... when will they fix the WiFi and YouTube HD issues?
I have two WiFis in my house. One (802.11n) is seen as half power two floors away (no concrete, no metal), and the other one (802.11g) is "out of reach" even when standing 10 feet from it. As for YouTube HD, it may takes 30 minutes to watch a 5 minutes video as it spends most of the time buffering.
But the most annoying one, and I can't understand why it hasn't been addressed yet is when will they add an option to disable the "clicking" on the trackpad. Ever try to write anything (email or whatever) on the keyboard? If you don't disable the trackpad altogether, then as soon as the palm of your hand will touch the pad, the cursor will be moved to somewhere else, and so will the rest of your typing.
I love the form factor, display and all, but this is just not "there" yet.
I do not wish to disable the trackpad altogether, just the "clicking" as is possible on any laptops. I'd like to be able to move the "mouse", but that not the slightest touch on the trackpad be registered as a click. Right now, I'm typing this on a desktop and the mouse points somewhere on the second line of this text. If I was on the Transformer and my palm (base of thumb) would just brush the trackpad, the the cursor would be moved there, and this text would be typed in the middle of this message...
The Youtube HD issues are your own. If your tablet is spending too much time 'buffering' a video, I'd suggest a better internet connection. Youtube HD works fine for me over my crappy DSL.
The trackpad is an issue they need to correct though. There should be an option that disables the trackpad during typing. That would pretty much fix every issue that is related to the trackpad on the dock.
Actually the Youtube HD issues are from the update to 3.2. I'm in the same situation. Right after the update my TF shows half the signal strength and I can't download anything more than a couple of MB at a time. Streaming video is impossible.
Are you talking about the YouTube app? I've confirmed that seems to work fine post update even with HD content. Even using the YouTube desktop site I can stream video but Flash doesn't run well enough on these tablets to really provide a good experience (dropped frames but no rebuffering).
Signal strength hasn't been an issue post update either, at least in my office but I haven't done any edge case testing.
Yes. Using the Youtube App to watch an HD video results in frequent buffering (not stuttering). This happened for me right after the update to 3.2. It seems that the TF is trying to renew the DHCP lease every couple of minutes, therefore the connection drops. I'm not even able to download 8MB of PDF file! I set the connection to use a static IP and now it is better.
But still I experience a major problem with signal strength. My router is in my home office upstairs; my family room is directly below it. With 3.1 I used to get 4 bars, with 3.2 I get 2. Nothing else is changed except my TF firmware.
I can stream music alright. I have a 30Mbits/s connection (confirmed through Speedtest.Net on a desktop), and I access it through a 802.11n triple channel SMC wireless router. It is only showed as being connected to half the power (2 bars out of 4) on the Transformer. The other WiFi (a 802.11g one) is 10 feet away from the tablet, and it can't even connect to it. If it's been a long time, it will be marked as full strength, but when I try to connect to it, it fails, then marks it as out of reach.
So far, it's only on YouTube *HD* that I experience this problem. *Normal* videos on YouTube (240 or 320p) seem ok.
Oh, and half the time I try to reach the Android Market, that fails too.
As I have said, it is just you. I can play them just fine on my (B50) Asus Transformer without ANY issues.
Go to the XDA Dev forums. There are threads on how to fix your issue, both with Wifi as well as the Youtube HD problem. Many people like to assume it's a problem on the whole, it's not. It's only with specific people. Clear your cache and I'd be willing to bet the issue goes away after a restart.
As I said, I have no issue with 720P HD videos on my Transformer.
Anand, why didn't you bring to light the other 'new' issues that the 3.2 update has brought with it? The wifi connect/disconnect issue (randomly losing your connection) which can only be fixed at the moment by setting a static IP for your tablet.
Also, what about the 'default application' issue? Say you have multiple media players installed (Diceplayer, Rockplayer, Moboplayer, and stock player). Try to open up a video through the file browser. You will notice the screen dim, but no 'default application' choice window pop up, correct? Now rotate your tablet 90 degrees, and then back 90 degrees, and suddenly it's back. Why? Better yet, after you set a default application, reboot your tablet and repeat the above. You'll see it hasn't saved the default application!
