ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity (TF700T) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 25, 2012 3:00 AM ESTThe Display
At 1920 x 1200 with a 10.1-inch diagonal, the Transformer Pad Infinity's Super IPS+ panel works out to a hefty 224 pixels per inch. That's shy of the iPad's 264 PPI but still a tremendous improvement over the 149 PPI of the previous generation Transformers. 1920 x 1200 is a fully supported resolution under Ice Cream Sandwich, so there's no funniness that has to happen in order to support the new display. It's still a 16:10 aspect ratio, but with a 1.5x increase in the horizontal and vertical dimensions.
The effect on the display is subtle but present. Text looks sharper, icons look clearer, everything just gets better. The browser uses the added resolution to make smaller text more legible when zoomed out on web pages:
Macro shot of AnandTech.com on the Transformer Prime, 10.1-inch 1280 x 800
Macro shot of AnandTech.com on the Transformer Pad Infinity, 10.1-inch 1920 x 1080
High resolution photos look good on the display as well, but the effect is a bit more subtle than I would have expected. It's really text that benefits the most in my opinion.
In going to the higher resolution panel, ASUS hasn't improved color gamut or accuracy. Things are a tad better compared to the TF Prime but not appreciably so. White point is kept at around 7500K across the brightness range.
Where ASUS does deliver is in contrast ratio and brightness. In its default state the Transformer Pad Infinity can deliver, at max brightness, 460 nits. Similar to the Transformer Prime, ASUS offers a Super IPS+ mode for outdoor viewing that drives the panel and backlight to just under 700 nits.
Black levels suffer a bit at the Super IPS+ setting, but otherwise the panel is actually a bit better than what ASUS used in the Transformer Prime. The result is a contrast ratio of over 1300:1, or 1135:1 in Super IPS+ mode.
The brightness and contrast improvements are appreciated as is the increased pixel density. It would have been nice to see an improvement in color gamut and color accuracy with the Transformer Pad Infinity. Let's hope ASUS is saving the best for its Windows 8 tablets later this year.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
112 Comments
View All Comments
xype - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
"The colors and brightness and contrast are better on the TFP."The colors aren’t. Neither are the ppi. Something that actually makes a real impression in most situations—unless for some reason your only usage of a tablet is in bright sunlight.
The TPI and iPad 3—as hardware, only—each have their strengths and weaknesses. To claim one is absolutely better at everything just sounds fanboi-ish. Or, you know, astroturfer-ish (which you happily accuse others of being above).
joelypolly - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Sounds like someone is getting paid to Asus to say these things...zappb - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
I thought this product was Vaporware considering it was annouced around Jan...and still not released but Awesome screen all the same - Look at those Contrast / white / black level numbers, haven't seen a screen like that in years...and at 1920x1200.When you look at the numbers, the significance of the screen has been glossed over in the article, - the only reason I can see for that, is perhaps that resolution sucks on Android, or apps don't scale well etc..
Lepton87 might have a point but the overall feel of the review is to wait for windows 8 tablets when perhaps the resolution will make more sense.
Cali3350 - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Your being very unfair. 1920*1080 is a great resolution and a big step up. But its not 25*18. That really IS big deal, its more than most 30 inch monitors. Your trying to equate a good improvement to a complete shift. Way to be objective yourself.sawilson - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
I own them both. I can hold them side by side. It's really hardly noticable at all until you get the tablets closer than one would use them, and once again I'm talking about the prime versus my 32gb verizon 4g iPad that work gave me. I'm happily at work now typing this on my prime because it has completely replaced my Dell laptop running windows 7. The iPad could not do this. The only reason they went with a resolution that high is they have NO CHOICE. iOS is crippled and has to use multiples of the 6 year old iphone display resolution and dimensions. That's why it has a fail 4:3 display like an old television rather than a proper 16:10 display. That's why you have to buy all new apps for it instead of the superior Android solution that mimics what your laptop or pc and mac already do. Just scale things properly. There's no such thing as a "tablet optimized" app. That's marketing. That's apple attempting to justify failure in their mobile OS design by turning it into a positive. You can tell how intelligent a tech review is by looking for terms like "tablet optimized" or "fragmented" or "retina". It means they lack the technical knowledge to understand that's just marketing meant to talk around shortcomings in their own poorly designed device.LordConrad - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
"That's why it has a fail 4:3 display like an old television rather than a proper 16:10 display."Tablets are designed primarily as consumption devices, which is how most people use them. For such a device, I find the 4:3 aspect ratio to be superior in most respects. Internet Browsing, email, and ebooks all look much better to me on tablets with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Gaming is a wash as I don't have a preference. The only drawback is watching movies as the black bars are larger unless you zoom-in.
I have nothing against Android, I actually prefer the openness of Android, but I much prefer the paper sized 4:3 aspect ratio for handheld tablets.
Lepton87 - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Anand is such a huge apple fanboy and it shows in his articles but it shoudn'tJunereth - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
were we reading the same article here?xype - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Probably not. Anything short of "I ONLY HAVE SEX WITH MY ANDROID TABLET FROM NOW ON!!" under Final Words is seen as definitive proof of Apple-bias by some, it seems.Cyleo - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
Before I owned the original TF Prime I was probably inclined to agree with you. However after 6 months of use, I can see Anand's point. Where iOS is polished in almost every possible way, Android is still rough around the edges. Browser performance on Android is excellent when it works, but it also hangs a lot. Engadget for example is a website that constantly brings my TFP's browser to its knees. And I can tell you that constantly force closing your browser is pretty annoying.There is a huge potential for Android tablet, but Asus and Google need to polish the user experience if they really want to compete with Apple.