It was my birthday few months ago and I got an Asus Transformer Pad as a birthday present for myself.
It was quite a debate between an Ipad2 or this little machine. My parents have an Ipad2 and they loved it. I used it a few times and found the major issue with the Ipad is that there’s no Flash. Another down side with tablets, in general, is the lack of productivity on them. What I mean is, without a keyboard and an identical software with familiar user interface, it is hard to get real work (ie, word, powerpoint) done when using a tablet.
My family members are avid users of Android smart phones: Motorola Flipout, Samsung Galaxy, Sony X10, Nexus etc. So I’m familiar with Android operating system. We also LOVE the Google apps: google voice, talk, gmail client, map, earth, goggles etc. So there is a huge incentive to use android system just because of the familiarity I already have with the platform.
Well, I see benefits with using both OS but when it really come down to the decision time, I choose an Android tablet because of the following:
- Flash compatible
- Ability for customization
- Google apps
- Simply just something different
After deciding on the OS, it was time to decide on the machine.
I had a few options: Samsung Galaxy 7 and 10 inch, Motorolla Xoom, HTC flyer or Asus transformer.
I was really drawn on Xoom but after reading some bad reviews, I decided not to go with it. Galaxy 7 uses different version of android OS (not Honeycomb) so why use an old OS when there is the new OS, we should be evolving. The 10 inch version wasn’t going to be out for a few weeks and I didn’t want to wait…so no Samsung for now. Looking at the HTC flyer, besides on the bad review it got (with regards to the lack of compatible software with the magic pen), I still think it has a great concept and is really different from rest of the tablet. However, HTC flyer also uses the old OS and it is super duper expansive, so No, next one please.
It wasn’t hard to decide on the Asus transformer. Esp knowing that I can buy a keyboard and it allows external storage and USB drive connection; these are features not available from any other tablet in the market.
Here are some photos.
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Here’s an review from Engadget.
Now, I have been using Asus Transformer for awhile now and here are some thoughts on the machine and the honeycomb OS.
