Tablet Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T

Content

Differences Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T from its predecessor Transformer Prime

Display

Yes, he’s awesome! A Super IPS + matrix, and even a resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels — such a «hellish» combination will impress few people. However, such a high resolution has a couple of disadvantages:

1. The display consumes more power, which affects the battery life of the tablet.
   2.25 times more dots (against a matrix with a resolution of 1280×800) increases the load on the processor and graphics accelerator. This also leads to a decrease in battery life, as the processor often has to work with a larger load and at maximum frequency.
2. In addition, there is another drawback, which, over time, will have to “remove itself”: the incorrect operation of a very large number of applications on tablets with such a high resolution.

Processor, memory

Transformer Pad Infinity, without a 3G module, is equipped with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip. However, there is a significant nuance: unlike Transformer Prime, the chip operates at higher frequencies — up to 1.6 GHz, while in Prime the maximum frequency is lower at 0.3 GHz. The difference, although small, is still significant. But even raising the frequency cannot compensate for the greatly increased load due to the high resolution of the display — the tablet often freezes, and in general it does not work as smoothly as the TF201 Prime. That’s the price you pay for a great display.

The Transformer Pad Infinity modification with a 3G module is significantly different (in fact, it is a completely different tablet), as it has a completely different platform: instead of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip, these tablets will be equipped with a dual-core processor from Qualcomm — MSM8260A.

Thanks to the latest technology (both lower manufacturing process and more modern architecture), this dual-core can compete in performance with four Tegra 3 cores while consuming less power. We will be able to compare these two very different modifications of the Transformer Pad Infinity tablets in more detail only later, when the model with 3G goes on sale.

RAM has changed in quality — now it is DDR3. Quite a bit faster and more economical than DDR2, which is installed in Prime. The volume is the same — 1 gigabyte. I would like to see in the top class, which includes tablets of the Infinity series, 2 GB of RAM!

Communication capabilities, GPS

And here the tablet in question is very different from its predecessor in the face of Prime. No, not because the Bluetooth module is now version 3.0 (this is a trifle). The difference is that Infinity is spared from Prime’s huge drawback — poor reception of signals from GPS satellites and an extremely small working distance of the Wi-Fi module. If you are not in the know, then we recall: the all-metal rear panel of the Asus Transformer Prime simply shielded the antennas inside the tablet, which had an extremely negative impact on the operation of GPS and Wi-Fi. This gross engineering miscalculation is corrected in the Infinity series: the design of the tablet remains the same, except for the addition of a strip of plastic on the rear panel, which gave «freedom to radio waves».

Cameras, sound

Both cameras have changed, and for the better:

The front camera has got a large number of megapixels — 2 versus 1.2 for Prime. The quality has increased not so proportionately, but for video conferencing it is quite enough.

The rear camera has become even more aperture (f2. 2 vs. f2. 4 for Prime), and the lens has changed (yes, yes, it is here, how could it be without it! just ma-a-scarlet. :)). By the way, exactly the same camera module is installed in the cheaper Asus tablet — Transformer Pad 300. The photo quality is one of the best among all Android tablets.

The audio subsystem remains the same. It is noteworthy that on the official website of Asus, the characteristics of the Transformer Prime indicate «stereo speakers», while for the Transformer Pad Infinity — «speaker». The sound quality can be estimated at 4 and it is the same as that of Prime, and, accordingly, there are still two speakers — they are simply located next to each other, and, as such, the stereo effect does not work. In the description of Infinity, the oversight of the description of Prime was corrected.

Battery life

Just like Prime, Infinity is equipped with a battery with a very impressive capacity: 25 Wh. But the battery life is different, and this difference is the more significant, the greater the load on the tablet. If we compare the battery life during cyclic playback of an HD movie, while the display brightness is set to 50%, and Wi-Fi is on (thanks to the guys from Engadget), then the difference with Transformer Prime is almost 1 hour, which is a lot. And this difference will be even more significant if you run some heavy game. But what kind of display does Infinity have, right?

About the docking station

For Transformer Infinity, a new “keyboard-docking station” module has been released, which differs from the Prime docking station in only one and not for the better — battery capacity (19.5 Wh versus 22 Wh). Neither the dimensions nor the weight of the docking station have changed, so the difference in batteries is surprising.

However, the fact that the docking station from Prime fully fits the Infinity tablet is very pleasant.

Dimensions and weight

The tablet is only slightly thicker and heavier than its predecessor. The difference is so small that it could not even be mentioned: 0.2 millimeters thicker and a “whole” 12 grams heavier.

Price and conclusions

But everything is very interesting with the price: abroad, at the time of writing this mini-review, the cost of the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 tablet (with NVIDIA Tegra 3, without a 3G module) was only 499 US dollars for a modification with 32 GB of memory. This is exactly the same as it cost at the time of the release of Transformer Prime. At the same time, now Prime has fallen in price quite slightly — by 20-40 dollars in the USA, for example. And if you are faced with a choice, take Prime or Infinity, then, without a doubt, you should prefer the second. And, personally, I would take Infinity not so much because of the high-resolution display, but because the new tablet does not have Prime’s “congenital pathology” — poor GPS and Wi-Fi.

What if it’s something else?

A good alternative to this tablet can be the Acer Iconia Tab A700, which has its own advantages and disadvantages. The cost abroad for the A700 is almost the same as for Infinity, but in EU the situation is slightly different and not in favor of Asus: Acer products cost only a little more in EU than abroad, which cannot be said about Asus.