ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 2

bobert50 said:
I really am very much a phone/tablet noob when it comes to anything to do with the technology in them. I must admit before reading this thread i "assumed" the samsung galaxy S2 that i own had a tegra 2 cpu!

I couldn't actually understand why when i bought a Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1 that it felt horrendeously slow, even just in the ui and browsing i just found it so frustrating to the point i sold it yet the Galaxy S2 always feels so fluent. At least now i know why!

Reading all of this with interest :) Its really hard to judge for me if this transformer 2 will fix the sluggishness that i hated so much with the galaxy tab 10.1 but i really really hope so.

EDIT - Interesting to read what Kona just said as i was indeed on 3.0 and i found it absolutely horrible. I am as far as you can possibly get from an apple fanboy but even i had to hold my hand up and say the ipad 1 felt immensely faster and more responsive all round.
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After some of the updates that was cured. IIRC after 3.1 it was pretty much there and I also have an SGS2. Im running on a prime rom and it runs nice and smooth and fast.
 
Pottsey said:
If I am honest I have used one but I don't know which version of Andorid is on my brother's transformer.

" And FYI Android 3.0 is all GPU accelerated - Tegra 2 did just fine."
I don't agree on Tegra 2 doing fine, various forums where full of complaints of the GPU being to weak and causing problems playing certain types of videos.

GPU acceleration is incorrect although some Samsung devices had a custom bit of software that did a few bits on the GPU. But android 3.0 as a whole was missing hardware acceleration.
See http://www.mobile2u.com.pk/blog/tech_news/android_icecream_sandwich_features.aspx Hardware acceleration is listed as a new feature. http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...am-sandwich-to-feature-hardware-acceleration/ "Hardware acceleration allows for a buttery smooth user experience, better graphic performance, and better responsiveness within apps." " concern that's been on the tip of the Android community's tongue lately is hardware acceleration. It's something we've been waiting for for a while now, and it looks like Ice Cream Sandwich will finally deliver."
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Fully GPU acceleration is new for phones(i.e 2.3 didn't have it), not for tablets(i.e 3.0 has it).
 
^ No, SoCs are heterogeneous and have a dedicated video decoder core (like the powerVR VXD/E series http://www.imgtec.com/powervr/powervr-vxd.asp)
Even PC graphics cards have had separate video hardware acceleration for a good few years.

Using the GPU is only a bit better than the CPU SIMD engine. It's a waste of power and performance (battery lasts 2-3 hours using compared to 8+ hours on the decoder)
This is why HTML 5 is gradually replacing Flash. Flash can only really support general APIs like ARM neon/FPv3/Intel SSE (CPU) or openGL/Direct3D (GPU) while HTML 5 taps into the systems proprietary player (which uses the exotic decoder)

...but it's really handy having a Flash plugin right now :)
 
Skyfall said:
OK... Go ahead...

The only benchmark you have linked to so far shows a tegra 2 tablet faster than nearly all current android phones.
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Go look at the benchmarks again. The Tegra tablet was slower in 3D and 2D then the phones. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4971/apple-iphone-4s-review-att-verizon/6 in the areas that I consider to be the ones that matter Tegra is very slow.

EDIT:
Not too sure the delay is a good idea. That will let the other new tablets like the rainforest one come out first and how many people will order other tablets in November ready for Xmess instead of waiting for the last minute to get this tablet? Its getting border line close to missing this year if it gets any more delays.
 
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Pottsey said:
Go look at the benchmarks again. The Tegra tablet was slower in 3D and 2D then the phones. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4971/apple-iphone-4s-review-att-verizon/6 in the areas that I consider to be the ones that matter Tegra is very slow.

EDIT:
Not too sure the delay is a good idea. That will let the other new tablets like the rainforest one come out first and how many people will order other tablets in November ready for Xmess instead of waiting for the last minute to get this tablet? Its getting border line close to missing this year if it gets any more delays.
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Take a look at this video of tegra 2 running flash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DustL9a9oKc

And look how well it runs games in HD with 6th Console Generation level of graphics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpMR72e9iDo&feature=channel_video_title

It seems the Motorola Xoom which has a 1.0Ghz Dual core Tegra 2 is doing just fine running flash, though there is some inital lag once the video gets going it gets smooth.

