Database Users

Previous Xoom owner with new Transformer; comparrison

I posted this in the stock thread but feel it would be better placed in its own thread to help those who have a xoom and are considering making the jump to the Transformer.
Got my phone order in to TD yesterday and the transformer showed up today!
Screen: Simply looks better however my finger doesnt seem to "glide" as easy as the xoom. However on the flip side I have already noticed less fingerprints.
Audio: not sure where the speakers are but the sound seems more like its coming at you as opposed to the xoom where the speakers were in back facing away from you, much improved.
Responsiveness: Maybe im crazy but the overall response time seems improved, especially when switching orientation. I also especially notice this in angry birds, when I restarted a level on the Xoom there would be a half second pause while it reloaded the level. On the transformer it restarts the level RIGHT NOW. I thought the Xoom lagged a bit because of all the apps I had installed but I have all the same apps on the transformer and have not noticed any lag whatsoever.
Weight: I knew it was lighter but didnt think I would notice. I was wrong, I noticed the first moment I picked it up. Granted I had the 4G Xoom so maybe the cellular radio made it heavier however it is very refreshing to have a lighter tablet.
Camera: This is the one place where the xoom wins, well kind of. Low light enviroments make a low light shot. The Xooms ability to have flash give it the advantage here. However I will say when there is enough light the transformers pictures seem to be a bit more "crisp". Video is the one area where the transformer falls down. The video is laggy (choppy) and I have a feeling this may be something that firmware can fix (Im still on the original factory firmware).
Wi-Fi: I am in the same location as where I had my Xoom tied into my office wifi. The xoom always read 3 out of 4 bars where the Transformer gets 4 out of 4 bars all over the entire building. I really think the Transformer gets better wi-fi reception.
GPS: The GPS radio in the Transformer is just as good as the one in the Xoom. It pickes me up spot on in a building where we have two steel roofs.
On Screen keyboard: I love the transformers on screen keyboard. Its like they actually put some thought into it. Its button placement is much more refined then the xoom. At first I didnt think i would like it but after 20 minutes of use I found myself being much more productive with the new layout.
Market: Both Droid market and Amazon App store immediately downloaded all my old apps so making the switch was cake. I was concerned I would have to individually re-download all my old apps but both app stores did a fantastic job of getting all my old apps.
The basic feel and operation of Honeycomb seems to be exactly the same. I LOVE the floating ice cube wallpaper and noticed on the Xoom whenever I had an animated background it slowed down the tab. This is NOT the case with the transformer, everything still seems fluid even with the animated background. It is not my intent to bash the Xoom but I paid $800 for it and spent half on this device and it honestly feels like a step forward. Granted I dont have verizon access anymore but found I always used wifi regardless.
Add all of this up and then take into factor you can use a dock that will give you full size USB, keyboard, mouse, a Micro SD card slot that actually works right out of the package and you have a no brainer. Absolutely thrilled I made the switch!
EDIT: added info after one full night of playing with it;
Well after a full night of playing with the transformer (as well as doing the firmware upgrade) I did come up with some more input
Audio: As others have stated the overall sound quality from the Xoom speakers are superior. Yesterday when i was playing with the device I was at work and couldnt really turn it up all the way. When you do hit max volume it is not very loud and is very distorted. At normal volume levels I think it sounds better simply because the speakers arent facing away from you. Now since I rarely run the tablet at max volume this shouldnt be an issue
Video recording: Yes the firmware did help significantly but it did not cure the problem entirely. The video now only slightly studders, which is somewhat tolerable. However my Xoom from day 1 took stellar video and never had an issue. Hopefully future updates will eliminate all studdering but for now the Xoom has the clear advantage in this area.
Battery life: Keep in mind I dont have the dock yet but the battery life on the Xoom is definately better. Not by leaps and bounds but it is noticeable. I played on the TF for 4 hours last night doing everything from video to firmware updated and I dropped to 40%. I did this same process when I got my Xoom for approximately the same amount of time and only went down to 60%. Perhaps its the floating ice cube background? Who knows, but for now the Xoom definately has the edge for now.
On screen keyboard: Yes I like the layout better on the TF but the input is slightly slower then the Xoom. Overall the TF seems more responsive but in this department the Xoom wins out. Again, hopefully this is something that is fixed in future updates.
Im trying to be as fair and honest as possible here so that I can help people make wise decisions. From my original post im still sold on the transformer over the Xoom but there are definately things the Xoom does better and vice versa.
Happy Hunting!

03stage2 said:
Screen: Simply looks better however my finger doesnt seem to "glide" as easy as the xoom. However on the flip side I have already noticed less fingerprints.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just FYI, this gets better. There appears to be a coating of something on the screen that disappears over time, or maybe the first time you vigorously wipe it down. I was worried because I found my finger skipping across the screen instead of gliding, but now it's normal. Maybe it's from the protective plastic the Transformer ships in.

i heard about that finger glide thing, take a micro fiber cloth make it very slightly damp and wipe the screen down

I'm mad you got yours already! I'm waiting on the UPS guy right now haha.
Thanks for the comparison!

dfin13 said:
Just FYI, this gets better. There appears to be a coating of something on the screen that disappears over time, or maybe the first time you vigorously wipe it down. I was worried because I found my finger skipping across the screen instead of gliding, but now it's normal. Maybe it's from the protective plastic the Transformer ships in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I thought my screen was broken when I first used it.
This changes over time. If it doesn't, a screen protector will solve any problems.

