Asus Transformer Pad TF300T Review: Tegra 3, More Affordable

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The new Transformer tablet from Asus costs less—and yet it still manages to impress us. A follow-up to the acclaimed Transformer Prime, the Tegra 3-powered Transformer Pad TF300T is perhaps the best bargain we've ever seen from an Android-based tablet.

Docking Station Disassembly Details

Two Hex Screws, and Four Philips Under Rubber Feet

We've seen several different docking station mods, including home-built auxiliary antennas within the docking station to improve signal reception and internal hard drives to boost storage capacity.

Disassembling the Transformer Pad TF300T's docking station is easy, though slight differences compared to past models require us to get a little more specific.

1. Unscrew the two hex-head screws and four Philips-head screws (under rubber feet) on the bottom of the docking station.

2. Use your fingernails or a flat-head screwdriver to separate the top and bottom portions of the case from the area near the docking slot.

Aluminum Bar To Help Weigh Down Front Of Docking Station

3. Use a plastic tool to separate the case near the touchpad area (there are three nuts with “tension-teeth” securing the top of the case to the bottom). You do need to apply some force, as the top and bottom sections are quite difficult to pry apart. A loud popping noise indicates that the teeth have released and popped out of their sockets.

The hard part is putting the docking station back together. Because the teeth on the nuts are secured to the inside of the sockets using some sort of hard resin, tightly sealing the gap between the top and bottom parts of the case necessitates some kind of adhesive during reassembly. We recommend using some sort of adhesive that facilitates subsequent disassembly and reassembly without damage, like rubber cement, perhaps?

Andrew Ku
32 Comments Comment from the forums
  • samuelspark
    Yay. Excellent price/performance tablet. :D
    Reply
  • burnley14
    Looks like a great tablet. The screen could use a little work, especially the resolution, but everything else checks out well. I too will be interested to see a tablet like this one running Windows 8, could be a game-changer.
    Reply
  • netadmin
    "Fortunately, Asus is sticking with $149 as the price for TF300T's complementary accessory."

    Maybe it's just me, but I don't see anything fortunate about paying the same price for an inferior product. Based on reviews at other sites, the keyboard dock for the TF300T has a 16 Wh battery compared to the 22 Wh battery for the Prime dock. Is it being suggested that 27% lower battery capacity does not make any difference in price? I understand that ASUS has to make a profit, but would it not be reasonable to lower the price a little bit, at least?
    Reply
  • vicsrealms
    Looks like a great tablet, but I can't even find the Asus Transformer Prime anywhere. Maybe it the availability is good I may try to manage to pick one up, but i have given up on the Prime.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    I really would like to see a successor to the Transformer Prime with a display with the same or higher resolution as the 3rd gen iPad. That'd be quite something.
    Reply
  • xkche
    3 weeks ago i buy a TF101 :( for just $10 less than this price....
    Reply
  • frabber
    it's 80 euros below retina, it would be a bargain if it had a retina display
    Reply
  • Stardude82
    Oh... you're in Bakersfield... I'm sorry. :-P
    Reply
  • mobomofo
    How come no one has pulled the "Does it play Crysis?" yet.
    That joke can't die. We gotta keep it alive people.

    +2 for the Bakersfield joke. Good eye.
    Reply
  • everygamer
    Anyone get a PS3 or other mainstream game controller paired with the Transformer via bluetooth without rooting?
    Reply