The Asus Eee Pad Transformer 2 has leaked and Android Authority is showing off the goods. I must say I’m rather impressed with what I’m seeing from Asus here. It appears as though they’ve made the Transformer 2 to look just like one of their recently unveiled Zenbook Ultrabooks, meaning it’s thin and lean.

Not only does the Transformer 2 looks extremely svelte, while still retaining it’s signature keyboard-connecting feature, but it is packed with Nvidia’s latest and great quad-core CPU, codenamed Kal-El.

Kal-El is the world’s first quad-core mobile CPU, according to Nvidia. Though the processor is still currently codenamed Kal-El, it’s been colloquially dubbed “Tegra 3”, as that’s the name it is likely to launch under.

Then there’s that whole Ice Cream Sandwich thing which is also said to be included with the Transformer 2, according to Android Authority, which also has some additional leaked specs which you can find here. [Google and Samsung just blew the doors off of Android 3.0 Ice Cream Sandwhich last night at a join event, we’ll have more on this soon.]

Here’s Asus’ just released teaser for the Transformer 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp6MZupUq78

The original Asus Eee Pad Transformer was a runaway success for Asus, who struggled initially to keep them in stock against demand. Android Authority says a source is claiming a November launch for the Transformer 2, in time for the holidays.

Our own Damian and James co-reviewed the original Transformer and were rather impressed with the unit. They lauded the full USB port functionality (and compatibility with a wide range of USB peripherals).

You can see both parts of their dual-review here:

• Eee Pad Transformer Review, Part 1 Intro and Comparisons
• Eee Pad Transformer Review, Part 2 — USB Connectivity Tests and HDMI-out

Hopefully we’ll see full USB ports return to the Transformer 2, and maybe we’ll even get full HDMI and a full SD slot — now that would be cool. I’m also hoping that Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich will provide functionality to make the hybrid nature of the dockable device even more useful when it’s in notebook-mode.

The Eee Pad Slider may as well have been official for a long time as it’s seen more hands-on time than some devices that are actually available! In addition to a few bits that are confirmed on the official page — the device shipping with Honeycomb 3.1 and Polaris Office for productivity work, weighs a hefty 960 grams! — there are a few strange bits as well.

Read the full story

Over at Ritchie’s Room, Ritchie has gotten his hands on a retail version of the much anticipated Asus Eee Pad Slider and has given us a great preview of the sliding Honeycomb tablet.

A few bits to take away from the reading:

• Sliding mechanism works well (kudos to Asus for this)
• Tilt of the screen cannot be adjusted (kudos revoked!)
• On the topic of the lack of mouse/trackpad: “proximity of the screen in comparison to the edge of the keyboard actually lends itself to retaining the touch interaction inch
• The sliding function works well as a stand, even if you aren’t typing

If I were in the market for a tablet, the Slider would be a serious contender. Is it just me or does this thing seriously sleek looking? My only reservations are the lack of integrated trackpad or some other type of mouse, and the single USB port, though I could always add a USB hub if I wanted. The bezel is also a bit meaty, but I’m impressed with how thin they were able to keep it, despite the slide-out keyboard!

There’s more info to be found at the original post, including a brief rundown of some of the apps/services that the Slider will come with, and plenty of great photos. Be sure to check it out!

As for availability and pricing, at least one site claims that Asus Netherlands will be pricing the 32GB Eee Pad Slider at a rather hefty 499 euros ($711 USD) and that the device will be available in early 2012. The price may quickly come down however, and seeing how the Slider just made its way through the FCC, perhaps it’ll hit in the US a bit earlier than 2012? We’ll just have to wait and see!

I’ve always loved slider devices, and this is probably why I’m so excited for the Eee Pad Slider which has recently made its way through the FCC and should be arriving in stores soon.

Brad Linder of Liliputing points out a lengthy hands-on video of the Slider that recently went up on YouTube. I must say that the video only makes me more excited… the device looks really well built and the sliding mechanism seems to work great!

The only thing I’m not happy to see is that there is no mouse! I feel like Asus could have easily put a nub-mouse or optical mouse on the device and that would save people from having to use the only USB port on the Slider for an external mouse.

Two devices recently stood out as a different kind of productivity solution, both offering the ability to convert between a tablet and a netbook. The choice is between the Asus Eee Pad Transformer and the Acer Iconia W500.  The Eee Pad runs Android Honeycomb while the Acer runs windows 7.

Both offer the ability to convert from a 10 inch tablet to a laptop style device with a keyboard and mouse. The Asus has a multitouch trackpad while the Acer has a pointing stick style mouse mover.

The units are comparable in features, specs and pricing. The main difference? Windows versus Android, and perhaps battery life. 4 hours for a tablet is pretty ordinary and no where near the Eee Pad’s 10 to 17 hours as a tablet or attached to the dock.

I miss OneNote and that makes me consider Windows tablets but while I could handle 3-4 hours battery life in the old days I’ve now been spoiled by modern day tablets and even netbooks or smaller latops like the Vaio T series which give 7+ hours easily and sometimes more than 10.

