ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T 32GB Tablet Review

ASUS is widely known for producing computer parts and peripherals, but rarely do they indulge in anything pre-made. Introduce the ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T, and now we have seemingly one of the first ASUS products in the mobile market.

Frankly speaking, it makes sense for ASUS to dive into tablets. They already produce premium lines of business and gaming laptops, so tablets are the next logical direction. It certainly doesn’t become a question as to whether ASUS can make their name in the market, but rather how well.

Tablets aren’t perfect devices by any means, but some are better than others. The little things matter at the end as they define which tablet is the perfect buy. ASUS is regarded as a highly reputable company, but that alone cannot carry them from consumer scrutiny.

Indeed, the first iteration in the Transformer Prime had a slew of problems where certain features would simply not work, ultimately highlighted by its steep price of roughly $500. ASUS decided to release an updated version (and in my case a free upgrade) in the Transformer Pad Infinity.

The Transformer Infinity becomes the current flagship ASUS Transformer tablet available in 32GB ($500) or 64GB ($600) amethyst grey/champagne gold colours. It boasts very impressive specs in the tablet world. Whether or not the issues that plagued the Prime are fixed are to be seen in this review, as well as a real-world comparison between the two versions.

PACKAGING AND EXTERIOR

The box is very clean and simple; it doesn’t have too much information regarding the contents. The sides of the box include a grey square and gold square check-marked to indicate what colour you have. The back does have information to keep aside for later including your serial number and customer P/N numbers in case of customer service needs.

The ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T comes with a few accessories, including a microfiber cleaning cloth a cardboard envelope with warranty card /user manual and its AC charger with a removable 40 pin USB cable. It’s very basic and I was expecting just something a little more in terms of packaging, but overall it illustrates a professional, minimalistic presentation.

Getting to the tablet, the first thing you notice after unboxing is that beautiful 10.1  LED Backlight WUXGA 1920×1200 Super IPS+ displays. As a note, we will be reviewing the 32GB Amethyst Grey version. Compared to the resolution from the TF201T Primes 1280×800 IPS LCD, the Infinity may be the clearest, brightest display on any Android tablet to date.

Mind you the Apple iPad 3 does have a resolution of 2048 x 1536 on a full retina display, but the Infinity holds its own as a gorgeous display for photos, movies, or just to show off. Even in direct sunlight, thanks to the brightness of the Super IPS+, the Infinity’s display is crisper and has finer image quality. Text is more defined, but you won’t notice a HUGE difference while watching an HD movie.

While being coupled with a bright screen and excellent colour reproduction, in direct sunlight with a glass-glossy display, you will still get a lot of reflection. Its not perfect in sunlight but the display is still the best I’ve seen that holds up in the elements.