Review: Asus Eee Pad Slider

Versatile and gutsy hybrid tablet and netbook

The Asus Eee Pad Slider SL101 is the second of Asus' ground-breaking netbook/tablet hybrid to hit the UK, the first being the superb Transformer.

The Slider, above, initially launched with version 3.1 of Android in mid-August, but was updated with a minor point release - v3.2.1 - in September.

The 3.2.1 update has a new application called SuperNote, bug fixes, improved language translation, Wi-Fi improvements, better browser and Adobe Flash performance, as well as Polaris office and Asus WebStorage application updates.

The Slider comes in two versions: the 16GB SSD model costs £429.99, while the 32GB model costs £479.99.

The Slider can be used as a tablet, but the touch screen can be slid up to reveal a keyboard, which although small is eminently usable, except maybe for people with large fingers.

In use
We reviewed the 16GB SSD version, and since this was a review model, the first thing we did was carry out a factory reset to clear away any old user data and settings, and also to check how easy it was to set the Slider up.

The reset takes two minutes after which users are taken through a short set-up procedure, prompting for language, time zone, and determining if users want to attach to Wi-Fi networks now or later. If you skip the Wi-Fi configuration the set-up takes three minutes.

We found that the Slider booted up in 18 seconds and shut down in just eight seconds.

The initial desktop screen will be familiar to devotees of Asus' earlier Android tablet, the Transformer, showing as it does location, weather and the your tally of unread emails.

In the top right-hand corner of the desktop is the icon for showing all the applications currently installed on the Slider [see picture].

The desktop itself is split into five screens that users can flip between by swiping their finger across the screen to reveal another screen.

All five screens can be viewed as thumbnails and accessed using the ‘+' icon in the top right hand corner next to the 'Apps' icon.

Review: Asus Eee Pad Slider

Versatile and gutsy hybrid tablet and netbook

So how easy is the Slider to use compared with the Transformer?

Unlike the Transformer, the base unit of the Slider does not detach from the touch screen. Just slide the screen over the keyboard and the Slider becomes a tablet – albeit a thick one.

The way the base unit connects to the tablet screen looks quite flimsy, and we suspect if dropped the screen would easily separate were it not for the ribbon cable connecting the screen to the base unit.

We found the Slider's keyboard easy to use but those with large fingers may find using it a frustrating experience. Users might also have a problem selecting text using the touch screen on web sites with small text, but you can solve that problem by zooming in and out using two fingers on the touch screen.

The other solution is to clip a USB mouse into the USB 2 port at the side, although that does stop you plugging in USB Flash memory sticks since that's the only USB slot.

As for applications, the Slider has the Polaris Office v3.0 productivity suite, an easy-to-use mobile office productivity package. Polaris is read-compatible with Office 2007 .docx documents and Office 2010 document formats, but you can't save in those formats, only the MS Office 2003 format.

The browser is the standard Android browser, but users can install other browsers, such as Dolphin, Firefox, Opera or SkyFire.

There's also a year's free subscription to unlimited online storage through the Asus WebStorage system, accessed through the MyCloud app on the Slider.

The included MyNet app allows media content to be streamed to Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)-capable devices. DLNA is a Sony-established trade body responsible for promoting interoperability between devices for sharing digital media. You could stream video to a DLNA-enabled TV, for example.

All the Wi-Fi connections we tried to connect to worked straight away, even our residential wireless router, which for some reason we could not connect to with the Asus Transformer we reviewed in June.

When the Slider is being used as a tablet the sound is muffled, but the high-resolution camera on the underside is easier to use than when the keyboard is slid out.

Review: Asus Eee Pad Slider

Versatile and gutsy hybrid tablet and netbook

Specifications
The Slider weighs in at 960g with dimensions of 273 x 180.3 x 17.3 mm when closed, and like the Transformer has excellent build quality.

The device has a 10.1in LED-backlit 1280 x 800 WXGA screen, with glossy scratch-resistant (gorilla) glass.

In fact the hardware specs are similar to the Asus Eee Pad Transformer launched several months earlier: the same processor runs on the Slider – a 1GHz nVidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor with 1GB of system memory – and it has an on-board eight-core graphics processor to run the LED-backlit screen.

The battery is the same as that incorporated in the Transformer’s tablet screen – a lithium polymer battery rated at 25Wh.

Wireless connectivity is through an 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz connection and there is also Bluetooth v2.1 with enhanced data rate (EDR).

The cameras are again the same as those on the Transformer, with a 5-megapixel camera underneath the Slider’s main body, and a 1.2-megapixel camera on the front.

There is a single USB 2.0 port next to a standard audio jack (which doubles as a headphone and mic-in socket) on the left-hand side of the Slider, while the right-hand side has the micro SD card slot, the audio volume control and the on/off switch.

At the back is the connection to the AC adaptor and a mini-HDMI interface for attaching to high-resolution displays and TVs.

Battery life
Battery life using the Slider will vary according to what the Slider is being used for. Light use, such as checking emails, could see a nine-hour lifetime [see picture].

However, intense usage, such as watching video content, will reduce this lifetime significantly.

In our tests the display and Wi-Fi connection used the most battery power.

Charging the system from zero took just under three hours, when the system was in use. When powered down but still connected to the charger we found little difference in the charging time, certainly no more than 10 minutes.

Conclusions
The Asus Eee Pad Slider SL101 is a very good system, offering a fine combination of portability and ease of use. A nine hour battery life with light usage, USB and micro SD card connections and that slide-out keyboard mean Asus has included another worthly tablet option in its inventory.