Posted by Aaron Gingrich in ASUS,
The Asus Transformer Prime: the first Android device to ship with a quad-core chip, courtesy of NVIDIA's brand new Tegra 3 (Kal-El) CPU. But there's more of a hook here than power alone - Asus has gone back to the drawing board for the Prime (model number TF201) and revamped the device from nearly head to toe compared to its predecessor, the TF101. It's substantially thinner, lighter, and more attractive than the rather portly 101, while packing a much more powerful CPU, better display, and reportedly better battery life. But can they really improve upon all those aspects without cutting any corners? I've spent a few more days with the TP since posting my initial impressions on Wednesday - enough time to get a solid feel for the ups and downs of the new tablet.
On top of the more efficient processor, Asus has packed in three performance modes: "Normal" mode is effectively high performance, with everything capable of running at full speed as needed (up to 1.4GHz for a single core and 1.3GHz for multi-core). "Balanced" caps the CPU at 1.2GHz, and "Power saver" mode sets the ceiling at 1GHz for single/dual-core modes, 700MHz when three cores are being used, and 600MHz when all four main cores are active. Presumably other tweaks are made as well - in power saver mode, the screen dims and adjusts brightness based on what's displayed on the screen (though that can get just a bit annoying - scrolling up and down quickly on a site with images will visibly brighten/darken the screen).
The Asus Transformer Prime: the first Android device to ship with a quad-core chip, courtesy of NVIDIA's brand new Tegra 3 (Kal-El) CPU. But there's more of a hook here than power alone - Asus has gone back to the drawing board for the Prime (model number TF201) and revamped the device from nearly head to toe compared to its predecessor, the TF101. It's substantially thinner, lighter, and more attractive than the rather portly 101, while packing a much more powerful CPU, better display, and reportedly better battery life. But can they really improve upon all those aspects without cutting any corners? I've spent a few more days with the TP since posting my initial impressions on Wednesday - enough time to get a solid feel for the ups and downs of the new tablet.
On top of the more efficient processor, Asus has packed in three performance modes: "Normal" mode is effectively high performance, with everything capable of running at full speed as needed (up to 1.4GHz for a single core and 1.3GHz for multi-core). "Balanced" caps the CPU at 1.2GHz, and "Power saver" mode sets the ceiling at 1GHz for single/dual-core modes, 700MHz when three cores are being used, and 600MHz when all four main cores are active. Presumably other tweaks are made as well - in power saver mode, the screen dims and adjusts brightness based on what's displayed on the screen (though that can get just a bit annoying - scrolling up and down quickly on a site with images will visibly brighten/darken the screen).
Conclusion
There's a lot to take into consideration here. First, we're looking at a lot of all new technology and some impressive capabilities that heretofore haven't been seen. Not only does it pack more power and new features, but it manages to do so in an even smaller package than we're used to, and at a decent price point, to boot. On the one hand, a starting price of $500 seems like a weakness... until you consider that a 32GB Galaxy Tab 10.1 costs $600 despite no longer having the lead in sex appeal, and being blown out of the water on the hardware front. Then again, a lack of a $400 16GB model could put the Prime above what some people can afford, and that's unfortunate, because it's quite the tablet on its own - throw the $150 dock into the equation, and you've got a hell of a device on your hands.
Battery Life/Performance Modes
NVIDIA claims that the Tegra 3 boasts some of the best battery life in the business, while packing added power. We've already seen that their claims on power are right, but what about the improved battery life? I'm happy to report that their claims seem to hold merit, thanks in part to a fifth core dubbed the "companion core." (For more details on the T3's tech specs, hit up our primer.)
There's a lot to take into consideration here. First, we're looking at a lot of all new technology and some impressive capabilities that heretofore haven't been seen. Not only does it pack more power and new features, but it manages to do so in an even smaller package than we're used to, and at a decent price point, to boot. On the one hand, a starting price of $500 seems like a weakness... until you consider that a 32GB Galaxy Tab 10.1 costs $600 despite no longer having the lead in sex appeal, and being blown out of the water on the hardware front. Then again, a lack of a $400 16GB model could put the Prime above what some people can afford, and that's unfortunate, because it's quite the tablet on its own - throw the $150 dock into the equation, and you've got a hell of a device on your hands.
Battery Life/Performance Modes
NVIDIA claims that the Tegra 3 boasts some of the best battery life in the business, while packing added power. We've already seen that their claims on power are right, but what about the improved battery life? I'm happy to report that their claims seem to hold merit, thanks in part to a fifth core dubbed the "companion core." (For more details on the T3's tech specs, hit up our primer.)
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