I'm also concerned that you haven't really reported on video playback at this point. I really would think that this should become a standard test for tablets. More importantly, try playing back a 720P high profile video with any video player (besides Diceplayer). You will notice that you get no audio and very choppy video. Now download Diceplayer (there's a trial version available) and play the same video. You get good video (as long as you play from the internal memory, or a high speed SDCard, my class 6 card couldn't do it) and audio (even if it's encoded in AC3 or Dolby Digital). I find it slightly disturbing that even the stock video player can't do this, yet a developer's player can.
Lastly, and while this is rather unique to the Asus Transformer, you might want to keep in mind that at this point, I think it's the only tablet that you can install a full version of Ubuntu onto the tablet and essentially get a notebook out of it, even more so if you have the dock. This is a rather unique feature (while unsupported by Asus though). I think it's something that should atleast be mentioned.
Completely agree about video, it should be a standard test on all tablet reviews and maybe even OS updates like this, atleast with big updates. And not just for Android but any tablet or OS.
I'd also like to see how tablets handle all kinds of video formats, plus codec performance, and include things they cannot play at all. Maybe even image quality tests if possible, or atleast a mention of it thats done with your own eyes if theres nothing out there yet to test video image quality on the OS.
And... it would also be great to see image quality tests with the the GPU regarding 3D rendering. Something like you often get with AMD or Nvidia card reviews. Again If possible.
When Android Ice Cream comes out then iOS 5 should also be out, and it would be really great to see a highly detailed article comparing them both and all the things mentioned above.
We talked about video playback in the initial Honeycomb reviews. Tegra 2 doesn't officially support High Profile H.264 which is why there are issues with the stock video player.
I actually hadn't run into the default app issue because I haven't played with some of the other media players, I'll start doing that now though :)
I really suggest looking at Diceplayer though. I'm not sure how the dev does it, but somehow they manage to get 720P high profile to work on the tablet. This is the only media player I've found that can pull this off so far.
Does it make the interface seem any quicker at first glance or apps load a little quicker? I know this isn't a full blown review but any initial responses on this would be appreciated if you could. Thank you. :)
Honestly, I haven't noticed a huge difference. It's about the same as it was in the stock 3.1. There are tweaks to improve the performance, but from a purely stock perspective, nothing really has changed, sadly. I'd like to see some kind of general improvement in the UI and it's feel. That's about the only thing that I can say I feel IOS in general has gotten right. Their UI does not feel slow at all.
There's only 1 thing that really jumps out at me in those graphs: the iPad2 is fast as hell. Android is nice, but for gpu prowess, there's really no competition it seems.
Go back and read the Ipad2 previews. Another thing to bear in mind, Ipad 2 runs at 1024 x 768 compared to 1280x800. Less pixels means less processing which means higher FPS (which stupidly, is what those graphs show....how about comparing apples to apples instead of apples to oranges?).
Also bear in mind, the Ipad 2 is using the SGX543MP2. When the TI OMAP 4 4470 hits, it will seem slow in all respects. Granted Tegra 2 can't compete as well, but for Tegra 2 being NVidia's first real SOC, it's not surprising.
If you do the math though, the Transformer has 24.4% more pixels than the ipad2. Add that many FPS to the transformer, the Ipad2 still beats it by a good margin. Of course, the amount of pixels being processed and gain in fps aren't directly proportional. Hope to see new hardware soon!
Good to read that android updates are happening more frequently across different manufacturers as compared to last year.
excuse me but are you saying that the omap 4470 will make the A5 seem slow? or the other way around?
i was thinking about that, i got a droid 3 knowing that my gpu is a sgx540, and that will be slower that a possible a5 equipped iphone, but on a phone it's not a big deal (for me), but for tablets, i really want the best SoC possible and OMAP4 seems a little weak GPU-wise, remember that OMAP3 went its entire life using SGX530 while iphones and galaxys went to 535 and 540
Anand, thanks for great reviews, It would be very interesting with a recurring shootout and comparison of the latest and greatest SoCs from the big 5, Qualcomm, TI, Nvidia, Samsung and Apple, in other words not focusing on any specific device and maybe use performance numbers from several devices that uses the same SoC and make an average out of it.
In essence I would like to see a bit of the old anandtech.
