ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity (TF700T) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 25, 2012 3:00 AM ESTWiFi & GPS Performance
With the Transformer Prime ASUS moved to an all-aluminum construction but did little to focus on maintaining RF performance. The Transformer Pad 300 addressed WiFi and GPS performance by moving back to an all-plastic chassis, but as the high end in ASUS' Transformer stack aluminum was a necessity for the Infinity. The compromise is simple: a strip of similarly colored plastic across the top of the tablet, behind the WiFi and GPS antennas.
The plastic strip on the TF Pad Infinity (left) vs. the truly all-aluminum TF Prime (right)
I performed a number of WiFi performance tests and am pleased to say that overall wireless performance appears to be much better than any previous Transformer tablet. I managed nearly 40Mbps in the best case scenario, but more importantly I was able to maintain 3 - 4x the transfer speeds of the TF Prime at further distances from the access point. I would say the Infinity's WiFi performance is now on par with that of the iPad, and is seemingly better at 2.4GHz.
| WiFi Performance Comparison | ||||||
| Distance from AP | 3 feet | 20 feet (Different Room) | 50 feet (Different Room/Floor) | 80 feet (Different Room) | ||
| ASUS TF Prime (2.4GHz) | 26.9 Mbps | 9.85 Mbps | 13.5 Mbps | 2.20 Mbps | ||
| ASUS TF Pad 300 (2.4GHz) | 26.5 Mbps | 21.8 Mbps | 20.7 Mbps | 21.3 Mbps | ||
| ASUS TF Pad Infinity (2.4GHz) | 39.2 Mbps | 34.0 Mbps | 34.3 Mbps | 10.8 Mbps | ||
| ASUS Transformer (2.4GHz) | 21.8 Mbps | 17.6 Mbps | 18.8 Mbps | 15.0 Mbps | ||
| Apple iPad 2 (2.4GHz) | 35.1 Mbps | 29.9 Mbps | 26.9 Mbps | 10.6 Mbps | ||
| Apple iPad 3 (2.4GHz) | 35.1 Mbps | 29.9 Mbps | 27.9 Mbps | 9.98 Mbps | ||
| Apple iPad 2 (5GHz) | 36.7 Mbps | 36.7 Mbps | 36.7 Mbps | 11.9 Mbps | ||
| Apple iPad 3 (5GHz) | 36.7 Mbps | 36.7 Mbps | 36.7 Mbps | 11.7 Mbps | ||
ASUS still doesn't support 5GHz unfortunately with the Transformer Pad Infinity, so expect problems in situations with a bunch of 2.4GHz spectrum crowding.
GPS performance also benefits from the RF improvements to the Infinity. Although GPS locks are still not as consistently quick as I'd like them to be, the Infinity is generally able to get a signal lock quicker than even the Transformer Pad 300 - even in adverse conditions. While the Transformer Prime can't get a lock indoors or even in some situations in a car, the Infinity manages to do so in about 12 seconds. The shot below is what I saw after 12 seconds of searching for a lock:
To get something comparable from even the TF Pad 300 took well over a minute. I suspect the improvements to the Infinity go beyond simple chassis work based on its behavior.
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dagamer34 - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity - 1080p + 1.6Ghz->1.3Ghz Tegra 3 + Windows RT + Touch Cover = $599 Surface RT starting price.killerclick - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Yeah, except you get a 1366x768 screen and a lack of apps. Plus you have to wait three months for it. Plus the touch cover doesn't have an extra battery. Plus how are you going to use the kickstand+touch cover on your lap?Give it up, the Surface is a crap product, especially Surface Pro. A tablet is neither a PC nor a laptop, and Microsoft doesn't seem to understand that.
Samus - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Microsoft understands perfectly that a tablet can both be a PC and a laptop.UpSpin - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
You can buy such tablets already: Asus EEE EP121, Samsung Series 7 Slate. Also the future Win 8 tablets, which are both a PC, laptop and tablet will cost twice as much as the TF700.WinRT won't be a laptop replacement, rather an inferor iPad clone, which won't give you any advantage, especially not compared to Android.
name99 - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
You may the way they understood that the SAME Windows could work just as well on a tablet and a PC (dating all the way back to 1987 and the Go tablet business)?You mean the same way they understood that the same Windows UI could work on a phone, through all the different naming iterations of WIndows CE/Windows Mobile?
I think let's believe it when we see it. Right now what I see is that the fraction of people who LIKE Windows 8 as a PC OS is pretty damn small, which suggests a fundamental flaw in your theory.
french toast - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Really? So no one likes w8 despite the fact it isn't even on sale yet?So you think because a company releases a poor product many moons ago.. that obviously means every product will be poor from that point onwards...
rickcain2320 - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Windows 8 has been out in beta and RC phases for quite some time now. No rave reviews by anybody other than fanbois wearing blue e t-shirts and paid bloggers.themossie - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Anecdotally...A software developer just paid me $40 to downgrade their Microsoft BUILD conference slate from Win8 DP (developer's preview) to Windows 7. This is the prototype for the Samsung Series 7 Slate, released to encourage Win8 developers. Not a good sign.
They encountered driver issues (will be fixed by Win8 release) and found the workflow very unpleasant (which will not!)
I played with 8 for a while first. Ugly, ugly operating system. The desktop feels gimped, because the start button returns you to Metro. I don't care about the missing start menu, but Metro isn't useful enough by itself, forcing me to the Desktop for real work - and several operations on the Desktop take you back to Metro :-(
Also, IE for Metro is completely unusable.
Belard - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
Windows8 totally BLOWS chunks. Anyone who I know in RL who has used Windows8 on the desktop think its SUCKS.I used it... it sucks. I'll go WindowsXP before I deal with Windows8.
Vista sucked because it was buggy garbage...Win8 sucks because its a crappy UI design.
prophet001 - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
You got a little foam on your lip there bud...Little to the left... little more... there! you got it off.