This past Sunday, ASUS posted to their official North American Facebook page that the company has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit, resulting in the payout of $17 and a free GPS extension kit to every U.S. buyer of a Transformer Prime TF201 tablet. Previously, ASUS was handing out free dongles to affected customers, but for some folks out there, that must not have been enough and they decided to take legal action. 

To file a claim, go ahead and follow the site link that is posted in their release and claim your $17 plus free dongle.

IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE FROM ASUS

Asus has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit concerning your Asus Eee Pad
TF201 Transformer Prime tablet. If you own or owned a TF201, you may be entitled to $17 and a free GPS extension kit. This Notice is approved by a Federal Court, and is not a solicitation.

Please visit www.AsusTF201Settlement.com or call 1-877-211-8361 for more information.

You are eligible to participate in the settlement if you are a United States resident who bought a TF201, and experienced lost or reduced GPS functionality or weak/intermittent WiFi performance. To claim a cash payment and a Dongle, you must submit a Claim Form on the website, by email or by regular mail by
May 31, 2013. If you do not submit a timely claim, your rights will not be affected.

The Court has not yet approved the settlement. It will have a hearing to decide whether to do so. If you choose to, you may object to this settlement by
June 20, 2013 and ask the Court not to approve the proposed settlement. Please remember that if you choose not to participate in the settlement, your rights will not be affected. Please visit the website or call the toll-free number for more information.

Via: ASUS Facebook

ASUS to Settle Class Action Lawsuit, Paying $17 and Free Dongle to Owners of Transformer Prime Tablets is a post from: Droid Life

Now that’s what I call a turn around time. Yesterday, we reported that ASUS’ Gary Key took to XDA to let owners of the Transformer Prime and Transformer Infinity tablet know that they could expect to see a Jelly Bean update within 48-72 hours. Less than 24 hours later, we have Jelly Bean.

Prime owners, go update and we’ll update all of you Infinity owners as soon as we hear it has gone live.

Cheers Andrew, Nick, Angel, Bill, and Steve!

Jelly Bean Update Rolling Out to Transformer Prime Owners This Morning is a post from: Droid Life

ASUS’ Gary Key took to XDA of all places to announce the plans to roll out Jelly Bean to Transformer Prime (TF201) and Transformer Infinity (TF700) tablets. According to Gary, the updates will be live for US and Canadian owners within the next 72 hours, so get your tablets charged up and ready.

Via: XDA 

Cheers Greg!

ASUS Announces Transformer Prime and Transformer Infinity Jelly Bean Updates – Available Within 72 Hours is a post from: Droid Life

This morning, ASUS Sweden took to their Facebook page to announce that Transformer Prime owners would begin to see the Jelly Bean update for their devices as early as today. As you might have already guessed, we’re not in Sweden, but this is a good sign that owners here in the U.S. can expect to see JB sometime shortly as well. 

As always, ASUS continues to set the bar for timely updates to their long list of Android-powered products.

Via: Android Police

ASUS to Push Jelly Bean Out to Transformer Prime Tablets in Sweden, Still No U.S. Love is a post from: Droid Life

Fortunately for all of us here, ASUS not only makes awesome hardware in their tablets, but they were also one of the first manufacturers to start voluntarily unlocking their bootloaders. Unfortunately, the tool has not been working for a while now, users who try and unlock are met with this message:

An unknown error occurs, which may be a network connection issue.
Please wait and try again later

It has been going on long enough for Transformer Prime owners to make their voices heard to ASUS. However, ASUS says the only way to fix this problem is to send it into the company and let them take care of the whole thing. There has been a “special repair process set up for the affected tablets” but who knows how long it will take ASUS to work through all these.

Have you run into this problem with your Prime?

Via: XDA

Having Trouble With Your Asus Bootloader Unlocking Tool? Send it in to Asus is a post from: Droid Life

Asus dropped a note into the DL offices this morning to update us on the status of Jelly Bean for their Transformer line of tablets. According to this statement, the Transformer Pad, Transformer Prime, and Pad Infinity will all receive Android 4.1, however, the only time frame they would give us is “in the coming months.” Asus has typically been faster than any other OEM on the planet when it comes to updates, so don’t be surprised if it happens fairly quickly. 

