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Transformer launch date US - any rumors?

C

chrisaukcam

Lurker
I narrowed down my choices to the asus transformer and the samsung galaxy tab. But I think the transformer with honeycomb, bigger screen is the better buy. But it isn't available yet in the US.

Any whispers as to a release date in the US? I'm wanting to pull the trigger soon...
 
if u get the galaxy tab, remember u have 30 days to return it to the store. if u were going to buy it online...u are CRAZY!
wait for this or the acer iconia before getting the tab.
 
Asus transformer is exclusive to best buy for $400. It was supposed to be $400 but idk. It's being released April 24th
 
yohobojo said:
Asus transformer is exclusive to best buy for $400. It was supposed to be $400 but idk. It's being released April 24th
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the 24th?? very cool.

is there anywhere online that shows this date? cause i know thats the date for the Acer Iconia Tab launch.... not that i don't believe you...i just want it to hurry and get here...so im hoping thats the date lol
 
aleis said:
if u get the galaxy tab, remember u have 30 days to return it to the store. if u were going to buy it online...u are CRAZY!
wait for this or the acer iconia before getting the tab.
Click to expand...


I've looked at the Tab WiFi a few times now. I like the size, but since it won't get any of the benefits of 3.0 (at least without someone else creating a ROM) the $350 price tag is too much to swallow. For $200 I'd buy it just to have and then turn it over to my daughter later. Now that the Transformer is coming in at $400 the Tab is pretty much out window. When the only other option was the $600 WiFi Xoom, $350 looked ok, but for $50 more I can't even consider it anymore.

The Galaxy Tab is more of a competitor to the Archos 70 and 101, and they beat it on price even if you have to hack them a bit to get the market and Google Apps.

I really had my eye on the Flyer, but it looks like that is going to be in more expensive than the Xoom, and it's not going to be Honeycomb (at least at first).
 
Sonic77 said:
Don't forget the 7" Playbook ships in 7 days.
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The search I just did comes up with $499 for the Playbook. Probably come down, so although a little high it puts it in the pack.

IIRC they announced that that Playbook would run Android apps right? Some sort of emulator? Or is it running them natively?

The real question is are they going to be enough Playbook apps? If the BB community doesn't build enough apps for it, and you're stuck using it just to run Android apps, what's going to happen when an Android update comes out with something that newer apps want to use?
 
Give it a perfected browser with flash, I'll take that over 99% of apps?

It's targeted at the bb crowd who are very pro rim products.

I'm waiting on the Asus, but not a fan of what I've seen of 3.0 so far, the on screen buttons & clock just seem to take up vertical resolution that could be used otherwise, but for 399 for a flash browser it's worth a try.
 
Sonic77 said:
Give it a perfected browser with flash, I'll take that over 99% of apps?

It's targeted at the bb crowd who are very pro rim products.

I'm waiting on the Asus, but not a fan of what I've seen of 3.0 so far, the on screen buttons & clock just seem to take up vertical resolution that could be used otherwise, but for 399 for a flash browser it's worth a try.
Click to expand...

Every mobile OS (and even desktop OSes) have some kind of horizontal bar for status information, notifications, app control, etc. Honeycomb simply has its on the bottom instead of the top.

The Playbook is terribly limited at the outset by not having email and messaging native on the tablet itself. Needing to tether to a Blackberry for this functionality is pure craziness.
 
wynand32 said:
Every mobile OS (and even desktop OSes) have some kind of horizontal bar for status information, notifications, app control, etc. Honeycomb simply has its on the bottom instead of the top.

The Playbook is terribly limited at the outset by not having email and messaging native on the tablet itself. Needing to tether to a Blackberry for this functionality is pure craziness.
Click to expand...

I agree but it looks like it comes with a gMail app,
at least I see an gmail icon on some RIM youtube videos?

Can use gmail on the web too,
I have lots of devices that get email so having it on the Playbook is not a big deal, biggest issue I have with it is its only 7", didnt like the tab at 7".

Might pick one up from Costco anyhow, but looking forward to the Asus most of all, then the next Samsungs :)
 
Speaking of Costco, my hope is that they have the Asus tablet-keyboard dock combo for $599 sometime this month.

