[Q] Should I give this tab another go? - Asus Transformer TF701

Hey guys here's a little background.
I've had just about every well known tablet ever put out...
After selling my beloved nexus 10, I bought the note 10.1 2014 as my latest tablet and honestly hated a few things...
The screen. I could clearly make out pixels. the tiny bezels I would find myself accidentally touching the sides of the screen unwanted. Finally the physical home and back button with no screen buttons. When in portrait mode, I would have to hit the back button on the bottom (side at this angle) of the tablet to go back and that would just be very awkward... So it's gone.
I also played with a 701t and liked the screen much better, could not make out the pixels. but am not too crazy about thick bezel size. I understand they need to be that to work with the dock but the dock itself is troublesome and I am waiting for definite news of fixed issues.
After years and years of android only, I am writing this post from my new iPad air 32gb. I didn't want to be one of the ignorant people that knocks apple without trying their product first. I love the screen resolution and think the ratio works well, but I miss the android environment dearly. I can say I gave this a go and now am ready to be sure that android is far superior to iOS. I only paid 440 for a brand new sealed 32gb air so I won't lose money selling it.
Having said that, I am sick and tired of waiting for a new nexus 10 device and am thinking of getting another 701t for a daily driver. I guess what I am looking for is a bit of convincing on why this would be the right choice. How is the tegra for gaming? How is the daily experience?
I am continuously looking for perfection and understand well that it doesn't exist, but I do like having things close to it.
Looking forward to some responses from you 701t owners.
Thanks in advance

The tablet running CromiX has performance optimization, less software issues than Asus stock, less bloat as well. The dock yes has problem but if you hold off on buying it they week fix it. The hardware is decent, I fixed the loose screen bezel on my own no problem now. With this price range and performance you only have this and note 10.1 which is 100$ more
Sent from my Note II using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Love my device. Owned the whole Transformer line. Best of the bunch, and not even close!
Sent from my New Transformer Infinity Pad TF701T using Tapatalk HD

I agree, the TF701 is the best so far. It's so fast out of the box that for me there's only one reason to unlock and custom rom it: I find it boring to just use it - gotta play with it.
The TF700 introduced me to flashing. It was so goddarn buggy and slow - I just couldn't stand it (and I will be forever grateful for that). The 701 is a great device out of the box. My only gripe is that I still like the screen on the 700 much better. Everything seems either pale or yellowish on the 701 and yes - I've maxed out the few options the Splendid app provides.

Even with all these problems with the dock and bezel fitting issues, I still have to say I'm glad I went with Transformer once again (upgrading from Prime). The big boost in specs really made this tablet a lot more productive than the Prime, and not to mention the great WiFi signal finally makes browsing worth-while on this machine.
If you're on the fence because of the dock, I would suggest to wait for another few month and wait for the corrected batch, hopefully Asus will pick up their game about that. Or you could also get a separate bluetooth keyboard, not as convenient but might work better in the end. I am currently on my 4th dock and even though it's another Oct one, it seems to be the best so far and hardly disconnects, so unless it acts out again within 30 days, I will be keeping the dock.

I just wanted to mention this here.
If anyone in the UK is looking to buy one of these then i recommend amazon. I had 3 from ebuyer and they were all 10.2013 models and had the dock disconnection issue. Ebuyer customer service is 5 star and exchanged the defective tablets without an issue but after 3 i thought i would give amazon a try and they have 2013.12 models and the dock connection in snug like the TF201. I have only just received it so cant tell if there is any other issues yet but the dock is a 100% better fit.
Hopefully this helps someone.
Thanks

beady_uk said:
I just wanted to mention this here.
If anyone in the UK is looking to buy one of these then i recommend amazon. I had 3 from ebuyer and they were all 10.2013 models and had the dock disconnection issue. Ebuyer customer service is 5 star and exchanged the defective tablets without an issue but after 3 i thought i would give amazon a try and they have 2013.12 models and the dock connection in snug like the TF201. I have only just received it so cant tell if there is any other issues yet but the dock is a 100% better fit.
Hopefully this helps someone.
Thanks
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Click to collapse
Is the Dock the 12.2013 model? or the Tablet? You are the one of the few to say they received a December build. I have an October tablet and a November dock.

beady_uk said:
I just wanted to mention this here.
If anyone in the UK is looking to buy one of these then i recommend amazon. I had 3 from ebuyer and they were all 10.2013 models and had the dock disconnection issue. Ebuyer customer service is 5 star and exchanged the defective tablets without an issue but after 3 i thought i would give amazon a try and they have 2013.12 models and the dock connection in snug like the TF201. I have only just received it so cant tell if there is any other issues yet but the dock is a 100% better fit.
Hopefully this helps someone.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had 7 docks, 5 from Amazon USA, and all had the disconnect issue. I like th TF701, it replaces my TF101, but I am about ready to give up. Amazon has been great with customer service but the product is defective. BTW, one of those docks was an 11.2013 manufacture.

Hm this December dock thing is making me consider sending this one back again, since it still disconnect occasionally, and also the number 5 key became sticky and gets stuck for half a second since 2 days ago... Hopefully my next dock will be the magical December dock
Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk

By all means! Keep sending them back until you get one that works 100% - as you are entitled to!

devilsaces said:
Is the Dock the 12.2013 model? or the Tablet? You are the one of the few to say they received a December build. I have an October tablet and a November dock.
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marcmarshall said:
I have had 7 docks, 5 from Amazon USA, and all had the disconnect issue. I like th TF701, it replaces my TF101, but I am about ready to give up. Amazon has been great with customer service but the product is defective. BTW, one of those docks was an 11.2013 manufacture.
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Click to collapse
Ok guys, after a few hours of use i can say that the dock is not as snug as first thought BUT it is still alot better than the 2013.10 builds i had. I have had no disconnects no matter how i tilt the screen. So in my opinion this is a keeper.
@devilsaces, i am guessing this is a december dock since my tablet and dock came together in the package (thats how we get them in UK) and on the bottom of the retail box was the date 2013.12. Also the tablet and dock share the same serial number.

beady_uk said:
Ok guys, after a few hours of use i can say that the dock is not as snug as first thought BUT it is still alot better than the 2013.10 builds i had. I have had no disconnects no matter how i tilt the screen. So in my opinion this is a keeper.
@devilsaces, i am guessing this is a december dock since my tablet and dock came together in the package (thats how we get them in UK) and on the bottom of the retail box was the date 2013.12. Also the tablet and dock share the same serial number.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. In the US they ship the dock and tablet separate. I'm not even sure if they are shipping December builds here. My November dock is much better than the October builds but does disconnect occasionally. As of now, Amazon pulled the dock from their store (not even under review) and are just selling through third parties. So I'm not going to mess with returns to see if the December dock, if it exists in the US, is better. If I return its going to be both tablet and dock for something different but there is not much out there at that price range that is better. I don't like samsung so only the Sony xperia is another option, or Windows tablets. I have until tomorrow to decide.
I'm intrigued by the ASUS Transformer Book Duet TD300. A Windows/Android dual boot tablet. Unfortunately it does not get released until the end of March.

I would say so. This device is about double what the tf101 is. Moores law every 2 years you get double.
Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk

Wow, thanks for all the responses. The iPad Air is gone. I wanted to order the tf701t from amazon but it looks like the price went up to $427 and it's being sold by a third party. I don't want to mess with that in case I have to return and it's an issue. I will check my local tigerdirect to see if they have them. I guess I will give it a go and hope for the best.
I'll let you know how it works out Who knows maybe I'll get lucky and get a good keyboard locally.

Hopefully by now they are not shipping out 3-4 month old defective products but you never know. Until Asus officially places a call back on the defective devices, retails could still have them on their shelves.

Holy moly. Did you give dead trigger 2 a try. Not expecting such quality and performance. Console quality. People crabbing about it. Glass half empty. I don't get it.
WARNING: Some screen protectors have rubbery surfaces not suitable for a stylus(ZAGG,Skinomi). RUBBER on RUBBER!