Dear valued ASUS customer,

At ASUS, one of the key commitments we make to our customers is a relentless drive to deliver the best user experience. We constantly strive to achieve this goal through our ‘Design Thinking’ philosophy that includes regular software and firmware updates for our products.

We are pleased to announce that many of our tablet products are scheduled to receive an update to Android 4.1, Jelly Bean. The ASUS Transformer Pad, ASUS Transformer Pad Prime and ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity are all scheduled to receive Android 4.1 updates in the coming months. We will provide further guidance on our expected timeframes for these updates near their release.

We are still investigating Jelly Bean updates for other devices, but we are not in a position to confirm whether any other products will be eligible for an update at the moment.

Thank you for your continued support.

ASUS

We are a little surprised to not see the original Transformer on the list. Asus has said that they are still “investigating” it.

Asus on Jelly Bean Updates: Transformer Pad, Transformer Prime, and Pad Infinity Receiving It in the “Coming Months” is a post from: Droid Life

Asus has begun to roll out the .28 firmware update to Transformer Prime owners. Included in the update are a few tweaks to the stock browser and a new notification for when your GPS dongle is attached, but the big news is the addition of Face Unlock. I guess some folks can never get enough of their beautiful faces. Go check out the update and let us know if you notice any other goodies.

Cheers Todd and David!

Asus Transformer Prime Receives Minor Update, Face Unlock Now Available is a post from: Droid Life

Computex, one of the major tech conventions, kicks off around June 5, but Asus is planning to unveil something before that and it will more than likely be some sort of new Transformer. The teaser video for it – which is the cheesiest thing on the planet – talks about multiple form factors, the changing of the cloud, and their “Next Transformations.” We aren’t exactly sure why we need yet another Transformer tablet/keyboard combo, but why not, right? Are we thinking a 7″ version that is dock-able? Or is this another look at the Transformer TF700, which is Asus’ take on a retina-type display?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cheers Jacob!

Asus Plans to Unveil “Next Transformations” at Computex Next Week, New Transformers Already Ready? is a post from: Droid Life

With the launch of Dark Meadow: the Pact on Android this morning, the teams at NVIDIA and Phosphor Games decided that to celebrate, they would like to hand out a 32GB Asus Transformer Prime, matching keyboard dock, and $25 giftcard to one lucky DL reader. We just posted our review of the game, which I highly recommend that you read.

Powered by the Unreal Engine and built specifically for the Tegra 3 4-PLUS-1 chipset, Dark Meadow is a pleasure to look at and play. The high polygon count and added textures and effects really come to life if using the right device – such as a Transformer Prime. When you think of the game type, we tend to compare it to older classics like Myst that involve strategy and adventure through the eyes of the main character. This takes a step up in the awesome meter though, thanks to all of the demon slaughtering that occurs along the way. This is easily one of the more beautiful games you will find on any mobile platform. 

So about that contest…ready to win a Transformer Prime and take on the evil white-glowing witch in Dark Meadow? Let’s do it.

Winner:

Congratulations goes out to Gary Martel, who loves Battlefield 1943 on the Xbox 360!

Contest:

To enter -

1.  Follow @droid_life and @NVIDIATegra on Twitter.
2.  Tweet the following:

Win a Transformer Prime, Keyboard Dock and $25 from @droid_life and @NVIDIATegra to celebrate Dark Meadow! – http://goo.gl/Vjc9I #android

3.  In the comments, tell us what your preferred gaming platform is (XBOX, PS, mobile, PC, etc.) and your favorite game on that platform.

Entry period and Winner -

The contest will run from the time of this posting until Friday (4/27) at 3PM Pacific. At that time, a winner will be chosen from the comments and contacted.

A huge thanks goes out to NVIDIA and Phosphor Games for hosting the contest and putting up the prizes.