In the games department it is running all the highend andriod games smoothly at HD resolutions

Considering tegra 3 will be 5 times as powerfull and just over double the frame rates in the most demanding of games such as that glow ball demo I think it will do just fine.

Remember that a Tegra 3 Quad core running at 1.2Ghz to 1.3Ghz will be roughly equivalent to a Core 2 Duo at 2.0Ghz. It should enough to browse the web, watch online flash videos without even initial lag like in tegra 2 and play even more demanding games, games that are getting close the first 7th generation console games at around 30FPS.

I really dont see why you are worried.
 
6644kp said:
Take a look at this video of tegra 2 running flash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DustL9a9oKc....
I really dont see why you are worried.
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That video just shows how far behind graphically Tegra 2 is.
I don't see how it can run the 2012 games. Tegra 2 was the same speeds as the old reference platform. This time around Tegra 3 is an estimated 60% slower GPU wise over the reference platform. Add that with most of the big names dropping Tegra and there is a very good chance the best games of 2012 will not run well on Tegra 3 if Tegra can even run the games. With most of the big names dropping Tegra and Tegra being so far behind the reference platform how much software support do you think Tegra 3 will get? I personally don't see it being supported as well as Tegra 2 was.

Also games made for the reference platform last gen where automatically optimised for Tegra 2. Games made for the new reference platform for 2012 are not automatically optimised for Tegra 3. Less raw speeds with possible less optimizations could prove to be a problem.
 
Pottsey said:
Go look at the benchmarks again. The Tegra tablet was slower in 3D and 2D then the phones. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4971/apple-iphone-4s-review-att-verizon/6 in the areas that I consider to be the ones that matter Tegra is very slow
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There again there is only one phone that is noticeably faster than it in those benchmarks, comparing to ios whilst slightly embarrassing for android is irrelevant as they're not part of the same ecosystem.

The tablet isn't supposed to have massive mind blowing horespower, it is meant to be a platform that manufacturers buy into because they can put it in a tablet, phone or whatever. Tegra 2 is above average if not average for the current offerings tablet or phone wise... Tegra 3 is going to be a jump, how much of a jump time will tell. Tegra 2 already runs honeycomb pretty much flawlessly and is running all of the top end games at the moment.

Success in the android ecosystem is not about power, it's about proliferation. Afterall people generally do not write apps to target the top 10% of performance, they target it at the other 90%. Tegra 2 is currently part of that 90% and there's nothing at the moment it can't handle, in fact on that front there is still not much my piddly old Desire HD can't handle with it's single core.

If as you say people are dropping Tegra end masses it's not such a good deal for Tegra 3 as it has had a lot of great support. However this I do not see being an issue as I cannot see another SoC manufacturer doing the same. This leaves me pretty confident that Tegra 3 will be able to play 2012 games adequately.

Personally the main draw of the transformer 2 is the form factor, I have recently switched from the transformer to the tab 10.1. But if the transformer 2 is as thin and light and has that lovely keyboard dock, not to mention the fantastic fw support ill snap it up at the right price.

Sorry for the rantish post but I'm just of the impression that you're working on speculation to argue a point thats purely academic and the success of the transformer 2 means little to me as if something sufficiently better comes along I'll just jump ship.
 
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OMAP is the reference platform this time around. Which might means games and apps will be optimised for tile based chips which are very different from how Tegra work.
 
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It's not very clear if it's based around OMAP in general so 4 and 5 or a certain version within 4 or just any version of 4. Either way my point is most next gen devices seem to be based around OMAP and OMAP is not fully compatible with Tegra due to the massive difference in the way the GPU works.

EDIT:It's been removed now as it was up to early but GLBenchmark 2.1 (720p Egypt) have confirmed Transformer 2 with Tegra 3 only gets a FPS of 53. Which puts it's behind the top end scoring phones and the almost year old Ipad2. I still don't see how Tegra 3 is going to compete agaisnt 2012 tablets. By the time OMAP 5 arrives or Ipad 3 Tegra 3 will be well under half the speed from a GPU point of few. Although I can see for many users Tegra 3 being fast enough.
 
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Seems that its $499 for a 32GB version but seems like that comes sans-keyboard dock which is an extra $149. $599 for a 64GB but again comes with a Micro SD slot for expansion, I can't help but feel that in the UK we're going to see £500 for the 32GB and £600 for the 64GB if thats without the dock then its not as well priced as hoped.
 
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