The entire Industry has been raving about the Nexus 10 and the Ipad 4 but let us also consider the fact that there are other equally great options available in the market. I’m introducing you’ll to one such option today which has been released quite a while ago, almost a month and a half to be exact. But still this remains a relatively new addition to the Transformer line of Asus Tablets which by now has created a reputation for itself as “the crown” of Asus devices. One big reason I’m writing this now is that this device comes with a keyboard docking station which you may claim has become a regularity, but , if you’ll very well Asus was the first to bring this keyboard docking concept to the Android tablets line. To be more specific it was the Transformer series which brought it (You can comment if I am wrong). This keyboard docking station brings in a lot of creativity into this android tablet that makes it lucrative to the buyers.
Now let me begin dissecting this device.
**Please note that this is a specs review and not an user review. I have not used this device personally but I’d like to provide you insights on the specifications in the way I understand it.**
**==Design, look and feel –==**
By the first impressions this device is almost similar to its predecessor. The device has a thick bezel and has brushed metal covering with a wonderful concentric circular design. The entire build of the device is aluminium crafted. Asus seems to have gone with the same Zen design principles that has made its ultrabook lines look super awesome. A careful notice can highlight a thin plastic film covering a little part on the back of the aluminium cover. As for the ports and the connectivity options we have a proprietary 40 pin USB port connector for the charging device which guarantees one more adapter in your shelf. You may feel the absence of a micro usb port on this device. But the presence of a USB 3.0 port may fill that void. The device also has a Micro SD card slot and a 3.5 mm headphone jack with two microphones. As for the weight of the device, it comes around 540 gms and is lighter than the ipad 4. But it is still very tiresome to hold it with a single hand. So you better use both your hands while operating on this device.
**==Display –==**
When you consider buying any device may it be a tablet or smartphone you are always looking forward to a great display. The release of devices with higher and higher displays, the PPI, AMOLED– LCD - IPS – PLS debates stand testimony to that. Well, this for the fact is a USP for any device and it is for the infinity too. The device has a 10.1 inch super IPS+ LCD display at a resolution of 1920 x 1200 which stands tall at a pixel density of 224 ppi, which pretty much good for a tablet. The screen is well laminated and has something that they call oleophobic coating. I don’t exactly know what it means but it gives the users a wonderful immersive experience. Leave 1080 p videos even lower resolutions work like a dream on the screen. And being a IPS + display it gives wonderful viewing angles. I would recommend this device just looking at the screen.
**==Processor and Chipset –==**
The device is no baccha considering that it is powered by a quad core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor clocking at 1.6 ghz . And if you couple this with 1 Gb of RAM with a memory bandwidth of 6.4 Gb/s which is higher than most of other tablets that we can find in the market. This device is a great performer in the benchmarks , but still not upto the ipad 4 or the Nexus 10 standards.
**==OS –==** -
The device runs on android 4.0.4 ICS which may be disappointing considering the fact that we have higher versions of andrid available or atleast updates awaiting many of its competitors. But I expect that asus rolls out a software update soon, otherwise the sales of this tablet will be badly hit.
**==Camera –==** The device hones a 2 MP front facing camera and an 8 MP (auto focus , dual LED), I was surprised at the rear camera as it almost seems put a lot of smartphone cameras to shame. But standing in front of a huge 10.1 inch tablet for a pic seems pretty much odd. That sight would seriously be funny.Bothe the cameras are capable of HD recording at 1080 p and 720 p respectively. The color reproduction and frame rate at 30 fps is amazing for a tablet camera which adds up to the USP of this device.
**==Memory and Storage -==**
This device comes with 8 gb of inbuilt storage with a 32 GB expansion slot witha microsd card. The internal memory storage is disappointing but the fact that it has an expandable memory slot solves this issue. And asus also provides free 50gb of space in Asus webstorage for 2 years. Still a larger memory was expected of this device.
**==Battery Life -==**
The device has a huge 19.5 Wh batter which lasts longer than any other tablets in the market. The fact that the keyboard dock itself has a battery embedded in it helps to bump up the performance of the tablet Even if we run 1080 p videos at maximum brightness with Wifi and Bluetooth running, it can last for atleast 8 hours. The infinity lives upto the name “infinity’ in this regard.
**==Price -==**
The price of device is around $599 in the US which roughly translates to 32 k. But analysts have pitched a 42k price tag for it in India.
**==Verdict -==**
I myself considered recommending anything other than the Nexus 10 for android enthusiasts but I can now safely assume that this will be a great device that can give the nexus 10 a run for their money. Pretty much ironical considering the fact that Asus is the creator of its little brother. What do you think about this device.
Comments and criticism are welcome,
Additions and suggestions are more than welcome,
Please notify me if I have made some mistakes, it would be highly appreciable,
Thanks and regards,
SlightlyDrunk