Asus Transformer Prime gets major screen upgrade

Asus introduces the Transformer Prime TF700T, which more than doubles the screen pixel count of the original Prime.

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Eric Franklin

Jan. 9, 2012 9:30 a.m. PT

2 min read

This is the original Prime. Take it in, as it will soon be considered old and busted. Josh Miller/CNET

LAS VEGAS--Not even a month after the Asus Transformer Prime's official release, Asus has already announced the next version of the tablet. The new version sports an upgraded 1,920x1,200-pixel-resolution screen with a few other improvements thrown in for good measure.

While the "old" Prime delivered images on a 1,280x800-pixel screen, the new Asus Transformer Prime TF700T, as it's called, more than doubles that pixel count, while retaining a 10.1-inch screen.

The TF700T will also see two other key improvements. First, its front camera will go from 1.2-megapixel to 2-megapixel and will now allow for HD video chat conferencing.

Secondly, the TF700T will sport a new back-panel design that Asus claims should enhance Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS performance. GPS has been a definite sticking point for some Prime owners recently.

The Prime TF700T will ship in the second quarter, running Ice Cream Sandwich, with prices starting at $600 for 32GB and $700 for 64GB--$100 more than the current Prime's price at each of those configurations.

As great as the Prime is as a tablet, this has got to hurt for new owners, who not a month into their ownership already have an obsolete tablet.

While Asus says the TF700T was planned from the get-go and that the two versions of the Prime will be marketed and manufactured concurrently, this move feels more like a way for the company to address some design mistakes that ended up adversely affecting the GPS and Wi-Fi performance of the Prime, while at the same time future-proofing it against upcoming high-resolution tablets, like Acer's announced device.

Still, if you just cracked open the box of what you thought was bleeding-edge for an Android tablet, this announcement has got to sting. That's bound to happen, though, when a product is released so close to CES.

I'll return later with some hands-on impressions after my scheduled fiddling with the TF700T.