Asus Eee Pad Transformer review

The keyboard is fairly comfortable to type on thanks to its decent-sized Chiclet-style keys. We like the way that Asus has put shortcut keys to control power to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as there’s no built-in Widget in Android 3.0 to do the same thing. Using the touchpad to control Android is odd at first, and we found ourselves often reaching for the screen rather than using it.

We found the keyboard occasionally causes problems or isn’t as useful as it could be. Asus has bundled Polaris Office with the Transformer, but this app doesn’t support Android’s copy-and-paste (you have to double-tap the screen instead), so keyboard shortcuts don’t work as they should. This feature works in other apps, such as Gmail, so you may want to try a different office app such as Documents To Go.

We tried to use the keyboard to type into Google Docs, but it doesn’t work. All that happens is the text on screen appears and disappears. It’s practically useless, so you’ll undock the tablet and go back to the custom Asus onscreen keyboard in no time. We recommend switching back to the standard Android version, though, as the custom version squeezes in a row of number keys, making it more cramped and harder to type on. However, if you want to plug the hardware keyboard back in, you’ll need to switch back to the Asus version to keep key compatibility.

The dock also gives you a full-sized SD card slot (the tablet has Micro SD only), as well as two USB ports that can be used for mass storage. You can access any storage that you plug in using the built-in file manager, which helps the Transformer feel more like a netbook that you can use for pretty much any job.

Battery life is very good – the tablet lasted a good couple of days in normal use. When using just the tablet it lasted 8h 37m when playing a video. Plug the keyboard dock in and the tablet gets to use its battery, too, extending battery life by an additional 7h 6m. It’s still less than the iPad 2, which lasted an astonishing 17h 5m, but the Transformer comes close when coupled with its dock.

If you don’t buy the dock or want to carry the tablet around by itself, it’s worth buying a case. Asus has an official Eee Pad Transformer soft case, which is very similar to the original iPad case. It protects the sides, rear and screen, plus it can fold round to form a rest. At the time of writing availability and price for this accessory were not available.

We’re pleased to say that Asus hasn’t altered the Android 3.0 interface at all. This means that it’s easy to pick up and use, while updates to the OS should be quicker to roll out. One of the problems with Android on smartphones is the sheer number of customisations on various handsets, which can changing the look, feel and operation of the OS dramatically.

With its high-quality screen and relatively low price, the Eee Pad Transformer is currently the best Android 3.0 tablet there is, easily beating the Motorola Xoom. We have to say that the Apple iPad 2 remains the best tablet in terms of how smooth and easy it is to use. If you’re adverse to Apple products and want something else, though, this is the tablet to buy. The keyboard dock isn’t essential, but it’s a nice add-on and gives you better battery life; if this isn’t important, buy the cheaper dock-free model instead.