24hrs with a Transformer Prime
This weekend i've been setting up and testing the new ASUS Transformer Prime TF201. We acquired it for work to better tune the UWO Mobile app for andriod tablets, which currently is very broken on honeycomb and ICS tablets. I have not been and will probably never be a big android phone fan, it feels like a second rate experience compared to iOS and Windows Phone. So I really didn't have high hopes for the transformer.
Setup
Unlike every other tablet I've had the initial honeycomb firmware couldn't connect to my home WIFI, after trying to figure out why for an hour or so, changing setting on the tablet/router. I found a number of posts suggesting I upgrade the firmware manually. After a fair number of attempts to get it to see that I had copied the firmware to it I finally got it to take the firmware upgrade. Once it got the upgrade magically WIFI began to work and another firmware update installed via OTA will no issues. Initially after the last update I realized that I could not purchase or download updates from the Play Store (Android Market) but a after a reboot things began to work again.
User Experience
Compared to Android phones I've used the Prime feels more polished, the home screens and widgets make more sense and make using the device, dare I say more enjoyable than an iPad. I still have issues but they're not with the Prime as a device more of issues with the UI and overall lack of polish in Android and many of the apps out there. One of my major issues is that very few apps are made for tablets, and there isn't a great way to tell; looking in the market if the app your about to install is optimized for tablets. Google needs to address these issues if they want to even make a small dent in the iPads strangely hold on the tablet market.
Verdict
The tranformer is a really nice peice of hardware and actually a contender for me as a daily use tablet. But The lack of tablet apps makes it hard to recomend over an iPad and with windows 8 coming out in a few months anyone looking at productivity tablet should definitely hold off on that tablet purchase IMHO.