Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 Review

The use of a keyboard is going to multiply your WPM and accuracy by many magnitudes over any keyboard on the touchscreen. Much of this review was actually written using the Prime’s keyboard dock, and throughout this time it was obvious that the software is left lacking compared to the hardware. I changed word processing software more than the number of times the tablet went in and out of the dock.

Typing on the keyboard does take some getting used to, about three or four days for me personally. You will also likely find your typing habits changing due to the tiny right Shift key, on top of the effects of the smaller keyboard. I soon found my fingers hovering above the keys rather than having them waiting for orders on the keys.

I found that my WPM using this test drops from about 85 using my Microsoft Sidewinder X4 keyboard drops to 65 WPM on the keyboard dock. I am more than certain that the difference would be a lot more noticeable if the test involved capitals and punctuation.

When the tablet is attached to the keyboard dock, the device is rather top heavy and as a result it doesn't take a lot to knock the tablet onto its back. This is something that could be easily fixed by moving the centre of gravity towards the touchpad. The other solution being, which I would prefer, is for Asus to pack in some more cells to make the dock outweigh the tablet.

The dock weighs 537 grams while the tablet weighs 586 grams. In real life usage though, considering my wrists were more often than not leaning on the front of the dock it really did not bother me at all, but it is something to be aware of, especially if you plan on using the dock as a stand of sorts.

When the tablet is pushed as far back in the dock as possible so that the display is angled upwards more the docking mechanism actually lifts the tablet up a bit, slanting the keyboard. This is one thing that Asus have clearly thought about, however you cannot push the tablet back further than about 100 degrees in relation to the keyboard's surface.

At the end of the day with a Transformer Prime, don’t expect your tablet to become a very productive device just because it has a keyboard dock. While the hardware is now surpassing the experience of a netbook, the actual software experience is left lacking for a productive lifestyle. Guess what sold computers back in the 1980s and early 90s? All I can say is that is wasn’t strictly hardware.

Android still has a fair way to go before catching up to Windows but improvements made in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a recent update that has made Google Docs more tablet friendly has improved Google's own services. Hopefully Google Drive will further improve the productivity experience on Android tablets.