The difference in wifi strength could be due to the fact that the Transformer doesn't have a metal back. I remember when the iPhone 1's had problems cuz of the metal back.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

You forgot to mention a huge selling point: the GREAT price.
I got a TF + dock+ sleeve + 16 GB memory card for LESS than what I spent on the wifi only Xoom.

strikethreeout said:
You forgot to mention a huge selling point: the GREAT price.
I got a TF + dock+ sleeve + 16 GB memory card for LESS than what I spent on the wifi only Xoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I said in my conclusion that I spent $800 on the 4G Xoom and half on this tab. But youre completely right, even when I add the cost of the dock I am still WAY ahead of the game.

donatom3 said:
The difference in wifi strength could be due to the fact that the Transformer doesn't have a metal back. I remember when the iPhone 1's had problems cuz of the metal back.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did some tests last night and my Xoom was getting better wifi performance than my TF. I'm guessing any differences in either direction could be related as much to the router as to the tablet...

03stage2 said:
Audio: not sure where the speakers are but the sound seems more like its coming at you as opposed to the xoom where the speakers were in back facing away from you, much improved.
Camera: This is the one place where the xoom wins, well kind of. Low light enviroments make a low light shot. The Xooms ability to have flash give it the advantage here. However I will say when there is enough light the transformers pictures seem to be a bit more "crisp". Video is the one area where the transformer falls down. The video is laggy (choppy) and I have a feeling this may be something that firmware can fix (Im still on the original factory firmware).
Wi-Fi: I am in the same location as where I had my Xoom tied into my office wifi. The xoom always read 3 out of 4 bars where the Transformer gets 4 out of 4 bars all over the entire building. I really think the Transformer gets better wi-fi reception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with most of what you wrote, just some clarification on these items:
Audio: I've actually found that my Xoom's audio is higher quality than my TF's. I don't know if there's variability between TFs, but the Xoom's is both richer (more base and midrange, I think) and louder (even without something behind it to redirect the sound forward). I did a test last night and found the TF's speakers to be very inferior to the Xoom's.
Camera: The newest firmware definitely improves video capture, so no worries there.
Wi-Fi: I did a test last night with the Xoom and TF, and actually found the Xoom to perform better. However, there are too many variables to say which is better. The TF's performance is just fine regardless.
And ultimately, the screen is SO much better and the keyboard dock really does seal the deal. For $399, I think the TF is by far the better machine and would be even if the Xoom were the same price.

I believe it is something to do with the Gorilla Glass

wynand32 said:
I agree with most of what you wrote, just some clarification on these items:
Audio: I've actually found that my Xoom's audio is higher quality than my TF's. I don't know if there's variability between TFs, but the Xoom's is both richer (more base and midrange, I think) and louder (even without something behind it to redirect the sound forward). I did a test last night and found the TF's speakers to be very inferior to the Xoom's.
Camera: The newest firmware definitely improves video capture, so no worries there.
Wi-Fi: I did a test last night with the Xoom and TF, and actually found the Xoom to perform better. However, there are too many variables to say which is better. The TF's performance is just fine regardless.
And ultimately, the screen is SO much better and the keyboard dock really does seal the deal. For $399, I think the TF is by far the better machine and would be even if the Xoom were the same price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input. For audio I agree the Xoom had more midtones but to me they were muffled and being priduced by a tiny speaker that has no business trying to replicate those frequencies. The TF is much more treble based and to me sounds better due to that. I still stand by the TF highs sound better overall though.
Thanks for the input on the camera. I see you can manually download the new firmware but my TF is so new I think I will wait for the OTA update as I dont want to risk bricking a brand new device.
Maybe I just got lucky on the wi-fi but it definately gets better signal even at distance. But as another poster stated sometimes wi-fi signal performance isnt always dictated by the using device as much as it is by the router itself.
Damn I love this screen....

wynand32 said:
Audio: I've actually found that my Xoom's audio is higher quality than my TF's. I don't know if there's variability between TFs, but the Xoom's is both richer (more base and midrange, I think) and louder (even without something behind it to redirect the sound forward). I did a test last night and found the TF's speakers to be very inferior to the Xoom's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree too, even the audio out is worse than the xooms. there's just too much emphasis on the highs. it also doesn't get as loud and distorts more at lower levels - this is all through the headphone jack, not onboard speakers.
i was hoping that audio out would be as good as the xoom as i thought the xoom was as good or possibly better than my ipad's output. i'd have to assume it's a software tweek since i'd guess they'd have the same audio processors.
one other thing about the tf - make sure you have fingernails if you like to insert and remove micorsd cards in this unit. i cannot replace my sdcard without something to push it back in after removing it.