So, this would be great, and with the variety of SoCs about to premier on tablets this Fall we might be able to do this sort of comparison. Unfortunately there will always be some variations within the standard including something as simple as the OS build. If you pay attention to benchmarks, as Android 2.x iterated their browser benchmark values improved tremendously, such that my OG Droid at 1GHz running CM7 with Gingerbread competes on Browsermark with far more powerful hardware running Froyo. So, it's almost impossible to account for all of the variables and compare these SoC's on equal footing. That doesn't mean we won't try though! :)
Some of the features added are nifty but quite useless. The biggest problem are the freezes, the battery drain still there. How can TF + dock last less than 7 hours during sleep. I can leave the iPad 2 sleep for 3-4 days and still have 40% battery.
WIFI is very problematic now, it doesn't want to work 1/2 the time and can't reconnect.
The graphics seems snappier but most of the games I play aren't optimized for Tegra 2 so it's not good enough.
Call Asus technical support. There is a known issue with the dock's that causes the dock's battery to drain even while the unit is off, specifically the dock isn't turning off the power to the keyboard and other devices when the transformer is put into sleep mode. But keep in mind, this is a DOCK problem, not a tablet problem. You should only need to return your dock to have the problem fixed. Check the xda developer forums for more information regarding the issue. Asus technical support is active in the forums and has provided support for those people there (which is more than I can say about a few other companies when it comes to support).
Your wifi issue can be resolved by setting a static IP instead of allowing a dynamic IP to be set. You have to set it on the tablet though, not setup a static IP on your router for it. There's an issue with the transformer (and currently ALL honeycomb 3.2 devices) trying to renew the ip lease every few minutes.
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Ralos - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
... when will they fix the WiFi and YouTube HD issues?I have two WiFis in my house. One (802.11n) is seen as half power two floors away (no concrete, no metal), and the other one (802.11g) is "out of reach" even when standing 10 feet from it. As for YouTube HD, it may takes 30 minutes to watch a 5 minutes video as it spends most of the time buffering.
But the most annoying one, and I can't understand why it hasn't been addressed yet is when will they add an option to disable the "clicking" on the trackpad. Ever try to write anything (email or whatever) on the keyboard? If you don't disable the trackpad altogether, then as soon as the palm of your hand will touch the pad, the cursor will be moved to somewhere else, and so will the rest of your typing.
I love the form factor, display and all, but this is just not "there" yet.
quiksilvr - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
On the top left, there is a dedicated key for disabling the trackpad. It should be the fourth one from the top left.Ralos - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
I do not wish to disable the trackpad altogether, just the "clicking" as is possible on any laptops. I'd like to be able to move the "mouse", but that not the slightest touch on the trackpad be registered as a click. Right now, I'm typing this on a desktop and the mouse points somewhere on the second line of this text. If I was on the Transformer and my palm (base of thumb) would just brush the trackpad, the the cursor would be moved there, and this text would be typed in the middle of this message...darkhawk1980 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
The Youtube HD issues are your own. If your tablet is spending too much time 'buffering' a video, I'd suggest a better internet connection. Youtube HD works fine for me over my crappy DSL.The trackpad is an issue they need to correct though. There should be an option that disables the trackpad during typing. That would pretty much fix every issue that is related to the trackpad on the dock.
nickfrost - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Actually the Youtube HD issues are from the update to 3.2. I'm in the same situation. Right after the update my TF shows half the signal strength and I can't download anything more than a couple of MB at a time. Streaming video is impossible.@Ralos check http://www.transformerforums.com/forum/asus-transf... and http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f... for solutions to the WiFi problem. I had to set my TF with static IP instead of DHCP to alleviate (not eliminate) the problems. It seems that the TF is renewing its DHCP lease evry couple of minutes thus dropping the connection.
Anand, you didn't experience this issue?
Ralos - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
I totally confirm that the YouTube HD issues that I have were there in 3.1 and are not new to 3.2.Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Are you talking about the YouTube app? I've confirmed that seems to work fine post update even with HD content. Even using the YouTube desktop site I can stream video but Flash doesn't run well enough on these tablets to really provide a good experience (dropped frames but no rebuffering).Signal strength hasn't been an issue post update either, at least in my office but I haven't done any edge case testing.
Take care,
Anand
nickfrost - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Yes. Using the Youtube App to watch an HD video results in frequent buffering (not stuttering). This happened for me right after the update to 3.2. It seems that the TF is trying to renew the DHCP lease every couple of minutes, therefore the connection drops. I'm not even able to download 8MB of PDF file!I set the connection to use a static IP and now it is better.
