Review: ASUS Tranformer TF300T
Category : Notebooks / Tablets
Published by Marc Büchel on 18.09.12
With the Transformer Pad TF300T, ASUS has another successor for their Tranformer series. This tablet ships with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 SoC which offers not only a lot of performance but also excels when it comes to power consumption. Furhtermore there is the Transformer's party piece which is the additional dock that features an integrated keyboard as well as an additional battery pack. Everything put together it seems like a compelling offer. 
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The ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T is available in different colors or with or without 3G module. Most manufacturers also diversify their models by equipping them with more or less internal storage. In case of the TF300T you get 32 Gigabyte with every device. Furthermore you can decide wether you want your Transformer TF300T with or without a dock. The dock offers you a keyboard as well as an additional battery pack. The Transformer Pad TF300T with dock will set you back 529 Swiss Francs (est. 441 Euros). Without the dock you'll have to pay 429 Swiss Francs (est. 358 Euros).
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Preview
Obviously, ASUS succeeded in designing a nice tablet. It might not be everybodies darling from a design point of view but it really is a good looking thing with good build quality. Plenty of other manufacturers are copy cats and try to do things in an Apple-ish way. We also like that the Transformer weighs a reasonable 635 gramm. It isn't a featherweight but it surely isn't too heavy.
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Specifications
| Model | ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T |
| CPU | nVidia Tegra 3 |
| Clock Speed | 216 - 1'000 MHz |
| Display resolution | 1280 x 800 |
| Memory size | 32 GB |
| Memory | 1'024 Megabyte |
| Camera | 8 Mega Pixel Back 2 Mega Pixel Front |
| Connectors | 1 x HDMI Connector 1 x USB 1 x mini USB 1 x Audio Jack 1 x MMC, micro SD, SD, SDHC card reader |
| Audio | Speaker |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 3.0 |
| OS | Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4 |
| Battery | 1 x 24.4 Wh Battery, Tab 1 x 24.4 Wh Battery, Dock |
| Dimensions | 273 x 177 x 15.8 mm (W x D x H) |
| Wight | 635 g |
The specifications which are listed here represent the model we've had for review. The quad core Tegra 3 solution is quick enough for an Android Ice Cream Sandwich based tablet.
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Case, Display, Haptics, Dock
The display comes with 10.1 inch size and 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. This means that you get 16:10 aspect ratio which makes it very comfortable to watch videos if you're on the way. Regarding the display ASUS chose an IPS panel this time. Concerning the last Transformer tablet we tested we were complaining about the display but this time they chose really a good model. Therefore it doesn't matter if you look at the contrast ratio or the brightness. Everything is on a very reasonable level and you can use the TF300T everywhere. Of course there is a glare type display but thanks to the brightness level you'll be able to use the TF300T outside in the sun too.
Also the different buttons as well as the additional ports are very well built and they perfectly fit into the case.
Dock
The best thing about the Transformer Pad TF300 is that you have the possibility to convert this thing from a tablet to a netbook within seconds. Using the dock you can then comfortably write even longer texts. For this purpose you get a QWERTY-keyboard and last but not least there also is second battery pack in the dock. According to the manufacturer you can get up to sixteen hours of battery life if you have the tablet in the dock.
