I’ve gotten some recent emails regarding confusion around the Asus tablets. A lot of models and spec to keep track of. If you’re new to the Asus tablet line-up it can be daunting to make sense of it all. I am putting this post up as a short overview on the current Asus tablet models and based on general information, I hope it will help you ultimately decide on which one to buy.
Asus Transformer Tablets – 10.1-inch
The most current model is the TF300T which is trickling out onto the market as of mid May 2012 and will see wide release by the end of May and into June 2012. It comes in 3 different colors, white, blue and red and has storage of 32GB or 16GB. Price is set at $399 for the 32GB and $379 for the 16GB. The keyboard dock for the TF300T is $149. In some countries you can get the tablet and keyboard in a bundle, but not in all countries. As of May 9, you will see the blue model only for sale with the white and red colors set to be released in June. Overall the TF300 is virtually the same weight and thickness of the prime but is made of plastic to save costs.
A highly touted Asus tablet is the Asus Transformer Prime TF201. It’s about the best looking and best overall Android tablet on the market according to most reviews. With that said it comes with a risk. That risk is with weak wireless signals with GPS and wifi. Asus has gone to the extent of offering a free GPS dongle which fixes those issues. The wifi signal strength in some instances is not great. It’s a risky purchase for that reason. You might be better off waiting for the update to the TF201 Prime which is the TF700 Infinity (release date unknown).
The original Transformer TF101 is cheaper than ever. We’ve seen it as low as $349. You can get the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update which makes this a bargain. It’s not thin or light in comparison to the TF300 but it is still a great tablet option. The keyboard dock you can find for as low as $115 recently.
Asus Slate Tablets – 11.6-inch
If you want a Windows tablet, then the Asus EP121 or business model Asus B121 are your only options. These are not cheap and sell for beyond $1000 even today. Battery life is not impressive and will fetch you about 3 to 4 hours at best. However you get a full power Intel processor which makes the Asus Slate tablets the most powerful tablets on the market. You also get a bluetooth keyboard and folio case as part of the package. It comes with a capacitive stylus which give this tablet a more versatile and business use. The difference between the EP121 and B121 is essentially down to the extra security and data protection on the B121 business Slate. The Slate B121 ships with Windows 7 Professional whereas the Slate EP121 ships with Windows 7 Home Premium.
Asus Slider Tablet -10.1-inch
The Asus Slider SL101 is a novel concept. A keyboard that slides under the tablet. Overall the Slider hasn’t been that well received. Most reviews suggest that it’s a bit heavy and thick. The keyboard is a great feature but the keys are a bit cramped as some reviewers has mentioned. It’s not entirely clear the future of the “slider” design as there hasn’t been any mention of a TF201 Slider model. Perhaps Asus is waiting for a Windows 8 version?
Asus MeMO Tablets – 7-inch
The only MeMO to make it to market so far is the MeMO 171 which is only available in Asia. It’s unlikely to make a release in other global markets.
The MeMO 370T has been unveiled by Asus as CES 2012 but it is not on the market. There are not details about the current status of the 370T at this time.
