New Asus Transformer Infinity TF701 tablet destined for greatness

By President, Techaholic Inc. on June 7, 2013 in Uncategorized

Update (September 4, 2013): See details below.

Asus have been the real innovators in the tablet space in the past couple of years. Their Transformer line of tablets feature a nifty keyboard dock which adds usability but also contains a battery which can power up your tablet too. Since the original Transformer, Asus have refined the design through the Transformer Prime and then last year with the highly acclaimed Transformer Infinity TF700. This year at the Taipai technology show known as Computex, Asus unveiled a new Transformer Infinity TF701T which is set for release later this year.

The “new” Infinity TF701T has a pretty incredible set of specs which I will get to later. Like Apple, Asus has gone with dubbing this as the “new” Transformer Infinity as opposed to saying Transformer Infinity 2. Confusing? I would say so but what do I know.

Price wise, this TF701 model isn’t going to be cheap and will be among the premium 10-inch Android tablets when it comes to market. Asus didn’t skimp on hardware so a top price is expected. That said you’re getting a new version which is quite a bit thinner and quite a bit lighter than the competition. It’s unclear the release date, so it’s possible that these size and weight advantages may be equaled by a new iPad should that come out around the same time. For now, Asus set a new bar on what’s possible and Apple better take notice. Clearly the Transformer Infinity 2 is a front runner. It will be hard to beat.

Update September 4, 2013: The mystery behind this new Transformer is over. Asus have named this the New Transformer Pad TF701T. The listing from the FCC showing it as the TF501T? A mystery. The fact is today at IFA 2013 in Berlin, Asus issued a press release for this tablet and it’s not TF501T and it’s not labeled with Infinity anymore.

Update September 3, 2013: The TF501T (K00C) has just passed through the FCC today. The Federal Communications Commission regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. Basically all gadgets at some point have to pass through this Commission in the United States before coming to market. In the case of this new Transformer Infinity, the release date at best would be a month from now, August 27, 2013. In general, Asus is anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks coming to market with tablets after passing FCC certification. I wouldn’t expect to see this tablet show up before the end of September. Although it’s not spelled out as the new Transformer Pad Infinity in the FCC documents, all indicators point toward this being the new version. No other Asus Transformer tablets have been shown off or announced and the images from the FCC documents line up with the previous press release images and photos.