Friday, 7 October 2011

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 3.1 Pure Root ROM

So, if nothing else could be said about Honeycomb latest update for the Transformer, it is rather smooth and people (quite possible for the first time in the site’s history) are actually happy with stock. It is fluid, stable, and very much usable. As such, many members are leaning towards keeping the device stock, but would love to have an easy way to root the device to be able to do things such as Titanium Backup, using Root Explorer, and a few other things. You will not have CWM doing this, or a few other things that you may be used to having on rooted roms, but you will have the ability to do a lot more with your stock rom than what ASUS intended. The dev does give you a way to install CWM if you want to via APX, all wrapped up in the simplicity of running a file in .bat format.

Who knows? This being so much easier than the original root method may be a prelude to the awaited 1 click root method.
This is pure root kit for Asus Transformer.

It is only root but nothing else

After extract the package, turn off your TF.
Press volume up + power until it ask for install driver.
Install driver from usbpcdriver.
Your TF is on apx mode now.
root.bat (root the TF), after it is done.
If you don't need CWM, you can hold your power button for 10 sec to turn it off and turn it back on.

If you need CWM installed you have to run cwm.bat after root.bat.

After it is done, hold your power button for 10 sec to turn it off and turn it back on.
Please turn on the USB Debugging before run root_app.bat
root_app.bat will add superuser and su on your TF.

Download it here. Please leave some feedback for the dev if this method was useful.

AsusTransformer Root + CWM recovery

”

5. reboot (you now have root and can run root apps)

[Credits]

RaYmAn (phrasing, editing blobs, coding tools and Ideas)

Bumble-Bee (Editing GingerBreak, Building CWM recovery and Ideas)

Guhl (Compiling the new gingerbreak as bumblebee fail)

Stridger (Testing, Ideas, General Help, and more testing)

Roebeet, Ryan45, DJ_Steve (Spell and fact checking, input for ideas, general encouragement)

[Files]

CWM_BLOB_V4 (md5 = d6939fb6b6cfe06a02106f63c24268d0 )

Download the file pack here

CWM_BLOB_V5 (md5 = 8c9ef19b726e76fd73de4632db7e4288)

Thursday, 6 October 2011

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 Review

Specifications

Operating System: Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) Platform
Display: 10.1-inch WSVGA IPS capacitive multi touch display built with durable and scratch-resistant glass; 178° viewing angle(1280 x 800)
Chipset: NVIDIA^® Tegra^™ 2 Mobile Processor
Memory: 1GB DDR2
Wireless: 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth: Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR
Storage: 16GB eMMC Flash (Memory expansion via microSD card slot with support for optional cards up to 32 GB (functionality requires future software upgrade)
Camera: 1.2 megapixel (Front); 5.0 Megapixel (Rear)
Speakers: SRS Sound
Card Reader: Micro SD Card Reader
Input / Output: 1 x Mini HDMI, 2-in-1 audio jack (head phone/mic-in jack), internal mic
Battery Pack: 24.4 W/h Li-polymer battery (up to 9.5 hours)¹
Dimensions: 10.67" x 6.89" x 0.47" –inches (W x D x H)
Weight: 1.5lbs
Color: Espresso