Well after a full night of playing with the transformer (as well as doing the firmware upgrade) I did come up with some more input
Audio: As others have stated the overall sound quality from the Xoom speakers are superior. Yesterday when i was playing with the device I was at work and couldnt really turn it up all the way. When you do hit max volume it is not very loud and is very distorted. At normal volume levels I think it sounds better simply because the speakers arent facing away from you. Now since I rarely run the tablet at max volume this shouldnt be an issue
Video recording: Yes the firmware did help significantly but it did not cure the problem entirely. The video now only slightly studders, which is somewhat tolerable. However my Xoom from day 1 took stellar video and never had an issue. Hopefully future updates will eliminate all studdering but for now the Xoom has the clear advantage in this area.
Battery life: Keep in mind I dont have the dock yet but the battery life on the Xoom is definately better. Not by leaps and bounds but it is noticeable. I played on the TF for 4 hours last night doing everything from video to firmware updated and I dropped to 40%. I did this same process when I got my Xoom for approximately the same amount of time and only went down to 60%. Perhaps its the floating ice cube background? Who knows, but for now the Xoom definately has the edge for now.
On screen keyboard: Yes I like the layout better on the TF but the input is slightly slower then the Xoom. Overall the TF seems more responsive but in this department the Xoom wins out. Again, hopefully this is something that is fixed in future updates.
Im trying to be as fair and honest as possible here so that I can help people make wise decisions. From my original post im still sold on the transformer over the Xoom but there are definately things the Xoom does better and vice versa.
Happy Hunting!

03stage2 - In general I agree with your comparison. I've been using the TF and Xoom side by side for the last week.
Battery life: I've noticed the the TF battery drains faster when it's not being used, like overnight. The Xoom seems to use less battery when it's not doing anything. In active usage I haven't noticed a difference, but I use them for different things.
Screen Keyboard: I hated the Xoom OSKeyboard from day one, I almost took it back it was so frustrating. The Xoom does not seem to have the same level of multitouch. The TF keyboard has been much better, I can almost touch type with the TF keyboard.
I've already promised the Xoom to a family member as a gift. Now I'm debating selling the Xoom and giving them a TF instead (assuming I can get my hands on another one!).

wtf you said the TF was good then in blue you praise xoom

jerichoholic said:
wtf you said the TF was good then in blue you praise xoom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read my comments in the end of the blue I still say the TF is better IMO. However I dont want to be one of those biased folks who simply promote the product they own. As I stated they both have areas that each one does better in but overall the TF still feels like the better choice to me. Also, the TF is so new that i have a feeling allot of the bugs im seeing will be corrected with FW updates.
I would hope that the folks here would benefit more from an honest review rather then sugar coating the review and making it seem like I had my own agenda....

I just wish I could find on in stock anywhere

jerichoholic said:
wtf you said the TF was good then in blue you praise xoom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Xoom has some advantages over the Transformer, obviously. I believe if they were both the same price, it'd come down to the screen.

Mikey450GT said:
I believe it is something to do with the Gorilla Glass
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree.
I have an iPad 2 with its "Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating" and the glass is so smooth and easy to slide your finger on.
I also have an ASUS EP121 Tablet with Gorilla Glass and i did notice a different feel than the iPad 2. It does get better the more you clean the glass.
I haven't got a Transformer yet but since it has Gorilla Glass, it should feel the same as the EP121.
Not complaining, just different technology.

Sold my Iconia A500, screen was terrible

Just sold my Acer A500 32gb and bought an Acer TF with 16gb and the kb dock (paying $100 extra in the process). Reasons:
- SCREEN SCREEN SCREEN, I mean wtf, the color depth and fidelity were terrible. Pale, washed out... and while I can cope with that, I couldn't stand looking at the pixel granulation, individual pixels were easy to notice, they looked big and arranged in small squares. I simply wasn't able to tolerate that.
- Battery life..., with what I consider average use I got like 5hours tops even less.
Rest was fine with the tablet, I didn't have problems with the extra weight compared to other tables in the market.
The Asus's offering is way better all things taken into account.
-
Samsung's upcoming 7.7" and 5.3" though with 1280x800 and Amoled will take the cake once they become available.
-

Sounds like a defective tab.... Mine does none of that, has a great screen and amazing battery life.

My Iconia is awesome as well very gorgeous all around. Just like me

Just out of curiosity, what rom were you using, Stock 3.01, Stock 3.1, Stock 3.2 or a Custom? (which custom if so)
I see what you mean about the pixelation, though mine seems a tolerable quality, what really gets me is how you can easily see the capacitive layers of the screen.
All i had before my iconia was a htc desire and the amoled screen on that is quite different to the iconia. the desire screen is obviously nicer im still very happy with my iconia .

I used to use the latest stock OTA update, don't remember was it 3.2 or 3.1.
The tab wasn't defective, one reason might be that there are different batches of lcd panels used but, the pixels on mine were arranged in such a manner that I could see them...check Engadget's screenshots as well, you can notice them there too. Color fidelity, colors, saturation, everything was worse than my first LCD panels from years ago.
I loved the camera, the build, the feel of the tablet, but saving $ on the screen is just ridiculous move by Acer.

