The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is one of the more versatile 10 inch Android tablets around, because you can plug in an optional keyboard dock accessory to pretty much convert the slate into a laptop. The keyboard dock has its own battery, providing up to 7 hours of additional run time. It also has a touchpad for navigating the Android operating system without reaching up to the display. And the keyboard dock has 2 full-sized USB ports and an SD card slot.
But without the $150 dock, the tablet has a microSD card slot and a proprietary docking port. If you want to plug in a USB accessory or full-sized SD card you’re out of luck… for now.
Asus is preparing to launch a new line of accessories including a USB adapter and SD card adapter for the Eee Pad Transformer. They’re already showing up on Amazon in Germany. Each adapter is selling for 19 Euros, or roughly $27 US. There’s also a 29 Euro ($41) docking station which functions as a tablet stand. The dock also has 2 USB ports, and SD card slot, and a headphone jack.
Each of these new accessories plugs into the proprietary docking port on the bottom of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer — and each provides a cheaper and easier way to expand the functionality of this popular Android tablet without spending $150 on a keyboard that you may not want or need.
There’s no word on when these new accessories will go on sale in the US, but they’re expected to ship withing one to three months in Germany.
The Eee Pad Transformer has a 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor, 1280 x 800 pixel display, and runs Google Android 3.2 Honeycomb. It’s available with 16GB or 32GB of built-in storage.
The USB adapter is a nice addition, but it’s kind of like admitting they should have included a USB port in the tablet in the first place. It’s not just for storage, you know; it’s a UNIVERSAL service bus for any number of peripherals. Why limit the potential of your tablet or force people to use the keyboard?Â
they’re not mentioning it because it’s about the accessories and what they provide, not what the tablet already has which is known to most people who are even looking into this.
I don’t understand why these articles are not mentioning the mini hdmi port built into the tablet.
They also don’t mention if any of the docks coming up have hdmi out – which could be a big deal.
It being there or not really opens up or restricts the usage of the dock a good deal.