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Android tablet makers are finally responding to the memo that clearly states in order to compete in the tablet space, you have to lower your price points. Enter Asus and its just launched Transformer Pad TF300. Pricing starts at a comparatively affordable $379, a solid price point for a 10.1-inch Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) tablet with an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM.
That's a full $120 less than the Transformer Prime, and like it's pricier sibling, the TF300 sports an IPS panel with a 1280x800 resolution, albeit there have been reports that the image quality isn't quite on par. The TF300 also eschews the Transformer Prime's brushed aluminum chassis for a plastic case.
In other words, there are tradeoffs and concessions related to the lower price tag, but for 379 bones, Asus has put together a impressive looking tablet, at least on paper. In addition to the above mentioned features, the TF300 has a 1.2MP front-facing camera, 8MP rear-facing camera, built-in stereo speakers with Asus SonicMaster technology, microSD card slot, 16GB ($379) or 32GB ($399) eMMC flash memory, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, micro HDMI slot, 2-in-1 audio jack, and 22 W/h Li-polymer battery good for up to 10 hours of use.
The TF300 is available to purchase online now and in stores starting April 30, 2012.
Image Credit: Asus
Comments are closed on this article
OCFRED
April 23, 2012 at 8:55pm
Is there really a case for 2 models only $20 apart?, regardless I'm not interested until it has a GSM/SIM slot for connectivity.
wolfing
April 23, 2012 at 8:00am
wow, at this price I might finally go for it. Specially the 32GB version for only $20 more.
Supall
April 23, 2012 at 7:25am
I would like to see them get rid of the 8MP camera for something practical like a working GPS.
jason2393
April 23, 2012 at 8:47am
From what I've read (and experienced), the GPS issue seems to come from the aluminum case. So this new plastic model should have a working GPS, assuming the hardware is still in there.
