The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime (TF201) just received an OTA update yesterday to 9.4.2.28, and with it quite a few goodies. For many, the most notable change is a massive increase in speed: after some initial testing last night and this morning, I have yet to experience any lag or force closes when multitasking or switching between apps; this lag problem had previously plagued the Transformer Prime since its initial release last December, much to the dismay of many owners.
Web browsing also seems much quicker; previously, many users (myself included) would routinely receive “Application not responding” error messages when visiting sites with lots of flash, java, or advertisements. Pressing “Wait” would generally solve the problem and allow users to continue browsing as normal, but this was a very annoying bug that no one wanted to live with. Luckily, this problem also seems to be solved; again, I haven’t received any such messages, and web pages load much faster than before.
I should also note that Chrome Beta, which has always been slow and buggy on the Transformer Prime, now seems to browse the web at lightening speed. Other than a few minor stutters here and there, it seems to perform even faster than the stock browser, so I can finally make it my default browser on my tablet, just like it is on my HTC EVO 4G LTE.
ASUS has also finally included Android’s native Face Unlock technology with this update, which supposedly should have been activated several updates ago. In reality, there was no good reason for this feature to have been left out last January, when the Transformer Prime first got its Ice Cream Sandwich update, but it was missing for some inexplicable reason. In the meantime, the original Transformer tablet (TF101) got this feature, as did the newer Transformer Pad (TF300), leaving many people wondering what was going on. But finally, this feature is here, and I have to say that it works beautifully. There have been no hiccups, and it works exactly the way I’ve come to expect after using it on my EVO.
In addition to faster overall performance, better browsing, and Face Unlock, this update has also improved many users’ WiFi performance, which has always been mediocre on the Transformer Prime. Some users are also reporting that simultaneous WiFi and Bluetooth streaming is also functioning much better, even though this has been a known issue for quite some time.
For root enthusiasts, this latest update is root-able, in case you have previously lost root or you never took the plunge to begin with. More information about rooting can be found here. Otherwise, if you’re already rooted and you want to keep root, Voodoo OTA RootKeeper should do the trick.
And finally, for those of you keeping track, this update also bumped up a few other version numbers:
- GPS went from 6.9.16 to 6.9.20
- WiFi went from 6.1.1.22 to 6.1.1.24
- Bluetooth went from 9.27 to 6.9.29
- The kernel went from 2.6.39.4 android@Mercury #1 to 2.6.39.4 android@Venus #1
If you notice any other improvements, changes, or new bugs, be sure to let us know.
Nice update! I wnat to know if the GPS improve? I don’t want to use the add on as much as possible
Unfortunately, I haven’t noticed a huge difference myself, but I also hardly ever use GPS on my TP.
ASUS faltered a bit in updating the original Transformer to ICS (took a month or two longer than usual and it was buggy for another month or two), but overall they’ve been on a roll w/updates to their tablets, easily besting any other manufacturer.
Awesome, speed increase and I can Root again!
Now if they can just fix my #1 annoyance with my Prime, the fact that it decides randomly to switch my keyboard into Korean. I’ve checked all the settings and everywhere possible it is set to US Keyboard only. But out of the blue I’ll open up a website or an app, try to write and bam I’m in Korean. This is really annoying when I have the keyboard dock plugged in because there is no easy way to change it. I have to pull it out of the keyboard dock so the onscreen keyboard appears, hit the ‘English/Korean’ key on it, and then can plug it in and use it in English again. I’m really hopping this is fixed. *crosses fingers*
That’s odd – I’ve never heard of that problem before! :-/
Update did not change much of the GPS performance. It’s the most annoying thing about the prime. I’m still tethering my phone GPS to my tablet to get maps and navigation apps to work.