But still I experience a major problem with signal strength. My router is in my home office upstairs; my family room is directly below it. With 3.1 I used to get 4 bars, with 3.2 I get 2. Nothing else is changed except my TF firmware.
Take a look at https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id...
Ralos - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
I can stream music alright. I have a 30Mbits/s connection (confirmed through Speedtest.Net on a desktop), and I access it through a 802.11n triple channel SMC wireless router. It is only showed as being connected to half the power (2 bars out of 4) on the Transformer. The other WiFi (a 802.11g one) is 10 feet away from the tablet, and it can't even connect to it. If it's been a long time, it will be marked as full strength, but when I try to connect to it, it fails, then marks it as out of reach.So far, it's only on YouTube *HD* that I experience this problem. *Normal* videos on YouTube (240 or 320p) seem ok.
Oh, and half the time I try to reach the Android Market, that fails too.
darkhawk1980 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
As I have said, it is just you. I can play them just fine on my (B50) Asus Transformer without ANY issues.Go to the XDA Dev forums. There are threads on how to fix your issue, both with Wifi as well as the Youtube HD problem. Many people like to assume it's a problem on the whole, it's not. It's only with specific people. Clear your cache and I'd be willing to bet the issue goes away after a restart.
As I said, I have no issue with 720P HD videos on my Transformer.
oliwek - Saturday, August 6, 2011 - link
you should try to install and use Wifi analyzer : https://market.android.com/details?id=com.farproc....darkhawk1980 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Anand, why didn't you bring to light the other 'new' issues that the 3.2 update has brought with it? The wifi connect/disconnect issue (randomly losing your connection) which can only be fixed at the moment by setting a static IP for your tablet.Also, what about the 'default application' issue? Say you have multiple media players installed (Diceplayer, Rockplayer, Moboplayer, and stock player). Try to open up a video through the file browser. You will notice the screen dim, but no 'default application' choice window pop up, correct? Now rotate your tablet 90 degrees, and then back 90 degrees, and suddenly it's back. Why? Better yet, after you set a default application, reboot your tablet and repeat the above. You'll see it hasn't saved the default application!
I'm also concerned that you haven't really reported on video playback at this point. I really would think that this should become a standard test for tablets. More importantly, try playing back a 720P high profile video with any video player (besides Diceplayer). You will notice that you get no audio and very choppy video. Now download Diceplayer (there's a trial version available) and play the same video. You get good video (as long as you play from the internal memory, or a high speed SDCard, my class 6 card couldn't do it) and audio (even if it's encoded in AC3 or Dolby Digital). I find it slightly disturbing that even the stock video player can't do this, yet a developer's player can.
Lastly, and while this is rather unique to the Asus Transformer, you might want to keep in mind that at this point, I think it's the only tablet that you can install a full version of Ubuntu onto the tablet and essentially get a notebook out of it, even more so if you have the dock. This is a rather unique feature (while unsupported by Asus though). I think it's something that should atleast be mentioned.
B3an - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Completely agree about video, it should be a standard test on all tablet reviews and maybe even OS updates like this, atleast with big updates. And not just for Android but any tablet or OS.I'd also like to see how tablets handle all kinds of video formats, plus codec performance, and include things they cannot play at all. Maybe even image quality tests if possible, or atleast a mention of it thats done with your own eyes if theres nothing out there yet to test video image quality on the OS.
And... it would also be great to see image quality tests with the the GPU regarding 3D rendering. Something like you often get with AMD or Nvidia card reviews. Again If possible.
When Android Ice Cream comes out then iOS 5 should also be out, and it would be really great to see a highly detailed article comparing them both and all the things mentioned above.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
We talked about video playback in the initial Honeycomb reviews. Tegra 2 doesn't officially support High Profile H.264 which is why there are issues with the stock video player.I actually hadn't run into the default app issue because I haven't played with some of the other media players, I'll start doing that now though :)
Take care,
Anand
darkhawk1980 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Great!I really suggest looking at Diceplayer though. I'm not sure how the dev does it, but somehow they manage to get 720P high profile to work on the tablet. This is the only media player I've found that can pull this off so far.