(Read the original review here!)
I was lucky enough to wake up early today and go to Memory Express in Edmonton and they had one. Stores received a limited amount of tablets and they were all sold out within hours, including here on Amazon. I've been playing with this thing for hours now and so far I've only had great experiences with it.
The main feature for me is the remote desktop: you can access your PC, whether it's a Mac or a PC, if they're both connected to your home wi-fi connection. You can control your PC from anywhere and use all of its features. I watched a HD movie and worked on MS Word docs, everything went smoothly.
The tablet doesn't weigh much for its size and the IPS screen is amazing, it's the same screen used on the iPad 2. I'm not a person who needs to buy products made by just one brand. I like Apple and I own a iPhone 4, but when it came to deciding which tablet to buy, I went for the Transformer because it offers me a tablet/netbook function, the best of both worlds.
The tablet itself has a microSD card slot so I already have 32GB more to use it. The docking station (which can be purchased by 149.99) has 2 USB ports and 1 SD Card slot.
You can edit Microsoft Office docs on it using Polaris Office, it's great and this app comes pre-installed on it. Playing mp3s or acc files on it it's great too. You can use the app MyNet to play music from your own PC or Mac, via bluetooth.
I'm playing SNES games using SNESoid app and using a Wiimote/Classic Controller via Bluetooth and everything works great! It has native email (which Blackberry Playbook doesn't) and you can sync your calendar and contacts easily. It has full flash compatibility. For $399, there's nothing on the market with these specs. The Motorola Xoom has similar specs and it costs $200 more. It doesn't give you the option to attach a docking station with all those slots. When I buy computers, I want to be able to upload content to it easily, or transfer files from it easily as well. The Apple system is ok but needing iTunes for everything is kinda like a dictatorship. I had to jailbreak my iPhone to be able to play SNES games on it, or even listen to music on Grooveshark. That's where the Android Market comes in.
You can download any apps you want, any developer can create apps for it, it's a "free" system. It's not as wide as the App Store, but it's getting bigger and bigger by the minute. I downloaded the Kindle app and already transferred all my e-books to it (I also own a Kindleand I love it).
There are some quirks that have to be tweaked with Honeycomb 3.0 OS and that's something Google is working on. That's easy since updates will be released (an update is scheduled in 2 days). So that will improve the overall performance of the OS. But I honestly didn't have any issues with it, I really like Honeycomb 3.0 so far.
I definitely recommend this thing for people who want to use their tablets as an extension or even a replacement to their laptops. ASUS Eee Pad Transformerhas hit a home run with this one, since it costs much less than anybody else and its specs are great. It's hands down the best purchase I've had under 400 bucks.
The docking station is sold out anywhere else but I pre-ordered it on Amazon and I'm hoping to get it in a couple of weeks. I'll post a video with the combo once I get everything up and running. I'm a iOS person who's welcoming Android with open arms!
Review Update: Apr 29 2011 - Ok, so I've been using my Transformer for a few days so I'd like to add a few pros and cons to this review.
Pros: beside what's been mentioned above, I noticed that:
- multitasking is really easy on the Transformer: You can quickly jump from one app to the other, check e-mails, browse something on Wikipedia, listen to music and even have your Skype session open at the same time. I was chatting with my dad and multitasking and had no issues. The Skype app needs updates, but that's nothing to do with ASUS Eee Pad Transformer.
- File Manager: this feature is great! You don't have to hook up your Transformer to your computer all the time to move, copy or paste files. You can create new folders and even transfer files from your microSD card straight to it. I transferred a movie from my microsd Card folder (path is root\removable to access microSD files) to my Movies folder and it was very quick. And I didn't need to plug it in in order to access or move the files.
- Widgets: Your Desktop Area (Or Asus Launcher) is very wide so you can add many widgets to it, and they're very handy. That's something that can't be done on the iPad 2. Mind you Widgets can affect the speed a bit, but nothing noticeable at all. Those people running speed tests between iPad 2 and the Transformer need to bear that in mind.
- Weight: believe it or not, it doesn't feel heavy at all for its size.
Cons: ok, so here it is:
-smudges on screen : it's a fingerprint magnet but all tablets are, so not a big deal. I'm cleaning it whenever needed using a nice cloth (the one that I use for lenses) with a bit of water/alcohol and it looks pristine after that. Let me know if you find a better way to clean fingerprints.
It doesn't need wiping on a daily basis. I looked it up and for IPS screens, the best way to clean it is to use a mix of distilled water and alcohol, but I'm using tap water. I like this thing so much that I would buy another one tomorrow if something happened to it! (wait, maybe not tomorrow, it's still sold out everywhere)
-HD video playback in Fullscreen mode using the YouTube App: ok, this might be Honeycomb-related and therefore something that can be dealt with via future updates. You might notice a bit of choppy frames here and there. I find the iOS more stable for this type of playback. But there's no problems playing HD video from your microSD card or even if you upload a HD video to the Transformer hard drive, you won't have problems watching it. There's more than enough RAM to support HD video streaming.
-charger: I'm planning on using it all the time, so the cord is not long enough. If I have it on a desk, I need a power bar or outlet really close by, to leave it plugged in if I wanna save some battery. Well, tablet + docking gives you 16 hrs of battery... so you really don't have to have it plugged in. But this suggestion could be emailed to ASUS Eee Pad Transformer so they could release a charger with a longer cable, that would be sweet.
-Camera: not that great, it's an average camera. Am I gonna use it for super important pics? Definitely not, I got a nice camera for that. But for daily use, it's not too bad.
***UPDATE June 13*** - I've been using the TF for 6 weeks now, and I also have the keyboard dock, which I got 2 weeks ater getting the tab. I can safely say it has become my main "go to" device: web browsing, music, movies, games, word processing, reading books and comics, news, remote desktop, you name it. I still use my PC and my smartphone but not as much as I use the tablet.
- For people who wonder if light bleed gets worse as time goes by: I was lucky enough to get a unit with no light bleed other than a tiny spot (barely noticeable) on the left side of the tablet, and it's been the same since day 1. But compared to my friend's iPad, I can safely say mine has no light bleed whatsoever. Some of the newer batches got units with really bad lemons but I think this was due to ramping up the production like crazy. I heard they manufactured 300,000 units in June so I think they'll improve their quality control dept and make spanking sharp units now.
- Honeycomb 3.1: ASUS Eee Pad Transformer was one of the first ones to release the 3.1 update and it fixed the YouTube app HD video issue (at least on mine). I think 1080p is overkill on a 10.1 inch screen so the 720p HD on the YouTube app works like a charm. Playing movies straight out of a SD card or USB drive is easy and there's no lag either, so feel free to pack lots of multimedia and play straight out of them without having to use your device's internal memory.
Touchscreen is much more responsive, browser is faster, animations flow more smoothly, full gamepad compatibility via USB, better "relationship" between dock and tablet. What really bugged me about 3.0 was that when I used the dock a lot of features seems to be toggled on/off. That has never happened after 3.1. So, overall, the update fixed a whole bunch of bugs and made the experience even better.
- Wrapping it up: battery life is great, using the keyboard to type long texts is handy... and I was able to tether the TF to my iPhone via w-fi, so now it works as a 3G-like tab. I've done both bluetooth and wi-fi tethering. Wi-fi is faster but bluetooth saves battery life. I basically do it to use Google Maps and GPS, and it's been great so far. I know they're releasing a 3G Transformer in the summer, but I don't need one since I don't wanna pay more fees to my carrier, and sign another 1 year contract just for more data plan. I can use this as a 3G alternative whenever I need a bigger screen. It works with the iPhone and I know it does work with Android devices, but I'm not sure if works with Blackberry phones. Let me know if you wanna know more about tethering and I'll be glad to help.
6 weeks after purchasing the TF, I'm still very pleased with my device.

