Ports and Webcam

The left side of the G73Jh-A2 houses a standard array of ports, including Ethernet, two USB, headphone, and mic. On the right: two more USB, HDMI, VGA and 8-in-1 card reader. We were surprised to find no ExpressCard port on a notebook of this size. You also don't get a DisplayPort or one for lightning-fast backups, such as eSATA or USB 3.0. Asus 90-NYX1B1000Y ,

The 2-megapixel webcam atop the display impressed us by capturing accurate colors for both skin and clothing. We didn't need to adjust settings to achieve good light/backlight balance. And though a Skype friend noticed some blur when we moved quickly, it was minimal most of the time.asus u41sv battery ,

Performance

The 1.6-GHz Intel Core i7-Q720 CPU and 8GB of RAM earned the G73Jh-A2 a score of 6,460 in PCMark Vantage, blowing away the desktop replacement category average (5,064) and rising comfortably above the ASUS G51J's score (6,001). asus u41sv-wx049d laptop battery ,However, the rig lags behind the Malibal Satori (13,187) with a slightly more powerful Core i7 CPU and the Origin Eon18 (11,039) with a Core 2 Extreme processor. But as both of those systems are thousands of dollars more than the G73Jh-A2 and include SSDs, this gaming rig stands up pretty well to the competition.

Netbook News has actually done a full review of the unit with benchmarks, please click here to view the entire article.Under the hood we've got a 1.2GHz dual core processor with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of flash memory, it also has a front facing camera that offers 1.2MP & a 5MP rear facing camera that is capable of 1080p recording (in case you're wondering the Tegra 3 edition get a 8MP rear cam). u41sv-wx031v laptop battery ,

ASUS claims that the ME171 will be able to achieve 8.5Hr of video playback on its 4400mAH battery, we'll be sure to put that to the test in our full review. Currently it's running Android 3.2 but it will be running Android 4.0, you'll notice in the video we think that it's running ICS until we check out the settings, the sales clerk was especially insistent that it was running Android 4.0, so we hope that we'll be seeing it soon.asus u41sv-wx036 battery ,

As a device purely for browsing the web or sending emails, the 300 is easily in the same camp as the iPad 2. Apple M8665G ,The user experience isn't as consistently smooth, but there are advantages that matter to some – such as the ability to support Flash and the ICS Gmail app.

As a tablet that needs to function as a netbook replacement, the Transformer Pad has an obvious advantage there as well. The Transformer dock remains the best way to turn a tablet into something you can type on for an extended period of time. While I don't believe that Android is any closer to a full blown notebook OS, as a netbook replacement I do believe the TF Pad 300 + dock is already there.asus u41sv-wx036v notebook battery ,

It's not all rosy unfortunately. The past few Tegra 3 updates to ICS for the Prime have decreased stability in my usage, and I saw a handful of app crashes on the 300 during my testing period. I didn't run into any showstoppers but the latest build of the OS on these devices doesn't seem quite as solid as the last Honeycomb build or even some of the earlier ICS builds. The good news is that ASUS and NVIDIA appear to be pushing out updates to these devices quite aggressively, which is unfortunately a rarity in the Android space.Asus 70-NZY1B1000Z ,

Move outside of the core apps and Apple starts to gain a significant advantage, depending on the apps you're talking about of course. Then there's the UI experience, which for many continues to be a win on the iOS side. Apple M8665 ,

Although I still don't really believe that many folks cross-shop Android and iOS. The iOS experience ends up being more appliance-like while Google is building a mobile computing platform with Android. Both have their strengths/weaknesses.Asus 70-NXM1B2200Z ,

I do appreciate that ASUS continues to deliver a mostly stock ICS experience with a few additions and a handful of useful preloaded apps (e.g. Polaris Office). The additions to ICS are all functional and ASUS tends to rely on its strengths as a great hardware manufacturer rather than gimmicky software to sell its Android tablets. I'd also like to applaud ASUS for offering sensible pricing on its NAND options with the Transformer Pad 300: $20 buys you another 16GB of storage. This is the direction I hope more tablet vendors go in the future.Asus 70-NXH1B1000Z ,

At the end of the day the Transformer Pad 300 is a good successor to the original Eee Pad Transformer. If you want an upgrade to the original or are looking for an Android tablet at $399, the Transformer Pad is the one to get. If you find yourself looking at the Prime end of the market, then you'll want to wait until this summer when the Transformer Pad Infinity is expected to show up.Asus 70-NZYB1000Z ,

