at enough duration of writing. You can enhance the inner storage space in various ways: the product area has a microSD card slot, while the laptop key pad connect has an SD card slot and a USB 2.0 slot. The latter can provide an exterior system such as a rabbit or an alternative key pad, as well as enabling you to connect additional storage space. You also get 8GB of Asus Web storage space for lifestyle, which could confirm useful.
The list of slots and connections is finished by a Micro-HDMI slot and a 3.5mm microphone/headset mixture port on the product, which has two cameras: a 2-megapixel front-facing system and an 8-megapixel flash-equipped photographic camera at the returning.
The Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 operates Operating system operating system mobile phone 4.0.3 (Ice Lotion Sandwich), and Asus populates it with a powerful variety of programs. There are Wi-Fi loading DLNA features via MyNet, while MyDesktop provides distant access to a PC or Mac pc. Both Zinio and the Kindle app are among the preinstalled accessories, along with Asus's own music store, Asus @vibe.
Probably most useful app for experts is the fantastic Polaris Office, which can be used to make Word-, Excel- and PowerPoint-compatible records. Asus also contains SuperNote, which allows you to make hand-written notices and paintings, and which Asus has involved on past Transformer gadgets.
Performance & battery energy :The Transformer Pad Infinity's mixture of the quad-core 1.6GHz Tegra 3 brand and 1GB of RAM, obviously, provided us no problems during examining. We were satisfied with the tablet's responsiveness to whatever we used at it — and that varied from low-level projects like papers development to more challenging projects like doing provides. Our only critique is the start time, which is a little slowly.
As with the Transformer Primary there are two battery power — one in the product and a second in the laptop key pad connect. With the connect connected, battery energy is ranked as 14 time, while the product area alone should provide 9.5 time, according to Asus.
When it's not being billed, battery energy in the laptop key pad connect transactions energy to the product, so that the product contains as much charge as possible and can be put away and used individual. The product area also expenses before the connect, while the connect empties before the product. It's quite a sensible system. Three CPU energy control ways — Healthy, Efficiency and Power Preserving — help preserve battery energy pack when needed.
We found it easy to get a daily utilization from a completely billed complete system, and even handled a whole few days away from mains energy. Given that the exclusive battery charger is a hassle to bring, that's all to the excellent.
Conclusion :
The Transformer Pad Infinity maintains the fantastic physical style of its forerunners, which is over a season old, but still unique by any opponent. We're as satisfied with it these days as we were when we first saw it in the Eee Pad Transformer. The Infinity's new high-resolution Extremely IPS+ display is a desire to use, and battery energy continues to be amazing.
What Asus needs to do now is build in special high rate internet support and decrease the bodyweight of the tablet/keyboard mixture — and bring the price down.
Pros :
The unique Asus Eee Pad Transformer, which we analyzed last May, set the conventional for tablet/keyboard mixture gadgets. The follow-up Transformer Primary included a quad-core CPU and Operating system operating system mobile phone 4.0, generating itself an Editors' Option prize. Now we have the Transformer Pad Infinity TF700, which copies the two-piece style of its forerunners and further refines the requirements. Due to become available in the UK at the end of Aug for around £600 (inc. VAT; £500 ex. VAT), does the year-old Transformer style still have what it takes?
Design :
The short response to the style question has to be 'yes'. In clamshell function the Transformer Pad Infinity looks for all the world like a small, slim laptop computer — yet the way it divides in two to free up the product continues to be as eye-catching as when we first saw it.
The steel framework of the laptop key pad area and steel back plate to the product are powerful but large. Asus doesn't quotation the put together body weight, only specifying the tablet's body weight as 598g. It likely our machines at 600g, with the laptop key pad connect including 528g. That's a complete body weight of around 1.13kg.
Key criticisms of previously designs apply to the Transformer Pad Infinity — especially the point that asking for is via a exclusive 40-pin plug (which also hyperlinks the product and key pad areas together). Elsewhere, the propensity we seen in previously designs for display faucets to cause it tip in reverse when in laptop computer function is also apparent here.
The key pad style continues to be excellent. The separated important factors feel under the fingertips and it's completely possible to touch-type at a reasonable rate. The key pad provides a variety of Android-specific functions such as Home and Selection important factors. The top row, as in previously designs, contains useful manages for amount, wifi, display lighting and stopping the touch pad.