Contest: Win a Transformer Prime 32GB, Keyboard Dock, and $25 Giftcard from NVIDIA to Celebrate the Launch of Dark Meadow (Update: Winner Picked) is a post from: Droid Life

Transformer Prime owners who have registered with Asus to receive a free GPS dongle are beginning to see the packages arrive at their doorsteps today. The dongle itself has been reported to fix the GPS locating issues that have plagued the Prime tablet, but some would say that the added accessory is quite the eye sore.

Prime owners, have you received your dongle yet?

Cheers Jared!

Transformer Prime GPS Dongles Begin Arriving at Doorsteps is a post from: Droid Life

According to PC World, Asus has announced the official launch date and pricing for the upcoming Transformer Pad 300. Starting April 22 in the US, folks can pick up the quad-core Tegra 3, 10.1″ beast for $399 for the 32GB model with a 1GB of RAM. According to reports, the tablet shall be marketed as a laptop replacement and will feature 3G and 4G LTE capability. (Um, yes please?)

The slate will come with Ice Cream Sandwich out of the factory and offer up to 10 hours of battery life, with an additional 5 hours with the attached lapdock accessory. With the new information stating that this tablet has 4G LTE connectivity, the last question we all want to know, is whose 4G LTE? Verizon? AT&T? April 22 is merely days away, so we shall be impatiently waiting for an announcement from Asus. 

Does this new Transformer Pad strike the interest of any potential slate buyers out there? If it comes with Big Red’s 4G LTE, we could potentially see the beginnings of the most successful Android tablet yet, especially at that noteworthy price point of just $399, instead of some ridiculous $699 or above.

Via: PC World

Cheers Radgatt and Anthony!

Starting April 22, ASUS to Ship Tegra 3 Equipped and 4G LTE Capable Transformer Pad 300 is a post from: Droid Life

The Asus Transformer Prime, by all accounts, is still the best Android tablet on the market (our review). It boasts a quad-core processor, amazing screen, great build materials, the top tablet camera around, and docking abilities that would make any tech device jealous. Unfortunately for some that wish to use it as a massive navigation system, Asus chose to spend as little time as possible making the GPS work correctly. After multiple attempts to fix it via software update, they decided that the only way to make it truly functional was through the addition of a GPS dongle.

With an acknowledgement of said dongle by Asus, we have been sitting here waiting for news of a release. Well, this morning, invites to request a dongle were sent out to Prime owners in an offer that expires on July 31st. Along with those invites, a set of leaked pictures made their way onto the web, giving us an idea as to how hideous your Prime will be with this thing attached. Yep, I said hideous. 

According to Land of Droid who leaked the pics, it greatly improves GPS and attaches just like the docking station does.

And here are the invites that are going out this morning:

TF201 GPS Extension Kit Apply&Inquire

Thank you for purchasing the ASUS Eee Transformer Prime TF201, and helping to make it the most popular Android based tablet since its launch in December 2011. We greatly appreciate feedback from our valued customers about our products, and take it very seriously. The response to the TF201 generally has been overwhelmingly positive, but we understand that, in certain regions, the GPS functionality has not met some user’s expectations.

Free Dongle! At ASUS, we are committed to delivering innovative, high-quality products and services, and our customers’ experience is important to us. Although the TF201 is not a professional GPS device, as part of our unwavering commitment to our customers we are offering all customers who purchased a TF201 system a free external GPS extension kit, called a dongle, which may help improve signal reception and optimize the user experience. We are pleased to announce this offer as part of our commitment to customer service, but it does not replace, alter or amend any existing warranties you may have.We also encourage you to contact ASUS customer support in your local region directly if you are experiencing GPS related problems.

ASUS prides itself on delivering an unrivalled user experience, and we offer our sincere apologies for any inconvenience that our customers may have encountered.

The offer will expire on 31th of July, 2012 (PST).

Be sure to order yours before that deadline.

Pics via:  Land of Droid

Cheers Jon and Timmy!