What I'm really hoping for is that ASUS is using its experience in building the Transformer lineup and bringing it to market as practice for the release of a truly perfect, x86-based Windows 8 tablet later this year. Give me the form factor of the ARM based Transformer Pad 300/Infinity (along with optional dock), but with the ability to run Windows 8 Pro and I think we may just have the perfect tablet for users who need a notebook for work but want the portability of a tablet.Acer 1830Z laptop battery ,

Android and Me

I liked the camera review section of the Transformer Pad 300 review. "The cameras on the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 are really pretty "meh." Meaning they aren't great, but they aren't terrible." Click here to check it out.Acer AS1830T-3927 TimelineX laptop battery ,

While watching a 1080p trailer for The Discoverers and streaming IMAX HD test from YouTube, we were pleased to discover that the horizontal viewing angles are pretty wide. We had to crane our necks to an extreme angle before encountering color distortion. However, as the screen is glossy, reflections were very apparent. Vertical viewing angles are fairly wide as well. Keeping the display tilted just a bit forward of its maximum angle provided the best view. Acer Aspire 1830Z-U514G50n battery ,

Though HD video is predictably beautiful on the G73Jh-A2, standard-def video doesn't fare as well. At full screen we noticed fuzziness and indistinct lines in an episode of Being Human we'd downloaded and an episode of House streamed on Hulu. It wasn't enough to ruin the experience, but we much preferred watching hi-def content because of it. Acer Aspire 721 Series laptop battery ,

Audio quality on the G73Jh-A2 was quite good, as befits a gaming rig. At 50 percent the volume wasn't quite as clear or booming as we'd like, but we found the sweet spot between 60 and 75 percent. The subwoofer on the bottom left side of the notebook complemented the balanced mid- and high-range tones. Acer Aspire One 721 laptop battery ,

We encountered some distortion when we cranked up The Killers on Slacker, but fiddling with the built-in equalizer helped. There are also separate EAX settings in the included Audio Center software (including Ampitheater and Jazz Club) and a CMSS-3D setting you can enable for stereo widening.Asus A31-B53 ,

ASUS TF300 – 8 / 10

ASUS has proved several times over now that there is definitely a market for high-end Android tablets. With the exception of a slate or two out of Samsung, ASUS rules this sector of the market. As such, I had high hopes for the ASUS Transformer Pad TF300.Asus A32-B53 ,

It's incredibly similar to its sibling the Transformer Prime, with only a minor downgrade here or there. Fortunately, the price of the Transformer Pad 300 is set to reflect those changes. At $379 for the 16GB model and $400 for the 32GB model, the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 offers a premium tablet experience for less money than extremely similar tablets on the market. It looks like ASUS has another winner on their hands.Asus A41-B53 ,

You can buy the Royal Blue ASUS Transformer Pad 300 starting this Monday online and in stores by the week of April 30. Look for the red and white Transformer Pad 300s to launch this summer.Asus A42-B53 ,

SlashGear

If you're keen for some videos, Chris Burns has pulled together several worth watching, thing is you have to watch them on the site, so visit their review to get your fill of video.

Here we have the slightly less expensive version of the most well-rounded and powerful Android tablet on the planet. The qualities that allow this model to cost significantly less than its bigger brother are not bothersome to me, and I see no reason, save for one, why a person wouldn't just go with this TF300 model over the Transformer Prime. Alienware M18x laptop batteryThat reason is, of course, the flash for the camera – I think it's safe to say that most people don't use their tablet as their primary photo and video machine, but if they do, that little LED can make or break a purchase.DELL M17x R3 laptop battery ,

After that though, everything on this device is high quality and ready for action. Even the plastic casing which replaces the fabulous ring-spun aluminum on the Prime is of a quality high enough to run with the top tier of the Android tablet world. DELL M17x battery ,,

It even has a ring-spun texture so you know it means business. ASUS hasn't just created a lower-cost model of the Prime here, they've re-done the Prime with the essentials it needed to be the top-quality Android tablet in the field and offered it here with the name ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 with a much more pleasing price tag. Pick one up right now!Asus A32-N82 ,

Video: ASUS Eee Pad EP121 12-inch tablet shows up in Poland

Heat

ASUS designed the G73Jh-A2 not just for looks but also to funnel heat away from the user. By putting all of the heat and noise-generating components at the back, this notebook is designed to draw air in and shunt it out of the back, keeping you cool both on top and in your lap. This worked fairly well as long as the G73Jh-A2 wasn't sitting on a surface that absorbed heat instead of releasing it. We noticed some warmth while gaming, but nothing too uncomfortable.

 

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