One of the Transformer Pad Infinity TF700's key functions is a major update to the display. The 10.1in. Extremely IPS+ board has a full HD quality of 1,920 by 1,200 p and the result is an remarkably sharp, clear watching experience.
The apparent display evaluation is with the newest iPad, whose 2,048 by 1,536 p are filled into a 9.7in. display, providing a a little bit higher pixel solidity. In daily use there's little to individual the two gadgets, although the iPad just sides past the Transformer Pad Infinity with regards to published text quality. Once you've knowledgeable this stage of display quality there really is no going returning.
Features :
Another key differentiator between the Transformer Pad Infinity and its Transformer Primary forerunner is the selection of CPU. The Prime's 1.4GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 brand has been improved to a quicker 1.6GHz edition in the Infinity, reinforced as before by 1GB of RAM. A low-power fifth primary in the Tegra 3 brand is designed to deal with undemanding projects and preserve battery energy pack.
With 64GB of inner storage space there's a lot of potential. There's also a 32GB option, but we have no UK costs or accessibility information on that at enough duration of writing. You can enhance the inner storage space in various ways: the product area has a microSD card slot, while the laptop key pad connect has an SD card slot and a USB 2.0 slot. The latter can provide an exterior system such as a rabbit or an alternative key pad, as well as enabling you to connect additional storage space. You also get 8GB of Asus Web storage space for lifestyle, which could confirm useful.
The list of slots and connections is finished by a Micro-HDMI slot and a 3.5mm microphone/headset mixture port on the product, which has two cameras: a 2-megapixel front-facing system and an 8-megapixel flash-equipped photographic camera at the returning.
The Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 operates Operating system operating system mobile phone 4.0.3 (Ice Lotion Sandwich), and Asus populates it with a powerful variety of programs. There are Wi-Fi loading DLNA features via MyNet, while MyDesktop provides distant access to a PC or Mac pc. Both Zinio and the Kindle app are among the preinstalled accessories, along with Asus's own music store, Asus @vibe.
Probably most useful app for experts is the fantastic Polaris Office, which can be used to make Word-, Excel- and PowerPoint-compatible records. Asus also contains SuperNote, which allows you to make hand-written notices and paintings, and which Asus has involved on past Transformer gadgets.
Performance & battery energy :The Transformer Pad Infinity's mixture of the quad-core 1.6GHz Tegra 3 brand and 1GB of RAM, obviously, provided us no problems during examining. We were satisfied with the tablet's responsiveness to whatever we used at it — and that varied from low-level projects like papers development to more challenging projects like doing provides. Our only critique is the start time, which is a little slowly.
As with the Transformer Primary there are two battery power — one in the product and a second in the laptop key pad connect. With the connect connected, battery energy is ranked as 14 time, while the product area alone should provide 9.5 time, according to Asus.
When it's not being billed, battery energy in the laptop key pad connect transactions energy to the product, so that the product contains as much charge as possible and can be put away and used individual. The product area also expenses before the connect, while the connect empties before the product. It's quite a sensible system. Three CPU energy control ways — Healthy, Efficiency and Power Preserving — help preserve battery energy pack when needed.
We found it easy to get a daily utilization from a completely billed complete system, and even handled a whole few days away from mains energy. Given that the exclusive battery charger is a hassle to bring, that's all to the excellent.
Conclusion :
The Transformer Pad Infinity maintains the fantastic physical style of its forerunners, which is over a season old, but still unique by any opponent. We're as satisfied with it these days as we were when we first saw it in the Eee Pad Transformer. The Infinity's new high-resolution Extremely IPS+ display is a desire to use, and battery energy continues to be amazing.
What Asus needs to do now is build in special high rate internet support and decrease the bodyweight of the tablet/keyboard mixture — and bring the price down.
Pros :
- Excellent two-piece design
- High-resolution IPS display
- Good keyboard dock
- Second battery in keyboard dock
- USB, SD and microSD support
- Software bundle includes Polaris Office
Cons :
- Charging is via a proprietary 40-pin port
- Top-heavy in 'notebook' mode
- Lacks integrated mobile broadband
- Relatively heavy
- Expensive
