I recently got an ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (for being the RHIT ASUS Campus Rep.) and HP Touchpad. After using both for a while now, I thought I would share some thoughts on the two products.
First lets talk about the HP Touchpad. The Touchpad is running WebOS, a nifty operating system that can multitask like no other. The big issue with using the Touchpad is that it lags. It would appear there is not enough horse power to run even the email application. I have already updated it and turned off all the logging as other reviews have suggested and it still hangs from time to time. It would appear there is some bloat to WebOS that we just can seem to turn off. The next I have is the weight. The devices gets heavy after holding it for a minute or two. This makes it really hard to play a game or watch a movie. These issues aside, the Touchpad still had a ton of applications and quite possibly the best facebook application for a tablet. To my surprise the tablet also came with Beats Audio by Dr. Dre. While the quality is okay through the speakers, it has quite good performance through the audio jack. All and all it is a good toy, but that is exactly its problem. The Touchpad is a $99 toy. I have found it difficult to be productive on it (or any tablet for that matter).
The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer tablet alone suffers from the same issue as most tablets. When only using it as a tablet, I am not productive and after a while, it does get tiring to hold (even though it is lighter than the Touchpad). It is slightly longer than most tablets and this felt odd at first; however this has come in nice for watching HD movies. The Tegra 2 processor can easily keep up with Android but lacks a native facebook application. When I need to be productive with the Transformer I can quickly dock it to its keyboard.The keyboard is pretty standard (though slightly smaller than that of a laptop), but has a few unique features. There are special keys for functions on the Eee Pad. This makes it easy to turn on and off wifi, bluetooth, screen brightness, etc. In addition, it has a back button where the escape key usually sits and a dedicated home and search button. The dock has an additional battery and USB ports to make it more usable. To put it in to perspective, with moderate use, I still have 83% battery life remaining as I write this review and I haven’t charged it in 3 days. Lastly this device is a tank. At dinner with my parents, I tried to stab the screen with a force and then tried to scratch it. Lets just say the fork lost and there is yet to be a ding in the device. This is super handy and I tend to just toss it in my backpack as I head to class or a meeting.
Both devices have been fun to play with over the past few days and if I had to buy 1, it would be the ASUS Transformer by far. I have plenty of electronics to play with and what I need is something that is productive. While it is yet to get a native Netflix (the Touchpad does not have Netflix either) or facebook app, the use of Android opens it up to a larger market of games and applications. Post your thoughts or questions below. I am interested to see what others think!
There have been a few minor bugs found with the NTBee block. I have corrected these and they are live on Files page. Note the version has changed on the blocks. The current version is 2.12. If you are running an older version I suggest you update. This update addresses an issue with setting the type of data you intend to send or receive. Thank you Alan for finding these! If anyone else finds something not quite right with the block, please let me know!
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics has changed the lives of millions of children from elementary through high school. It brings the message that science and technology is fun. This hour long special on ABC features the 2011 FIRST World Championship, better know as the “Super Bowl of Smarts”, in St. Louis, Missouri. Singer and songwriter will.I.am stepped up this past year to make FIRST loud. The event in St. Louis featured a concert by the Black Eyed Peas as well as a presence from major technology companies. Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST said this was the one sporting event where every child can go professional.
Day 3 brings NIWeek to an end. What an amazing time to get out and meet fellow engineers. This year was super exciting as I got to see some old friends and make many new ones. Among these were people from Intel, Xilinx, and TI. Besides saying good bye to all the people I met, Day 3 also featured a keynote from Storm Chaser Tim Samaras. Tim has been featured on The Discovery Channel and is truly passionate about what he does. Not only does he chase tornadoes but he has also made several inventions that capture lightning in never before seen ways. I cant wait until NIWeek 2012. It always amazes me to see all the innovation and excitement this event generates!
Milluzzi Labs 