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Test setup
To test and afterwards compare the performance of Android based tablets we use AnTuTu Benchmark and Vellamo. AnTuTu is more of theoretical nature whereas Vellamo is more relevant for every day usage. Overall we think that this is a good mixture. In order to measure battery life we use Battery Spy and Flashlight. Battery Spy constantly monitors capacity and records the time the device was on. With Flashlight we make the screen light at full brightness with white color.Benchmarkprogramme
- AnTuTu Benchmark
- Total
- CPU Integer
- CPU Floating-Point
- 2D
- 3D
- Database I/O
- SD card write
- SD card read
- Vellamo
- Total
- Sun Spider
- V8 Benchmark
- Networking Loader
- Battery Spy / Flashlight
- Screenlight
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AnTuTu Benchmark - CPU and Graphics
| Total | Punkte |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 9'881 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 5'623 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 5'778 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 4'526 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 4'325 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 2'890 |
| CPU Integer | Punkte |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 3'320 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 1'821 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 1'387 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 945 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 776 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 607 |
| CPU Floating-Point | Punkte |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 2'456 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 1'317 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 1'269 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 1'036 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 974 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 152 |
| 2D | Punkte |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 352 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 297 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 296 |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 295 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 293 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 141 |
| 3D | Punkte |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 1'235 |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 1'231 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 1'114 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 837 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 797 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 578 |
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AnTuTu Benchmark Database and Memory Subsystem
| Database I/O: | Punkte |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 470 |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 335 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 320 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 275 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 170 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 190 |
| SD card write | MByte/s |
| Toshiba AT100 | 15.4 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 15.2 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 12.0 |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 9.7 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 7.4 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 4.1 |
| SD card read | MByte/s |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 34.2 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 22.2 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 19.2 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 16.2 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 15.8 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 10.6 |
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Vellamo Web browsing
| Total | Punkte |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 1'567 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 980 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 925 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 920 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 916 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 611 |
| Sun Spider 0.9.1 | Punkte |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 184.76 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 153.32 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 127.55 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 124.85 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 94.09 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 24.37 |
| V8 Benchmark | Punkte |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 165.56 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 155.24 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 104.25 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 104.79 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 81.45 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 38.15 |
| Networking Loader | Punkte |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 137.59 |
| Toshiba AT100 | 115.67 |
| Samsung Galaxy SII | 113.05 |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 78.72 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 76.1 |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 65.19 |
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Battery Life
| Battery Life | |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T with Dock | 12 h 38 min |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer with Dock | 11 h 52 min |
| ASUS Transformer TF300T | 8 h 26 min |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | 6 h 47 min |
| Samsung Galaxy Note | 6 h 38 min |
| Toshiba AT100 | 4 h 45 min |
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Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| With the Transformer Pad TF300T ASUS succeeded in something that only a hand full of companies have been able to within the past year: creating a tablet that stands out of the crowd with useful additional features and a unique look. In this context the dock really is a useful addition to this already good tablet. Equally useful is the second battery pack which is in the dock which is capable of increasing the battery life substantially. | - Battery
- Dock - Second battery pack in dock |
||
| Case, Display, Haptics | + | - | |
| The case is thin, the entire product weighs a bit more than 600 gramms and it comes with a slightly curved shape. Overall holding the TF300T in your hands is a nice experience. It feels like a well manufactured device although it's not made from aluminium. Of course you wont get the stiffness and robustness you get with a metal chassis but still there aren't any parts bending. Something else that is of decent quality is the display. The IPS panel ASUS chose offers good brightness and contrast and you can even use this tablet outside but therefore you'll have to max out the brightness slider. If you should decide to use the tablet to write long texts or emails you will notice that the keys are smaller than with a standard keyboard. In our case we noticed that we did more mistakes when typing. | - Build
quality- Design - Display (IPS Panel) |
||
| Performance, Battery Life | + | - | |
| NVIDIAs Tegra 3 SoC offers plenty of performance for an Android Ice Cream Sandwich based Tablet. The quad core CPU allows a smooth user experience and there even is plenty of performance for mobile gaming. The battery lasts for almost seven and a half hours when the tablet is being used. Putting the Transformer into the dock gives the thing some extra juice and the battery then lasts for more then twelve and a half hours. | - Smooth browsing and working experience-
Mobile gaming - Battery life |
||
| Recommendation | + | - | |
| If you should be looking for a tablet with which you can also write longer texts then the TF300T from ASUS is a very good choice. Furthermore the reasonable price tag and the long battery life make this product even more interesting. | |||
| Rating | |||
| The Transformer Pad TF300T from ASUS gets very good five out of five stars. | |||
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