Definitely go for it. Check Tiger Direct if they still have it for $399.99 (no tax and shipping is free if you hook up your AMEX with ShopRunner). I got mine from them. There was a $50 rebate (purchased before Feb 8, 2014). It was a no brainer for me. Despite the dock still having issue, this is a great tablet at a bargain price. On the cpu and screen resolution, only the new Samsungs (I'm talking about Android tablets only) have similar class of CPU and screens but they are easily $200 more for the 32 gig model. I thought about waiting for the new Nexus 10. But Nexus 10 will never have external microSD slot. That's a big no-no for me. So far I've been happy with my tf701. It's so fast. And the screen resolution is so awesome.

If the keyboard was stable, I would get this. Since not stable, I am getting Best Buy to match the current Costco price of $530 for the 32gb version of the Note. The smaller bezel, less hot running, less battery hungry chipset and non proprietary connector justify the extra bucks for me. I had keyboard issues with the TF300 that I recently sold, so appears an issue they never really fixed with Android. Even the T100 Windows tablet has some keyboard issues, though not on the scale of Android.

overblown issue
I think the Dock issue is way overblown. I bought my tf701 (Typing on it now in bed) pre-order before it came out. I've been using it as my primary work laptop for months now. I have the disconnect issue, but in practice it really doesn't effect anything. It only disconnects when you're opening or closing the tablet, but is fine when it's open and you're tapping on the screen or keyboard. I use VDI 10 hours day, so the dock isn't optional for me. But really, I've been very productive this entire time and I'm happy with my purchase. The disconnect issue only gets mildly annoying because every now and then it does cause my tablet to not come out of sleep and I have to reboot with power switch, but this is more like a once a month occurrence. I travel all the time as well and this thing has held up great.
For VDI I use Splashtop and also vmware view.

wagz said:
It only disconnects when you're opening or closing the tablet, but is fine when it's open and you're tapping on the screen or keyboard.
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Click to collapse
Maybe your one is like that, but plenty of other people have had disconnects when it is open and they are using it normally. The amount of problem varies between devices.

Related

Goodbye NOOK community.

Unfortunately i have had to exchange my nook two times. I thought the third one would work. But today I returned it and the accessories. Are there any other tablets one would reccomend sans Galaxy Tab. I realize most (if not all) of you don't give a **** about this post. But I just want to see peoples input. I may buy an NC again in the future once a new hardware revision comes out. Goodbye again.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I surely would waste my money on a galaxy tablet I had 1 and its etremely crappy waste of money no matter how you flash it or what you do to it doesn't matter it still junk.
Laggy browser multi touch slow tiling in the browser Go to sleep while watching youtube videos on and on
Definitely not worth 600 dollars
I would buy a viewsonic g tablets and root the hell out of it before I would buy another galaxy
Third one is working for me. Too bad you didn't have any luck.
Have you looked at the Velocity Micro Cruz Tablets? Same price, but don't know any details about the hardware.
Good luck,
kev
jackjumper85 said:
Unfortunately i have had to exchange my nook two times. I thought the third one would work. But today I returned it and the accessories. Are there any other tablets one would reccomend sans Galaxy Tab. I realize most (if not all) of you don't give a **** about this post. But I just want to see peoples input. I may buy an NC again in the future once a new hardware revision comes out. Goodbye again.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What was the problem with each tablet, individually?
I too haven't had any luck. My first Nookcolor wouldn't turn on or reset after I plugged it in to charge. The second one would randomly reboot, reload or freeze. B&N are sending me a third one. My cousin bought her nookcolor on release date and she has never had to reset or soft reset hers.
3g...no thanks
Viewsonic g tablet if you are into custom Roms. Crappy out of the box.
Archos 70 or 101. Tempted to sell my NC for the 101.
Sent from Nook Color.
khaytsus said:
What was the problem with each tablet, individually?
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Click to collapse
First one - usb port was jacked up (like smashed)
Second one - Volume buttons broken
Third one - Defective digitizer
Sent from my rooted HTC EVO 4G.
Were you having the digitizer problems while plugged into the charger? This seems to be a common issue that is actually caused by the charger itself. I know you already returned your third Nook but maybe someone else will see this if they're having a similar problem. I have this same issue with my Nook and will be calling customer service to get a replacement shipped out. In the meantime i haven't had the need to use my device while it's charging due to the long battery life.
For those considering changing to a gtablet or archos i can only say that i owned an archos 101 and returned it due to its horrible screen and build quality. I have also used a gtablet and it was quite heavy and also had a very poor screen. However, there's no denying that it has pretty powerful hardware and performs well when you ditch the stock software for a custom rom.
Sent from my Nook Color using XDA App
My third Nook is on it's way... First two had cracked screen! :|
leeh41 said:
Viewsonic g tablet if you are into custom Roms. Crappy out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard good things about this one too. If I had to buy one right now, this would probably be it. Otherwise, I'd wait for the NotionInk Adam.
leeh41 said:
Viewsonic g tablet if you are into custom Roms. Crappy out of the box.
Archos 70 or 101. Tempted to sell my NC for the 101.
Sent from Nook Color.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm (quick look at Viewsonic web page and Amazon) ... twice the price for 7 or 10 inch, slower and way less onboard memory, what's not to love? Web cam, BT and Froyo are there also there, OK some things.
Homer
ianandamy said:
I surely would waste my money on a galaxy tablet I had 1 and its etremely crappy waste of money no matter how you flash it or what you do to it doesn't matter it still junk.
Laggy browser multi touch slow tiling in the browser Go to sleep while watching youtube videos on and on
Definitely not worth 600 dollars
I would buy a viewsonic g tablets and root the hell out of it before I would buy another galaxy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear ya, surprised the fanbois insecure in their purchase haven't popped up yet to cry foul though.
Anyways, I'd wait. CES is coming and supposedly alot of new tablets will be demoed with actual release dates not too far out... i.e. I'm not even going to recommend a rooted/custom fw'ed gTab. (It is fast(browses almost as well as my MSI GT725 P8600 2.4GHz/ATI 4850 mobility), but you never know something with a better stock fw might be on the way...)
I'm kind of in the OP's position, as my first NC came OOB w/a borked USB port and I had a b!tch of a time getting them to exchange it. No wonder that B&N are in trouble with that kind of QA & CS... Exchange unit is doing OK now, so I plan to keep it unless something happens to this one before 14d are up, in which case I'm going to have to think hard about another exchange or just flat out return. Their crap CS is making me lean to return as it was the very worst CS experience that I've ever had in my life.
[EDIT]
Do NOT buy the Cruz Craplet. It uses a non-standard MIPS CPU in the SoC unlike every single other recent device that uses ARM based SoCs. Also their reader is just an overpriced white Pandigital Novel. The fws are nearly directly exchangeable.
Archos: beware of 256MB of RAM in those, and their current froyo build underclocks their CPU to 800MHz plus they tooketh away features that were in their 2.1 build... (mainly some codecs that they want you to buy now, or so I gather). The RAM is a limiting factor in app usage and potential further OS upgrades, so I'd look for devices with a minimum of 512MB of RAM onboard. (I'd also REALLY like to see easily user replaceable batteries.... but...)
Notion Ink: I'd wait and see on those guys. More like until they release their next tablet(see if they survive) and see if they fix their crappy warranty & shipping & return policies and/or get into B&M so that you can see/try BEFORE you buy...
[/EDIT]
I went from an Archos 101 to a NC and I definitely second the comment about the ram. 256MB just isn't enough for me - lockups and freezes are common when you do anything interesting with it. My dad ended up the Archos for Christmas for checking sports scores and emails and stuff and he loves it so far.
The latest Archos gen8 firmware allows you to bump the speed back up to 1GHz, so that's not an issue. The A101's screen (TN versus IPS) and touch sensor (tested via fruit ninja) are crap next to the NC's. As far as video playback goes, the A101 runs rings around the poor NC. Everything just played. Lack of bluetooth sucks on the NC, but hopefully "they" will fix that for us soon.
My NC has a single dead pixel smack in the middle of the screen, but it's definitely not worth the hassle of a return.
EDIT: I forgot about the terrible wireless on the A101. As of 2.0.71 firmware WPA2 AES finally works, but it's not as stable as wireless on the NC. On the other hand, the A101 neatly beats the NC on battery life.
bugeyed1 said:
Third one is working for me. Too bad you didn't have any luck.
Have you looked at the Velocity Micro Cruz Tablets? Same price, but don't know any details about the hardware.
Good luck,
kev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was contemplating getting a cruz tab but from what I read, it has slow mips processor which stops market access. The reviews also said it had build issues. I'm happy with my galaxy tab and my wife is happy with her nc, she still won't let me root her nc lol
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
i agree wait until CES is done. Lots of Android tabs coming out. It's unfortunate at the problems some are having. I have 2 NC's and no problems. For the money, the NC is hard to beat. I would not get the Galaxy tab as it is overpriced IMHO.
Been followign the CES and pre-CES launch announcements, and I would say hang on til june and get one of the Asus Tablets. They will retail between $399-$499 depending on model (the 7", which includes a capacitve stylus and ap suite to take advantage of it, and the 10" slider models are $499, the 10" tablet that has an optional keyboard dock is $399). The LG tablet is another that is on the horizon that looks very promising.
In fact, CES now has me second guessing whether or not I will get a NC.
leeh41 said:
Viewsonic g tablet if you are into custom Roms. .
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Click to collapse
I had one....terrible screen....I returned it. Loving my nook
fwdixon said:
. They will retail between $399-$499 depending on model (the 7", which includes a capacitve stylus and ap suite to take advantage of it, and the 10" slider models are $499, the 10" tablet that has an optional keyboard dock is $399). The LG tablet is another that is on the horizon that looks very promising.
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Click to collapse
That's $150 - $250 more than the NC for an Android tablet.
That and I would never spend that kind of cash on a tablet with a mobile OS. Say what you want, but Android, iOS, WM7 are all still just phone/hand held operating systems.
For the record: first unit had a borked USB port, and the second has 2 defective pixels plus a backlight display defect near the top. No worries! I'm taking the second back to BestBuy and picking up a third on Sunday! I'll keep doing it 'til it's perfect. For $250 it's all that.
Sorry to hear that B&N customer service sucks. Anyway, Walmart is carrying them too now so options are good.
-Matt