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer - File transfer on OSX and Linux

This article is for you who have issue with your Eee Pad Transformer (see also android file transfer linux). For some people with their OSX or Linux distros running on their tablet, this just has a problem while transferring files. But this does not occur for windows based tablet. This is due to the fact that MTP drivers by default which honeycomb now uses instead of USB Mass Storage protocol is only on Windows. So you can use the tablet, even if it is mounted on the PC internal storage.
Here the tools that you need:

Android file transfer for OSX:

link
This will give you a simple file transfer interface for OSX, just run the program with the tablet connected by USB.

gMTP for Ubuntu/Linux:

link
if gMTP doesn't work for you or if you prefer having storage show up in nautilus:
link
gMTP is actually made for managing music on PMP devices but it will let you manage files as well.
OK, hope I help you :)

Fix Left Speaker Balance ASUS Eee Pad Transformer

Unperfect. There are a slew problem at the first batch of ASUS Transformer speaker (Tablet PC). There have been glitches in Honeycomb, connectivity issues with the dock, and a few others. However, the one that stood out the most (or at least the one that people have complained about the most) is the issue where some Transformers have unbalanced audio coming from the speakers.
It seems that the sound coming out of one of the ASUS speakers was much lower than that of the other one, with some people even getting devices with one working speaker. This was thought to be a hardware issue in the device, but we can decided to start tinkering with the gadget for a while and not only discovered the real culprit. You will need to have your TF rooted and you will need to use ADB (root explorer can be used as well, according to the dev).

