Asus Transformer Pad TF701

The Asus Transformer Pad TF701 have been released ahead of time in the US even if release date was November 5, taking orders for $449 with 32GB memory: http://www.amazon.com/Asus-TF701
And in Canada as well.

(UPDATED 2015: By June 2015, the price has gone down to $239.)

This is an Android 4.2 tablet worth checking out if the price is acceptable and you want high specs in a tablet. Most notable is the 2560×1600 resolution on the 10.1-inch 400 nits(!) display, the 13 hours battery life, the quad-core 1.9GHz Tegra 4 processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and 128GB microSD support.

It’s closest cutting-edge competitor would be the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, but differ on processors and chipset, battery life, price, and the skin and ecosystem extras that slightly sets these two tablets apart. Asus even has the Microsoft Office compatible Polaris Office pre-installed on this tablet.

Asus Transformer Pad TF701
Asus Transformer Pad TF701

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 is the successor to Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700, so some people might refer to this tablet as Asus Transformer Pad 2, whereas Asus itself is hoping that “New Transformer Pad” will be the name that catches on. The preceding TF700 was very popular and sought after for those who could afford it, and it was popular because it tried to be great at everything, and even succeeded relatively well.

The new Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 is trying to accomplish the same things by being great in all areas. Not everyone will agree with the choice of a Tegra 4 processor, but the predecessor ran a quad-core Tegra 3 processor without that hampering its popularity.

In fact, the snappiness of the Tegra 4 processor and the way it loads apps quickly, runs FHD video smoothly at 60fps, and runs games without hiccups is seen as a selling point to a lot of the people who have been queing up for the New Transformer Pad.

A closer look at the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 is well worth it for those wanting the best 10.1-inch Android tablet on the market today. To begin with, the 400 nits 10.1-inch display is extremely bright, though you can adjust the screen any way you want from the display app. The 2560 x 1600 resolution IPS IGZO-TFT (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) display with 300 ppi is crystal clear and sharp. The screen has 178-degree viewing angles and 10-finger multi-touch support if you want to play a piano app.

The 1.9GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 4 (T40X) ARM Cortex-A15 processor together with the 72-core GeForce graphics processor ensures a battery life as long as 13 hours, which is the best battery life of any 10-inch Android tablet of a quality worth considering. The Li-Polymer battery has a 31Wh, or 7820mAh capacity. But, you can extend the battery life up to 17 hours if you buy the optional keyboard dock “Mobile Dock” with its own built-in battery.

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 with Mobile Dock
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 with Mobile Dock

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity have 2GB of DDR3 (1600 MHz) RAM. Memory options are either 32GB or 64GB but there’s not small 16GB version of this tablet. The microSD expansion slot supports a maximum of 128GB! Try and find a tablet that beast that. Additionally, Asus is giving customers 5GB of life time Asus Webstorage Space in the clouds.

The connectivity options are Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth V3.0+EDR, and Miracast Wi-Fi video streaming that can mirror the tablet display onto a HDTV.

The sound on this tablet is among the best. Asus is boosting sound through their own Asus SonicMaster resonance chambers technology, together with the Audio Wizard app with optimal settings for movies, games, speech, recording, music, and power saving mode. The sound is better than on any of Samsung or Sony’s tablets.

Asus Transformer Pad
Asus Transformer Pad

Asus Transformer Pad also has a 1.2MP front camera and a 5MP rear camera that shoots 1080p FHD video. The sensors are GPS, LCD auto-orientation (g-sensor), light sensor, e-compass, and gyro. The tablet has micro-HDMI, combined headphone/mic jack and 3.5mm headphone socket, and microSD/SDHC card reader (MicroSD SDXC) with support up to 128GB. The “Mobile Dock” adds a USB 3.0 port and a SD card reader.

The design is as you can spot from the pictures, a metallic case that wraps tightly around it. The thickness of the tablet is 8.9mm, while the weight is 585 grams. By comparison, the Galaxy Note 10.1 weighs 535 grams while the Toshiba Excite Write with the same resolution weighs 671 grams.

With the optional Mobile Dock you get even more out of this tablet, with a full sized keyboard with multi-touch touchpad.
And of course you get 4 more hours of battery life from the 16Wh Li-polymer battery. So that’s a combined 17 hour battery life. Additionally it provides a USB 3.0, which is always useful, and a full sized SD/SDXC card reader. The mobile dock costs $139 though (Asus TF701TDOCKAD02 Mobile Dock), so it’s not for everyone. The weigh of the Mobile Dock is 570 grams.

Asus is also releasing a TransCover made for the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity which will be just like all the other Asus TransCovers with automatic sleep and wake functions, a microfiber interior and cushioning polyurethane exterior, and a multiple kickstand angles.

See more of the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 in store, or in the pictures and video below.
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-TF701T

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 front and back
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 front and back
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 with keyboard
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 with keyboard
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701
Asus Transformer Pad TF701 tablet and keyboard dock
Asus Transformer Pad TF701 tablet and keyboard dock
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity Mobile Dock side view.jpg
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity Mobile Dock side view.jpg
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701  side
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 side
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 and Keyboard
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 and Keyboard
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 and Mobile Dock
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 and Mobile Dock
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 bottom
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 bottom
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 design
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 design
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 Mobile Dock side view
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 Mobile Dock side view
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 Mobile Dock
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 Mobile Dock
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 rear
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 rear
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 side view
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 side view
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 top
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF701 top
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TransCover
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TransCover

– Jim Miller