Are you all happy with your Streak?

I just saw that Bestbuy will be selling the Dell Streak 7" with Honeycomb installed for $160. I saw this right after I finally decided to go ahead and buy a Kindle Fire. Now it seems almost like a no brainer to get a near full featured tablet with the same size screen as a Kindle Fire but for $40 less, but it also seems too good to be true.
So I wanted to know, are you all happy with your Streak? Would you say that $160 is worth it.
I really appreciate any input.
Thanks.
I felt in love with Dell Streak 7 already, too bad that I bought this for my gf, and giving it to her tomorrow. Dell Streak 7 is a good tablet, of coz the resolution is not high so it doesn't let you play all the HD games and you don't have much RAM to play heavy games, but if you use it for entertainment, relax with no "tough" game then it is better Kindle Fire. And of coz this is just my opinion. To be frank, I don't play much with my Iconia A500 since I got this
Very much so! I love this little bad boy underdog.
I am happy with mine. I wish the screen had a little better resolution. Bluetooth tethering to my phone is a snap. I basically wanted something that was like my phone but larger and it works just perfect as that. Its much easier and faster to use than having to drag out my laptop.
I initially liked my DS7 but over time it began to annoy me. The screen began to make my eyes hurt when reading and the battery would run down quickly. I ended up getting several Nook Tablets for the family and for my purposes, I'm more satisfied. The NT screen is much sharper and the battery lasts hours longer than the DS. I only used the camera once and never used the GPS so the trade is worth it since I mainly use my tabs for reading, surfing and light game play. I did initially miss the variety of apps but someone came up witha workaround and now I can sideload with apps free sites and Amazon app store.
I like my Dell Streak 7, the 7 inch size and weight is much more handy then my 10.1 inch tablet in its portfolio case. Basicly the compact handling of a phone with a readable (as opposed to squintable) screen size. Screen resolution has not been a problem infact it is a nice match to Netflix.
The short 4-5 hour battery life is the only aspect I wish was better.
rockhunter said:
The short 4-5 hour battery life is the only aspect I wish was better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that for a mix of usage or for straight video watching?
With my rooted DS7, using SetCPU and setting up custom profiles, I tend to see about 4-5 for watching vidoes, but get about 6-10 hours for playing games, and a 4 day standby time.
The battery isn't a major issue for me. Not a fan of the stock launcher though. Really want to use LauncherPro, but it keeps fc'ing. Anyone have any suggestions on other LauncherPro like launchers?
Also for some reason, I can't listen to voicemails with Google Voice. Still got to figure that one out.
Device does not support WiFi channels 12-14, makes a noise when speakers are enabled, batery life is not so good, WiFi signal is worse than other tabletst, display is very bad (angle/resolution), also the device is clumby (fat and heavy)
BUT
it is very cheap and very fast. im fine with it so far, but i might switch to another device.
got one form BEST BUY. still on the way.!!!! but I'm Sure the screen not the BEST!
so far so good only one problem it is not reading from SD Card.
JohnnyDanger said:
I just saw that Bestbuy will be selling the Dell Streak 7" with Honeycomb installed for $160. I saw this right after I finally decided to go ahead and buy a Kindle Fire. Now it seems almost like a no brainer to get a near full featured tablet with the same size screen as a Kindle Fire but for $40 less, but it also seems too good to be true.
So I wanted to know, are you all happy with your Streak? Would you say that $160 is worth it.
I really appreciate any input.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I am not. And Don't buy a streak 7 given so many much better choices out there in the market.
My DS7 was a total disaster now I see it. It was my first tablet and I was inexperience to make an informed buy. I bought from TMO store on the release date and then found that no Dev is supporting it.
Eventually I participated a donation led by someone else and we send a device to DJ Steve who became the one and only dedicated dev on DS7, who are also working on many other devices at the same time.
Screen horrible, battery horrible, TMobile 4 G signal always break down for no reason and requite a reboot to get it back. GPS NEVER works well for a trip without a hiccup. This is my third DS7 already because I exchanged the previous 2 with Dell because all sorts of reasons.
Since you are asking advise I assume you won't want to listen to holiday choirs and holy praises. I am the bad guy who is critical.
Bottom line, DONT BUY A DISCONTINUED PRODUCT WITHOUT DEV SUPPORT.
I'm thinking about what 7-inch tablet i'll going to buy: Dell Streak 7 or Lenovo A1.
Sent from my MB520 using XDA App
jiwengang said:
No I am not. And Don't buy a streak 7 given so many much better choices out there in the market.
My DS7 was a total disaster now I see it. It was my first tablet and I was inexperience to make an informed buy. I bought from TMO store on the release date and then found that no Dev is supporting it.
Eventually I participated a donation led by someone else and we send a device to DJ Steve who became the one and only dedicated dev on DS7, who are also working on many other devices at the same time.
Screen horrible, battery horrible, TMobile 4 G signal always break down for no reason and requite a reboot to get it back. GPS NEVER works well for a trip without a hiccup. This is my third DS7 already because I exchanged the previous 2 with Dell because all sorts of reasons.
Since you are asking advise I assume you won't want to listen to holiday choirs and holy praises. I am the bad guy who is critical.
Bottom line, DONT BUY A DISCONTINUED PRODUCT WITHOUT DEV SUPPORT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What other products are there? Currently it's the cheapest (mid/high end) 7" tablet available, it's main competetors are the gtab7/+ which is either lower specced or more expensive. It was just sold for $160 on black friday new and can be found pretty easily for
~$250 on ebay in good condition.
Sub $200 tabs cant compete with it as they have very low end internals.
The S7 with Froyo and the s7 with Honeycomb are completely different devices (not literally, but the way it works)
I didnt buy mine until black friday as I so no point with froyo on it, but it's pretty great with HC.
As for the 4g, I honestly dont see the point of a 4g tablet, I have the wifi one and simply tether to my S5 (and also avoid paying a 2nd line just for data)
The GPS is rather weak on it, but in my case the wifi one is likely worse at wifi then the 4g one. It works with some hiccups.
So what if it'd discontinued, even if dell did support it for another 6 more months, the most we'd get is like 3.2 -> 3.2.2/3.2.4, there's no chance it'd get updated to ICS.
You have your warrentee, they're not gonna magically/instantly null it, they're still gonna support active warrentee owners until they all expire. (it might become them only offering refurbs but this is still support)
Bottom line: for $190-240 there's really little competition, it's either the S7 or the gtabs.
The Gtab 7 is slower but about the same price
The Gtab 7+ is faster but more expensive
The Lenovo A1 is slower but about the same price
How about nook tablet or kindle fire? Since people here enjoy custom rom anyway, os on these two won't be a problem I guess
Sent from my DROID RAZR using XDA App
Hmm that is a good point, I had forgotten about those.
Depending on how you look at it, they only run GB and not HC/ICS.
If you wanna use it as a normal android tablet, they're not currently ready for that purpose as they dont have any stable roms yet.
I do believe the kindle is slower, but it'd definitely got more devs, and when CM9 hits stable it might be a pretty good choice. It's tegra 2 vs CM9 for the same price point.
I cant say much about the nooks, the old nook is much slower but cheaper and will likely get CM9 (it already has CM7), I dont read much at all about the new nook except I expect it to also get CM9 eventually.
I assume the S7 will still be the fastest of all 7" tabs except vs the gtab7+.
The nooks and kindles are advertised as ereaders, with the kindle as kina ereader+multimedia. They're not advertised as full on tablets so they can be underpowered for their age.
jiwengang said:
No I am not. And Don't buy a streak 7 given so many much better choices out there in the market.
same here. i get more and more unhappy every day. multitouch works only to up to two fingers. you are right about gps, i tested it and got only 2 satelites in 2 minutes while standing in the garden.
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alex2308 said:
same here. i get more and more unhappy every day. multitouch works only to up to two fingers. you are right about gps, i tested it and got only 2 satelites in 2 minutes while standing in the garden.
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Click to collapse
There is a fix for that
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1085354
I lock on in 30 seconds.
I guess I look at it as being the best $160 tablet I've ever owned. The only issue is the battery life, but I can charge it twice a day for the hundreds I'm saving over comparable devices.
The screen sure does take a lot of flack on the Streak 7, but if you look for the silver lining, just about every app works at that resolution. You don't have some of the scaling issues that higher resolution tabs have.
I also hear a lot of comparisons to the Fire and the Nook...and, if they get root and a good custom ROM, then they might be better for "basic" tablet functions, but if you want full tablet functions out of the box, with all the cameras, mics, GPS, etc...then the Streak is still a better option.
Ah well, this forum is pretty much dead, so I'm sure this will fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes?).
I'm happy though!
ExploreMN said:
I guess I look at it as being the best $160 tablet I've ever owned. The only issue is the battery life, but I can charge it twice a day for the hundreds I'm saving over comparable devices.
Ah well, this forum is pretty much dead, so I'm sure this will fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes?).
I'm happy though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a Dell Streak 7" last week that was a couple of months old for $150. It came with Froyo but I upgraded to Honeycomb and it's like having a different tablet, really nice for what it is.
It's not an iPad2, Asus Transformer, Xoom, Acer etc. I looked at all of those tablets two days ago and the screens on them are very much nicer, but...they cost $300-$400-900+, not $150. The Streak is a real tablet not one of those $100 unknown brand Android tablet gadgets that last a week. The wifi and GPS work great along with having Honeycomb now I really like it.
I owned an iPad2 for 4 months and it is a fantastic device, it also cost me $1000 for wifi/3G and a Smart Cover. I've had the Evo4G since Aug. of '10 and love Android so in the future I'm thinking about the Asus Transformer that's coming out later this month. It will cost 2 to 3 times as much as the Streak, it will have a beautiful screen, and be worth the extra money no doubt.
I use the Streak for Flying and it is outstanding for various Aviation moving map programs. For $150 instead of $1400-2500 for a Garmin GPS aviation unit it is a bargain.
So you're not alone, the Dell Streak 7 does what it's supposed to for a reasonable price, and I like it too.
DC

