A few months ago it had been rumored that Google may be asking ASUS to build their tablet for them and now we have some more details on this likely partnership. Digitimes have claimed that Google’s tablet is well near completion and that shipments will be starting in June in preparation for a release sometime in July.

Just to remind you, this isn’t a rumored product as Google chairman Eric Schmidt already revealed last year that the company would be releasing a tablet within the next six months. While they may have fallen a little bit short of that estimation, a July release would still ensure that Google has maintained their word and the tablet could force Apple to step up their plans on a renewed iPad effort with upgrades made to the existing ‘new iPad’ that launched just a few months ago.

If a July release wasn’t exciting enough for you, we’ve also heard that Google will be unveiling their new tablet at Google I/O which starts in June. Potential specs of the device that have been speculated include a Tegra 3 quad-core processor and Google’s brand new unseen Android 5.0 Jelly Bean OS. What do you make of the decision to allow ASUS to build the device though? The Transformer Prime is obviously a lovely piece of kit, so are you happy that Google has given the Taiwanese manufacturer a chance to become a global brand in the US?

Samsung would have been another obvious choice since they built the Galaxy Nexus, but we’re pleased to see that Google is trying out different things. How does a quad-core, Jelly Bean effort from ASUS sound to you this Summer? Instant buy for you, or will you hold out to see if Apple has something in the pipeline?

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Firstly you’ll notice the plastic feel to the TF300T, which obviously helps save money when compared to the Prime’s metal casing, although this does allow for a few colors rather than just a metal finishing. The second most notable difference would be discovered after a little use, and this might be too late unless you read the Transformer Pad TF300T reviews, which show a smaller battery and less juice when compared to the Prime.

Expect Reviews played video continuously and got around 9 hours battery life with the TF300T, although the same test delivered 10 hours and 45 minutes with the Transformer Prime. Read the full review via the above link and bare in mind the price difference between both the Prime and TF300T is so little that you might want to consider spending a little more. For a different perspective you could also have a read of a TF300 review on T3 and The Inquirer in this article, although those of our readers that like to watch a review should see the 22 minute video below for more details on those important features and pricing.

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The Transformer Prime is by no means an old product, but ASUS are wasting no time in bringing yet another iteration to the market. The TF300 is the newest one available and it will be shipping with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich straight out of the box, compared to the Prime which only shipped with Android Gingerbread but was later upgraded to ICS.

You’ll also get a Tegra 3 quad-core processor from NVIDIA, with each core weighing in at 1.2Ghz. The display will be another 10.1-incher and it comes with a 1280×800 resolution. It also comes with an 8 megapixel rear camera, a 1.2 megapixel front camera and also 1GB of RAM.

While it may be deemed as too similar to the Transformer Prime with minimal upgrades, the pricing of the new device is the most impressive aspect in our opinion. ASUS has confirmed that they will be selling the TF300 for just $379 for the 16GB version and $399 for the 32GB version. That is pretty incredible for a quad-core, Android 4.0 tablet you have to say, especially when you consider that the dual-core new iPad currently has an asking price of $499.

If you’re interested in picking one up, availability should commence this week – with April 23rd a likely starting date for online orders. Just like the Transformer Prime, an optional hardware keyboard accessory is available for an extra $150 if required, bringing it past the $500 mark for both.

Have you spotted a better Android 4.0, Tegra 3 tablet anywhere else? ASUS has got their pricing spot on with the TF300, so let us know if you plan to buy one.

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Don’t forget that this the same ASUS that were in the headlines just hours ago for apparently confirming to the world that Android 5.0 will indeed be known as Jelly Bean and that the Taiwanese company may be one of the first to support the new software.

Now a rumor over at AndroidandMe claims that Google has approached ASUS to build their highly anticipated Nexus tablet, with a key area of focus trying to get the tablet to enter the market at the golden $199 mark, which would obviously send consumers into delirium. Further details also add weight to the idea that the Google Nexus tablet will feature a Tegra 3 quad-core processor as well as a stock version of Ice Cream Sandwich as standard.

Eric Schmidt was recently quoted as saying that their tablet was ‘six months away from release’, which means that we could be seeing this just after Summer of this year. This may be a long shot, but we wouldn’t rule out the possibility of this Google Nexus tablet being the first device to run Jelly Bean either.

We’re not saying that it will launch with Jelly Bean, but it would obviously be very logical for Google’s own branded device to run the new software before any other device, rather than the Motorola Xoom which carried Honeycomb first before it. This rumor also seems to intertwine with the ASUS Jelly Bean report as well, so we’re looking forward to hearing some more gossip soon.

What are your thoughts on this upcoming Nexus tablet from Google? Has Samsung been shunted out of the picture for good after the Galaxy Nexus, in favor of ASUS – makers of the impressive Transformer Prime?

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The good news, is that ASUS hasn’t forgotten about Transformer owners. The Taiwanese manufacturer has just used their official Facebook page to inform the world that Transformer owners will definitely be getting an update to the latest version of Google Android, and that the update will be taking place within the next few months.

