Asus Officially Launches the Transformer Prime - Coming December for $499

[dgstorm]

Asus has officially unveiled their new Transformer Prime! Previously we heard rumors that the device would be delayed until December because it would be coming fresh with Ice Cream Sandwich. Unfortunately, it is true that it will be coming in December, but it will first ship with Honeycomb. However, they did indicate that they were working to get ICS on it as soon as possible. This new tablet has been spoken of in great detail before, but since it is such a flagship product, the specs and features bear repeating:

• Ultra-thin at .33-inches (8.3mm) and it weights only 586g
• Two-different color choices in the brushed-metallic design: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold
• Upgraded the camera = 8MP rear camera with F2.4 aperture and recording of 1080p video
• 1.3MP front camera
• 10.1-inch IPS+ display with a 178 degree viewing angle
• Gorilla Glass
• 1GB DDR2 RAM
• HDMI, and micro USB
• Expected battery life = 12 hours without keyboard dock, or 18 hours with it

The tablet will come in either a 32GB for $499, or a 64GB for $599, and the keyboard dock will be available for $149. This seems like the most powerful and feature-rich Android tablet in the world. Which of you guys plan on getting this one?

Source: ASUS Announces the Eee Pad Transformer Prime - Full press release

[jannor]

Who wants to buy my TF101 with Kb dock?

[mrumm49]

Ok you've twisted my arm, I'll get it! (And just like the TF1, I'm sure my wife will love it!)

[bopfan]

I am eagerly waiting the opportunity to purchase a Prime. Would be fine with either color option. Both look great. But I have some questions about the memory choices. I bought a 32 GB TF-101 and added a 32 GB microsd card. Learned that I could not move applications on to the microsd card as they could only reside on the internal memory. Would I be correct in assuming that the Prime will operate in the same fashion? Or would Ice Cream Sandwich allow the user to store apps on both the internal and external memories? If apps can indeed be stored on the external memory than I would probably buy the 32GB model otherwise I might select the 64GB Prime. Anyone know how memory will be managed in the Prime?

BTW I have two nice leather TF-101 cases and am assuming that they will be too large to safely accommodate the Prime.....I guess that the thinner Prime would probably slide around inside the cases. Or the controls etc may not line up with the older cases. At any rate I have two nice cases that may be seeking a new home.

[joietrans]

Who wants to buy my TF101 with Kb dock?

Ya know, I already checked Gazelle just to see what they would pay for a 32gb original Trans in perfect condition. The top price is only $175 (or at least that was the price a couple of days ago). Not helpful! ...I was hoping for at least $400 (dreaming, of course).

I have no business looking at the Prime, but it sounds absolutely gorgeous. If it looks as good in person as it sounds on paper, I may just have to find a way to get one - whether I "need" it or not.

BTW, I agree with bopfan that it would be useful if ICS allowed tablets to store apps on microsd cards...

[Gabriel]

i want this sexy tablet ^____^

[boozysmurf]

I'll be getting it as soon as it's available in Canada. I was ready to pull the trigger on a Transformer three weeks ago, and then caught wind of the Prime when I was doing my final, paranoid, review-checking. The Prime is in fact the reason I've signed up on this forum (because I don't already have enough forum obsessions!!)

Also, first post!

[Rocer]

Welcome to the Transformer Forum. Prime brought me here as well.

[dclancy]

I'm having transformer withdrawal symptoms as I sold my tf-101 and docking station to beat the stampede, looking forward to Prime, it can only get better!!!! I got $341 USD on ebay for tf101 and $94 for the dock. Never used Gazelle.

[Jamomax]

When will we have a launch date and not just an "early" Dec time frame?????? Can't wait to buy it!!