The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is one of the most powerful Android tablets on the market. It has a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, a high quality 10 inch display, and an 8MP camera. But while it also has a GPS receiver it gets poor signal reception, making it a kind of lousy GPS device.
Now Asus has a solution: the company will provide customers with a free GPS USB dongle to improve GPS performance.
This isn’t the first time Asus has addressed the issue. The company’s initial response was simply to remove GPS from the list of specifications for the Transformer Prime. While the tablet still had a receiver, Asus decided it wasn’t reliable enough to be a selling point.
Next the company rolled out a software update that was meant to improve GPS performance.
Soon the company will begin offering a USB dongle to new tablet customers. Asus is also setting up a process for existing Transformer Prime owners to sign up for a free dongle.
via Engadget
Poor GPS signal???? Try no GPS signal at all.
I have had my transformer prime for 2 months and couldn’t get any gps signal even in the most open of spaces.
Using GPS Status app, I was able to get some signal of only ONE GPS Satellite. And i was standing on top of a mountain!!!!!!!!!
wonder if they ever tested the gps to see if it worked b4 selling them,,,
 Lab tests aren’t always conclusive of how a device will work in the real world.
Take the iPhone 4, Apple has plenty of test labs yet they could not predict the antenna contact issue that resulted in “Antenna Gate”.
Also mind they are trying to get these products out before the competition and that doesn’t always give time for field trial testing.
While a design defect could delay release for months and once released it’s usually too late to expect any significant design changes. Especially in a market that will be pushing a new model in a couple months to a year anyway.
These devices (including the iPhone) are tested in the real world outside the lab environment.
I agree that these issues get passed testing because of the rush to get the devices out before the competition. However, for me, it makes me always not get the first product out. Too bad for Asus, the Prime is the 2nd version of the also buggy Transformer. For me, that makes Asus tablets lower than 2nd choice when looking for Android tablets.
The real world testing is mostly irrelevant given the short period they usually allow and the high level of security prevents full free reign usually needed to fully test devices in all possible usage scenarios, along with usually too small a user base sampling.
After all, that didn’t prevent the iPhone 4 from being released with its antenna issue.
While for the original Transformer, there was no notable design flaw. Just the software took time to work out but that was mostly Google’s fault and not Asus.
For the Prime, it is Asus fault for the GPS and WiFi issue. Though it may not be so much a design flaw as a manufacturing defect as at least one reviewer noted that pressing on the area that the antenna wire connects seems to fix the issue and means it may just be a loose connection and why it may have gotten past their product quality control…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgx2Kpfi-Ps
GPS signals are easy to block though. So an external antenna is usually preferable for the best signal.