Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T User Reviews

economist posted on 29 Oct 2012, 22:53

9

8 amazing hours with the Infinity

economist has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

After charging the Infinity for a whole 12 hours I put my hands on and here are the first impressions.

This is my first Android device, I am a Linux (Ubuntu) user in all my laptops (except the business laptop that has to be Windows because of some special software) and desktop and a Symbian user when it comes to mobiles. My immediate reaction to Android is that I see it as the future of OSs. While it is not the best thing when it comes to a combination of a "screen+mouse+keyboard", it is unbeatable when it comes to "touch screen" devices. I've used iphone a lot (I've spent with it 3 weeks on a trip to US when I've rented a phone) and Symbian of course and I've also tested the windows 8 in a laptop with a touch screen. IMHO nothing is equivalent to Android. The combination of usability, parametrization, user interface, openness, control over use and settings can not be found (again IMHO) in any other OS of a similar nature. And I'll stop here with Android to go to the Infinity. And I'll mention mostly the hardware issues since this is not a review of the Android ICS.

What I've liked from the hardware:

Actually I liked everything but some small things that I'll describe later. From my likes I want to highlight the following.

The screen is just amazing. Clear, crisp with impressive response. Fantastic viewing angles, extremely good brightness in daylight (and we are talking about the day light of Bangkok in a day with clear sky and 38 C), and perfect colour profile.

The design...  

After charging the Infinity for a whole 12 hours I put my hands on and here are the first impressions.

This is my first Android device, I am a Linux (Ubuntu) user in all my laptops (except the business laptop that has to be Windows because of some special software) and desktop and a Symbian user when it comes to mobiles. My immediate reaction to Android is that I see it as the future of OSs. While it is not the best thing when it comes to a combination of a "screen+mouse+keyboard", it is unbeatable when it comes to "touch screen" devices. I've used iphone a lot (I've spent with it 3 weeks on a trip to US when I've rented a phone) and Symbian of course and I've also tested the windows 8 in a laptop with a touch screen. IMHO nothing is equivalent to Android. The combination of usability, parametrization, user interface, openness, control over use and settings can not be found (again IMHO) in any other OS of a similar nature. And I'll stop here with Android to go to the Infinity. And I'll mention mostly the hardware issues since this is not a review of the Android ICS.

What I've liked from the hardware:

Actually I liked everything but some small things that I'll describe later. From my likes I want to highlight the following.

The screen is just amazing. Clear, crisp with impressive response. Fantastic viewing angles, extremely good brightness in daylight (and we are talking about the day light of Bangkok in a day with clear sky and 38 C), and perfect colour profile.

The design is by far the one that makes this pad special. The combination of a very thin chassis with the aluminium cover is just perfect. I do not like the plastic covers and the Infinity stands out from the competition. It looks and feels luxury and unique. Weight wise is just perfect also with less than 600 grams in your hands.

The standard USB port in the keyboard. Just perfect to synchronise content from external hard drives.

The docking station/keyboard is an excellent add on and I strongly suggest all that will by the Infinity to buy the keyboard also. I was able to adapt my typing in less than 10 minutes.

The battery gave me 8 straight hours of playing with minimum time on sleep. The 8 hours were including a mixed use (browsing, video, audio and radio, editing documents, installing applications etc.) with wifi always on and bluetooth always off . Given the manufacturer's disclaimer that the battery gives its full potential after 4-5 full charges then I assume that I'll easily go to the 9+ hours benchmark.

What I didn't like from the hardware:

The rubber cover of the USB port in the keyboard is not attached to the body and it is almost sure that it will be lost in a couple of weeks or months.

The feeling of the volume rocker is not very good. It is not very smooth.

The proprietary connector for the charger. I mean, all you guys that you do mobile devices, give us a break! Stop with the proprietary connectors and adopt a universal sta

Build quality 9/10

Reception 9/10

Call quality 10/10

Internet 9/10

Multimedia 9/10

Camera 9/10

UI speed 9/10

Everyday usage 10/10

Text input 9/10

Display 10/10

Battery 9/10

Non_Sequitur posted on 10 Oct 2012, 05:22

10

It's a machine. Love it.