jaysns - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Does it make the interface seem any quicker at first glance or apps load a little quicker? I know this isn't a full blown review but any initial responses on this would be appreciated if you could. Thank you. :)darkhawk1980 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Honestly, I haven't noticed a huge difference. It's about the same as it was in the stock 3.1. There are tweaks to improve the performance, but from a purely stock perspective, nothing really has changed, sadly. I'd like to see some kind of general improvement in the UI and it's feel. That's about the only thing that I can say I feel IOS in general has gotten right. Their UI does not feel slow at all.IKeelU - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
There's only 1 thing that really jumps out at me in those graphs: the iPad2 is fast as hell. Android is nice, but for gpu prowess, there's really no competition it seems.darkhawk1980 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Go back and read the Ipad2 previews. Another thing to bear in mind, Ipad 2 runs at 1024 x 768 compared to 1280x800. Less pixels means less processing which means higher FPS (which stupidly, is what those graphs show....how about comparing apples to apples instead of apples to oranges?).Also bear in mind, the Ipad 2 is using the SGX543MP2. When the TI OMAP 4 4470 hits, it will seem slow in all respects. Granted Tegra 2 can't compete as well, but for Tegra 2 being NVidia's first real SOC, it's not surprising.
Miggleness - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
If you do the math though, the Transformer has 24.4% more pixels than the ipad2. Add that many FPS to the transformer, the Ipad2 still beats it by a good margin. Of course, the amount of pixels being processed and gain in fps aren't directly proportional. Hope to see new hardware soon!Good to read that android updates are happening more frequently across different manufacturers as compared to last year.
etobare - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
excuse me but are you saying that the omap 4470 will make the A5 seem slow? or the other way around?i was thinking about that, i got a droid 3 knowing that my gpu is a sgx540, and that will be slower that a possible a5 equipped iphone, but on a phone it's not a big deal (for me), but for tablets, i really want the best SoC possible and OMAP4 seems a little weak GPU-wise, remember that OMAP3 went its entire life using SGX530 while iphones and galaxys went to 535 and 540
etobare - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
duh, i just read about 4470 having a sgx544, good for them, disregard my previous commentsnoozemode - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Anand, thanks for great reviews, It would be very interesting with a recurring shootout and comparison of the latest and greatest SoCs from the big 5, Qualcomm, TI, Nvidia, Samsung and Apple, in other words not focusing on any specific device and maybe use performance numbers from several devices that uses the same SoC and make an average out of it.In essence I would like to see a bit of the old anandtech.
JasonInofuentes - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
So, this would be great, and with the variety of SoCs about to premier on tablets this Fall we might be able to do this sort of comparison. Unfortunately there will always be some variations within the standard including something as simple as the OS build. If you pay attention to benchmarks, as Android 2.x iterated their browser benchmark values improved tremendously, such that my OG Droid at 1GHz running CM7 with Gingerbread competes on Browsermark with far more powerful hardware running Froyo.So, it's almost impossible to account for all of the variables and compare these SoC's on equal footing. That doesn't mean we won't try though! :)
vision33r - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Some of the features added are nifty but quite useless. The biggest problem are the freezes, the battery drain still there. How can TF + dock last less than 7 hours during sleep. I can leave the iPad 2 sleep for 3-4 days and still have 40% battery.WIFI is very problematic now, it doesn't want to work 1/2 the time and can't reconnect.
The graphics seems snappier but most of the games I play aren't optimized for Tegra 2 so it's not good enough.
darkhawk1980 - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
Call Asus technical support. There is a known issue with the dock's that causes the dock's battery to drain even while the unit is off, specifically the dock isn't turning off the power to the keyboard and other devices when the transformer is put into sleep mode. But keep in mind, this is a DOCK problem, not a tablet problem. You should only need to return your dock to have the problem fixed. Check the xda developer forums for more information regarding the issue. Asus technical support is active in the forums and has provided support for those people there (which is more than I can say about a few other companies when it comes to support).Your wifi issue can be resolved by setting a static IP instead of allowing a dynamic IP to be set. You have to set it on the tablet though, not setup a static IP on your router for it. There's an issue with the transformer (and currently ALL honeycomb 3.2 devices) trying to renew the ip lease every few minutes.
sidprak - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
I believe the TegraZone app and new boot screen were added in version 3.1. I had those on my tablet before I updated to 3.2amankumar - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
free HD android games full:http://nitin-xyz.blogspot.com/2011/07/free-and-ful...
rupaniii - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
Uhm, just look at it... I know this is about Pinch To Zoom, but, uhm, that's a new meaning to the thing, LOL.dasiel - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
The first point is rather vague but the big news is of course the second point on the listhttp://google.com