Reviews

Asus Eee Pad Transformer review

An Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet with a detachable keyboard - a perfect match for business users or a chunky compromise that doesn't suit anyone? David Ludlow flexes his fingers and finds out in our review.

5 May 2011

For working on the go, Polaris Office is included. This Microsoft Office compatible office suite has word processing, spreadsheet and presentation apps. It's not bad, if only because it can create and edit PowerPoint presentations, but it can be annoying and frustrating to use. For example, it uses its own gestures for copying and pasting which are not only inconsistent with other Android 3.0 apps but don't work well the keyboard dock accessory there aren't any keyboard shortcuts and you can't use the cursor keys to select text. We'd suggest using an alternative but there's a very limited selection of Android 3.0-optimised apps available at the moment.

We were pleased to see that a GPS receiver is installed, so you can use location-aware applications when you're out and about. If you need a data connection, you'll need to tether this tablet to your mobile phone using either its 802.11n Wi-Fi or Bluetooth adaptors, as a 3G version is not currently available.

It's the physical keyboard accessory that's likely to garner the most attention. For the most part, it's a really good add-on. It's the same size and weight as the tablet, so it effectively doubles the thickness and weight of your computer to 26mm deep and 1.32kg. As an entire unit it has similar dimensions and weight to that of a regular netbook.

The keyboard was really well made with a metal surface that offers a decent amount of protection. The tablet clicks into place and is held firm by a strong catch. It's good that the screen can fold flat like a regular netbook, as this protects the screen and makes it easier to carry around.