Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T Review

There are generally two types of iterative processes that manufacturers go through with respect to product development and refinement; there are feature and performance enhancements that result from market feedback and there are enhancements as a result of technology advancements and cost reduction (or both combined). When it launched in December last year, the Asus Transformer Prime was, in our opinion and many others, thought to be one of the best 10-inch Android slates on the market at the time.  That claim could still be made today, if it were not for the recent introduction of the latest iteration of Asus' Transformer product family, the Transformer Pad Infinity.

We recently stepped you through the details of Asus' lower cost Transformer Pad 300 and felt that it was a fine alternative for users looking to save a few pesos. But let's be honest, somebody has to compete with Apple's new iPad (it still should be called iPad 3 damn it) and its ultra-high resolution Retina display.  Though the Transformer Prime's Super IPS+ display certainly competes in overall brightness and contrast, pixel density of the panel at its native 1280x800 resolution couldn't compete with Apple's super-tight 2048x1536 detail on the iPad.

Alas the innovation and refinement beat goes on with Asus thankfully, and the all new Transformer Pad Infinity we'll be showcasing here today offers a new 1920x1200 full HD Super IPS+ display to rival the iPad, as well as some goosed-up internals like a faster NVIDIA Tegra 3 4+1 core SoC (System on a Chip), improved camera performance and a few other trimmings polishing-up the product a bit more.

Let's give you the quick nickle video tour first...


The good news is, the MSRP still remains the same as the original Transformer Prime at $499 for the 32GB and $599 for the 64GB versions of the tablet.  Here's a quick run-down on the vitals and then we'll dig in deep on this Ice Cream Sandwich loving bad boy.

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity Specifications & Features

Operating System	Android 4.03 with Asus customizations
Display	10.1" LED Backlight WXGA (1920x1200) Screen Super IPS+, 600nits 10 finger multi-touch support Corning Gorilla Glass 2
CPU	NVIDIA Tegra 3 T33 Quad-Core SoC - 1.6 - 1.7GHz
Memory	1GB DDR3 1600MHz
Storage	32GB / 64GB EMMC + 8G life time ASUS Webstorage space
Wireless Data Network	WLAN 802.11 b/g/n@2.4GHz Bluetooth V3.0
Camera	2MP Front Camera with improved field of view 8 MP Rear Camera with F2.2 aperture and revised hybrid IR filter Dynamic Auto focus (rear) with flash
Audio	Stereo Speakers High Quality Mic
Interface	Pad: 1 x 2-in-1 Audio Jack (Headphone / Mic-in) 1 x micro HDMI 1 x Micro SD Card Reader Mobile Dock: 1 x USB2.0 port 1 x SD Card Reader
Sensor	G-Sensor, Light Sensor, Gyroscope, E-compass, GPS
Applications	ASUS launcher, MyLibrary, MyNet, MyCloud, @Vibe Music, asus webstorage, File manager, ASUS sync, SuperNote, App Locker, App Backup, TegraZone
Battery	9.5 hours; 25Wh Li-polymer Battery 14 hours pad with dock; 25Wh(pad) + 19.5Wh(dock) Li-polymer Battery
Dimensions	10.35in x 7.12in x 0.33" thick, 598g (1.31 pounds)
Weight	1.31lbs
Mobile Dock	263 x 180.8 x 8 to 10.4 mm, 537g
MSRP:	32GB - $499, 64GB - $599, Optional Keyboard Dock - $149.99

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So again, the key take-aways here amongst all of the specifications are:

• Faster NVIDIA Tegra 3 T33 quad-core SoC clocked at 1.6 - 1.7GHz (a significant 300MHz boost)
• Faster DDR3 1600MHz memory versus the Transformer Prime's 1333MHz memory
• New, improved wide aperture rear-facing 8MP camera, higher resolution 2MP front-facing camera
• Higher resolution 1920x1200 Super IPS+ Display
• Corning Gorilla Glass 2

Combined with an Asus/NVIDIA/Google optimized version of Android 4.03 Ice Cream Sandwich and you have quite a few upgrades going on with the new Transformer Pad Infinity.  Again though, the only thing Asus didn't upgrade is the price.  On paper, the new Transformer Pad Infinity is serious competition for the new iPad or any other 10-inch tablet on the market for that matter.  Let's take a closer look at the product and then see how it handles in use testing and the benchmarks.