Speaking on the ASUS Singapore page, the company revealed that Ice Cream Sandwich will be available for the Transformer before the end of February or during the weeks of March. Here’s the statement from the company in full, as noted by Android Police.

‘‘We are informed that the ICS upgrade for TF101 will be ready within the Feb/March 2012 period. You will be able to receive the upgrade notification via FOTA once we have a confirmation date.”

While this is good news on a whole, we’ve noticed that there is considerable outrage from Transformer owners in Singapore who are angry that they have had to wait this long for the update. One user even asks for the source code so that he can get the update out quicker himself with the help of the XDA Developer Forums. In our opinion though, the Transformer is no longer the primary focus of ASUS so users should still be satisfied that they are getting an update at all.

Don’t forget that there may be upgraded versions of the Transformer Prime on the way soon too. We told you that new model names were discovered, with some rumors hinting of an upgraded front-facing camera and a better screen resolution for one of the new models. We’re yet to see official evidence from ASUS, but if there are new Prime models on the way, then it would surely place the original Transformer further down the pecking order.

Take a look at the anger over at the Singapore Facebook page here and let us know your thoughts on it. We only have a few more weeks for the update to appear now it seems, so is all the criticism at ASUS justified or not in your opinion?

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At the beginning of last month issues with the Transformer Prime came to light with regards to the device’s GPS feature. But it was when the Android Ice Cream Sandwich update was rolled out to the device that the real problems began. Firstly owners reported problems trying to even download the new operating system.

Users complained that the software wouldn’t recognize their Transformer Prime serial number so wouldn’t complete the download. But when users managed to upgrade the software they were left with a strange problem with the device suddenly rebooting itself unexpectedly. Now Asus has acknowledged the problem and according to the Inquirer the company is pushing out an update that it hopes will fix the issue.

The device has also experienced low stock with some retailers as consumers clamber to get hold of the tablet PC. Not all users have had issues with the reboot issue though, and Asus have also revealed that the original Transformer will be getting Android 4.0 later this month.

Asus have also announced via its Facebook page that more stock of the Transformer Prime should be hitting retailers pretty soon. This comes after online retailer Clove removed the device from their virtual shelves in response to the reported problems. Asus meanwhile have repeatedly denied there are any hardware problems with the Transformer Prime.

Besides the early software issues the Prime has been well received so far, and is arguably the best tablet PC currently on offer on the Android platform. The fact it comes powered by the quad core Tegra 3 processor allows for a slick performance. Some have said though the screen isn’t quite as good to what is found on the current iPad. Below we have a video review of the device as well as one highlighting the reboot issue.

Do you have the Transformer Prime? What do you think of it?

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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.

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It seems that Asus are set to reveal the final design at the Mobile World Congress on February 27th, and allows users to dock their smartphone into the back of a tablet. According to a report over at Android and Me, there have been various reports that the device will come using the Nvidia Tegra power plant.

But there have also been some leaked benchmarks that have suggested it will use the Snapdragon S4 processor, which was confirmed when a prototype unit was spotted at the recent CES event. This could all change though as the company is expected to reveal an all new design compared to al the prototypes that have been seen so far.

It will also mean the overall design will have changed because of the physical keys being removed as the device is expected to come with Android Ice Cream Sandwich straight out of the box. Another great feature of the Padfone is that it will support the Asus Transformer keyboard dock.

The device that was seen recently at CES had support for the older TF101 unit, but it would seem the redesigned Padfone would support the TF201 that is used with the Transformer Prime. Do you like the look of the Asus Padfone?

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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.

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The MeMIC looks a lot like a basic smartphone, the idea is that it communicates with your MeMO tablet via Bluetooth and allows you to make and receive phonecalls using this small accessory rather than holding the 7-inch tablet by the side of your face. One great thing is that you could keep the MeMO tablet in your bag and still be able to use the MeMIC as the communication between the two devices will remain established. Not only will you be able to use the MeMIC for phonecalls, but it will also be able to send and receive text messages as well as listen to music.

We’re not yet sure when the MeMIC will arrive and how much it will cost, however it did recently show up at the FCC, which suggests that it could arrive pretty soon. You can see all of the FCC documentation here, if the patent drawings are to scale we think that the MeMIC will measure in at roughly 4cm x 10 cm with a 1.6-inch display.

Below we have embedded a photo which we found over at TalkAndroid, as you can see there seems to be a back button, buttons to make and end calls along with up, down, left and right arrows and a center button for selecting things – we’re not sure how you’re meant to send text messages using these!

We think the MEMic sounds like a great idea and we wouldn’t be too surprised if other tablet manufacturers follow suit with similar accessories, let’s just hope pricing isn’t too high otherwise we think sales will be hampered. Would you buy an accessory like the MEMic for your tablet?

More About: asus, ASUS Eee Pad MeMO, ASUS MEMic

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