The current Transformer Prime can be identified by its model name TF201 and was the first device to ship with an NVIDIA Quad-core processor and Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Google’s Android software.

Now though, a new model has been spotted and it carries with it a model number of TF300T and an unusual red theme which we have a picture of to show you. Engadget has got their hands on the image which has originated from a Taiwanese website. There’s no indication on what hardware changes have been made to this version, but the image does suggest that ASUS has removed the LED flash component from the rear camera.

This model is rather mysterious actually, for another reason which we’ll remind you of. At the start of January, we told you that ASUS had unveiled an upgraded model of their Transformer Prime at CES 2012, one which came with a better display resolution and an upgrade to the front-facing camera amongst other tweaks. Now the model number of the upgraded unit has been identified at T700T, which is obviously higher than this TF300T information that we mentioned above.

Could we just be seeing a red variant of the original ASUS Tranformer, instead of being another upgrade to the Transformer Prime? Since we don’t have any further details, it’s hard to tell at the moment, but we’re guessing that this mystery will be solved soon. Let us know what you think of this red model and if you would be interested in picking one up if it turns out to be a new Prime.

Online retailer Clove has taken down the device from its website due to worries about its GPS and Wi-Fi features, but as Cnet are reporting Asus have stated that the device is fine after undergoing “rigorous testing“. The tablet is seen by some as the first serious contender to the iPad crown, but there have been numerous reports of bugs.

The retailer is so far the only one to take such action though and has led Clove to take to its blog to comment on the situation. It said “We are at this time not satisfied that all units we could provide you with are working correctly, and performing to the standard we expect”. The retailer went on to say they will not offer the device until further notice.

Asus has stressed that issues with the Wi-Fi are not affecting the UK version of the device, but the GPS problem led the company rolling out a software update to fix the issue. Asus has said it takes pride in its testing of products, and the Prime is performing as expected.

Other UK retailers such as Curry’s and Dixons are still offering the Transformer Prime to consumers, but with all these possible problems going on and the fact an updated model is due to arrive later this year, some may start having second thoughts about splashing the cash on the tablet PC.

Have you got the Transformer Prime?

ASUS caused considerable uproar amongst new Transformer Prime owners after they discovered that the device was completely locked upon purchase. Having seen the criticism over this, it appears that ASUS has had an instant change of heart and have decided to release an unlock tool as soon as they can.

Owners can now look forward to the bootloader unlock releasing sometime in February and it will mean that users can explore the deeper realms of their device at their own discretion, although at the expense of voiding their warranty. This is a common practice with Android smartphones though, so this opportunity will be taken at the first chance by many Prime owners we feel.

ASUS confirmed the news in a recent Tweet on their official page. Amusingly you can see that the company used the term ‘root tool’ in their initial Tweet, but they later cleared this up by stating that they meant to say bootloader unlock tool.

”Just got word that the root tool for the @ASUS #TransformerPrime should be coming in February. ^EJ”

So there we have it, look forward to the unlock tool becoming available sometime next month. Will you make use of this straight away to explore Android further, or will you just keep your Transformer Prime in its original state and wait for official updates from ASUS? For those of you that are wondering why ASUS decided to lock the bootloader in the first place, we told you in a previous article that ASUS locked the device in order to maintain Google’s copy protection and also the fact that YouTube movies may not work as normal with an unlocked device.

We have a feeling though that users will find a way to get YouTube running with no problems, so it will be interesting to see if this will indeed become a problem as soon as ASUS release the bootloader unlock tool. Let us know if you’ll be modifying your Transformer Prime or not.

The company announced that the Android update would start its rollout to devices in the UK from yesterday according to a report over at IT ProPortal. The device is the first tablet in the country to use the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor.

Other regions have already been receiving the Android update for their Prime’s and have unfortunately experienced some issues with it. To begin with users complained that the update wouldn’t recognize their unit and wouldn’t download the software. But for some it was after downloading the software the real problems began.

Many users complained that the new operating system kept rebooting the device without any warning, and even got worse as time went on. It is not currently known if this issue has been fixed by Asus, but you would have thought they wouldn’t release the update in other regions if not.

The company has confirmed some bugs that have been fixed though that includes issues with some screen graphics problems. Asus has also revealed that the bootloader unlocker will be provided for the tablet PC in the coming days.

Has your device been updated yet? How have you found it?

It seems those users lucky enough to upgrade their Transformer Prime are then met with another problem. According to Android Authority some users are reporting that their device will suddenly reboot without any warning. This is the same problem that some owners of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus have been complaining about.

Only yesterday we told you about the handset rebooting without any warning, and the problem seemed to get worse as time goes on. Some owners have commented that they managed to change their Transformer Prime at the retailer where it was purchased, or with Asus themselves.

Trouble is the problem looks more likely to be a software problem with owners saying it only started after upgrading to Android 4.0, so changing the device probably won’t cure it. At the time of writing there is a quickly swelling thread over at the XDA forums, which currently stands at 78 pages.

Some users are complaining that their Transformer Prime rebooted twice in forty minutes, and some are complaining that certain retailers are not offering an exchange or returns after seven days of opening the device. It seems pretty certain that the issue is a software problem and not just coincidence, and the companies involved will hopefully be working around the clock to offer a permanent solution.

Has your Galaxy Nexus or Transformer Prime been rebooting itself?

Some owners of the device have been reporting issues when trying to update to Android Ice Cream Sandwich. The problem comes when the new software doesn’t recognize the devices serial number, and then won’t complete the update. A report on Electronista is suggesting getting round the problem users can try initiating a factory reset.

