The high profit margin is the only reason that anyone is entering the market. Without the high profit margin, no one would introduce a single, let alone four, products.
Let the early adopters pay the high margin if that is what concerns you.
GPS. EVERY tablet should have GPS. Tablets are little more than a gimmick, but the addition of GPS would add solid value at very little cost to the manufacturer. Not to mention beating Apple, which irritatingly omitted GPS from half the iPads.
Any vendor that fails to take this obvious step doesn't deserve your dollars, and their products aren't going to be around long anyway.
Except we got pretty good battery life from the ASUS U30Jc, and the UL80Jt, and.... It will depend on how big the battery is, but the i5-470UM ought to be able to hit at least five hours on a ~30Wh battery.
Yeah, they didn't actually mention battery life, indicating that it's probably not very good.....Unfortunate, but it's a reality. I think Windows slates are going to be doomed to mediocre battery life - Intel chips aren't low-power enough for tablets (yet). That'll change with Moorestown and Oak Trail, but right now they just can't compete with ARM as far as handheld battery life.
Anybody else find it interesting that Asus is going with IPS displays across the board here when they generally do not use IPS displays in their mainstream desktop monitor line of products?
Does this signify a shift in focus that will carry over to their desktop monitors or will it be exclusive to their tablet/slate product line?
That's what i'm hoping. Sure notebook panels have been improving but not as much as I would expect - it's more marketing talk all around HD, LED, 3D. But nothing about image quality directly. All those are indirect ways to improve quality but I hope this is a trend beginning now not only for tablets but for every display. If not, at least for products which the price is already a premium and it doesn't make sense to be cheap (1000$+ notebooks for instance).
Slates practically require the IPS screen, especially when the iPad which defines the device has one.
A desktop screen doesn't really need the IPS screen since the user generally sets it up to be best viewed from the seated position. Slates are constantly held at many angles and require the enhanced viewing angles to maintain the user experience.
What's the difference between a computer and a tablet?
Given that the tablet runs Windows 7, has a 12.1" screen, and a core i5, I think it's actually more similar than dissimilar. One bluetooth keyboard and you have a valid MBA competitor.
well at least we know those rumours about honey comb system requirements are wrong. but with these prices, i think i'm just going to keep my g tablet i got on sale.
Yes, we will have GPS on select models and we are using Gorilla glass. Tthe prices are not set yet as they depend on a wide variety of options, mainly on drive/memory size and additional communication devices. ;)
"On paper, while the Slider seems like a cool form factor, there doesn't appear to be a compelling reason to choose it over the Transformer, no matter what your use case is."
I think this would be useful for my case. I ride two trains to work, so i can slide out the keyboard on my lap and type, rather than using the touch screen buttons on a shaky train. when i don't need to type, i can hide the keyboard.
Now THAT was a tablet. I had one a few years back, with maxed out hard drive space at 120Gb and 2Gb ram. Tweaked Win7 install and it was amazing. That very same machine with Touch..... I'd buy it the same day!
I wouldn't really call the R2h a 'convertible tablet' and I should know as I have one sitting right next to me, with it's cray stylus that no longer likes to stay in it's slot and fan that never stops. Mmm, celeron. Why haven't I ever repalced it? Simple, it's great. Slow, huge, but does what it does. I might even get an SSD drive for it one day.
It also had gps! (Never worked very well, but its there)
Not sure why tablet makers insist on gouging us so hard. Overall, the hardware costs them peanuts to produce. The majority of the OS is produced by google and all they're doing is integrating it. Most of the devices of which already have drivers. None of this is new to ASUS who have been in the business since forever. So why the premium? SOCs are supposed to reduce prices, not drive them up.
Do these use Gorilla Glass? Do they have GPS? Will I be able to buy one from somewhere other than a cell phone service provider? Will I be able to use the Android market? Are the prices in Canada going to have another $40 tacked on arbitrarily, even though our dollar is at par? How much extra will we pay just to get 1GB instead of 512MB?
I'm incredibly interested in the Transformer, but I'm not shelling out what will likely be $800 for a tablet and the keyboard! Get real! Offer a pack of the 1GB RAM model with the keyboard for $500. Overnight tablet market domination.
Why at this late date are they STILL putting USB 2 instead of USB 3 ports, and only 1 GB of memory? Same crap, with nothing moving ahead. No PCI-E ribbon for SSDs. Come on turkeys, Give us something to feel worthwhile spending our money on instead of rehashed crap. Still pushing SATA when PCIE is the logical step. Price is important, but performance is the bottom line for buying technology NOT toys. Paul
Vivek Gowri's style of writing makes this article difficult to read right from the start. The first paragraph includes two sentences that start with "If you (are) ASUS...". The congratulatory statement to ASUS is probably best moved to end of the article and directed differently. These are quickly followed by an incomprehensible list that fails to properly join operating systems and hardware: "Three of them are Honeycomb-based tablets, joined by a traditional Windows slate. Looking at the Android tablets, we have the MeMO, a 7” Snapdragon slate, the Transformer, a 10” Tegra 2 slate with an optional keyboard docking station (hence the name), and the Slider, an interesting 10” model with a sliding, tilting keyboard (think a supersized HTC Touch Pro 2)." First, honeycomb should have been linked to Android for the bulk of the public who isn't familiar with all of the Android OS names. Second, list the devices concisely, then follow with descriptions. The processor names look as if they could be tablet names.
