Asus Eee Pad Transformer Review
User Interface and Camera
Asus also had their thinking caps on when it came to software for the Eee Pad Transformer; in other words, they were smart enough not to overload their new tablet with too much bloat. The light skin they've loaded on top of Android 3.0 only enhances the experience with subtle visuals and a battery level indicator represented in the screen shots below by the water level with ice cubes floating there.
Android 3.0 - Lightly Skinned, Apps, The Market and Transformer Firmware and Hardware
Music, Gallery, Books, Youtube, MyNet and Polaris Office - Pre-Installed - Bloatware at a Minimum
The Camera App and Our 5MP Models, Wet Nosed, Floppy-Eared and All
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Android 3.0 - Lightly Skinned, Apps, The Market and Transformer Firmware and Hardware
Logically, as the system's battery level is depleted, the water level goes down. Also, tiny bubbles float up when the tablet is charging. Nice touch, Asus. And that's all we needed was just a touch, thanks very much.
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Music, Gallery, Books, Youtube, MyNet and Polaris Office - Pre-Installed - Bloatware at a Minimum
The rest of the Eee Pad Transformer experience is pretty much stock Android 3.0, with various apps pre-installed like Books, Music, Gallery and Youtube. Asus does load on something call MyNet but don't let the name fool you. MyNet is a media sharing and streaming app that allows you to access files from other systems on your network for display and playback on the tablet. Asus does install Polaris Office on the Transformer, however, and the app is actually a really nice office suite of programs for word processing, presentations, spreadsheets, etc. It's compatible with the standard PC file formats for various office document types and comes with a really slick UI that is designed for smaller screens with bright colors that call attention to commonly used functions.
5MP Rear-Facing Camera Performance -
Honeycomb's camera application has definitely been polished up versus previous Android versions. It has a number of settings to control things like exposure, picture quality, resolution, white balance, and even a few special effects. However, if you're looking for this tablet to double as a back-up digital camera, you're out of luck.
Honeycomb's camera application has definitely been polished up versus previous Android versions. It has a number of settings to control things like exposure, picture quality, resolution, white balance, and even a few special effects. However, if you're looking for this tablet to double as a back-up digital camera, you're out of luck.
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The Camera App and Our 5MP Models, Wet Nosed, Floppy-Eared and All
The optics and lens design of the Transformer, while they support a 5MP resolution, just don't have the kind of quality you'd hope for in a device of this size. In fact, we've seen 5 - 8MP cameras in some smartphones offer better results. An on-board flash would have come in handy as well. That said, camera performance with the Eee Pad Transformer isn't a show-stopper by any stretch in our estimation. The tablet's front facing 1.2MP camera is quality enough for Facetime-like chats with apps like Fring for Android, however, the rear-facing 5MP camera isn't going to replace your Canon PowerShot any time soon, nor should you expect it to, to be fair.