Requirements:

Root
Left speaker actually working
Root Explorer or similar file manager (recommended method)

ADB if you don't use Root ExplorerText editing program (Notepad++ is recommended and free) if you decide to use ADB

Method 1: Root Explorer

Open Root Explorer and navigate to /system/data.
Tap on the "Mount R/W" button.
Tap and hold on the file "srs_processing.cfg" and once the menu comes up, select the "Open in Text Editor" option.
Scroll down to:

//BLOCK: ( srs_spk_int : ) TruEQ - Internal Speaker Tuning

Here's where things can get kind of annoying, because you will have to change values, save & exit, then reboot and test your results. Anyway, there are 4 values you will want to focus on, and those are:

srs_spk_int:trueq_lband0 = 900.000000,-9.000000,0.700000 // TruEQ Left Band 0 Tuning (CF Gain Q) -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband1 = 11000.000000,6.000000,0.500000 // TruEQ Left Band 1 Tuning -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband2 = 400.000000,3.000000,0.7000000 // TruEQ Left Band 2 Tuning - srs_spk_int:trueq_lband3 = 2500.000000,-9.000000,0.700000 // TruEQ Left Band 3 Tuning -

The values in bold are the only ones I've messed with so far with very good results. The beginning values have a maximum of around 16000, and 17000 results in your left speaker not working, something above 16000 but below 17000 may work but I haven't tried it. The two middle ones, I don't know the maximum because It wasn't necessary to up them that much. For example, mine look like this:

srs_spk_int:trueq_lband0 = 1400.000000,-9.000000,0.700000 // TruEQ Left Band 0 Tuning (CF Gain Q) -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband1 = 16000.000000,10.000000,0.500000 // TruEQ Left Band 1 Tuning -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband2 = 900.000000,7.000000,0.7000000 // TruEQ Left Band 2 Tuning -srs_spk_int:trueq_lband3 = 7500.000000,-9.000000,0.700000 // TruEQ Left Band 3 Tuning -

For me, this works out wonderfully! However, results may vary.

Once you've changed those values, save & exit, then restart your TF and examine results. Repeat steps if necessary.

Method 2: ADB. NOTE: Make sure USB debugging is enabled.

Connect TF to computer.
In a command prompt/terminal navigate to where your Android SDK is and type adb devices to make sure your TF is recognized, if so, type adb remount. If it succeeds, proceed to step 3, otherwise you may need to either enable USB debugging, or install drivers.
Type "adb pull /system/data/srs_processing.cfg" It will save the file in the same directory as adb.

NOTE: Do not close command prompt/terminal.

Step 4: Open "srs_processing.cfg" in Notepad++ or whatever qualified text editor you use.
NOTE: Due to the nature of how Windows reads files, Notepad might not save the file correctly and definitely will not open it looking pretty. Wordpad might be the same. Basically, the file needs to be saved in UNIX format.
Scroll up to Step 4 of the Root Explorer method and proceed.
Save the file with Notepad++ or whatever qualified text editor you use.
Back in command prompt/terminal, with the file saved over the original type "adb push srs_processing.cfg /system/data/"
Reboot your TF as you normally would, or with adb method "adb reboot"

Examine results and repeat steps if necessary.

Update1:

srs_spk_int:trueq_lband2 = 400.000000,3.000000,0.7000000 // TruEQ Left Band 2 Tuning -

I've updated the default file as well as my edited one to remove this extra 0. While this did boost volume in the left speaker for me, it still was not on par with the right one.

Update 2:

Verkion suggests "turn off the Hard Limiting in the Internal Speaker Boosted section by setting:hlimit_skip to 0 instead of 1. This gave me a little more "headroom" before distortion became unbearable. A hard limiter is a CLIPPING filter...it just "snips the sound" when it goes over a preset value instead of trying to "scale down the volume.""

Asus Transformer Speaker | Asus Eee Transformer | Tablet Asus Transformer

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