ASUS unveiling Eee Pad Transformer on 24 May
- — 17 May, 2011 10:21
The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Android tablet
ASUS will announce the Australian launch of its anticipated Eee Pad Transformer Android tablet at a media event in Sydney on 24 May.
Check out our guide to the best upcoming tablets in 2011.
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is an Android tablet with a 10.1 in IPS touchscreen that boasts a unique, detachable keyboard dock accessory. The optional keyboard dock turns the Eee Pad Transformer into a traditional notebook-style device, as shown above.
The Eee Pad Transformer's keyboard dock has two USB ports, an SD card slot and a trackpad, as well as its own built-in battery that ASUS says offers an additional six and half hours of use. If both the tablet and the keyboard dock batteries are fully charged, the Eee Pad Transformer will draw power from the keyboard dock first.
The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer runs the latest version of Google's Android 3.0 'Honeycomb' software, which has specifically been designed for tablet devices. Key features of Android 3.0 Honeycomb include tabbed Web browsing, support for 3D graphics, added enterprise features like encrypted storage, a redesigned keyboard, and a new interface that aims to take advantage of the larger sized tablet screen. The Eee Pad Transformer also supports Adobe Flash Player for viewing Web video.
The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is powered by a 1GHz dual-core, NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, has 1GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of internal memory and also has two digital cameras on board: a front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera that acts as a webcam for video calling, and a 5-megapixel camera on the rear that takes still photos and records standard definition video. The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is initially a Wi-Fi only tablet, though a version with 3G connectivity is likely to come at a later date.
Australian pricing and availability of the Eee Pad Transformer will be revealed at the media launch, with the device expected to be available in stores by June. The Eee Pad launched in the US in late-April for US$399.
In addition to the Eee Pad Transformer, ASUS will also demo the upcoming Eee Pad Slider, and the already launched Eee Slate. The Eee Pad Slider is a 10.1in Android tablet with a physical, slide-out keyboard built-in, while the Eee Slate ($1499) is a Windows 7 powered tablet that launched in April.
The launch of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer comes as a number of tablet devices hit the Australian market alongside the iPad 2. Vodafone has exclusively launched a larger version of the Galaxy Tab — the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v ($729) — while Telstra will sell the Motorola Xoom ($840) from 24 May. RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook, described by the company as the world's first "professional grade" tablet will also be available in the coming weeks, while Acer's Iconia A500 ($579) is available now through major retailers including Harvey Norman and Myer.
In the meantime, ASUS left us with the following promotional video for the Eee Pad Transformer. It's pretty bad. Don't say we didn't warn you in advance:
Comments
Francisco
1
The only media event I know of is a Facebook page... This had a count down to be released for sale on the 25th of May..
It's 25th now and stores haven't even heard of this device...
Major launch fail by Asus...
Check it out, have a good laugh, I hate Apple but I bet they're having a good laugh at Asus AU incompetence.
http://www.facebook.com/asusaustralia?sk=wall&filter=1