Asus Eee Pad Transformer Android tablet

Tabtop computing at its best?

Screen idle

Video playback largely confirms Tegra's muscle. Supporting Flash 10.2 out of the box, the Transformer handles streamed 720p with ease. But although YouTube, BBC iPlayer and 4OD all play fluidly, Nvidia's codec support underwhelms at present. While many 720p MP4 files ran smoothly on full screen, others were choppy, irrespective which video player was used.

The docking mechanism take a bit of getting used to at first, but then it all slides into place

Video capture is also far from perfect – the camera records in 720p, yet sluggish auto-focusing and low frame rates spoil the view. The quality of still pictures is about average for a 5Mp camera, as is video capture from the forward facing 1.2Mp camera. Of course, capturing pictures and video on a 10.1in tablet makes as much sense as trimming your toenails with garden shears, so I'm not overly concerned by the Transformer's questionable performance here.

The battery lasts long enough for a good day's gaming

The Transformer's battery performance raises no such concerns. Continuously browsing with the brightness cranked up, the battery lasts well over 8hrs, supporting the 9hrs 30mins claims from Asus for average use. Throwing gaming and video into the mix reduces it to a still respectable 6hrs 30mins. Yet, the real ace up the Transformer's sleeve is the keyboard. When docked, this supplies an additional 7hrs charge through its internal 24.4Wh lithium polymer battery.