What should I buy?: Nexus 7 & Galaxy Nexus vs. ASUS Padfone

Padfone or G-Nexus-7 combination
I've been using a SIM-free (unlocked and rooted) Motorola Atrix 4G with the lapdock everyday as my "daily-driver" phone/laptop solution since April of last year. I used the webtop, and later on, a modded version of Gentoo with Google Docs and Libre Office to get things done. I work at a university, so if I need something other than regular office software, I just use one of the hundreds of workstations I have access to on our campuses-- I've never experienced the so-called limitations that the lapdock+phone combo presents, and the fact that I ride very crowded trains in Tokyo precludes me from bringing my $1500+ laptop around everyday.
So when the Asus Padfone came out, I was sure that this would be my upgrade path! A phone that goes into a tablet that clips onto a keyboard. Brilliant! But hang on-- now there's the Nexus 7... Pure Google, and OPEN... That plus a Galaxy-Nexus... hmmmmm.... Could that also do the trick??
Well, there's always "let's wait and see a few more months..." But the obvious happened a week ago-- my Atrix's screen gave up the ghost... Sure I can plug it into HDMI, and use the lapdock just fine, but I can't use it as a phone... GRRRR!! Oh, and check out my location to the left-- I live in JAPAN, but I travel a lot, and go back to the US every year; actually, I'm going home in a week for a month!! So I NEED a phone either just before I go, or when I get there....
REQUIREMENTS:
- SIM Free (unlocked): I travel. A lot. Internationally. I needs my unlock!
- Multi-band support: Japan uses 2100MHz for HSPA+, and so does most of Asia. The US is 850, 1900, 1700... I'd like to find a phone that supports both of these... The Padfone will only support the Asian frequency, but nothing in the States-- I'd be stuck on 2G back home for a month... I can tolerate that though because I'll at least have AT&T hotspot support. The G-Nexus of course has a PENTABAND 3G radio (why the F don't other phones <other than the iPhone> have this same radio?!) so it'll work with whatever network I throw at it.
- Open bootloader/Rooted: One of the things I really enjoyed about my Atrix was being able to tweak tweak tweak. The Nexus devices don't need an explanation here-- They're designed to root and tweak. The Padfone can be rooted now--but it's bootloader is locked... But with the exotic tweaks made to get the tablet and phone UI to work, I doubt I'd use a custom ROM anyhow.
- Tablet/Phone combo: I got spoiled by my Atrix. Being able to use a physical keyboard to respond to an incoming text message is really habit-forming. Especially if I need to type it in Japanese. Of course the Padfone would win here... Not sure if there's an app that lets you see the text and MMSs on a phone through a tablet though. The other obvious thing here is that the Padphone *IS* the tablet, once docked into the PadStation. No tethering, no separate data plan, no hotspot needed. The G-Nexus-7 combo would see me tethering the G-Nex to the Nex-7. Is there a simple app that can make an on-demand data connection between the two happen at will?
- Updates: This is what pissed me off about Motorola. The OG Atrix's Tegra 2 processor can more than handle ICS, but here it is almost 6 months later, and nothing. Luckily I can get Kang builds, but certain things just don't work for me--for example Chrome crashes ALL the time. Camera sucks, etc. Hence, I'm over using another Moto device. Obviously the Nexus duo will ALWAYS get the latest and greatest; no-brainer there. Asus? The TF series got their updates to ICS within the first 3 months IIRC. Since Jelly Bean is just a point update, perhaps the Padfone will see an update in the fall sometime--I can live with that.
- Ease of use: Not the OS, but the physical pieces... The G-Nex-7 combo is easy in the way that both are able to use the same charger (micro USB). Padfone just nests together. I like how the Padfone keyboard has USB ports and an SD card slot... Not to mentin BATTERIES galore. It's hard as hell trying to find a place to charge my phone all the time, and sometimes I'd just use the Moto's lapdock as a battery charger!
- Price: this is the kicker... The Galaxy Nexus/ Nexus 7 Combo will come out to less than US$600 when bought from the Google store. Even buying from a grey-market distributor in Taiwan, I can't buy the Padfone/PadStation/Keyboard combo for less that US$1000... I have barely that much to spend though.
Friends, I need some help deciding! Here are my pros and cons for each device as it stands today. I'm posting this in the Padfone, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, and my old Motorola Atrix forums as well. I want some good honest and thoughtful opinions-- no haterism, flaming, or retardedness please. This is an extremely important purchase for me, and needs to be done ASAP.
As always, thank you so much for your opinions!
Your answer is in the OP. You're welcome.
starrwulfe said:
Not sure if there's an app that lets you see the text and MMSs on a phone through a tablet though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk
And if you need a physical keyboard you can get a compact Bluetooth one off eBay for like $35 (maybe less?)
I own the Prime. Asus is TERRIBLE with their software support. Absolutely terrible. Go with the Nexus and enjoy quality software support from Google.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Psipherious said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk
And if you need a physical keyboard you can get a compact Bluetooth one off eBay for like $35 (maybe less?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx for that app tip! That's going on the "save" list. I can go to Akihabara (the famous Tokyo electronics shopping area) and get one for maybe even less--that's definitely part of my solution if I do the G-Nex-7 thing.
nyijedi said:
I own the Prime. Asus is TERRIBLE with their software support. Absolutely terrible. Go with the Nexus and enjoy quality software support from Google.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I've heard about ASUS's bad support at times... One of the reasons I switched from using an HP laptop to an Apple one, was because I can walk into any Apple store worldwide and get help with it. (I'm just as mad about them suing everyone into oblivion, and I'm not that flattered with iOS the way I am with Android, but I loves me some OSX for sure.)
Keep the opinions coming y'all. Thanx!
I've owned more than enough Android devices and the thing that always leaves me disenchanted with them in the end is the update fragmentation. I have the n7 on preorder and my x2 is set to be replaced by the g-nex in August. This is just my opinion but I think it's insane that I have to keep flashing roms that may or may not have all of my hardware working correctly just to get an update. Nexus devices represent what I feel google should have done at Androids launch to combat Apple. I plan to use my n7 as an iPad alternative until Windows Surface launches and I can get a tab with fully featured office for productivity.
Sent from my DROID X2 using xda premium
nyijedi said:
I own the Prime. Asus is TERRIBLE with their software support. Absolutely terrible. Go with the Nexus and enjoy quality software support from Google.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya i've been waiting for the new asus infinity to come out but i know it will never get updated and i can at least get a bluetooth keyboard or some extra keyboard hooked up to the nexus 7 and type away
Gnex + N7 combo hands down.
Nexcellent said:
Gnex + N7 combo hands down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
10char
Nexcellent said:
Gnex + N7 combo hands down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly this. If for nothing else, these two solid reasons:
A GNex + a Nexus 7 are cheaper than a Padfone
And the battery on the GSM model of the GNex is excellent compared to its LTE counterpart.
Treat yourself to some delicious Jelly Bean. =]
Not to mention, you can just buy the $70 3800mAh extended battery from Seidio with NFC if you are worried about battery life, and you'll still be paying way less than the Padfone. I ordered one for my dad's Verizon GNex the other day, and will finally be able to put in his phone when he comes home on sunday, since no other battery has been good enough, even with the Gummy ROM on his phone. =[