*yawn*
Thanks for sharing. Bye.

no need to be rude. devices dont suit everyone equally. they settled with a transformer, its not like they changed to an ipad, that alone is enough reason to not be rude, dont u agree

I'm not judging anyone.
*waves qwertylesh off*

I'm not judging either, but why would someone come to a forum that is all about a product and then say "I sold mine.. Blah , Blah, and sport a thumbs down symbol.
If you didn't like it, why mention it?

sonkey said:
I'm not judging either, but why would someone come to a forum that is all about a product and then say "I sold mine.. Blah , Blah, and sport a thumbs down symbol.
If you didn't like it, why mention it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe its to let others who are looking at purchasing a tab to be aware that they display may not be satisfactory
or maybe
theyre trolling
who cares?

erica_renee said:
My Iconia is awesome as well very gorgeous all around. Just like me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree the tab is awsome

Blagoja D. said:
Just sold my Acer A500 32gb and bought an Acer TF with 16gb and the kb dock (paying $100 extra in the process). Reasons:
- SCREEN SCREEN SCREEN, I mean wtf, the color depth and fidelity were terrible. Pale, washed out... and while I can cope with that, I couldn't stand looking at the pixel granulation, individual pixels were easy to notice, they looked big and arranged in small squares. I simply wasn't able to tolerate that.
- Battery life..., with what I consider average use I got like 5hours tops even less.
Rest was fine with the tablet, I didn't have problems with the extra weight compared to other tables in the market.
The Asus's offering is way better all things taken into account.
-
Samsung's upcoming 7.7" and 5.3" though with 1280x800 and Amoled will take the cake once they become available.
-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery life seems a bit strange... I get heaps of life out of mine. At least you have a product that works for you now though The TF should serve you well. I was tempted by it, but for me I think the Acer is the better fit, until kal-el tablets start arriving on the scene

Honestly, why even bother posting this?

TFordham said:
Sounds like a defective tab.... Mine does none of that, has a great screen and amazing battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too. Sounds like someone didn't trouble shoot some obvious techniques to increase performance and functionality

Yes, OP is right.
The display should be better. Compared to my Desire HD, the screen looks really pale and the colors aren't that crisp. But The sharpness is fine and you don't notice the digitizer when the screen is on.
Sent out of my Free-Candy-Van.

Flussen said:
The display should be better. Compared to my Desire HD, the screen looks really pale and the colors aren't that crisp. But The sharpness is fine and you don't notice the digitizer when the screen is on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't the Desire HD sporting an AMOLED screen? That's not really a fair comparison.

I don't get it.
Apple Ipad 2 screen resolution: 1024x768
Acer Iconia a500 screen resolution: 1280x800
Many of my friends use the Apple IPad - they all notice that my a500's screen looks a *lot* better when displaying hd video.
Either obvious troll is obvious, or OP does not realize higher resolution = smaller pixels = better image quality.
Or perhaps I am missing something here?

OP's battery life
I have my Iconia running overclocked (1500MhZ vs 1000MhZ stock). Woke up for work at 2:45am today with a full battery, ran system a full hour for music while i got ready for work, battery down to 96%. Hour drive time to work, a500 playing a couple podcasts i wanted to catch up on. Battery at 89% when i arrive at work.
Go on break at 9am, use system at full brightness while on break for a hour. Battery at 80% after this.
Leave work at noon (streaming podcast all the way home. Hit traffic. 2 hours drive time - battery at 70% when i get home (Finally!))
Arrived home at 2 pm - been using my tab for 2 hours solid, screen at max brightness- battery at 66%.
Total: 3 hours heavy use with max brightness set and wifi up. 4 hours use with screen off playing music or podcasts.
If you are only getting 5 hours use either:
A) You have some app installed that is using some insane battery
Or
B) You have a defective unit.
At the end of this post, max brightness set - I am holding a 64% charge. And remember, i am overclocked and at a higher voltage then stock.

prophetic said:
Isn't the Desire HD sporting an AMOLED screen? That's not really a fair comparison.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, it has a normal LCD panel.
Sent out of my Free-Candy-Van. Your kids are safe in there. Trust me.

I have both. Screen is good enough better then average. I use the Acer most in the field because of the USB ports go access files and charge my p phone. Once im home i hook it up to my TV with 2.4 ghz mouse and keyboard surf the web and stream videos. SICK. The t transformer is for the wife bcuz its light weight. Lol
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium

Acer 510: To keep or not to keep? A "heated" question

Update on 5/16:
Not having the heat spikes like I was. Keeping the 510 due to superior battery life and file drivers that work great with all third party apps. Also, being able to power and use my 1tb NTSF drive while watching 1080p mkv movies and not worry about battery life is nice.
End
Kind of torn here, as far as what to do. IMO, the A510 for the price, performance and features beats the other current options (Excite 305 too) for a "total" tablet perspective, but the design (or lack of) for heat displacement is the catch. Since the update, the A510 seems to not get as hot (relative statement), but that could be me trying to justify keeping the A510 (I really like it).
1. If browsing or watching video, the right side gets warm, but not hot. That said, it gets warmer than the other current Tegra 3 devices. This is really ironic since the Prime and its metal should feel more hot. This suggests the A510 is getting a lot hotter inside.
2. If playing games that use the GPU a lot, the right side gets hot to the point of not being fun to hold.
3. If using wifi while playing a game- DANG, it gets even hotter.
I still have over 30 days to mess with the A510 (silver BB member), but I can not see how software will fix the issue, unless they throttle the device, so performance would be hit. Seems this could be a hardware issue and perhaps as significant a design goof as Asus with the Prime radios.
Added: Even more ironic since sold my Thive. I have an iPad 3 as well, but like having both and prefer Android between the two (game emulators, drag and drop (no iTunes) and Flash are main reasons).
Update: Here is an exmaple of why I am conflicted. I agree with this review, but think their opinion of the display is too low (it looks real good to me). Key point is the amazing battery life:
http://www.digitalversus.com/tablet/acer-iconia-tab-a510-p12812/test.html