Ive been looking for a slate with these kinds of specs for a while and the other is the Wacom pen, one question before I get too excited about this slate, is the pen pressure sensitive?
If it is I am getting one as soon as it is coming out.
I signed up just to say, as an owner of a Garmin-Asus A10 smartphone, it has come to my attention that every single LCD panel Asus uses in that phone has a significant amount of lazy pixels. After sending it back to Asus for repairs several times, every LCD panel they have replaced have come back equally flawed. Refunds are not available.
Suffice to say, i am extremely skeptical of their products, especially when they are priced well below market. Protect yourselves and do not purchase from this company unless you can be guaranteed a refund.
I pray you have a better experience with them than i did.
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vol7ron - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
As with all things computing, the success hinders on options and price. They have to give enough of the former and reduce enough of the later.True belief: pad/netbook devices need a smaller profit margin.
michael2k - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
The high profit margin is the only reason that anyone is entering the market. Without the high profit margin, no one would introduce a single, let alone four, products.Let the early adopters pay the high margin if that is what concerns you.
MobiusStrip - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
GPS. EVERY tablet should have GPS. Tablets are little more than a gimmick, but the addition of GPS would add solid value at very little cost to the manufacturer. Not to mention beating Apple, which irritatingly omitted GPS from half the iPads.Any vendor that fails to take this obvious step doesn't deserve your dollars, and their products aren't going to be around long anyway.
tipoo - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
On the spec sheet next to battery life they probably just write "No".JarredWalton - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
Except we got pretty good battery life from the ASUS U30Jc, and the UL80Jt, and.... It will depend on how big the battery is, but the i5-470UM ought to be able to hit at least five hours on a ~30Wh battery.VivekGowri - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
Yeah, they didn't actually mention battery life, indicating that it's probably not very good.....Unfortunate, but it's a reality. I think Windows slates are going to be doomed to mediocre battery life - Intel chips aren't low-power enough for tablets (yet). That'll change with Moorestown and Oak Trail, but right now they just can't compete with ARM as far as handheld battery life.halcyon - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Well, Asus pretty much wrote "no" in the specs of Eee Slate EP121:Battery life: up to 3 hours (under specific conditions, which you can easily guess what those are)
In real life usage that is going to mean less than 2 hours of battery life.
If that is not a FAIL for a tablet, I don't know what is.
tipoo - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Yeah, three hours is what I would consider bad in a laptop, let alone a tablet.headbox - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
I predict Zune-like sales if they're lucky.bplewis24 - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
Anybody else find it interesting that Asus is going with IPS displays across the board here when they generally do not use IPS displays in their mainstream desktop monitor line of products?Does this signify a shift in focus that will carry over to their desktop monitors or will it be exclusive to their tablet/slate product line?
Brandon
wifiwolf - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
That's what i'm hoping. Sure notebook panels have been improving but not as much as I would expect - it's more marketing talk all around HD, LED, 3D. But nothing about image quality directly. All those are indirect ways to improve quality but I hope this is a trend beginning now not only for tablets but for every display. If not, at least for products which the price is already a premium and it doesn't make sense to be cheap (1000$+ notebooks for instance).mcnabney - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
Slates practically require the IPS screen, especially when the iPad which defines the device has one.A desktop screen doesn't really need the IPS screen since the user generally sets it up to be best viewed from the seated position. Slates are constantly held at many angles and require the enhanced viewing angles to maintain the user experience.
softdrinkviking - Saturday, May 28, 2011 - link
100% agree.i won't buy a slate or another smartphone that has a crappy TN panel in it. i want ips or better from now on. those devices are like 75% screen.
hvakrg - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
Does the Windows slate come with a HDMI dock, or is that extra?Chinoman - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
At that price and size it's hard for me to not see the EP121 in comparison to the 11" MBA. Can anyone else see them competing?damianrobertjones - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
No, as one's a computer and one's a tabletmichael2k - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
What's the difference between a computer and a tablet?Given that the tablet runs Windows 7, has a 12.1" screen, and a core i5, I think it's actually more similar than dissimilar. One bluetooth keyboard and you have a valid MBA competitor.
