ASUS is gearing up to launch a wave of tablet devices that encompass the Windows and Android ecosystems, and the one that's catching our eye is the Eee Pad Transformer.
Scheduled for release in April, the 10.1in capacitive touchscreen device runs Google's Android 3.0 HoneyComb operating system on NVIDIA Tegra 2 hardware.
That's already proven to be a potent mix in the likes of the Motorola Xoom, but ASUS is going the extra yard with the Eee Pad Transformer by including a keyboard docking station that provides a tactile typing experience, a wider range of ports and extended battery life. Commenting on the latter, ASUS tells us that the Transformer tablet alone will manage eight hours of usage from a single charge, but that figure will jump up to 16 hours when attached to the keyboard.
Front (1.2 megapixel) and rear (5 megapixel) cameras are of course included, and ASUS squeezes in a mini-HDMI output as well as a memory card reader. The hardware is shaping up to be excellent, and though we only had the opportunity to play with a prototype, it felt well built and stylishly finished. The keyboard, despite being small, is a joy to type on and the two pieces of hardware connect together tightly and are separated by a simple latch, making it feel sturdy and notebook like.
Unfortunately, the same can't yet be said for ASUS's software implementation. We found the Eee Pad Transformer's implementation of Android Honeycomb to be in need of optimisation, and frequently ran into slowdowns and hanging apps. ASUS reckons it'll all be silky-smooth when it appears at retail priced from €399 for a tablet-only model (i.e. no keyboard dock), but with only one month to go it's already racing against the clock. Check out the quick hands-on video below to see the Eee Pad Transformer in action.