I am in the keep category. I do notice warmth, but nothing more than my laptop or chromebook do. My prime didn't have that issue, but it came with its own suitcase of baggage.
I'm going to try to tax it later and use our thermometer to see how hot I can get it. Not a super scientific device but it should give me an idea. I for one would like to see ya stick around.
Sent from my A510 using xda premium

I unfortunately only had a week to return my A510 and I decided to do it. It is a great device, but the heat issue was very bothersome, especially because my little guy loves to play 3D games.
If you have 30 days to return this, just enjoy the A510 as long as you can and hopefully you will have more certainty on release dates and pricing for the A700 (I know, it could be hot as well) and Infinity Pad before the end of the period. There is also the the upcoming Galaxy Note 10.1 which is supposed to be quad core.

Before I bought A510 I was waiting for the Asus TF300T. I would have gone for the Asus TF201 if there wasn't an abundance of complaints about wifi reception and screen bleeding (considering the price of the device I think the risk was too high).
Watching reviews on youtube made me change my mind so instead of the Asus TF300T I went for the Acer A510 and I don't regret it.
My experience after 2 weeks of use:
Heat: The device gets warm sometimes, but that doesn't worry me much. Comes in spikes sometimes. When playing Dungeon Defender (which uses the Unreal Engine) it was most noticable.
Sound: Great thanks to Dolby. Good stereo separation.
Screen: I find the colder colors of the screen more appealing compared to the IPS screens in the Asus Transformer series. Viewing angles are nice. I only notice a bit of discoloring at extreme viewing angles where whites turn yellowish.
Stability: Had some issues that only appear after certain actions (I suspect warm boots or app updates or a combination of those) and they disappeared after cold boot (using the reset button). So I think it's software related.
Wifi: Getting 30 ~ 40 Mbit/s up and down and a ping as low as 6 ms to the speedtest server from a distance of 3 m from my router (unobstructed). Speed drops to 25 ~ 30 Mbit/s up and down with a ping as low as 14 ms (usually a bit higher) from 12 m with 2 walls in between. (note: this in an environment where the 2,4 GHz band is quite crowded)
Battery life: I think it's good. I got a 10% drop after watching 70 minutes of 720p content streaming over Wifi with the screen on 50% or 75% brightness (I don't remember it exactly) and this was only on the first or second charge.
My conclusion is that it's definately a keeper, especially when it comes to sound, wifi and battery life.

I agree the A510 leans to being a keeper, but need to understand the heat issue better.

The only thing I can think of when graphics processors get really hot is when rendering is not v-sync'ed or framerate locked.
I saw post about a combination of using wifi and 3D graphics that heats the device up. Maybe because AES encryption/decryption takes some processing power? (just a wild guess) You can it with an unprotected wifi connection and see if there's any difference.

There does appear to be two levels of heat:
Hot = 3D gpu function
Real hot = wifi and 3d gpu at same time.
In comparison, the 300 and Prime do not exhibit the heat issues (but both weaker options for me than A510). If any device should get hot, it would be the same Tegra 3 metal backed Prime. It feels (literally) like Acer made zero effort for heat dissipation in the A510 design.
If this lack of design is correct, the A700 will add two new levels of hot. Testing more, but seems it is what it is- a foe in the summer, but friend in the winter
Added: In spite of also being thin and metal like the Prime, the Toshiba Excite does not get hot either and this is pointed out in the video review at the end- the A510 is mentioned as toasty and the Excite as cool during tests. Catch is about three hours less battery life.

I'm keeping mine, even though I got my a510 to heat up to the point where I get a black and locks up twice. But that's after I was messing with alot of tegra 3 games. I used to have a Asus transformer for a month and I hated it, its problems outweigh the a510 heating issue.
Sent from my A510 using Tapatalk 2

My theory is Acer decided on using the space for more battery and less or no heat dissipation. Perhaps the battery module (the frame or case of it) is being used for dissipation (not the best of ideas).
That would explain why the A510 gets very hot and the other Tegra 3 devices barely get warm.

Strange that I can not replicate the heat spikes I was having. It can still get real warm, but not hot like it was a few times.

