Asus has confirmed that the Transformer Prime is suffering from random system reboots. This is not the first bug the Prime has had since its launch. Previous issues included poor GPS signal acquisition and also stock shortages.

However, it appears that the issue is not a widespread one. From all accounts on Twitter and Facebook, most of the questions that have arisen are when the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade would be available. To that, Asus has responded that the upgrade should be ready by the end of this month.

These sorts of issues seem to be par for the course these days as manufacturers feel the pressure of rushing products off the line. When the competition is as fierce as it is in the tablet and laptop market, the pressure is even more immense. Just do a quick search on Google and you will find any number of complaints, forums, and official press releases on the initial bugs of almost any laptop or tablet. Not even the iPad 2 is immune to the bug infestation.

Transformer Prime: The Beginning of the Hybrid

The Transformer Prime is not the first tablet-laptop type hybrid, but it marks a new direction in tablet design and philosophy. As successful as tablets have been since the release of the first iPad, it is clear that there is still many areas where tablets fall short when compared with their laptop big brothers. Whether it’s the proverbial Adobe Flash incompatibility issues that the iPad has (which will unlikely be resolved), or the limited scope of the various Android Oss, there are things that a tablet simply cannot do.

Perhaps tablet manufacturers are okay with this because they understand that these devices serve a different purpose. The trouble is that consumers have not fully gotten behind this philosophy. The tablet has undoubtedly created a new niche in the market. And while they initially captured the imagination of the public, some of the “awe effect” has worn off and consumers are now wanting a little more from their tablets. Some of these desires will surely be met when the new Windows 8 tablets and laptops hit the market sometime this year.

For now, the Transformer Prime ‘hybrid’ is an excellent step in the right direction. The Prime boasts an Android 3.2 Honeycomb (soon to be upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich), NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, the standard 32GB/64GB EMMC (plus 8GB lifetime ASUS WebStorage), 802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, a rear 8MP camera and 1.2MP front camera for video conferencing, 10. 1” LED backlit Gorilla Glass screen with Super IPS+ (1280 x 800), as well as slots for Micro HMDI, SD card, and USB 2.0. Were that not enough, it also provides up to 18 hours of battery life.

Like the winged steed for which Asus is named after, their little Transformer Prime is sure to take flight.

Ultrabooks:  The New Generation of Laptops 

They say you can never be too rich or too thin. It’s an adage that’s as true today as it ever was, particularly the thin part, and especially when you’re talking about computing devices.  Case in point:  the super thin, unbelievably light and high performing ultrabook—one of the year’s most talked about computer products and a much anticipated highlight of the Consumer Electronics Show starting tomorrow in Las Vegas.

Giving the People What They Want

The ultrabook is the result of a seven-year effort by Intel to develop a computing device that delivered all the features consumers were asking for. Research showed that users wanted technology that allowed them to do all the things they could do on a larger device, but with the portability of a smaller laptop. And they wanted to do that easily and comfortably, with a keyboard they could really type on and a screen they could really see.

They also wanted a battery that lasted longer than the movie they were watching; quick response times; and security that ensured the safety of their private information.  And they wanted all of this wrapped tight in one lightweight, sleek and attractive package.

And in 2011, combining the best of the notebook and the tablet, the ultrabook was born.

Ultrabooks are what some are calling the PC industry’s answer to the Apple’s MacBook Air.  As for Intel, stringent criteria must be met before it will call any device an ultrabook.  It can weigh no more than 3.1 pounds, be no more than 0.71 inches thick, and provide five or more hours of battery life. It must also have flash-based storage, and incorporate Intel ® Rapid Start Technology for lightning fast boot times, providing users with ultra quick access to their data and applications.

Intel’s “Game Changer”

Intel unveiled the ultrabook in May 2011. The company called it a game-changer, bringing together the power of laptops and the convenience and power efficiency of tablets. According to Intel, ultrabooks are expected to make up 40 per cent of the consumer-PC market by the end of 2012.

Some say this is a highly ambitious prediction—the company sold only one million ultrabooks worldwide last year. But the firm continues to hold fast to its ultrabook sales projections for 2015, which assume a 342 per cent annual growth rate.

Again, some say it’s a highly ambitious forecast, especially when you consider that the entire PC market is projected to grow less than five per cent. Time will tell if we see these predictions come to fruition.

