By ASUS first announced their Eee Pad Slide, Transformer, and MeMO at CES but we got the opportunity to test them out for the first time at MWC. Video footage was not allowed since the units aren’t finalized, so all I managed to snag were still pics, but I’m pretty interested in what ASUS brings to the table.
The ASUS Eee Pad Slide is the one I personally found most interesting. It’s super slim when closed but you can slide it open to reveal a FULL QWERTY keyboard:
I love the idea but ASUS definitely needs to improve the slide mechanism – it’s a bit rigid and forced when opening/closing but if they could make it a bit smoother it would be really nice. I was pretty amazed how slim the keyboard portion remains, meaning when it’s closed and you’re not using the keyboard you don’t sacrifice much portability. With the slider closed it’s still a pretty strong device in and of itself.
As usual, Tegra 2 and Honeycomb is looking like a pretty good combination. The device looks even better when you have a beautiful young lady and company rep modeling it:
Another tablet with keyboard combo ASUS has coming out is called the ASUS Eee Transformer:
Instead of merging tablet and keyboard with a must-use mechanism, ASUS allows you to completely detach them from eachother with the flick of a switch.
The tablet functions fully on its own so you can easily leave the keyboard behind and bring the tablet along for travel.
Some of the Transform specs:
Tegra 2 and Honeycomb again? Yes please!
Lastly we’ve got the ASUS Eee Pad MeMO which is a slate with stylus.
I wasn’t personally intrigued with this device because it’s a bit small for my liking and I don’t personally have a need for a stylus. Then again, there are many other people who prefer a pocketable tablet and who desire a stylus- these folks could definitely end up loving the MeMO.
Yet again we’re looking at Honeycomb but this time on a Qualcomm 8280 1.2GHz processor. I would have preferred the dual core NVIDIA solution and I’m thinking that the smooth fluidity of UI would have gone a long way when using a stylus. Handwriting is a utility where you don’t want any jerkiness.
Neither of these devices was actually running Honeycomb in their current form… which is why they didn’t let us film it. These devices should be launching in April, May and June respectively so stay tuned!
The Eee Pad Slide looks the most interesting to me. I think it is a great feature to have for a tablet so you don’t have to worry about carting around a wireless keyboard or keyboard dock with the tablet.
must! have! transformer!
april is so far away…
Article starts off with “Acer”.
Wow, last pic says it all. Slate using Moto’s price scheme. Surprising coming from asus.
Now those are prices I can get behind! A top of the line 64GB Transformer with 3G for $699 and a lower end 16GB version (with SDHC slot!) for $399? The additional physical keyboard as a bonus? I’m sold already. Thank god there are good options ahead besides over-priced, over-hyped Xooms, GTab2s and weird Atrix phone/tablet hybrids.
Im sooo confused as to which tablet to get! the xoom looks awesome but will be really expensive. G-Slate looks sick but Im not entirely sold on the 8.9 in screen size. the samsung 10.1 looks sick but it all depends if the price is right! now with theses the idea of having a Eee Slide has me leaning tward that especially with a price between $500-700… not bad asus… not bad :)
I can’t wait for the Transformer. 16 hours of battery life while docked will be really handy for long trips. I love the idea of being able to dock it and make it into a netbook for doing typing intensive tasks. Also, docking it and closing it will allow for easy transport while keeping the screen protected.
I definitely love the slider, but there is one mistake Asus made with it. Its connectivity. From the specs at CES it is only 3g, no Wifi. Why? I will definitely buy it if there was a wifi only model, but a 3g only model where I’m locked into a contract. Nope, ain’t going to happen.
Thank goodness there is something coming that is not overprized. Shame on Motorola, LG,and smasung.
Asus know what we want and they are giving it to us.
Am going for the transformer definitely as long as its honeyconb
o yeah…forgot about u little buddy!
well…i can wait to april. so…ok :)
The Transformer looks like a less fun version of the Lenovo U1, on display at CES for the past two years. I hope the U1 makes its way to the States!
@treefq
The Slate is a Windows 7 Tablet with a core i5.
I’m getting dizzy from the speed of the tablet/phone progress, amazing. Even just a yr ago it was easy to see the standout tech that was in a league of it’s own, made selection easy. Now, trying to choose a tablet (& next phone) is not as clear cut. Just SO happy that some mfg see that we all don’t want yet another indentured contract to a carrier just for a tablet we plan to run wifi. Really liking the slider. Pricing looks SO much better than the Lenovo product.
been waiting along time for ASUS to drop these.
It’s almost time.
“I wasn’t personally intrigued with this device because it’s a bit small for my liking and I don’t personally have a need for a stylus.”
Well. I. Do. MeMo and honeycomb…why couldn’t HTC give us that on their Flyer?
A quote from another tech site:
“The iPad 2 will not (unless Steve has changed his mind) feature a stylus – something that turns a tablet from a dumb media consumption device that does little to stimulate the creative mind to a device that replicates much of that offered by paper. I’m an iPad 1 user BTW, and it’s does what it does do well, but it is impossible to be creative with, except for writing using one finger, a liberating experience.”
I want a Transformer NOW!
Lets just hope that it gets the april launch!!
Hi,
i hope the Transformer launch in Europe at April, too.
I want the trnsormer tooooo and now! Anyone knows what the keybord will cost extra to the tablet??