I wish I knew what people were doing with their a510.
I have never experienced any issues like that mentioned here
nor anywhere else.
Yeah I notice a warm spot, but I have 4 year old laptops that get hotter.
One time since I got it, it wouldn't wake up. I just held the power button, solved.
GPS, perfect. WIFI, perfect. SPEED, perfect. Feel is solid. Glass feels sexy.
My only real complaint, the proprietary micro port....

the good, the bad, and the ugly!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Over the past year have had the opportunity to own and use "the three asus android tablets."
The bad
A year ago I had a prime. Previously i was using an acer 500, and thought I was going to get a much better tablet, the numbers indicated it would be. The problem of the prime were noticed from the get go. Perhaps if i didn't own the acer, the problems of the prime would not have been so noticeable. I not going back over all the primes problems, there is enough posting to give you an idea. On an extended contract I was able to get prime replaced as a lemon with the infiniity.
The good
The infinity was a big leap forward for asus. It's been their and my #1 ever sense. A big jump all across the android spectrum. Top of the line graphics, cpu speeds and other things at the top specs list. But all was not rosey. Asus for some reason did not use a dedicated i/o system and the infinity and infinity users suffers for it. Several top Roms and jelly bean have helped make this into a real joy to use but it could have , and with its price tag should have been, much better. After entering a drawing last month from Android Police i won a asus 300 with key pad.
The ugly
I don't really think the 300 is ugly, but its plastic construction, and its overall design have been commented on several times. Dollar for dollar this might be the best of the lot. Asus learned from the prime and corrected many of its problems. Lowered some spec to reach a better price point. It's been my impression over the past year that the 300 was a pretty good tablet, and after a week of using it, my impression was justified. Instead of pushing the envelope they put together a decent reliable tablet at what was a very good price point. I say was, because i think the 300 is on the high side in the current market.
The showdown
prime is already on boot hill. With the infinity on balance mode, the mode i use the most, and 300 on performance i saw very little difference. I tried hitting start buttons together and watch load times. most infinity was slightly ahead most times but not always and sometime 300 was ahead. web pages mostly went to the infinity. to my eye streaming was equal. I have a hard time to actually seeing the screen deference. this may be due to my vision. 300 is a little softer and whites were not as bright, and for reading the 300 was easier on my eyes. Pictures looked fine on both. holding the 300 was easier than the infinity. 300 has a better balance and "plastic"made holding in bed much easier.
I also have the use of a kindle hd 8.9. Its my personal opinion the 8.9 in, give or take a little, is the best size for a tablet. I would give the kindle and infinity the edge on screen. kindle has the better sound. 300 and infinity have two cameras, more flexibility, jb 4.2, and in general a more rounded experience.
As i said 300 is a good mid range tablet, one that I'm glad to own and its not going to be shoved to the closet. when unlocked and running the latest build of cleanrom 300 got a 7000 score. Some individual owners of infinity have reached 7000 my personal best was around 6800 on the same rom. not bad little brother.
woody
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk 2

Is there a better tablet coming soon?

I bought a 32gb Nexus 10 from Staples over the weekend and am enjoying it, but I realize that I'm seven months late to this hardware (while still paying full price). Is there anything coming in the next month that I should return this unit for? A high PPI is a must at this point.
Thanks.

Samsung was trying to get a Nexus 11 going and had specs for it, but at the time Google had not yet approved the production of it. No word has been heard since then about a new model upgrade for the Nexus 10.

trimalchioinwestegg said:
I bought a 32gb Nexus 10 from Staples over the weekend and am enjoying it, but I realize that I'm seven months late to this hardware (while still paying full price). Is there anything coming in the next month that I should return this unit for? A high PPI is a must at this point.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The next Nexus 7 will probably come out in a month or so, if you're okay with a 7" tablet. If you must have 10", the high-end announcements so far are a new Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, not coming till the fall, and the Toshiba Excite Pro, coming next month, both running Tegra 4 and with the same 2560 X 1600 resolution as the Nexus 10. If you want a stylus, the Toshiba Excite Write is the same as the Pro, but with a Wacom digitizer and a stylus.
There are always new announcements being made in the runup to the holidays, this is just what we know so far. We can't say how good any of these devices will be, as none of them are out yet.

Just got the Toshiba Excite Write
And it looks to be a damn fine tablet. Antutu scored 28k+ and the graphics power is phenomenal. Has built in video and audio enhancements, seems pretty stable on this kernal build, although I expect an update soon because of a couple of weird quirks. The stylus works great (love the eraser by turning over the pen!), but not as developed as the Note 10.1, however, the screen rez is fantastic at 320 DPI and looks as good as the Nexus 10. The rear camera is REALLY great...best I've seen so far on a tablet, and the speakers are clear as a bell with excellent surround sound controlled in hardware, so anything you play gets enhanced. It does get a little warm on the left side under the camera when running an intensive app.
If you have any questions or requests, fire away!

babblin5 said:
And it looks to be a damn fine tablet. Antutu scored 28k+ and the graphics power is phenomenal. Has built in video and audio enhancements, seems pretty stable on this kernal build, although I expect an update soon because of a couple of weird quirks. The stylus works great (love the eraser by turning over the pen!), but not as developed as the Note 10.1, however, the screen rez is fantastic at 320 DPI and looks as good as the Nexus 10. The rear camera is REALLY great...best I've seen so far on a tablet, and the speakers are clear as a bell with excellent surround sound controlled in hardware, so anything you play gets enhanced. It does get a little warm on the left side under the camera when running an intensive app.
If you have any questions or requests, fire away!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will keep my tablet thanks. At least I know my benchmark scores are 100% raw horsepower and not shady nVidia "optimizations".