LostPassword - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
well at least we know those rumours about honey comb system requirements are wrong. but with these prices, i think i'm just going to keep my g tablet i got on sale.snoozemode - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
The Transformer is awesome. This type of dock should be offered to all tablets by their respective manufactures.The Slider, nah, I think they prolly just released that product to see the demand. Don't think there will be a successor to that.
stlc8tr - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
Do any of these tablets have GPS capability?MobiusStrip - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Too bad more people aren't asking this question.The lack of GPS on any and every tablet is DUMB. It's an easy way to add value to an otherwise horseshit product and trump half the iPads.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Really? You are going to carry around a 10" screen for GPS use?stlc8tr - Thursday, January 6, 2011 - link
"Really? You are going to carry around a 10" screen for GPS use? "Maybe not for turn-by-turn directions but I definitely think that other geolocation services like Foursquare, Yelp, etc. would be utilized.
metafor - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Snapdragons have GPS integrated. But whether there's a radio/antenna and software to enable it is a different question....Gary Key - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Yes, we will have GPS on select models and we are using Gorilla glass. Tthe prices are not set yet as they depend on a wide variety of options, mainly on drive/memory size and additional communication devices. ;)softdrinkviking - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
"On paper, while the Slider seems like a cool form factor, there doesn't appear to be a compelling reason to choose it over the Transformer, no matter what your use case is."I think this would be useful for my case. I ride two trains to work, so i can slide out the keyboard on my lap and type, rather than using the touch screen buttons on a shaky train. when i don't need to type, i can hide the keyboard.
beginner99 - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
IMHO all too expensive. And 8 hours battery life? I thought these ARM based chips are much better than Atom let alone a core i5.juzz86 - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
If you're driving a 4" AMOLED display they are :)Seggybop - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
it's pretty amazing how manufacturers today have almost caught up with the 8-year old Compaq/HP TC1100 design. revolutionary stuff here ^_^damianrobertjones - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Now THAT was a tablet. I had one a few years back, with maxed out hard drive space at 120Gb and 2Gb ram. Tweaked Win7 install and it was amazing. That very same machine with Touch..... I'd buy it the same day!softdrinkviking - Thursday, January 6, 2011 - link
remind me, how was the battery life on that one?damianrobertjones - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
I wouldn't really call the R2h a 'convertible tablet' and I should know as I have one sitting right next to me, with it's cray stylus that no longer likes to stay in it's slot and fan that never stops. Mmm, celeron.Why haven't I ever repalced it? Simple, it's great. Slow, huge, but does what it does. I might even get an SSD drive for it one day.
It also had gps! (Never worked very well, but its there)
ATOmega - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Not sure why tablet makers insist on gouging us so hard. Overall, the hardware costs them peanuts to produce. The majority of the OS is produced by google and all they're doing is integrating it. Most of the devices of which already have drivers.None of this is new to ASUS who have been in the business since forever. So why the premium? SOCs are supposed to reduce prices, not drive them up.
Do these use Gorilla Glass? Do they have GPS? Will I be able to buy one from somewhere other than a cell phone service provider? Will I be able to use the Android market? Are the prices in Canada going to have another $40 tacked on arbitrarily, even though our dollar is at par? How much extra will we pay just to get 1GB instead of 512MB?
I'm incredibly interested in the Transformer, but I'm not shelling out what will likely be $800 for a tablet and the keyboard! Get real! Offer a pack of the 1GB RAM model with the keyboard for $500. Overnight tablet market domination.
sjprg2 - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Why at this late date are they STILL putting USB 2 instead of USB 3 ports, and only 1 GB of memory? Same crap, with nothing moving ahead. No PCI-E ribbon for SSDs. Come on turkeys, Give us something to feel worthwhile spending our money on instead of rehashed crap. Still pushing SATA when PCIE is the logical step. Price is important, but performance is the bottom line for buying technology NOT toys.Paul
alfredska - Thursday, January 6, 2011 - link
Vivek Gowri's style of writing makes this article difficult to read right from the start. The first paragraph includes two sentences that start with "If you (are) ASUS...". The congratulatory statement to ASUS is probably best moved to end of the article and directed differently. These are quickly followed by an incomprehensible list that fails to properly join operating systems and hardware: "Three of them are Honeycomb-based tablets, joined by a traditional Windows slate. Looking at the Android tablets, we have the MeMO, a 7” Snapdragon slate, the Transformer, a 10” Tegra 2 slate with an optional keyboard docking station (hence the name), and the Slider, an interesting 10” model with a sliding, tilting keyboard (think a supersized HTC Touch Pro 2)." First, honeycomb should have been linked to Android for the bulk of the public who isn't familiar with all of the Android OS names. Second, list the devices concisely, then follow with descriptions. The processor names look as if they could be tablet names.I gave up reading beyond page one.
accolite - Friday, January 7, 2011 - link
Ive been looking for a slate with these kinds of specs for a while and the other is the Wacom pen, one question before I get too excited about this slate, is the pen pressure sensitive?If it is I am getting one as soon as it is coming out.
Anon51 - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
Let the buyer beware!I signed up just to say, as an owner of a Garmin-Asus A10 smartphone, it has come to my attention that every single LCD panel Asus uses in that phone has a significant amount of lazy pixels. After sending it back to Asus for repairs several times, every LCD panel they have replaced have come back equally flawed. Refunds are not available.
Suffice to say, i am extremely skeptical of their products, especially when they are priced well below market. Protect yourselves and do not purchase from this company unless you can be guaranteed a refund.
I pray you have a better experience with them than i did.