For the price, this is a very good tablet with keyboard. It is very fast, well made, and performs very well. I bought it over a week ago and have used it extensively to wring it out. Below are my observations:
DOCUMENTATION: There is a 7 page (without appendices) printed User Guide that only shows drawings of the tablet and charging instructions. And a 10 page printed manual of the Keyboard showing drawings, how to dock/undock, special keys and the touchpad. THAT'S IT! If you want to learn how to use it you have to go to the Web. There is a very good e-manual PDF file (158 pages), for the tablet on the ASUS Web site. Go to ASUS>Support>>Service Programs>Downloads and type "TF103C" in the search window. Then android+manual>version "E9028" and download file "e9028_tf103c_for_web_only" PDF file. About 8.2 MB. (for English version). The tablet does have "Guided Setup" that starts automatically and guides you through WiFi setup and your Google Account setup. There is a Icon for this in the "All Apps" screens if you need to re-do the setup.
I have a cheap ($99) tablet (Nextbook) that I bought from Walmart that has a great printed User Guide, Quick Start Guide, and FAQ's. If they can do this on a $99 tablet, why can't ASUS do better on a $299 one (or at least put a link to the manual on the tablet)?
CONSTRUCTION: The construction seems real good. No flexing, squeaking, or gaps anywhere. When the tablet is docked to the keyboard, there is a slight rocking back and forth in the keyboard slot but the tablet is secure. The tablet weighs 1 lb, 4 oz. and the keyboard weighs 1 lb, 4 oz.
SCREEN: A very good IPS screen. Not the highest resolution but I can't see much of a difference between it and my ASUS ME302c which has a higher resolution. Like my other ASUS, I find the default screen settings to be too dull and too warm. But there is a pre-installed App (Splendid) that will change the color temperature and vividness. I also need my screen brightness set to about 80% to please me.
ASUS ZEN UI: I like it very much. It is different than the stock Android, but I prefer the changes made by ASUS. There are a ton of pre-installed Apps on this tablet that you cannot remove. But you can remove the Icon clutter easily by "hiding" the ones that you don't use or "disabling" them. I don't think that will save you any memory, however, but it is easily reversible.
KEYBOARD: Very nice. Feels well made (no flexing), the key press is good, and the touchpad is sensitive. The keys feel a little cramped for me but I have big hands.
PORTS: There are two USB ports (a micro USB on the tablet, and a full size USB on the keyboard). Both will support a mouse, keyboard, flash drives, and a portable USB powered Hard Drive. There is NO HDMI port. The tablet has a speaker/microphone port and will support a micro SD memory card up to 64GB.
ANDROID 4.4 (KitKat): I have a Lenovo tablet that just updated to Android 4.4.2 and I like the new OS. But the Lenovo does not have "Multiple Users". Lenovo stripped it out. This tablet does have "Multiple Users" and "Profiles". And there is now a "Printing" setting. The new OS seems very smooth and responsive and there are a number of new "things".
OPERATION: This tablet is very fast (Antutu Benchmark =33,336 and Quadrant Standard = 17,983). Web page loads are very fast. In over a week of extensive use, there have been no slowdowns, or error messages, or "double taps". It has downloaded and run all the Apps I use on my other tablets except for one (Temple Run, but Temple Run 2 will play). It froze up once in the web browser (tablet freeze) and I had to hold down the power key until it shut down. All of the free system memory can be used to store Apps so there should never be a problem.
CAMERAS: This tablet has two cameras. Front and rear. Both are low quality. Android 4.4 has added a number of new camera features you may want to try. But consider tablet cameras as only back-up devices. No tablet camera I have ever seen can match a dedicated camera or even a smartphone camera.
VIDEO: I don't watch much video or movies so I can't comment except that it has played all of the videos that I have tried and seems to play YouTube well. The screen is not high enough resolution to display 1080p but 720p works well. If you have a problem with any video formats, use a different video player (MX player has always worked for me).
SPEAKERS: For a tablet, these speakers are good. The music quality is good and the speakers are loud enough for a small room.
WHAT COULD BE BETTER: There is no external indication of charging. I like a external LED that shows charging and charged. The back of the tablet, along with the screen, is a fingerprint magnet.
BATTERY: Charging from 15% takes about 4 hours. Battery run times using "Battery HD" calibration are as follows: (Screen brightness at about 80% and without the keyboard attached).
Music Playback = 16 hrs, 40 min
Video Playback = 8 hrs, 20 min.
Internet Browsing = 6 hrs, 15 min.
Talk time (VoIP) = 7 hrs, 11 min.
Reading = 9 hrs, 54 min.
CONCLUSION: I like this tablet and keyboard bundle very much. It will be my main Android tablet until someone makes one with the same weight but with a 12" to 14" screen. My 74 year old eyes (even with glasses) like more screen area.
| Standing screen display size | 10.1 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1280 x 800 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1280*800 Pixels |
| Processor | 1.33 GHz apple_a4 |
| RAM | 1 GB DDR3 |
| Wireless Type | 802.11bgn |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