brees75 said:
I will keep my tablet thanks. At least I know my benchmark scores are 100% raw horsepower and not shady nVidia "optimizations".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Suit yourself, but that's a lot of wasted CPU cycles and amps there for a misplaced sense of "power." Mobile devices are all about optimization right now, and if the reports show the device to be fully usable, then you're unlikely to run into issues. Certainly this has my eye.

babblin5 said:
And it looks to be a damn fine tablet. Antutu scored 28k+ and the graphics power is phenomenal. Has built in video and audio enhancements, seems pretty stable on this kernal build, although I expect an update soon because of a couple of weird quirks. The stylus works great (love the eraser by turning over the pen!), but not as developed as the Note 10.1, however, the screen rez is fantastic at 320 DPI and looks as good as the Nexus 10. The rear camera is REALLY great...best I've seen so far on a tablet, and the speakers are clear as a bell with excellent surround sound controlled in hardware, so anything you play gets enhanced. It does get a little warm on the left side under the camera when running an intensive app.
If you have any questions or requests, fire away!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get your hands on it? None of the major tech sites have even reviewed it yet and they say it's not supposed to be delivered to buyers for another week.
How does it compare to the Nexus 10 otherwise? Specifically, the resolution is the same, but are the colors as good or better? Forget about benchmarks, do you notice any differences in a quad-core A15 compared to the dual-core A15 in the Nexus 10 in real-world use? What is battery life like with such a powerful CPU? Do the speakers go louder than the Nexus 10's speakers, when cranked up to the max? Can you post some pics from the rear camera, so we can see how good it is?
I'm happy with my Nexus 10, so I doubt I'll be picking up another tablet for a while. But I'm curious how these upcoming spec-hogs will compare to the current spec-hog king, the Nexus 10.

joakim_one said:
How did you get your hands on it? None of the major tech sites have even reviewed it yet and they say it's not supposed to be delivered to buyers for another week.
How does it compare to the Nexus 10 otherwise? Specifically, the resolution is the same, but are the colors as good or better? Forget about benchmarks, do you notice any differences in a quad-core A15 compared to the dual-core A15 in the Nexus 10 in real-world use? What is battery life like with such a powerful CPU? Do the speakers go louder than the Nexus 10's speakers, when cranked up to the max? Can you post some pics from the rear camera, so we can see how good it is?
I'm happy with my Nexus 10, so I doubt I'll be picking up another tablet for a while. But I'm curious how these upcoming spec-hogs will compare to the current spec-hog king, the Nexus 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a Nexus 10 at the moment for direct comparisons, but I personally think the brightness and color are at least on par. I do feel that the viewing angles aren't quite as high however in the Write. Don't know if this has anything to do with the digitizer or not. The pic of my kitteh was taken with the rear camera in room light, but I'll shoot a few more and post.
I also think that the Write's Tegra 4 delivers the goods in gameplay, even when set to balance mode, there's no stuttering in anything I've thrown at it so far, and Autocad 360 rendering is blazingly fast in real time 3D view, even when rotating fully rendered 3d models. I'm not sure how well the Nexus 10 would handle the same stuff, especially in power saving mode.
I do question the battery life a bit, as it seems to chew through the battery at times, and at this point I'm kind of doubting the life claimed by Toshiba. I'm not sure if the current kernel build is fully optimized yet, as there's at least one major issue when streaming or watching video, both through Google Play or from a file saved on the SD card. The screen goes black after a few seconds of playback, although the sound continues to play. Pressing the power button to put it in sleep mode, then again to wake it up, solves the issue and everything plays and streams fine after that. YouTube streaming doesn't have this issue. Also, it doesn't matter which player you use, it still does it, which leads me to believe that the unit I got might still have an early, unoptimized build on it. I seriously can't see them mass shipping with that kind of readily apparent bug, but who knows?
The sound is also a bit odd. It seems pretty muted, even at full volume, when playing any type of media. Games are plenty loud though, and the stereo separation and surround enhancements are simply stellar, even when I have the thing parked on my lap. I strongly suspect that there's some sort of limit as to the max volume switched on in the hardware to avoid blowing out the speakers or something, or it could be in the kernel itself...I honestly don't know at this point. I just know that the maximum volume is significantly lower in media playback for some strange reason.
As for how I got it, I'm just as amazed as you are. I pre ordered on July 2, and the shipping date showed July 3 on my order. I called toshiba and asked them if this was correct, and was told that they weren't scheduled to ship until the 18th. I thought they'd go in and change the date after I called attention to the ship date, but it stayed showing the 3rd. Low and behold the next day I got an email with a tracking number, and sure enough it arrived the following Monday due to the delay caused by the 4th (2 day shipping).
Was it a mistake? I have no frigging idea, and feel pretty privileged to have one before any of the major sites have reviewed it. Here's a pic of the tablet and box it came in, to satisfy any doubters that might be out there, as well as the invoice that came with it.

