The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime has many charms, but price is not among them. At $499 for the entry 16GB model, it’s a step higher than the original Transformer, and ASUS has been selling them side by side since the Prime’s introduction in December. But with the new Transformer Pad TF300, ASUS has replaced its original tablet at a more palatable $379 while still keeping some impressive performance capabilities thanks to the NVIDIA Tegra 3 platform and the Transformer’s trademark keyboard dock. Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box is the icing on the cake. The Android tablet landscape is a lot more competitive now than it was a year ago – let’s see if ASUS has kept up.

Hardware

If you took the original Transformer and the Transformer Prime and blended them together, you’d get something like the Transformer Pad TF300. It keeps the slim profile of the Transformer Prime and the 10-inch screen and connection capabilities of both, but uses a plastic body instead of an all-metal chassis. This is a little cheaper, but it should help alleviate the poor WiFi and GPS issues that Prime owners faced – you’ll find no dongles here. The TF300 is slightly chunkier than the Prime, but still considerably smaller than the original Transformer.

You’ve got quite a few color and storage options for the Transformer Pad TF300: the first Royal Blue units will cost $379 and $399 for the 16GB and 32GB versions available April 23rd, with Torch Red and Iceberg White versions of both coming down the pipeline in June. The color-matched keyboard docks will cost $149. The pricing for the TF300 is very competitive, considering that the 8GB Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 2 is expected to retail at the $400 mark.

And speaking of the dock – it’s essentially the same one that fits the Transformer Prime, with a few material changes and color options. Working with the Transformer Pad TF300 in what we’ve come to think of as “Netbook Mode” is the same as it ever was – far from perfect, but much more flexible than the tablet alone. Android-specific shortcut keys and the extended battery options are appreciated, but the small and somewhat finicky trackpad isn’t.

Navigating the tablet interface via the dock is simple, though all too often you’ll still need to resort to touch control. Gamers and mobile professionals might as well add a Bluetooth mouse if they’re springing for the dock. The dock adds a full-sized SD card slot to the tablets’ MicroSD slot, plus a secondary battery that charges the tablet while attached. You can also charge both through a single cable when the tablet is inserted.

As far as guts go, you get the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, a gigabyte of DDR3 RAM, a 10-inch IPS LCD 1280×800 screen and the standard Bluetooth/WiFi combo. Mobile wireless versions of the Transformer Pad TF300 are in the works, but won’t be available any time soon. Weight is an interesting issue: the tablet itself weighs 1.3 pounds, with the dock coming in at half that. This makes the Transformer Pad TF300 “top-heavy” when used in the dock.

Check out our comparison video of the Transformer Pad TF300 and the Transformer Prime below:

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Compared to the Transformer Prime, the Transformer Pad TF300 holds up well considering the lower price and cheaper materials. The screens are identical save for the IPS+ rating on the Prime, making it slightly more comfy to use for an extended period of time. The plastic body makes the Transformer Pad TF300 feel lighter, even if it isn’t’ actually much of a margin. From a hardware perspective, it’s a solid choice for those who don’t want to spend the extra money.

Software & Benchmarks

If the hardware of the TF300 and the Prime is similar, then the software is nearly identical. The Transformer Pad TF300 is ASUS first tablet to ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, which shares much of the same code and ASUS/NVIDIA extras as the Android 4.0.3 update to the Prime. ASUS’ additions don’t get in the way of Android – a few custom icons and menu options to take advantage of the unique hardware are all you’ll see.

One of these is the Performance Mode and Power-Save Mode, accessible by the ICS pop-up menu. This takes advantage of the 4-PLUS-1 design of the Tegra 3, with a fifth core that engages during periods of low processor activity. You’ll want to keep an eye on the manual switch if you often find yourself mixing gaming and traveling.

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Another unique aspect of the software (though unique only to Tegra devices, not the Transformer line) is NVIDIA’s Tegra Zone. This app grants access to some exclusive Tegra-optimized games that you won’t find on the Google Play Store, though some of them wind up there eventually. Check out a few in the video below:

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Those who want some top-end power out of their tablet won’t be disappointed, and at this price point it’s a very compelling inclusion. The nearest Tegra 3 competitor in price is the Acer Iconia Tab A510, at $70 more expensive for the base model and $50 more than the equivalent 32GB TF300. And considering that ASUS’ build quality is generally a step above Acer’s, even on the lower-end Transformer, it’s hard to recommend the more expensive Iconia based on performance.

The various benchmarks show the TF300 as lagging slightly behind the Transformer Prime with its Ice Cream Sandwich update. This might be something of a sour note, if it weren’t for the fact that the Transformer Prime is already the fastest Android tablet out there. On the AnTuTu tests, the TF300 is running around 90% of the Transformer Prime’s Ice Cream Sandwich scores. This should be more than enough for the most enthusiastic gamer, and will probably remain so for at least a year as Android games become more and more complex.