Hmm. Good point. One of my main concerns is battery life since I'll be tethering with this combo a lot. I forgot the NFC chip is in the battery and not the body... also I wonder if NFC is compatible with the Felicia systems used here in Japan for things like train passes and e-money.... the phone I'm using now has it... not a necessity though.
Sent from my SBM005SH using xda-developers app
seff5677 said:
Ya i've been waiting for the new asus infinity to come out but i know it will never get updated and i can at least get a bluetooth keyboard or some extra keyboard hooked up to the nexus 7 and type away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't just worry about timely updates. I'd worry about decent performance. My Prime is a quad core device and it sucks total ass at playing games, browsing, and just about everything else. Constant lags and crashes. It's enraging. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Asus devices (the Nexus 7 will likely be different since it's a google device). You'll save yourself some huge headaches.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
I think it's incredibly odd that there is so much Asus hate yet the N7 is an Asus device itself. Performance-wise with the N7, i'd imagine apps would perform similarly to the transformer prime seeing as it uses the same processor...
jpxdude said:
I think it's incredibly odd that there is so much Asus hate yet the N7 is an Asus device itself. Performance-wise with the N7, i'd imagine apps would perform similarly to the transformer prime seeing as it uses the same processor...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason for the Asus hate is not their hardware, it's how they bloat up the OS after google passes it off to them. With the n7 Asus has nothing to do with the OS, they just make the hardware.
Sent from my DROID X2 using xda premium
So far most responses seem to support the Nexus combo.
I, however, when reading how you use your devices was thinking PadFone all the way. It seems like a better fit for you.
But just my 2 cents.
CGI_Ram said:
So far most responses seem to support the Nexus combo.
I, however, when reading how you use your devices was thinking PadFone all the way. It seems like a better fit for you.
But just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is, I think most of the benefits he would get from the padfone would be too minor to justify a $300-$400 price premium. And I am also not sure how well the phone part of it does by itself etc, Ive yet to check some reviews of the padfone. For all that extra money he could by himself some nice cases, screen protectors, bluetooth headsets etc. Even a pack of those little nfc coin things he might be able to put to good use.
Sent from my HTC Mecha using xda premium
jpxdude said:
I think it's incredibly odd that there is so much Asus hate yet the N7 is an Asus device itself. Performance-wise with the N7, i'd imagine apps would perform similarly to the transformer prime seeing as it uses the same processor...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe me, I was super pissed when word leaked that Asus was making the Nexus tablet. I'm not buying one solely for that reason. However, I do think the N7 should be okay since Google is taking care of the software instead of Asus and oversaw the hardware. Asus is completely incompetent. Google is not.
And as a Prime owner, if apps on the N7 perform similarly as the Prime, I'd suggest throwing it in the garbage. All browsers, Google Earth, tegra games - they're god awful on the Prime. Some of them are literally unusable. With that said, I'm sure apps on the N7 will run great thanks to Google.
Have I mentioned how awful Asus is?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
I also use the Atrix + Laprtock as my entire molbile solution. And this includes "real" work which needs substantial typeing and screen real estate.
For me, dropping down to 10 inch would be a killer. I have tried using 10 inch netbooks, and it is a real pain. But maybe the OP can get away with this (younger eyes on a higher res screan, perhaps smaller fingers/hands).
But no way in the world can one work like this on a 7 inch screen.
If one is using the pair for light browsing + media then I cerrtainly see the GN + N7 as a sound choice. But for a working laptop replacement, not for me. Alas I am not certain a padphone works either (though I like the concept). I would certainly be concerned about the phone itself (there are a lot of deatils in this area that do not show up in specs, ask Apple).
A shame the OP just busted his scrreen. I suspect the right answer is to wait several months.
exwannabe said:
I also use the Atrix + Laprtock as my entire molbile solution. And this includes "real" work which needs substantial typeing and screen real estate.
For me, dropping down to 10 inch would be a killer.
But no way in the world can one work like this on a 7 inch screen.
A shame the OP just busted his scrreen. I suspect the right answer is to wait several months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had exactly that same question, so I trekked over to the local electronics shop near my home here in Yokohama, and they have an Asus TF201 set up there on wifi. The tablet's dimensions are Padfone sized-- 10 inches. They also had the keydock there too, so I got to test that out as well... Wow. Color me impressed. Remember, the 10" IPS screen has more pixels and a much wider and brighter viewing angle than the Moto OG Lapdock. The keyboard was also easy to type on, and I love the fact that there are actual keys for Home, Back, Volume, Menu, Play/Pause and so on.
CGI_Ram said:
So far most responses seem to support the Nexus combo.
I, however, when reading how you use your devices was thinking PadFone all the way. It seems like a better fit for you.
But just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right-- It does seem like a better fit to me too, the more I think of it. Going and actually futzing with the TF201 yesterday didn't help though...
TauxiC said:
The problem is, I think most of the benefits he would get from the padfone would be too minor to justify a $300-$400 price premium. And I am also not sure how well the phone part of it does by itself etc, Ive yet to check some reviews of the padfone. For all that extra money he could by himself some nice cases, screen protectors, bluetooth headsets etc. Even a pack of those little nfc coin things he might be able to put to good use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone part did pretty well according to Anandtech and Engadget--
Bear in mind that this is supposed to be saving me the cost of getting a netbook to take to work with me everyday as well too... As far as accessories, well I already have 2 bluetooth headsets just sitting on my desk in front of me now, along with a microUSB to USB port adaptor and micro HDMI M/F cables. All this was from me using the Atrix in various situations.
And while the Nexus Duo is a powerful combo, there are 2 things that I absolutely need to have in a device for the way I work-- SD card adaptor and Ethernet Adaptor.
I work in the Media faculty at the university and also teach photojournalism classes; I also freelance a lot too, and one of the things that helps me a lot, is being able to yank my SD card out the camera, snap it into a USB card reader and plug it into the Lapdock and have the Atrix see it, mount it, and access it. I can then do whatever I need to do to the pix while sitting on the train (Did you know the Bullet Trains here all have Wifi onboard, and can be used while in tunnels? I once wrote and uploaded 2 magazine articles, pix and all while on a 3 hour train ride!) The Padfone's keyboard dock has a full sized SDXC card adapter built in...
Also, while my university has wifi almost everywhere on campus, I cannot access the secured parts of the network where we house our common files for grading and such. We can only use the PC labs, office PC pools, or the ethernet ports in the staff rooms. Currently I use a small wifi adapter in bridge mode sometimes-- of course with the SSID not broadcast. But a better solution would be to get a USB Ethernet adaptor. I know the Transformer series has this baked into their kernels-- I think the Padfone can do it too. But I need to do some checking.
Can the Nexus Duo do some/any of these? Let me know how, so I can check off the boxes!
I wouldn't touch an android or ios tablet after the specs of the Microsoft surface the other windows 8 tablet with ivy bridge processors were revealed. Im done with android on anything but my smartphone. Only thing I need to know is the batter life on those beast.