A guy can dream, right? :-)
 
I just want Costco to get it so I can get that sweet 90 day return policy like I got with the Xoom, which I may have to take advantage of if the Transformer is on par with the Xoom in terms of performance.
 
wynand32 said:
Speaking of Costco, my hope is that they have the Asus tablet-keyboard dock combo for $599 sometime this month.

A guy can dream, right? :-)
Click to expand...

My guess is $500, assuming the $150 stand-alone price for the KB is correct. Due to the issues non-internal storage is having with Honeycomb ATM, I could see the KB being a bit later for launch. This would mean no launch bundle (probably).
 
rushmore said:
My guess is $500, assuming the $150 stand-alone price for the KB is correct. Due to the issues non-internal storage is having with Honeycomb ATM, I could see the KB being a bit later for launch. This would mean no launch bundle (probably).
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Yeah, and I don't think I could wait for the bundle. I'm willing to pay $399 for the tablet now + $150 for the keyboard later, to have a few more weeks to use it.
 
yohobojo said:
Asus transformer is exclusive to best buy for $400. It was supposed to be $400 but idk. It's being released April 24th
Click to expand...

You sure that's not the Acer Iconia?

wynand32 said:
Every mobile OS (and even desktop OSes) have some kind of horizontal bar for status information, notifications, app control, etc. Honeycomb simply has its on the bottom instead of the top.
Click to expand...

HC has two bars though, one at the top and one at the bottom. And I don't think the one at the bottom disappears, even when playing games or videos.

Can someone confirm?
 
GeekClass said:
HC has two bars though, one at the top and one at the bottom. And I don't think the one at the bottom disappears, even when playing games or videos.

Can someone confirm?
Click to expand...

Yes, HC does have an area at top for search and apps, but only on the home screens. It goes away when you run an app.

No, the bottom bar does not disappear when running regular apps (just like the top bar on an Android phone doesn't disappear), and also when running games (unlike the top bar on an Android phone).

So, it's mostly like the Android experience on a phone: home screen elements that go away when running apps and a status bar that remains on all the time. The only difference is that the status bar on HC does not go away when running games. But note that the screen is so much bigger that keeping the status bar visible--which means notifications remain visible as well--is a good tradeoff.
 
The Acer Iconia A500 will be available from Best Buy starting on 4/24 for $450. I don't think they have a confirmed date for the Asus Transformer yet.

You can pre-order the A500 from Best Buy online or pre-order in store starting on 4/14.
 
wynand32 said:
But note that the screen is so much bigger that keeping the status bar visible--which means notifications remain visible as well--is a good tradeoff.
Click to expand...

I guess it doesn't go away when playing full screen video either? Damn. That's not a good trade-off for me at all if so. Hopefully there'll be a hack one day to make that thing disappear for full screen vids.
 
GeekClass said:
I guess it doesn't go away when playing full screen video either? Damn. That's not a good trade-off for me at all if so. Hopefully there'll be a hack one day to make that thing disappear for full screen vids.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... Well, if I'm not mistaken, full-screen video is 16:9, while (for example) the Xoom (what I'm going off of) and Asus screens are 16:10. So, video would naturally leave a bit of border at the top and bottom of the screen, wouldn't it? On HC, the bottom bar does fade away while a video plays full-screen (just noticed that), but of course it still leaves empty space because of the ratio.

If I'm missing something here, let me know. I'm no expert in video resolutions.
 
wynand32 said:
If I'm missing something here, let me know. I'm no expert in video resolutions.
Click to expand...

Yes. The taskbar with non-vid related stuff at the bottom. :P

It may not be a big deal for some, but I find it annoying on my desktop when it happens (sometimes the dock doesn't disappear). But there it's easily fixable.
 
I've been keeping an eye out for the perfect tablet (PC before CES, Android ever since). I thought it would be the Xoom, but the price put me way off. Then I was holding out to see what HTC would offer but it's looking like (again) price is a problem. I've decided the Transformer is what I want based on versatility and rumored price point. If they can really land this thing for $550 docked... I think it might rule the world. Just hope all my incessant googling and the general buzz doesn't tempt them to go higher, b/c I for one couldn't quite justify it. That being said, I have seen some recent articles which point to 4/18 but I think that may be wishful thinking. Fingers crossed for $550 and before end of April!
 
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