Transformer Prime GPS Dongle Pictured, Invites to Order One Sent Out is a post from: Droid Life

The GPS feature, or should I say lack thereof, for the Transformer Prime is finally going to be put to rest by Asus. After a few OTA update attempts to tweak the tabs software to communicate better with satellites, Asus is resorting to shipping out dongles for every registered Prime owner. Sounds awesome, right?

We will be releasing a dongle shortly that will address the GPS function and be a fully usable GPS that will lock onto many satellites and keep their lock with wi-fi active.

GPS dongle will be provided for free when it arrives. ETA is mid April for this and we are setting up a process for it. We will inform you once the process is complete and the dongles here.
It will look similar to the hinge from the dock. Where it will be a flush fit on the bottom of the unit if held in landscape matching the color of your Prime chassis.

The dongle will be a “flush fit” on the bottom of the device when in landscape mode, but there is no telling if you are still able to hook up the laptop dock while using the new hardware. According to the above email, it looks like we can expect the dongle this month. Big props to Asus for manning up and finally taking care of this issue.

Via: Engadget

Asus to Transformer Prime Owners: “Teach Me How to Dongle” is a post from: Droid Life

The update to the Transformer Prime that was talked about yesterday is officially rolling out to the device. According to previous reports, build 9.4.2.21 was intended to be a pretty awesome update and would include face unlock, lockscreen notification controls, and Asus Vibe would get a bump up to version 2.0. Everything seems good, except that face unlock is still not there. Might be a problem for some, but I doubt there are too many people who can’t live without the face unlock feature.

Go pick up the update and let us know if you see anything else worth noting that wasn’t already listed in yesterday’s breakdown.

Cheers Brian and everyone else!

Transformer Prime Update to Build 9.4.2.21 Now Rolling Out, Face Unlock Still Not Available is a post from: Droid Life

Seriously, this is our Transformer Prime review. As you know,we first got our hands on this next-gen Android tablet back in December, but for reasons we can’t explain (other than Kellex being bored to death with Android tablets), we are just now putting it all together. Apologies are in store though, we really have no excuse for this being 5 months late. With that said, you should already know that it is one of our favorite tablets as we talk about it probably more than any other Android tablet that is available. It’s a beast of a slate, so let’s get started. 

The Good:

• ASUS: This might seem silly, but these days, which manufacturer you decide to buy from plays a huge role in how well your device will be supported down the road after your purchase. Lately, ASUS has been the number one company when it comes to software and firmware updates for their products. The Prime has received a large array of various updates and fixes that make ASUS our favorite tablet manufacturer by far in comparison to let’s say, Motorola? Whenever a new version of Android is rolling, we can almost count on this company like clockwork to deliver it to our devices in a timely manner.
• Performance: The Prime was the first tablet to launch with a quad-core processor which was its main market draw. It is a Tegra 3 from NVIDIA and since we opened up the box, we could tell this chip actually made the Android experience better. Homescreens were flinging with no hiccups, games were performing with no lag, and once Ice Cream Sandwich hit this tablet, it was brought to a completely new level.

• Mobile Gaming: If you consider yourself a mobile gamer (like myself), then the Prime is the go-to tablet. With its 12-core GPU (delivering 3x the Tegra 2 graphics) and games such as ShadowGun THD being specifically made for it, you just can’t beat the performance and graphics you receive.
• Build/Feel: The Prime is sleek, extremely well built, and has that super sexy purple-ish metallic backplate which is resistant to most scratches, scuffs, and fingerprints. Besides the actual glass display, I think this tablet could take a pretty strong beating and still hold up. The only downside is the volume rocker on the side of the device which is slightly hard to press. They are so tightly flush with the device, that sometimes you have to strain to control the volume. Nothing you can’t get used to though. Holding the Prime is a joy (once you get past how cold the backing is – read section below) and with its incredible lightweight, lugging it around in a bag or in your hand is completely painless.

