[Review] : ASUS Transformer Pad TF300

ASUS Transformer Pad TF300
Affordable Quad-Core 

ASUS Transformer Pads TF300 in Iceberg White and Royal Blue

The TF300 is the 3rd transforming tablet from ASUS. The new Transformer Pad is now designed for capture the hearts of 1st time tablet buyers that looks for performance, style and still conscious for their budget. 

Design & Specifications

HWM Philippines quoted that the TF300 is "Prime on Plastic". Honestly I kinda agree, since the TF201 AKA Prime is using premium materials which is an all aluminum body, its definitely one reason why the Prime was expensive.

Here are the basic specs of the TF300

• NVIDIA Tegra 3 4 plus 1 Quad Core Processor 1.3Ghz
• 32GB eMMC Storage
• 10.1" IPS Panel 1280 x 800 Display (10 point multi-touch)
• 8mp Camera f2.2 Apeture and 5 Elements Lens
• Exclusive Mobile Dock for Additional Battery, Keyboard and Ports
• Iceberg White, Royal Blue and Torch Red

Compared to the Prime the TF300 is just basically more...affordable.





Some major changes is definitely the body, where lifting a plastic tablet will be noticable since the TF201 feels really premium. Focusing on the TF300 the quality of the plastic body is very good, still carrying the concentric circle design finish of ASUS, it adds design and functionality as the tablet is easier to grip. 

Camera 

TF300T Sample Picture [click to enlarge]

Sample picture above is taken under direct sunlight. Thanks to its 2.2 aperture  camera, it was able to control the level of brightness making it possible to see the building in the picture. In other digital cameras, the light would be too great and will cover overshine the building. Quality wise, its still not that great when zoomed in as you can't get that much detail but color and clarity wise, its already above average class.

Dock

ASUS created the Transforming concept because they want to combine all of the gadgets into one powerful powerhouse. In a bag where a techie person has a camera, an external HDD, mouse, charger and many more, ASUS wants to simplify the on-the go person with the Transformer Pad.

Having a functionality of a notebook with a full pledged keyboard, touchpad, usb ports and SD card reader. Also a bonus battery pack as the keyboard can charge the tablet extending the battery life significantly

Transformer Pad Dock

The TF300 Dock is specifically designed to work only on the TF300 as well. Unlike the dock of the TF201 where its also the same as the one for the Transformer Pad Infinity. This is because that the TF300 is a little thicker at 9.7mm where it will be flimsy if slot into the TF201 Dock.

Basically the dock is also made in plastic, and they changed the keyboard to the same keyboard used by Eee PC netbooks.

TF300 USB 2.0 Port + SD Card Reader on the same side

TF300 30-Pin connector Port

Software

ASUS Transformer Pad Default Screen

Basically ASUS didn't tweaked the user interface that much as ASUS believes that Google Ice Cream Sandwich is already good. Tech persons call this as "Vanilla" version of Ice Cream Sandwich. 

ASUS just tweaked the user interface with simple change of font by using "Roboto" font, and simplification of widgets by simple line based graphics.

ASUS Notification Bar

The notification bar is also simple with just a modification of power adjustments of the processor from battery saving, balance mode and high performance mode. Plus the quick toggle to change the brightness. 

Another good thing about ASUS is that they are FAST, as in really fast in updates. They were the 1st in Honeycomb 3.1 , Honeycomb 3.2, Ice Cream Sandwich and now their latest is ICS with Face Unlock. 

Conclusion

In conclusion the TF300 of ASUS is still powerful thanks to its Quad Core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor. Plus ASUS managed to pack a very good tablet at a very tempting price point.

With an SRP Php 24,995 which is also now the 32GB variant, this is definitely a hit for those tablet searchers. With other competitions with the same price level but only providing a "tablet", unlike with ASUS where it already has the Mobile Dock in the package, its definitely a feature that users will have to reconsider when buying a tablet. 

A Quad Core Tablet, 8mp Camera, up to 15 hours of battery life, easy typing experience, the latest Ice Cream Sandwich OS and a very tempting price. All you need to start your tablet experience.