My Nexus 7 Experience : (

After some time playing with the Nexus 7 I felt compelled to write my impressions. This device was ordered for my mom to use for web browsing and email.
I read a lot of reviews from several tech sites as well as some forums before deciding the Nexus 7 was the right device for her.
The reviews around the tech sites were almost all positives regarding the quality and price on this device, on the other hand, the reviews from several forum members where not that great.
People where reporting issues ranging from screen separation, blown speakers and death pixels.
Tech sites mentioned the build quality of the device and the almost leather like feeling of the back surface as good points.
Almost all of them concluded that this was the tablet to get at this price point. Some of them even went as far as saying that they haven't used their iPads after getting the Nexus 7 (People Such as TWiT hosts).
All of those great reviews, even from Apple pundits, made me beleive this was a great tablet for its price point. So today we finally received the device. The first problem was noticed as soon as we opened the device, the screen was separated and lifted above the silver bezel from the left side, so much that you can hear it flexing when touching it.
The second problem was noticed when the screen was turned on. Right on the center a pixel stuck on red color, so annoying that no matter what backgroun you use, it still shows.
I own a Motorola Xoom 4G/LTE and the Nexus 7 compared to it feels like a toy. I know they are not in the same price range, but the screen on the Xoom has the feel of hard tick glass that the Nexus lacks. I don't see how the back of the Nexus is supposed to feel like leather as mentioned by some reviewers either.
I already did the required steps to exange the device for a new one. I just hope that the replacement comes free of issues, even after reading from so many members over at XDA that it may not be the case.
----- update September 11 2012 ------
I want to give an update on my experience with this device. The RMA process was completed and the replacement tablet came without issues.
My Mom has been using it ever since receiving it and I check the device once in a while just to make sure the lift screen problem is not present.
I have to say that after using the replacement unit my opinion on this tablet has changed for good. You get great value for the price and ,being a Nexus device, the assurance to that it will receive updates on time.
My original opinion was based on a defective unit, so I felt the necessity to post this update for any person still reading this section of the forums prior to making their decision to purchase one.
-------------------------------------------
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
What a bummer dude, did you order it through the Play Store?
yes I did ordered from the play store.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
Honestly, even with screen flicker, this is ten times better than my iPad 2. I'm putting my iPad up on eBay tomorrow night and I'm proud to do it. I'm using a ZAGGKeys Flex Keyboard to type this post, I LOVE my N7. If you want to check out my review it's over in the accessories section of the forum.
I really hope you give the N7 another chance. This tab kicks @$$, literally.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Lare2 said:
yes I did ordered from the play store.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When did you place the order?
Nxxx said:
Honestly, even with screen flicker, this is ten times better than my iPad 2. I'm putting my iPad up on eBay tomorrow night and I'm proud to do it. I'm using a ZAGGKeys Flex Keyboard to type this post, I LOVE my N7. If you want to check out my review it's over in the accessories section of the forum.
I really hope you give the N7 another chance. This tab kicks @$$, literally.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally love the device. the size makes more sense to me than my 10.1 inches Xoom. I just want an issue free device.
After reading so many posts about people receiving a flawless device makes me think the one I received was a lemon.
hullbay said:
When did you place the order?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Saturday 21 and arrived Wednesday 25
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
Sorry that happened to you but JOIN THE CLUB. Yes we all know Google and Asus screwed the pooch on the launch of the n7. No need to start a crying thread. And your complain about the quality? Dude its a 200 dollar device. Its quality for that price! So stop whining and bae will us ALL who had a detective device. This tablet blows your Xoom out the water.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Feel sorry for you
Hi mate, I feel sorry for you that your Nexus 7 had those problems. I received mine yesterday (16 GB version) and it is perfectly fine. Hope you'll get the replacement soon.
I'm happy with the device so far and my Transformer Prime will surely be jealous. Nexus 7 is small and light enough to carry around and to read in bed, what I can't do with the Prime because of its size and weight. 7" is my thing and definitely not the 10".
The GPS is very good. After a few seconds 11 satellites were found (note: clear sky today in London!). Overall the OS is more responsive than the Prime. So far there is for example no message "Web browser is not responding" that I sometimes get on Prime since the latest update.
The only annoying thing with Nexus 7 is that the home screen is only in portrait mode. But I'm going to root it and I can say goodbye to that annoyance.
feelinfroggy23 said:
Sorry that happened to you but JOIN THE CLUB. Yes we all know Google and Asus screwed the pooch on the launch of the n7. No need to start a crying thread. And your complain about the quality? Dude its a 200 dollar device. Its quality for that price! So stop whining and bae will us ALL who had a detective device. This tablet blows your Xoom out the water.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll wait until the replacement comes to see. My Xoom has 64GB Total storage and 4G LTE connectivity, so for me, the N7 can't fulfill my tablet needs yet. But recognize that my mom seems to be the perfect candidate for it with its 8GB and size.
If my replacement comes without issues, I'll pull the trigger on a second one with 16GB cause my wife liked the form factor. I've been a Google supporter for a long time, heck I paid 800+ on day one for and unlocked Xoom to dive early on this android tablet adventure so I'm totally on their camp, but I expect at least a working device.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
I think you should have gone with an iPad unless your Mom is one of the exceptions and real tech savvy and computer oriented. I hope this doesn't read as me being negative, I understand being upset and I'm not trying to come off as rude at all.
Don't get me wrong I love my nexus 7 and I love Android especially on a quad core tablet. I also have the Asus transformer prime and its one of my favorite devices ever. But when it comes to buying for parents, if looking for something amazing out of the box and simple and easy, I don't think the first batch of first gen nexus 7 tablets is the best choice in most cases.
I know you already bought yours and everything but since you wanted to inform others I just thought I would share my experiences that I've learned along the way.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
CharliesTheMan said:
I think you should have gone with an iPad unless your Mom is one of the exceptions and real tech savvy and computer oriented. I hope this doesn't read as me being negative, I understand being upset and I'm not trying to come off as rude at all.
Don't get me wrong I love my nexus 7 and I love Android especially on a quad core tablet. I also have the Asus transformer prime and its one of my favorite devices ever. But when it comes to buying for parents, if looking for something amazing out of the box and simple and easy, I don't think the first batch of first gen nexus 7 tablets is the best choice in most cases.
I know you already bought yours and everything but since you wanted to inform others I just thought I would share my experiences that I've learned along the way.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She is pretty much OS agnostic, she can find its way around on the two computer they have at home, even though one is running Slitaz Linux, she understand the basic concepts to be able to figure it out where the browser, email and games are no matter the OS.
I took it to Best Buy to see the iPads and she played with it already, but she also played with two tablets 7 inches in size from Samsung and Acer, and decided that was a better form factor.
She basically wanted something to use out of the house for some games she plays and on the house while not on the PC. The problem here is with the device being defective rather than hard for her to use.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
Shame you received a device with hardware defects - no user should ever except it as such, get it replaced and enjoy a perfect device.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Lare2 said:
After some time playing with the Nexus 7 I felt compelled to write my impressions. This device was ordered for my mom to use for web browsing and email.
I read a lot of reviews from several tech sites as well as some forums before deciding the Nexus 7 was the right device for her.
The reviews around the tech sites were almost all positives regarding the quality and price on this device, on the other hand, the reviews from several forum members where not that great.
People where reporting issues ranging from screen separation, blown speakers and death pixels.
Tech sites mentioned the build quality of the device and the almost leather like feeling of the back surface as good points.
Almost all of them concluded that this was the tablet to get at this price point. Some of them even went as far as saying that they haven't used their iPads after getting the Nexus 7 (People Such as TWiT hosts).
All of those great reviews, even from Apple pundits, made me beleive this was a great tablet for its price point. So today we finally received the device. The first problem was noticed as soon as we opened the device, the screen was separated and lifted above the silver bezel from the left side, so much that you can hear it flexing when touching it.
The second problem was noticed when the screen was turned on. Right on the center a pixel stuck on red color, so annoying that no matter what backgroun you use, it still shows.
I own a Motorola Xoom 4G/LTE and the Nexus 7 compared to it feels like a toy. I know they are not in the same price range, but the screen on the Xoom has the feel of hard tick glass that the Nexus lacks. I don't see how the back of the Nexus is supposed to feel like leather as mentioned by some reviewers either.
I already did the required steps to exange the device for a new one. I just hope that the replacement comes free of issues, even after reading from so many members over at XDA that it may not be the case.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel you on the screen issues but you aren't giving the device a fair shake until you've actually gotten some seat time with it.
right now, it sounds like you're judging a defective device solely on some cosmetic issues that hopefully will get resolved with the replacement.
play with it some more until the replacement comes and evaluate it based on its size/weight, form factor, JB, speed/responsiveness, functionality, etc.
I want to give an update on my experience with this device. The RMA process was completed and the replacement tablet came without issues.
My Mom has been using it ever since receiving it and I check the device once in a while just to make sure the lift screen problem is not present.
I have to say that after using the replacement unit my opinion on this tablet has changed for good. You get great value for the price and ,being a Nexus device, the assurance to that it will receive updates on time.
My original opinion was based on a defective unit, so I felt the necessity to post this update for any person still reading this section of the forums prior to making their decision to purchase one.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

