Asus Transformer Pad TF103C

“Asus's latest effort feels completely uninspired—it's targeting a lower-end market, but still feels like a new model for a new model's sake. As with nearly every Android tablet not made by Sony or Samsung, the Asus Transformer Pad TF103C is mostly a value-driven play: $299 gets you the 10.1-inch tablet and a nice keyboard dock. It's a better buy than the Galaxy Tab 4, but mostly from a productivity standpoint thanks to the bundled keyboard. And if productivity is your primary concern, and you can stretch your budget, there are plenty of more capable Windows 8 hybrids, including Asus's own $399 Transformer Book T100TA. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S is the best Android tablet to own, but if you're OS-agnostic, the Apple iPad Air still has the best combination of design, performance, and app ecosystem for large-screen tablets.”

“Almost all manufacturers have to make cuts this year. Their models are to become increasingly more affordable, and thus one or another feature that the former generation boasted can be omitted. Customers have to carefully examine whether they would not get more for the same money in the older model.However, Asus' Transformer Pad TF103C-1B072A offers decent performance for its price - providing a generous working memory is not crucial because the device cannot offer that. Apart from its bluish cast, the screen is compelling, and the casing's low surface temperature is a bonus point just like the good speakers.A well-built casing, the decent software, the practical keyboard in the dock, and the good battery runtimes even without a secondary battery make the device recommendable after all. Nevertheless, we deduct one percent point in the total rating for the lags in operation and the incompatibility with many benchmarks.”

“Spend enough time with the TF103C and it's patently obvious why it only costs $299. ASUS has whittled the dockable tablet down to the essentials, with just about every luxury tossed aside, you won't find a breathtaking display, good cameras, long battery life or video output. What's left, though, continues to be tempting. This is a brawny tablet for the money, whether or not you use the netbook-like functionality all that frequently. If you do, it might even be an ideal laptop substitute. The Transformer Pad is more expensive than the cheapest Chromebooks, but it's slightly faster and carries an abundance of native apps.You do have to ask whether you need the keyboard at all, though, and that's the real dilemma -- many people don't. If you're no fan of the Transformer concept, the TF103C won't change your mind. The savings from passing on the keyboard can be rolled into a tablet that may not be as good at productivity, but could easily be superior for books, games and movies. Give the Transformer Pad a close look if you're at least mildly curious about the dock, just be sure to keep its competition in mind before you take the plunge.”

“To be sure, the TF103 has its performance and design downsides, but when manufacturers make sacrifices for the sake of meeting a budget price, those two features are usually the first out the window. As a standalone tablet, this Transformer Pad is mediocrely specced with an outdated aesthetic.However, students and writers who need a cheap portable device to take their word processing on-the-go should put the TF103 on their short-list. It packs all the abilities of Android, with Asus' useful Zen interface, and a keyboard dock in a compact package.Considering affordable tablet hybrids aren't in abundance, the Transformer Pad TF103 fills the void cheap netbooks have left. You can forgive its faults thanks to its competitive price, but if you need a portable keyboard toting device with more horsepower, they're available too, just not in the $300 price range.”