A representative from the company has suggested that if that fails to fix the problem users wait fifteen minutes before trying again. The solution has worked for some users but not all of them have been successful. The Transformer Prime is one of the first devices that users the lovely NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, which is one of the devices main selling points.

Meanwhile a report over at Phandroid has reported that Asus have said they are “very close to a finalizing a fix”. The issue will be frustrating for owners wanting to experience Ice Cream Sandwich on the tablet PC, and makes you wonder why the device couldn’t have launched running it straight out of the box.

Have you successfully updated your Transformer Prime to ICS?

As most US consumers are aware, the ASUS Transformer Prime is already available to buy, and just last week at CES we told you that ASUS were also planning to release an upgraded version of the Transformer Prime, one which would come with an upgraded resolution, as well as a upgrade to the front-facing camera with a new 2MP sensor compared to the old 1.3MP one.

That model coming will still be a WiFi variant only though, as there are no plans to bring a 3G version of the tablet to market. ASUS has confirmed this in a bold statement according to Focus Taiwan, by saying that ‘no such product exists in our current roadmap’, via TheVerge. By saying ‘current’ though in the statement, this may provide just a glimmer of hope to consumers that ASUS may give in and release a new model with 3G before the end of the year.

It’s a pretty surprising move though we have to say, particularly since most if not all of ASUS’ competitors on the market feature a 3G variant for their tablets aside from a WiFi one. What are ASUS trying to achieve by just giving consumers a WiFi version of the Prime – that they feel consumers don’t need 3G on their tablet perhaps?

We have a feeling that we haven’t heard the last on the 3G Prime debate, as it remains a head scratcher for us. In the meantime, consumers can look forward to the new version of the Prime shipping in the second half of 2012 with that upgraded display resolution and front-camera. Let us know your thoughts on this decision by ASUS – Is a 3G version badly needed or not?

The recently released Transformer Prime was also seen lurking at CES 2012, and just to give consumers an idea that the Transformer Prime is very capable when it comes to handling graphic intensive games, both ASUS and NVIDIA unveiled at the event a Transformer Prime device that had the potential to run The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Unlike the Razer Project Fiona though, the Transformer Prime won’t be able to run Skyrim just by launching an app. Instead, the device makes use of a nifty app called SplashTop, which allows users to stream content from PC to tablet. By using this app on the Prime, it allows Skyrim to run from your PC straight to your frame at the loss of no delay or framerate problems for the final result on your tablet.

This isn’t a feature exclusive to the Transformer Prime, but it is largely thanks to the Quad-Core Tegra 3 processor from NVIDIA that makes this possible. What you will need to have to try this yourself though, is a high end PC with a decent NVIDIA graphics card and a good internet connection to make the stream run as smooth as possible.

Providing you have met these criteria, you should be able to run Skyrim on any quad-core Tablet just like you would on a PC. Splashtop is available now from the Android Market for a very reasonable price. For those of you lucky enough to have a PC capable of running Skyrim with good settings, a Transformer Prime and a decent internet connection, you should try this out today and see how Skyrim runs on your Transformer Prime.

If you are yet to pick up a Transformer Prime but have been keeping a close eye on the device since it launched in the US, you’ll probably be aware that consumers were running into a few difficulties involving WiFi and GPS connections.

ASUS has now announced at CES that a new version of the Transformer Prime will be available, fixing these specific areas but also upgrading other aspects of the device as well. For example, ASUS has added a higher resolution to the 10.1 display screen, which will now be able to boast a 1920 x 1200 resolution output. The front-facing camera has also been upgraded from a 1.2mp sensor to a 2 megapixel sensor which should please those who use video conferencing often.

If that wasn’t good enough for you, ASUS has also announced much to the delight of consumers, that the promised upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich is now available to download! According to ASUS CEO Jerry Shen, the update is rolling out as we speak, so head to your settings if you haven’t received an OTA notification and see if an update is available. The download was originally scheduled to go live on January 12th, so to get it two days later is a lovely surprise and a gesture that Transformer Prime owners will appreciate we’re sure.

Firstly, does the new upgraded Transformer Prime tempt you into a purchase? It is great to see that ASUS has put the effort in to upgrade the resolution to a stunning 1920×1200. For those of you that already have the Prime, are you now running Ice Cream Sandwich?

What will be welcome news to many owners of the device, a timetable for the release of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich has been revealed by Asus. According to Electronista it will begin rolling out around the world from January 12th, and will be an over-the-air update. The company hasn’t revealed how quickly the update will take to finish, or if owners can update the device manually.

The company also gave the reasons behind its decision to lock down the tablet PCs bootloader. They said they wanted it in place to support Google’s copy protection, and let the YouTube movie service to work correctly. Asus were also worried that root access may “break the system completely”.

Asus did announce that an unlock tool was on route, but those who use this run the risk of breaking YouTube movies, and voiding the devices warranty. There was no information regarding the availability of the unlock tool though.

This follows a campaign by users of the device who were angry about the lock down. Even though the Transformer Prime is not exclusive to any carriers, it is one of a select few that are locked down. Other tablets such as the Motorola Xoom were released with unlocked bootloaders that allow users to load up their own firmware or apps.

We have already told you earlier today about the 8.8.3.33 update that was released for the device, which promised to fix some of the camera focus issues. Asus again stressed that high GPS performance will be difficult because of the units metal unibody shell.

Are you looking forward to Android 4.0 on your Transformer Prime?