Non_Sequitur has owned it for less than 3 months before publishing this review

I've had my Infinity since around the middle of July and I couldn't be happier. The keyboard makes it perfect and easy to type on if you don't want to use touch typing. Integrates excellently with Polaris Office and Google Drive. The build quality is unprecedented and ridiculously lightweight as well. Wifi reception is excellent as opposed to the Prime because of the strip on the top. It really did help! Browsing could be smoother, but passes the day to day usage test. It's a multimedia machine, honestly. Google Play Music, Videos, Apps, etc. combined with Netflix and other services will give you endless hours of fun. The camera isn't great, so if you're looking to take pictures with your tablet (o_e) then I wouldn't recommend it. The UI with Jelly Bean and Project Butter is absolutely incredible. Speedy and quick in all tasks, I just love it. It's also a multitasking beast. Switching between tasks in quick, simple, and easy, and works smoothly with Android's awesome multitasking. Very easy to use writing papers with Google Drive, which I have done several times since school has started. Also great for book reading on the Kindle app in portrait mode! Text input is awesome thanks to either the touchscreen or the physical keyboard. The display is currently unprecedented by any other Android tablet out there. Super IPS+ Display? Oh, yes. Text is crisp, colors are bright and vivid, and it all seems natural. Another important point is the battery life, which does not fail to impress....  

I've had my Infinity since around the middle of July and I couldn't be happier. The keyboard makes it perfect and easy to type on if you don't want to use touch typing. Integrates excellently with Polaris Office and Google Drive. The build quality is unprecedented and ridiculously lightweight as well. Wifi reception is excellent as opposed to the Prime because of the strip on the top. It really did help! Browsing could be smoother, but passes the day to day usage test. It's a multimedia machine, honestly. Google Play Music, Videos, Apps, etc. combined with Netflix and other services will give you endless hours of fun. The camera isn't great, so if you're looking to take pictures with your tablet (o_e) then I wouldn't recommend it. The UI with Jelly Bean and Project Butter is absolutely incredible. Speedy and quick in all tasks, I just love it. It's also a multitasking beast. Switching between tasks in quick, simple, and easy, and works smoothly with Android's awesome multitasking. Very easy to use writing papers with Google Drive, which I have done several times since school has started. Also great for book reading on the Kindle app in portrait mode! Text input is awesome thanks to either the touchscreen or the physical keyboard. The display is currently unprecedented by any other Android tablet out there. Super IPS+ Display? Oh, yes. Text is crisp, colors are bright and vivid, and it all seems natural. Another important point is the battery life, which does not fail to impress. I get great battery life, which was surprising considering the resolution.
In conclusion, I recommend this to anyone. Best thing I've ever owned. Period.

Build quality 10/10 Awesome build quality.

Reception 10/10

Call quality 10/10

Internet 9/10 Some sites aren't very good with certain browsers, but the browsing experience is overall fairly smooth.

Multimedia 10/10 This thing is a media machine! Use Google Play Music or AmazonMP3, Netflix, and Google Play in general and you have something that will give you many hours of fun.

Camera 8/10 Camera isn't the best, but it's alright. Takes pretty good quality pictures.

UI speed 10/10 The Infinity is a baws. It runs liquid smooth on Jelly Bean for me.

Everyday usage 10/10 It's a multitasking machine. Switching between tasks is simple and easy, and especially awesome when you're writing a research paper on Google Drive.

Text input 10/10 It has a keyboard. Lol. Without the keyboard, though, text input is fast and smooth as well.

Display 10/10 1920x1200 Super IPS+ Display. Does not disappoint.

Battery 10/10 It'll last you all day, at least. I was very surprised how good the battery was with the ridiculously awesome resolution.

Pros

• Everything.

Cons

• Browsing experience could be a little smoother.

Non_Sequitur alternatives:

Asus Transformer Pad 300

Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1

Apple iPad 3