Camera

The Transformer Pad TF300’s camera is the same one found on the Prime: an 8-megapixel shooter with 1080p video capability and an F/2.2 lens. There’s one important difference, beyond the cosmetically larger lens: the TF300 has no LED flash. It’s a disappointing exclusion considering that even cheap phones come with a flash these days, but perhaps ASUS wanted another differentiation between the two models.

You can see samples of the camera’s photos and videos below – quite good, especially considering that most tablets tend to skimp in the camera department. The only real difference here is the lack of flash, making nighttime and indoor shots much harder to take with consistency. Color and sharpness are great, easily as good as any of the later smartphones on our review table, with the exception of the HTC One X and HTC One S.

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Battery

The Transformer series has always been pretty solid when it comes to battery life, and that tradition continues here. We’ve gotten more than 7 hours of continuous operation with some 3D gaming and video streaming thrown in, so users who keep it to less intensive tasks can expect to meet or beat ASUS’ 8.5-hour battery life rating on the Transformer Pad TF300. Connect the dock (which can be charged separately or at the same time) and you’ll boost longevity all the way up to 12 hours easily. You can thank the Tegra 3’s well-documented power management for the excellent battery life. 

Wrap-Up

The Transformer Pad TF300 is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a WiFi tablet, and not just those who can’t afford the Transformer Prime. The combination of performance, features and price may be the best we’ve seen yet from any Android tablet. Up-to-date software and ASUS’ typically solid build quality make it a tempting device for anyone in the market.

The few sacrifices made to reach the price point – plastic construction, no LED flash and a slightly slower processor – are more than worth it in my opinion. Compare the TF300 to any other 10-inch tablet and you’d be hard-pressed to find one with as many features at this price point. And of course, there’s always the dock option to consider – you could get a 16GB TF300 and a matching keyboard dock to extend its battery and utility for just a bit more than the Transformer Prime (or iPad 3, or Galaxy Tab 10.1, etc.) alone. If you want a good tablet at a great price, this is it.

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20 COMMENTS

  1. Very cool device and definitely interesting. The TPrime is incredibly sleek and (dare I say it) sexy but the significant price point always had me hold off on getting a tablet/convertible that I want but don’t need. With the TF300 having pretty much the same specs but saving costs with build materials this might well make me pull the trigger.

    Also, nicely written review, Mike! In your subjective opinion, what would you say how much “less premium” the TF300’s plastic body feels than the Prime’s; and could this somehow lessen the experience of using the device? Or is it still well-built and just a tad less fancy?

  2. Nice review!  Good price for the 1280×800 display.  I’ve been considering putting my Dell XPS1530 laptop in storage because I’m just tired of lugging it around if traveling and I’ve been seriously thinking about tablets now.  The price of this + the keyboard is basically the price of a “Cheap” laptop that are heavy.  Question is, get the TF300 or wait for the Infinity.  

  3. You wrote: “The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime has many charms, but price is not among them. At $499 for the entry 16GB model….”  Actually, I believe the 32GB TPrime was available at that price, and the 64GB was priced higher.  No 16GB was available as it was with the original Transformer.

    And in Chris Burns’ video comparing the TF300 and the TPrime, he mistakingly said the microphone of each unit was in the same location on the left side.  Those holes are actually the reset buttons.  The microphones are on the upper edge of the tablets.

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  4. Horrible review… I could not even read beyond the first paragraph. The entry level model for the Transformer Prime is $499 for 32GB, not 16GB…. a wonderful bargain compared to tablets such as an ipad. With such an easy fact to verify, you destroyed your credibility before you even began!

  8. If nothing better shows up in June, i would definitely get the iceberg white with the 32 gig model. At less than $400, it’s a bargain.

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  10. That’s more
    like it. A transformer pad that’s
    actually affordable. 32GB of storage is nice too. Better than the 16GB on offer
    inside many of the other major players on the tablet scene.

  11. From what I’ve been reading on reviews, there is a problem running NetFlix. Will it run on this device? I’ve been researching tablets and think this is the one, but I do like to watch NetFlix. 

  13. Maybe someone here can help me. Obviously there aren’t many accessories out for the TF300 yet. I want a screen protector for my TF300. My question is… Are the physical screens of the Prime and the TF300 the same? The camera and the light sensor at the same spot? Meaning, if I bought TF Prime screen protectors, would they work on the Pad 300 and be lined up properly? Thanks for any help. Also, let me know if anyone finds screen protectors designed specifically for the TF300, as that would obviously be better.

  15. I have one. I love it. the 32GB version. But having an odd issue with the newest ICS update. There is one game on Tegrazone that specifically is made for this model, and yet it crashes back to the desktop after title animation runs. It never even gets to the menu.. hmmm..
    Also having a problem with some tegra 1/2 games that should work but dont. I hope they fix this problem as I have yet to see a real demo/game that shows off it’s true capability.

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