Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 quietly goes on sale as the Gobots of transforming tablets

Posted on 23/07/2012 by Jon Fingas

Lenovo's 10-inch IdeaTab S2 was one of the belles of its CES ball in offering a distinctly Transformer Pad-like experience for those not beholden to ASUS' view of the world. While there wasn't much attention given to the Android 4.0 tablet outside of the FCC filing we saw last month, it's getting its time to shine at last: the device is now sitting on Lenovo's virtual shelves as the S2110. The 10.1-inch slate's selling point remains its (strictly optional) keyboard dock, which supplies a trackpad, an SD slot, USB and 10 extra hours of battery life to keep that movie marathon going. Even if you have no intention of constructing the Gobot to ASUS' Transformer original, though, the S2110 is still a big leap over the so-so S2109 from the spring. A 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon APQ8060A, a rear 5-megapixel camera and a landscape 1,280 x 800 screen are all incentives to pay the premium over the S2110's budget predecessor. Not that there will be much of a premium to pay -- despite setting a $449 official price, Lenovo is already discounting the S2110 to as little as $343. That's low enough to lure the cost-conscious away from the Transformer Pad elephant in the room, even if it reminds us of relatives that always bought us the cheaper robot toys when we were kids.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 quietly goes on sale as the Gobots of transforming tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Transformer Prime, TF300 and Infinity TF700 getting Jelly Bean in ‘the coming months’

Posted on 20/07/2012 by Dana Wollman

Hot on the heels of HTC confirming a Jelly Bean upgrade for select handsets, ASUS released a statement (pasted after the break) assuring tablet owners that all of the company's new tablets, at least, will be upgraded to Android 4.1. So far, the outfit is committing to updating the Transformer Prime, along with the Transformer Pads TF300 and TF700. Though ASUS is careful to say it's considering other devices, it's still not promising to upgrade the original Eee Pad Transformer or Eee Pad Slider. No word, exactly, on when users will get a taste of Project Butter and Google Now, except that it should happen within "the coming months." Hopefully, of course, that's just an outside estimate: after all, ASUS isn't known for saddling its tablets with heavily customized skins, which can bog down the upgrade cycle.

Continue reading ASUS Transformer Prime, TF300 and Infinity TF700 getting Jelly Bean in 'the coming months'

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ASUS Transformer Prime, TF300 and Infinity TF700 getting Jelly Bean in 'the coming months' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Transformer Prime TF700T showing ‘in stock’ at Office Depot, days before scheduled US release

Posted on 14/07/2012 by Darren Murph

July 16th? Why wait? A full three days prior to the previously scheduled US release date, ASUS' Transformer Prime TF700T is showing as "in stock" right now from Office Depot. For those who've managed to forget about it's amenities since its original unveiling some six months ago, this one's packing a 10.1-inch (1,920 x 1,200) display, Android 4.0, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11b/g/n, 32GB of internal storage and NVIDIA's Tegra 3 keeping the gears turning. As expected, $499.99 is the asking price, with an estimated delivery of "Just as soon as shipping partners get back to work next week." Oh, and scalpers -- it's limit two per customer. Just a heads-up.

[Thanks, Tony]

Filed under: Tablet PCs

ASUS Transformer Prime TF700T showing 'in stock' at Office Depot, days before scheduled US release originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS’ high-end Transformer Pad TF700 is coming to the US next month for $499 and up

Posted on 25/06/2012 by Dana Wollman

The last time we heard from ASUS, the company was on a tear at Computex, unveiling Windows 8 device after Windows 8 device. Looking back, it seems quaint that its mobile lineup was so recently dominated by Android tablets -- and that the Transformer series was once regarded as unique for having detachable keyboard docks. But this week, at least, it's back to Android for ASUS: the company just announced that the Transformer Pad Infinity announced back at Mobile World Congress is finally going on sale here in the US. It's expected to hit shelves the week of July 16th, starting at $499 for the 32GB model and $599 for the 64GB version. Like other Transformer tabs, the accompanying dock will sell separately for $149.

We've got a rundown of the full specs after the break, and as it turns out, we've also been testing one for the past week. So once you're done browsing those official press shots, head on over to our full review for benchmarks, impressions and many, many more photos.

Gallery: ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity (TF700)

Continue reading ASUS' high-end Transformer Pad TF700 is coming to the US next month for $499 and up

ASUS' high-end Transformer Pad TF700 is coming to the US next month for $499 and up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of June 18th, 2012

Posted on 25/06/2012 by Zachary Lutz

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of June 18th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of June 18th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Jun 2012 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012

Posted on 28/05/2012 by Zachary Lutz

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 May 2012 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TL hits the FCC with AT&T-friendly LTE

Posted on 25/05/2012 by Jon Fingas

ASUS isn't known for offering its tablets to North American carriers with 3G or 4G; an FCC filing for a cellular-capable Transformer Pad TF300 could be a clue at a break in the WiFi-only trend. Along with the usual wireless, a TF300TL variant of the Android 4.0 slate has stopped by the agency with the 850MHz and 1,900MHz frequencies needed for HSPA 3G as well as, best of all, 700MHz and 1,700MHz support for LTE-based 4G. All four are what we'd look for in an AT&T-oriented tablet, so don't be surprised if Ma Bell carries a 4G Transformer Pad before long. All but the 700MHz band would be handy for Canadian networks as well. There's no surefire evidence of when the tablet might make a more formal appearance, nor hints of whether or not it will keep the quad-core Tegra 3, although the slight spin on the regular TF300 formula could keep the wait short.

ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TL hits the FCC with AT&T-friendly LTE originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 review

Posted on 22/04/2012 by Dana Wollman

ASUS outs lower-end Transformer Pad 300 tablet

ASUS Transformer Pad 300 hands-on

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime review

It doesn't feel like a year has passed since we reviewed the original ASUS Transformer and its innovative keyboard dock, but indeed time flies, and quite a bit has happened since then. The company has released the Prime, for starters, followed by two other high-end models. And now, the OG Transformer is going the way of the dodo, as the affordable new Transformer Pad 300 (aka the TF300) takes its place. Though this newest tablet was announced back in February, it's only just going on sale in the US this week, starting at $379 for the 16GB version, and $399 for one with 32GB of built-in storage.

In addition to the fact that this replaces a truly memorable product, the TF300 is intriguing because it represents an even better deal for consumers: it borrows some design cues from the higher-end Prime, and also steps up to a similar 8-megapixel camera. Like the Prime, too, it runs an unskinned version of Android 4.0 and packs a quad-core Tegra 3 chip -- something you don't often see in a tablet this price. In short, the main differences between this and the Prime are battery life (10 hours versus 12), and the quality of the display (the 10-inch screen here offers 350 nits of brightness instead of 600). Those all sound like reasonable trade-offs and, frankly, they are. That's our abridged review, over and done with in just two paragraphs, but meet us past the break if you're craving a little more detail.

Gallery: ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 review