Evernote on Android has come a long way as well and while it lacks some of OneNote’s Office suite integration it is now a much more powerful note-taking tool.

One design issue is that the Acer W500 cannot be folded like a laptop while joined to the dock.You have to detach the tablet part, close the docking connector and then clip the tablet over the keyboard. It seems a little ill thought out and since we’re so used to closing up our devices in this way, it may lead to damage.

I disagree with reviews that argue Windows 7 isn’t touch or tablet friendly and in fact I’d say it is the best windows yet for tablet and touch use. But the Iconia doesn’t have a an active or pen enabled screen. It’s capacitive touch and that removed the last killer feature that would have made me buy it. The strength for me of OneNote on a tablet (and even Office as a suite) is that you can ink in it. Without the ability to use a “proper” pen, the Iconia W500 becomes just another tablet, with less battery life and all the issues of Windows including susceptibility to hacking and virus attacks and lacking the advantages of cheap, productivity enhancing apps. So it’s the Asus transformer for me.

 

When we reported earlier in the week that the Asus Eee Pad Slider had passed through FCC approval, there was no official announcement from Asus. However, yesterday, the official press release announcing the device as part of the Asus product line went live on the Asus website. The official launch brings some additional tidbits that further pique our interest in this device.

One of the trends that is disturbing me in the Android infrastructure is the implementation of proprietary solutions to various use-case problems in new premier devices. Asus bundles Asus WebStorage with the Slider as a solution to cloud storage and populating an on-line archive with data you might need to access from multiple mobile devices. It is a nice touch (I guess), and I am sure one or two users will decide to use this solution instead of already existing cloud file services like Google Docs and DropBox, or cloud notebooks like Evernote or Springpad. My main issue is that every time a manufacturer deploys one of these in-house services on a tablet, the app is usually not uninstallable. The problem goes away if you wipe and root, but if you want to just run the device stock, these pre-loaded apps are annoying. It is very clear that the pre-loaded epidemic that plagued desktops and laptops for so long is creeping into the tablet market, as well.

Fortunately, that rant gets any negative take-aways I have from the press release out of the way. Most everything else is good news, or at least enticing news until we see some more definition from various allusions in the release. One of those items is in the area of the Slider’s ports. We were aware of the microSD port, but the Slider’s specs now also call out a 16/32GB Embedded Multi-Media Card (eMMC) port. This is called out as a discrete port in addition to the microSD port, so it makes me wonder if this will be a full-sized port like the Toshiba Thrive and Dell Streak 7 feature.

Also revealed is the fact that the device will be available in both pearl white and metallic brown color schemes. That designation appears to apply to the brushed layer applied to the slide-out keyboard, as can be seen in the pics attached. Android 3.1 will be pre-loaded and Asus indicates an upgrade to 3.2 as an OTA delivery, as we would expect. In case we were not certain before, the launch announcement confirms an IPS display (similar to the one used on the iPad) with a claimed 178 degree wide angle of view.

You can peep the specs in our product database here. A link to the press release is included in the source citations below. There is nothing in the press release on pricing or a release date.

So…is anyone holding off on that Asus Eee Pad Transformer purchase to snag a Slider instead?

Sources:

Gizmodo

Asus Eee Pad Slider Press Release

Cheesy headline aside… the second Asus Eee Pad, the Slider, is marching toward a US release as Wireless Goodness points out.

The 10 inch tablet was recently caught attempting to tip-toe its way through the FCC. The Eee Pad Slider is another keyboard-equipped Honeycomb-running slate like the Eee Pad Transformer. While the Transformer’s keyboard actually detaches, the Slider goes for a different approach by allowing the screen to slide up to an angle, revealing the keyboard beneath. Despite having a full-blown keyboard, the Eee Pad Slider is still an impressive 13mm thick!

You can find full specs and more for the Asus Eee Pad Slider at its tracking page in our database.

Thanks to positive reports of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, the Slider definitely piques our interest and we’re looking forward to seeing what it can do. By showing its face at the FCC, it’s passed an important hurdle to US release, we’ll definitely be letting you know when we hear more about this svelte looking machine!

via Slashgear

I stumbled on this pretty cool widget for the Asus Eee Pad Transformer [tracking page] that allows you to monitor both the tablet battery and the keyboard docking station battery. Asus didn’t actually give us any way to keep track of the charge in the dock other than a blinking LED which is next to useless. It basically turns green when charging, amber and amber flashing when being used and doesn’t light at all when empty. Not very helpful. This widget shows the percntage status of both batteries, right on your homescreen.

It was developer by an Android developer and is available here:

http://www.apktop.com/dual-battery-widget-0-3.html

It works as advertised and has a cool feature which only shows the battery status for the dock when you actually have it docked. It’s not from the market so you will have to download the .apk file and setup your Transformer to allow installs from third party providers (via your settings).

The widget is resizeable, and while the developer mentions advanced options to change text size and more I haven’t worked out how to do that yet; let us know in the comments if you have any luck!