• Display: This display on this tablet is acceptable. It is a Super IPS+ (1280×800) screen that might have a lower pixel density than some competitors, but the Prime actually delivers some pretty decent images. At times, the display looks “cold” and sort of has a darker tint to it, but for some, this a plus and is much easier on the eyes.
• Overall Specs: With 32GB and 64GB variations available, all having micro-SD slots, you can easily find a Prime to suit your storage needs. All variants sport 1GB worth of RAM and feature Corning’s Gorilla Glass to protect the display. The Tegra 3 is clocked at 1.3GHz, capable of beating out almost all competition when placed side by side, but with a  Li-Po 25Wh battery, you sometimes run out of juice well before you wish you were. Other notable additions is the powerful speaker they were able to throw on, but for whatever reason, they placed it right where your hands are supposed to go, making watching videos and playing games sort of a pain when you’re trying to enjoy the music/sounds. Once you find the right spot for your hands, you’re good to go.

• Camera: The 8MP back shooter is capable of delivering some pretty decent pictures and 1080p HD videos. You won’t want to replace your SLR, but if you’re out and about and see something or have a cute wolf puppy that you can never have enough pictures of, you will have no troubles snapping a quick picture of it to share with your friends or family. ASUS has stated that the camera available on the Prime is one of the best in the tablet market and considering that we seldom take pictures with our tablets, we will have to agree with them.

• Accessories: The most well-known accessory for the Prime is the matching lapdock docking station. It turns your tablet into a full fledged laptop in a single click, and surprisingly, it works extremely well. The keys and mouse pointer are very responsive and one could most certainly perform a variety of average tasks that one could do on a full laptop. It’s definitely perfect for in-flight use or road trip work and even adds some 5-7 hours of battery life to your Prime while connected. It’s a must have.

The Not-so-Good:

• Battery: Unfortunately, with all this fantastic performance in gaming and speed, the Prime does suffer a somewhat insufficient battery. For me, the Prime won’t even last two days with little use. Just sitting, idling, not doing anything and it will run itself dry in no time. Whether that is a fault of the Tegra 3 processor, or the smaller Li-Po 25Wh size of the battery, it is one thing to think about if you are buying this tablet with the idea that it will hold a charge over the course of a week. I do mention above however, that with the lapdock attached, you can easily get another 5-7 hours out of the Prime.
• Metallic backplate: This needed its very own section. In comparison to the Motorola XOOM or the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Prime is really cold to the touch. Thanks to the metal backing, if left in a cold room, the Prime almost is unpleasant to pick up and operate. However, this is sort of offset thanks to the temperature at which the processor operates. After holding the slate for a few minutes, either the tablet will warm up, or your hands will just get used to being sort of numb.

• 40-Pin Charger/Data Cable: I do realize that in order to hook this tablet up to the lapdock, you will need more than a micro-USB, but what happens when you lose your 40-pin cable? For a replacement straight from ASUS, you’re looking at a whopping $20 just for the cable, and $50 if you lose the adapter as well. I very much wish that there was two options to charge the device, 40-pin and a micro-usb.
• Bugs (WiFi and GPS issues) Since release, many folks have complained of ongoing issues with the GPS and WiFi connectivity. I myself encountered no such issues, so I can’t personally claim to know about the issues. What I do know, is that ASUS is continuously pumping out updates to the Prime which should fix all of these issues hopefully sooner, rather than later. 

Unboxing and hands-on:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gallery:

The Verdict:

The Transformer Prime can be found online for as little as $500. Not bad, considering that the Motorola XOOM WiFi is still going for $420. If you have been in the market for an Android tablet, for just $80 more, you can completely justify spending the extra cash on this one. It has top-of-the-line specs and high quality hardware which will likely always be capable of running the newest version of Android. We are talking quad-core processors here; PC-like power.

Until we get word of the the next generation of tablets coming from Samsung and Motorola, the Transformer Prime still reigns supreme when compared to other tablets in its category. It has the superior performance, looks, and a great company backing it with timely updates. With the addition of the quad-core processor and an awesome, yet functional lapdock accessory, it doesn’t get much sweeter than this if you are looking for the best Android tablet experience.

Other Transformer Prime Coverage

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Review is a post from: Droid Life