Benchmarks
Conclusion
One thing is certain with this model it’s not for everyone. If you’re looking for a tablet for casual use around the house for web browsing, game playing and a bit of entertainment, then a slimmer tablet might be more appropriate. However, if you do intend to write email, create and share documents in other words, you are much more keyboard driven while you’re mobile — then the convenience of having a keyboard at your command at any time is actually very useful. This model straddles the line between work and play very well.
The pure weightiness and bulk of the Slider may turn some people off, but as an all-in-one communication, entertainment and browsing device, it has the quality and overall performance to make it a rewarding purchase.
The market has already reacted positively to Asus’ first outing with a keyboard Android device. This model will cement Asus as an innovator in a market that is definitely going to become more crowded in the coming months.
The Asus Eee Pad Slider is expected to see consumer availability in the next month or two.
Looks like a worthy successor to the MBA!
If it has a keyboard, then it’s not a tablet, it’s a netbook.
That may be your personal definition, but I wouldn’t say it’s one shared by the majority.
Sorry, but disagree. The form is of a netbook and not a tablet. Sure doesn’t look like an i-Pad or Galaxy S form to me.
At one time, ‘everyone’ thought the earth was flat and the sun rotated around the earth. So, being in the majority isn/t proof of anything.
True, but the netbook form-factor is a human-made thing and thus it is defined by humans; this is not so for laws of physics.
It is only recently that the majority of tablets are manufacturered without a keyboard. Tablets with keyboards existed long before the term “Netbook” was coined.
Netbooks don’t have touch screens.
Sure they do. How about Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t?
Glad to see there’s a Slider with a proper keyboard layout. The one I got to test in the last weeks came with that awful European layout, with the bigger enter and the tiny Left Shift. The same Asus uses for all laptops in my country and a total fail in my eyes.
I also hate that there’s no trackpoint, I see you guys weren’t too bothered by this aspect, but i found it a bit frustrating to have to reach for the screen all of the time. And carrying a mouse around ain’t really a solution for a device that should be ultra-portable.
Also, I don’t think the sound is redirected towards that front grill. The speakers are definitely there on the back near the sliding mechanism and their volume is quite low for my ears, especially when using the Slider in tablet mode. I carefully checked to see if the sound comes from the grill and i’m pretty sure that’s there just part of the design. Sound comes from underneath the screen, and that’s why it’s a bit stuffy in this mode.
Anyway, great review. I for one rather pick the Transformer though…
I’m all for trackpointers myself.
While you compare it for weight and dimension to the ipad – it loses, but why don’t you continue comparing it to the ipad with all the input/output scenarios? the keyboard itself? then the ipad outright loses completely and can’t do without accessories – try carrying them around all the time.
Why don’t you compare it to other Android tablets? i always wonder why everything has to be compared to that companies products? If people consider an Android tablet with keyboard, then they go for Asus with Android – who cares about ipads. Just because ipads are the most sold devices it does not make them the best out there.
I think the weight of the Slider should be compared to the weight of a non-slider tablet plus a case.
A 10 inch tablet really is much more useful if it can stand by itself at an angle appropriate for reading. It’s a pain, literally, to hold a tablet of this size for more than a few minutes. For most tablets, the answer is a case that can hold the screen at an angle. The slider sits at a decent angle for reading, so it doesn’t need a case.
The official Apple Smart Cover for iPad 2 weighs 137 grams (4.8 oz). Typical 3rd party covers weigh a few grams more.
nice review:)
iPad 2 vs Asus Eee slider-Take a look http://www.techzags.com/2011/09/ipad-2-vs-asus-eee-slider-take-look.html