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 Php32,995 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:
10.1″ Super IPS+ display @ 1280×800 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.
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rose says:
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?
Harlequin says:
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?
retrac says:
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!..
faithd says:
Exacto tayo retrac… badtrip. I bought mine in amazon Sabi ng asus int’ t for replacement. Then asus manila said its only for repair. I bought mine feb 20 lang. Imagine that! Ill never buy Asus again ever!
faithd says:
Exacto tayo retrac… badtrip. I bought mine in amazin. Sabi ng asus int’ t for replacement. Then asus manila said its only for repair. I bought mine feb 20 lang. Imagine that! Ill never buy Asus again ever!
retrac says:
Ano po dapat kong gawin? Help naman mga sir!
imbos says:
where can I buy at this point? Villman lacks units (with mobile docks).. =(
marko says:
do you have any idea where I could buy a casing for this?
EJ says:
Any screenshots of the version?
Enat says:
I am so jealous right now! hmmff…
celestia says:
As advised, it will be of limited quantity for the local market. And exclusive to partners.
smasher says:
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…
Eli B says:
What are the available colours locally?
Only amethyst (grey) only or do we have a choice of champagne (gold) as well?
Marc says:
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.”
EM Espinoza says:
Have you upgraded to ICS yet? Apparently, mine does not have ICS out of the box.
EM Espinoza says:
Oh, wait! It just did an OTA update. Now it’s 4.0.3! Yippey!
Noticing some backlight bleeding all around my unit, though. :( Is this the price we have to pay for edge-lit units? I’m so used to Super Amoled Plus where blacks were really 0-nit. Oh well…
Winsy says:
I want one!!!!!! Any contest for this one?
EM Espinoza says:
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.
EM Espinoza says:
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!
alainL says:
The guys in Villman must be getting those stock numbers from their arse. The store I went to said they had only 25 in all their branches.
Transformer Primes are really hard to get this early. Luckily, I got mine at Octagon SM Mall of Asia last Saturday. Just for the information of those who are still looking.
alainL says:
I’m posting this from my prime. There’s no problem with the WiFi so far.
Nonoy says:
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!
yoda says:
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.
Ray says:
The bluetooth + wifi fallout is really only noticeable when you have blazing fast internet speeds… I don’t think we will be that affected by it.
fyre says:
can you check if the wifi is as bad as some people are saying?
Jeff says:
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.
apds says:
Yes its faulty and im stuck with my tf201.. been w me over a month and they wont replace it. Asus said theyll just repair it. You tube watching sucks,videos garbled, rebooting madness…its a heavy paper weight.im so frustrated with my unut and im screaming about it!
rod says:
Why are the back, home and multi-task icons still look like from that of Honeycomb?
rod says:
referring to the second photo from the slideshow. facepalm yourself. =)
Haro says:
Referring at the box, are we? /facepalm
JC says:
Want!
kevin says:
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. =)
kevin says:
totally agree. my review of that Pacquiao doll would probably include there words “viciously cute” hahaha
Name: IC DeaDPiPoL says:
we need a review of the Manny Pacquiao Doll too XD
Gentledog says:
Nice one Kevin. Hahaha
dokieee says:
wow… ganda tablet… sana meron d2 sa Cagayan de Oro city.