It’s finally time, Eee Pad Transformer Prime owners: Asus has graced you with its promised bootloader unlock tool. If you don’t want to waste precious seconds reading, click this here link to get to the download page. Select “Android” in the OS pull-down menu, then click “Utilities”, then click the download link under “Unlock Device App: Unlock boot loader”. The bootloader unlock tool will only work if you’ve updated your Transformer Prime to the official Ice Cream Sandwich ROM, and like all bootloader unlocks, it will wipe your personal information completely.

If you’re new to the Transformer Prime or the short-lived controversy surrounding its release, it goes something like this: Asus locked the bootloader when the high-powered tablet hit the market back in December, to the consternation of just about every advanced Android user who wanted to get his or her custom ROM on. After an outcry from disgruntled customers, Asus promised an unlock tool in February, as well as a relatively speedy upgrade to Android 4.0 in January. Both those promises are now fulfilled, even if some of the hardware-related issues that users have been having with WiFi and GPS are still present. Note that if you decide to take your bootloader into your own hands, your warranty is kaput.

Once the bootloader is unlocked, it won’t take long for someone to use fastboot to get a custom recovery package installed, and after that it’s only a matter of time before custom ROMs and kernels start appearing. Asus has yet to update the original Transformer to Ice Cream Sandwich (and may not do so until March) but there’s plenty of community-authored ROMs out there that have picked up the slack. Happy modding, folks!