See It Tomorrow

What you can be sure to see is a whole lot more excitement about the ultrabook; much of it starting tomorrow at the Consumer Electronics Show. While some companies’ devices have already hit the market, other companies, including Dell, are expected to introduce models in Las Vegas.  In fact, you can expect to see 30 to 50 ultrabook models from Dell, HP, Toshiba, Acer, Asus and Lenovo.  A few of these already have ultrabooks in their catalogue of shipping products.

The general consensus among most analysts is that the ultrabook category has some staying power. For the most part, consumers are hungry for what Intel is promising: an emerging breed of no-compromise computers that will increasingly combine best-in-class performance, improved responsiveness and battery life, and built-in thin, elegant, must-have mobile design.

But most also agree that the device’s success may be determined by its price tag–many of next year’s ultrabooks will be in the $1,000 to $1,200 range, perhaps limiting their appeal to mainstream, price-conscious consumers. However, it’s also possible that the price could eventually come down, particularly in light of Intel’s $300 million investment in a fund to help lower the cost of the components that go into making the device ultra thin and ultra lightweight.

Will the ultrabook be ultra-successful?  Stay tuned.

And tune in right here tomorrow for a closer look at some of the ultrabook models that will be featured at this year’s Consumer Electronic Show.

It was just a matter of time before it dawned on someone to build a program that would speed up and repair old slow laptops and this seems to be the case with the a new software application called laptop toolbox.  (www.laptoptoolbox.com)   In a crowded marketplace of repair applications, the special requirements of laptops seemed to have gone by the wayside as most programs are designed to only concentrate on the operating system of a windows based computer.

The problem is, laptops being complete self contained have special needs when it comes to programs that are designed to diagnose and repair operating issues.   With everything built in – the problems can be much more complex then those of a standard desk top pc.

In many cases, slow laptops and notebooks can be tracked back to problems with the registry.  Essentially what happens is that over time all the settings get changed and the computer gets farther and farther away from optimal settings.   It doesn’t take much for a computer to get off track – one incorrect change to the registry and your laptop can crawl to a standstill.   This is why even a brand new laptop can suddenly start acting up.    The only real way to fix this problem is to use an after market diagnostic tool to reset all the registry values to their optimized settings.

When we tested the Laptop toolbox on two separate laptops we had long since retired here at the office – we we’re pleasantly surprised at the significant improvement in how they operated.   Boot up speeds were dramatically improved as was page loads via Internet Explorer.    The program is free to download and will perform a complete diagnostic check of your laptop for any problems.    Their website is www.laptoptoolbox.com.

Asus’s release of the Eee PC 1225B in 2012 is a good sign that netbooks will not be going the way of the Tucker Sedan. Netbook sales have taken a huge hit from the influx of tablets into the market. But Asus, at least, still believes there is a need for their portable computing devices. Indeed, with the cost and limitation of many tablets, netbooks offer something a little different.

The Eee PC 1225B has upped the ante on previous models with up to 4GB DDR3 RAM and a hard drive in the range of 320 to 750 GB. It totes AMD’s dual-core 1.65GHz E450 APU, an 11.6-inch (1366×768) display, VGA and HDMI outputs, USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, optional Bluetooth V3.0+HS, and perhaps best of all, up to 7 hours of battery life (depending on configurations). It’s not an ultrabook, but at its rumored price of approximately $455, it offers a lot of computational power at a much-more accessible price.

At present, tablets still have many limitations that sustain the need for portable devices like the netbook. Tablets may be the way of future, but they have ground to cover. And maybe the battle over Flash is over. However, tablets still have to address the real issue: being able to use the device as a fully-functioning PC.

Apple’s flashy iPad commercials aside, most people have little use for their tablets beyond the customary internet browsing or playing a game with some angry birds. This is where netbooks still bridge that gap between the desktop and the laptop. Netbooks are here to stay—at least for now.

Amazon Germany has posted a product page for the Asus Eee Pad Slider Android tablet. The retailer hasn’t started taking pre-orders and there is no word on pricing either. However, customers can register now if they want to be notified by email when the tablet becomes available.

The Asus Eee Pad Slider has a 10.1 inch capacitive multitouch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It has the same basic specification as the Eee Pad Transformer. Both tablets run Android 3.0 Honeycomb operatins system and have a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. But while the Eee Pad Transformer has a detachable keyboard, the Eee Pad Slider sports a slide-out keyboard that hides behind the display when you are not using it. Unlike the Transformer which can be bought with or without the keyboard, the Slider comes standard with its keyboard.