Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101-1B104A 16GB Tablet with Mobile Dock @Php20,990

The original Asus Eee Pad Transformer is old news. People are focused on the new third generation iPad and the Asus Transformer Prime. The new third generation iPad is not yet in country, but we do expect prices to start at Php2,3900 for the 16 GB WiFi only model. The Asus Transformer Prime 32 GB with a mobile docks starts a whopping 34K.

But the 9 month old Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 got our attention again because of its new low price. Available at Php23,990 with payments being deferred over a period of 12-months, and Villman's is even offering it at Php20,990 cash. At that price, this older tablet does look interesting again.

With the Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101, you get a decent tablet with dual core Tegra 2 power, and a 720p display (800 x 1280), 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, HDMI out, WiFi and now updated to Android 4.0. With Apple iPad 2 costing 2K less, and another 3K getting you a new iPad 3, is it worth it?  The answer is as usual, it depends.

First, the physical keyboard.  The key feature is the mobile dock which gives you a physical keyboard. You get a keyboard that integrates with the tablet, giving you a tablet when you want it ultra portable and Android powered laptop when more serious work is intended.  

Second you get a large amount of potential storage. The Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 at 20K has 16 GB of internal storage, but it comes with a MicroSD card slot allowing you to increase storage to 48 GB. The dock has its own SD card slow, allowing you to increase storage to 80GB. The dock also has 2 USB port, which you can use to access a flash drive for even more storage. That is officially. Unofficially people have been able to use 64 GB Micro SD cards in the tablet and 128 GB SD cards on the dock for a total of 208 GB (you will need to reformat the cards to NTFS)! Remember though, those 64 GB and 128 GB cards are not cheap.

 

Third the dock has its own battery, allowing you to have a very long battery life when the two are used together it adds 6.5 hours of battery life to the tablets battery for a total of 16 hours. Thirteen to fourteen hours is a more realistic figure though.

If you want a tablet just a tablet I would recommend the iPad 2 or the new third generation iPad. Personally, I like the iPad 2 better since it runs cooler than the iPad 3 which is something to consider in hot climates like the Philippines. Being 5-6K cheaper helps too. But if you want a tablet to also replace your laptop, you may want to give the Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 a look.