babblin5 said:
Was it a mistake? I have no frigging idea, and feel pretty privileged to have one before any of the major sites have reviewed it. Here's a pic of the tablet and box it came in, to satisfy any doubters that might be out there, as well as the invoice that came with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, sounds like a nice device, although with some early hiccups. This is the first Tegra 4 device on the market, now that the Nvidia Shield has been postponed, so I was curious how it would do.
How long does it last in normal, continuous usage? My Nexus 10 goes about 5-6 hours.

joakim_one said:
Thanks for the info, sounds like a nice device, although with some early hiccups. This is the first Tegra 4 device on the market, now that the Nvidia Shield has been postponed, so I was curious how it would do.
How long does it last in normal, continuous usage? My Nexus 10 goes about 5-6 hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say it's at least 5-6 hours, but nowhere near the 9-11 that Toshiba claims.

Here's some photos off the rear camera of the Excite Write.

Excellent stuff, thanks for posting babblin :thumbup: I have one heading my way (shipped July 12th) and will admit to a certain amount of trepidation since that last 5 tablets I've tried to buy (2 Nexus 10, 2 Nexus 7, 1 Xperia Tablet Z) were faulty out of the box.
I'm curious — although I suppose I'll find out for myself soon enough unless it's a total dud — does stylus pressure register in any drawing app (eg. SketchBook)?

TellTenPeople said:
Excellent stuff, thanks for posting babblin :thumbup: I have one heading my way (shipped July 12th) and will admit to a certain amount of trepidation since that last 5 tablets I've tried to buy (2 Nexus 10, 2 Nexus 7, 1 Xperia Tablet Z) were faulty out of the box.
I'm curious — although I suppose I'll find out for myself soon enough unless it's a total dud — does stylus pressure register in any drawing app (eg. SketchBook)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure, but I'll check into it. I did use it to sign a PDF though, which was pretty cool...

babblin5 said:
If you have any questions or requests, fire away!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the available ram after reboot? The N10 GPU takes 800 meg now so only ~1.2gig available.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

no.
this tablet will long for the next 3 years at least

rxnelson said:
What is the available ram after reboot? The N10 GPU takes 800 meg now so only ~1.2gig available.
T
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have quite a few things running in background, and it's using .89 gb

To the OP...
There is "ALWAYS" a better tablet coming soon. You should never, ever, ever purchase a tab because of what is around the corner.
Of course this means that you'd never, ever, ever own a tablet either
I don't see a problem with an N10 purchase around this time, after all, I purchased one last month. The closest "reviewed" tab is the Sony 10.1" tab and it's not enough of a boost over an N10 to warrant upgrading from the N10 to one.
Specification wise, other than a microSD slot (which has less benefit with each release of Android due to DRM), camera and the ability to take it swimming (water isn't good for the Nexus), the N10 still seems to have the top specs. Screen resolution, audio quality and several GPU benchmarks appear to have the N10 still in the lead.
This fall? That's when you'll likely see some 10" tablet refreshes.

babblin5 said:
Here's some photos off the rear camera of the Excite Write.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, there's no way the Nexus 10 produces shots like those, with its below-average camera. Looks like a clear win for the Excite Write camera, though I barely use the camera on my Nexus 10, so not a big deal for me.

To answer my own question, the Toshiba Write doesn't get pressure sensitivity — much less good performance — out of either SketchBook Pro or Ink. It does, however, do a nibble job in HandyNote Pro which is why I bought it.
The normal swiping and app switching is not quite as smooth as I was expecting from the "next gen" Tegra 4 — especially not in Balanced performance mode. I also find it odd that it has a dedicated charging port which I keep mistaking for the headphone/mic jack, but at least it charges reasonably quickly which is good because battery life leaves something to be desired — like more of it.
Nevertheless, I'm still giddy from actually being sent a tablet without any discernible defects. 6th time the charm And it only took 8 months.
Update - July 29, 2013:
I celebrated too soon — defects discerned.
1) Brightness fluctuates even with Auto-brightness OFF. The screen seems to go brighter when displaying light content and dimmer when displaying dark content. It does it abruptly and annoyingly at any brightness and there's no way to disable it.
2) Dust under screen protector or, worse, glass. The Write, like the Xperia Tablet Z, seems to have a factory installed screen protector over the glass. Whether the dust was under this protector or the glass I could not tell. The two Nexus 10 I had (and returned) had stuff under the glass so it's possible.
I contacted Toshiba Canada and they sent me a box to send it back to them for service. At least they're paying for all the shipping.
After a week's heavy use, I have to say that either the OS is still unoptimised for the hardware, or the tablet I got was defective (not beyond the realm of possibility). The Balanced mode was very stutter-y and sluggish especially in app switching. Maximum Performance mode was smoother but ran real hot and got about 6 hours battery life.
Furthermore, some apps (including the built-in Think Free Office) flickered when the onscreen keyboard was engaged. Also happened with the xda-developer app and Flick Note and a few others but not with Google Docs or Evernote so I suspect it's down to app/OS optimisation for high res screens. Does the Nexus 10 have this problem?