Moving from TF700 to TF701

I have had a TF700 for exactly 1 year and 2 months, but two weeks ago the motherboard got fried due to my stupidity and I decided I needed a new tablet. The 700 CROMIX served me well and it had done everything I wanted it to with a few frustration.
I looked at the Samsungs, Kindles, Google Nexus 10, and the TF701. After a week of looking at all these I decided that
- Samsung was too expensive. Nice machines, but I was just not willing to pay the difference
- Kindles are also nice but a little small for me and I felt like I would always be fighting the Amazon controls they put on the device. HW wise it was the lightest machine with the best screen.
- Google Nexus 10 seemed a little too similar to the 701 and it had a little lesser specs (CPU and no MicroSD). Maybe I would wait for the NEW version, but it did not look like it is coming anytime soon (hopefully summer) and my guess is that it will be in the $500+ range
- So since the 701 has a better screen, better CPU, and very attractive price ($359 at amazon), I decided to go with it
Got the tablet and really did not wait: Upgraded to 4.3, Unlocked the bootloader, and installed CROMiX 6.0.1a on it. 20 minutes and I was good to go. I was really surprised how much faster than my 700 it is. I knew that the 1.9MHZ is better than the 700's 1.6 but I had the 700 overclocked and with the increased resolution, I expected they would be close. But the performance difference is really noticeable. I cannot comment on CROMiX vs the Stock in terms of how much the performance improvement is the optimized ROM because I did not really run the stock long enough. But this thing just flies. Boat browser with flash works great. My 16GB MicroSD worked great, the restore from Titanium worked great. My Nova settings were there and worked without trouble. Netflix does not stutter at all or Google movies or Mx Player. The battery was horrible after my first charge (lasted less than 8 hours) but also I was messing with it the whole time. After that, it looks like it goes about 2.5-3 hours per 1% in sleep and I would say it is a bit better than my 700 while on. The ROM has a "reading mode" that seems to slow down battery consumption while reading my Kindle app, but I am not sure how much better it is.
Just wanted to share my experiences with the TF701. Not saying it is the best machine out there, but for the price, I am very happy and cannot imagine the added cost for the other models would buy me that much. All the features of the 700 with the added performance and better screen. Very happy.
jhermit said:
I have had a TF700 for exactly 1 year and 2 months, but two weeks ago the motherboard got fried due to my stupidity and I decided I needed a new tablet. The 700 CROMIX served me well and it had done everything I wanted it to with a few frustration.
I looked at the Samsungs, Kindles, Google Nexus 10, and the TF701. After a week of looking at all these I decided that
- Samsung was too expensive. Nice machines, but I was just not willing to pay the difference
- Kindles are also nice but a little small for me and I felt like I would always be fighting the Amazon controls they put on the device. HW wise it was the lightest machine with the best screen.
- Google Nexus 10 seemed a little too similar to the 701 and it had a little lesser specs (CPU and no MicroSD). Maybe I would wait for the NEW version, but it did not look like it is coming anytime soon (hopefully summer) and my guess is that it will be in the $500+ range
- So since the 701 has a better screen, better CPU, and very attractive price ($359 at amazon), I decided to go with it
Got the tablet and really did not wait: Upgraded to 4.3, Unlocked the bootloader, and installed CROMiX 6.0.1a on it. 20 minutes and I was good to go. I was really surprised how much faster than my 700 it is. I knew that the 1.9MHZ is better than the 700's 1.6 but I had the 700 overclocked and with the increased resolution, I expected they would be close. But the performance difference is really noticeable. I cannot comment on CROMiX vs the Stock in terms of how much the performance improvement is the optimized ROM because I did not really run the stock long enough. But this thing just flies. Boat browser with flash works great. My 16GB MicroSD worked great, the restore from Titanium worked great. My Nova settings were there and worked without trouble. Netflix does not stutter at all or Google movies or Mx Player. The battery was horrible after my first charge (lasted less than 8 hours) but also I was messing with it the whole time. After that, it looks like it goes about 2.5-3 hours per 1% in sleep and I would say it is a bit better than my 700 while on. The ROM has a "reading mode" that seems to slow down battery consumption while reading my Kindle app, but I am not sure how much better it is.
Just wanted to share my experiences with the TF701. Not saying it is the best machine out there, but for the price, I am very happy and cannot imagine the added cost for the other models would buy me that much. All the features of the 700 with the added performance and better screen. Very happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice report! I have the same experience but I still love my TF700.
sbdags said:
Nice report! I have the same experience but I still love my TF700.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I probably would have lived OK with the TF700 for a while, but I am glad I fried it
BTW, Thanks for CROMiX... It is a really nice piece of work! Sending a couple of six packs your way...
jhermit said:
Yes, I probably would have lived OK with the TF700 for a while, but I am glad I fried it
BTW, Thanks for CROMiX... It is a really nice piece of work! Sending a couple of six packs your way...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! Many thanks for the donation! That is very kind of you.
Cheers! :highfive: :good:
My last tablet was the TF101 so I cant complain. My reasoning was the same as jhermit. Its the 701 just happens to be the one. With its high resolution, reflections, and so on. A good buy. The Samsung was the white one everywhere. Otherwise I would have gotten it. The white color really through me off of buying it. Can't figure that one out.
The TF701T keeps dropping in price, it may be the one to get.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk
I also have upgraded and have a few thoughts to add.
1. The docking station is all plastic, where the tf700t was metal. The plastic seems cheaper and typing and using the touchpad sounds plasticy, but the keyboard does type a bit easier.
2. The USB port on the base station is very very tight. I feel like I'm going to break it when I'm inserting and removing plugs.
3. The lack of vibration in the tablet is a bit of a let-down. I would have preferred to have the option.
4. The Micro USB port on the tablet is very tight and hard to get a card back out. It might be specific to my unit, but it's still an issue for me.
5. There are better brightness and performance options on the tf700t, but that may be part of the older OS as well.
6. The tablet dock hings has a lot more play/wobble in it. I read elsewhere that this was a design reason but it's floppy when I'm carrying the tablet around with the screen open.
7. Chrome was brutally bad on the tf700t; laggy, slow to load things, etc on both stock and custom ROMs. It appears that the extra horsepower in the tf701t has taken care of that problem.
So far so good on the custom ROM with xposed framework settings. I've restored all settings using Titanium Backup and am happy with it so far.
I got the TF701 a couple days ago (no keyboard) and it's great, I see no down side at all yet and I still have the TF700 running better than it ever has with Crombi-kk. [emoji41]
Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk
I'm thinking of getting this too but I can't figure out why the supposed upgrade to my tf700 actually decreased its camera resolution. Sigh. Any feedback on the camera diffrence?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk
pipopipz said:
I'm thinking of getting this too but I can't figure out why the supposed upgrade to my tf700 actually decreased its camera resolution. Sigh. Any feedback on the camera diffrence?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never used a camera on a tablet, ever, so I couldn't tell you but everything else is better.
I don't use the camera either. I'm sure a very high percentage of buyers don't either. Not a selling point for me.
Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk
xRevilatioNx said:
I don't use the camera either. I'm sure a very high percentage of buyers don't either. Not a selling point for me.
Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use the camera on the tablet that much too but for a supposed upgrade of a particular model, one wouldn't expect specs to scale back right? At least stay as is if not increase spec.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk
pipopipz said:
I don't use the camera on the tablet that much too but for a supposed upgrade of a particular model, one wouldn't expect specs to scale back right? At least stay as is if not increase spec.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are going to keep costs down why not go cheaper on the one part 99% of users will never use Seriously who uses the back camera on their tablet?
sbdags said:
If you are going to keep costs down why not go cheaper on the one part 99% of users will never use Seriously who uses the back camera on their tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would be surprised......
Take a trip to a top tourist destination, marvel and cringe!
I work in tourism and I see more of them every month! And all of them look utterly, totally stupid if you ask me.
The only thing worse are telescopic extensions handles for the iPhone with some kind of trigger build into it's handle to take pictures and videos. Saw about a dozen of those **** in Las Vegas the other night. And for some reason I'm totally convinced that 99.9% of those pictures land in the recycling bin.... Or they should....
loner. said:
I got the TF701 a couple days ago (no keyboard) and it's great, I see no down side at all yet and I still have the TF700 running better than it ever has with Crombi-kk. [emoji41]
Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a quick question, will the TF701T Tablet work with the Keyboard Dock from the TF700T ??
Sidewindr said:
Just a quick question, will the TF701T Tablet work with the Keyboard Dock from the TF700T ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately not - they have different connectors.
No, connection differs, keyboard as well as charger and datacables differ.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
pelago said:
Unfortunately not - they have different connectors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ruud Westerhout said:
No, connection differs, keyboard as well as charger and datacables differ.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually that kind of makes sense as the 701 has USB3.0 on the KBD Dock.
Currently on a TF201
I'm currently on a TF201 Transformer Prime that I've had for about two years now. I't currently running Crombi-KK quite nicely but...I'm looking for something else. I've pretty much narrowed things down to either a Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 or the TF 701. There aren't a lot of reviews out there on the Tegra 4 based devices while of course the Enyos 5420 in the Galaxy tab is unique to Samsung. Have any of you had the opportunity to try both devices? Has anyone had an opportunity to use both a Tegra 4 (like the TF701) and a Snapdragon 800 based device. what little I'm finding seems to say that performance wise it would be 1. snapdragon 800, 2. Enyos 5420 and 3. tegra 4 ....but also that the differences aren't that great???
Right now I'm seeing the TF701 on Amazon for $354 and the Samsung for $399 so the prices are not that far off. On the other hand I always loved the keyboard dock on my Prime and with the TF701 I could have that again...for $130 on Amazon taking the total cost to $484. Of course with the Samsung I'd probably end up with some sort of Bluetooth keyboard, so in the end, when the accessories I would want are factored in, they cost about the same. (EDIT: I see that the Samsung is only 16 GB storage while the Asus is 32 - advantage Asus except that the Samsung has a micro SD slot and I've got a couple of 64 GB Sandisk Ultras kicking around so that probably isn't critical)
On the pro side the Asus is known unlockable (correct me if I'm wrong) where the Samsung probably isn't??? With my Prime, I stuck with it locked until the warranty ran out then unlocked it and put Hairy Bean on it and more recently Crombi-KK. So having those options available for the future is also a plus.
On the down side, as much as I have loved my Prime, its always had some annoyances. My WiFi was never as bad as others complain of but its never been great either. Sitting in my living room with my router almost directly under me on the floor below, my Motorola phone and my wife's HP laptop get right around the full 30 Mbps we have incoming from our ISP. My prime gets 8 - 10 Mbps which should be adequate most of the time except...the lag loading web pages. Hariy Bean and now Crombi-KK seem to improve things, but my phone (Morotrola Droid Maxx on Android 4.4) is still way smoother. Of course the GPS never really worked very well - which would be a big problem for me on a phone but not such a big deal on the tablet. Has Asus managed to correct those things on the TF701? While the Tegra 4 sounds good, I wouldn't want to have a tablet where they just stuck a faster CPU in the same old device.
Guess what I'm really looking for is a new Transformer Prime that's both faster and corrects all the annoyances I've had with the TF201. Does the TF 701 accomplish that? Given that the Samsung is about the same price when I include the accessories I want, does that change your opinion?
ratman6161 said:
I'm currently on a TF201 Transformer Prime that I've had for about two years now. I't currently running Crombi-KK quite nicely but...I'm looking for something else. I've pretty much narrowed things down to either a Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 or the TF 701. There aren't a lot of reviews out there on the Tegra 4 based devices while of course the Enyos 5420 in the Galaxy tab is unique to Samsung. Have any of you had the opportunity to try both devices? Has anyone had an opportunity to use both a Tegra 4 (like the TF701) and a Snapdragon 800 based device. what little I'm finding seems to say that performance wise it would be 1. snapdragon 800, 2. Enyos 5420 and 3. tegra 4 ....but also that the differences aren't that great???
Right now I'm seeing the TF701 on Amazon for $354 and the Samsung for $399 so the prices are not that far off. On the other hand I always loved the keyboard dock on my Prime and with the TF701 I could have that again...for $130 on Amazon taking the total cost to $484. Of course with the Samsung I'd probably end up with some sort of Bluetooth keyboard, so in the end, when the accessories I would want are factored in, they cost about the same. (EDIT: I see that the Samsung is only 16 GB storage while the Asus is 32 - advantage Asus except that the Samsung has a micro SD slot and I've got a couple of 64 GB Sandisk Ultras kicking around so that probably isn't critical)
On the pro side the Asus is known unlockable (correct me if I'm wrong) where the Samsung probably isn't??? With my Prime, I stuck with it locked until the warranty ran out then unlocked it and put Hairy Bean on it and more recently Crombi-KK. So having those options available for the future is also a plus.
On the down side, as much as I have loved my Prime, its always had some annoyances. My WiFi was never as bad as others complain of but its never been great either. Sitting in my living room with my router almost directly under me on the floor below, my Motorola phone and my wife's HP laptop get right around the full 30 Mbps we have incoming from our ISP. My prime gets 8 - 10 Mbps which should be adequate most of the time except...the lag loading web pages. Hariy Bean and now Crombi-KK seem to improve things, but my phone (Morotrola Droid Maxx on Android 4.4) is still way smoother. Of course the GPS never really worked very well - which would be a big problem for me on a phone but not such a big deal on the tablet. Has Asus managed to correct those things on the TF701? While the Tegra 4 sounds good, I wouldn't want to have a tablet where they just stuck a faster CPU in the same old device.
Guess what I'm really looking for is a new Transformer Prime that's both faster and corrects all the annoyances I've had with the TF201. Does the TF 701 accomplish that? Given that the Samsung is about the same price when I include the accessories I want, does that change your opinion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just go ahead and choose the TF701! I did not have older asus tablets, but from the comments I have read since this forum was launched, all the issues that older Asus tablets had were solved. However, I would advise you to make sure that the keyboard you are going to buy is built recently ( ??/2014). Some people are experiencing disconnections between the dock and the tablet. For me I have a 09/2013 build but fortunately everything works as it should

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