Online retailer Clove has pulled the Asus Transformer Prime from its digital shelves due to apparent doubts over the tablet's Wi-Fi and GPS, but Asus remains adamant the Prime has undergone "rigorous testing" and is fine and dandy.
The Prime may have been one of the few iPad rivals to genuinely offer any excitement, with its handy detachable keyboard, but it's been plagued with reported bugs. Clove is the first to pull the device from its shelves, however.
"We are at this time not satisfied that all units we could provide you with are working correctly, and performing to the standard we expect," Clove says on its blog. "We have therefore taken the decision until further notice to stop selling the Asus Transformer Prime."
Asus has so far been quite adamant that the Wi-Fi issues don't affect the UK version of the quad-core tablet-cum-laptop, but the GPS issue was such that Asus pushed out a software update that was supposed to fix the problems -- although the jury is still out on whether it really has solved it.
Speaking to CNET UK, Asus said, "We have conducted extensive testing on the Transformer Prime in laboratory conditions and the device is performing as expected in all areas.
"Asus prides itself on the rigorous testing of all products to ensure the highest quality possible. We refute any and all claims from third parties regarding the quality of our products." Take that, Clove.
The fact that Asus unveiled an updated model at CES in January that offered an "improved case", before the Prime was even on sale, suggests some issues were known and have been addressed in the physical design of the update.
Clove hasn't ruled out the Prime permanently, but suggests it will continue selling it once it's sure it's not defective. Orders are still open on Currys and Dixons, so we can't take this as proof that the Prime is genuinely faulty.
In our own extensive review we didn't find any problems with either the Wi-Fi or the GPS, so it's possible that if these faults do exist, they aren't on all devices. Still, with all these potential issues floating around -- and the updated model coming sometime later in the year -- we wouldn't blame you for thinking twice about dropping half a grand on one.
We'll be keeping a beady eye on the situation to see if Clove's move prompts other retailers to follow suit or whether the problems have been blown out of proportion.
What do you think of the situation? Did you have a pre-order with Clove? Is all this hoo-hah putting you off spending your cash? Let us know in the comments below, or over on our official Facebook page. If your Wi-Fi lets you.
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Comments 15
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anonymous 1 February, 2012 21:49
This is just getting ridiculous, I mean for one technology isn't perfect and there are bugs in any type of software. I own the Prime and it has worked great for me, no complaints here. People always look for ways to shun any product that isn't Apple and I have owned Apple products and while they are good they are far from perfect as well. Within the first few days of my wife getting an Ipad2 it would freeze up on here and she had to restart it, don't here anything about the Ipad getting pulled. Don't hesitate in the Prime, its faster then some laptops and it works beautifully and is tons of fun, just buy it and you won't regret it.
anonymous 1 February, 2012 21:53
hi, been reading loads of reviews etc regarding the prime and was lucky enough to get one pretty early on(12 jan)and even luckier to get my money back(26 jan)the problem was wifi it would only connect whilst in the same room as my router,once i started moving from room to room it lost all internet connection,something that my phone and laptop never did.but the actual tablet and dock itself look and feel amazing just a real shame about these odd few problems but which are fairly major ones to ignore.
anonymous 1 February, 2012 21:54
Returned my Prime to Amazon for WiFi Issues. So someone is not telling the truth!
anonymous 1 February, 2012 23:38
It seems that the first batch or so was defective. I bought one at JB HiFI in Australia and it works beautifully . WiFi is active throughout the house and GPS works fine as well.
anonymous 1 February, 2012 23:52
I just ordered one of these things and I must say that the persistent hum of negative buzz is not making me warm and fuzzy about the purchase. I can just say I will be watching the two major areas (wi-fi and gps) and if there is any indication they are not up to par, it goes back to Amazon.
It's too bad, too, since I was looking forward to this.
anonymous 2 February, 2012 00:04
I bought a tra.nsformer prime from best but and i have to say its great, but after having it for three days i could deal with the wifi problems, while being in the same room with a router the signal was perfect it but when going one room over problems arose and the signal would drop to half, when going up a level from the router web browsing wasnt impossible but was EXTREMELY slow and wasnt worth it. I love this tablet above all other with ipad falling right behind if i had to choose another, i just couldnt pay 500 dollars for something that i cant use one floor level away from my router. Ill wait till asus makes another model with less wifi issues or till i know there is a fix in which ever way it comes.
anonymous 2 February, 2012 06:07
The Apple fanboys are really effective when they get jealous. They know how to spread faulty rumors. I have a Prime and the wifi is way better than the wifi on my laptop. The gps works jusy like my phone does. I know since it is wifi only you have to pre load gps maps for it to run navigation when not in wifi range, which and ipad can't even do since google maps is not integrated like Android. The Prime is terrific. The ICS upgrade went fine, but there are a couple apps that did not adapt well to ICS, but I expect them to update themselves. The tablet runs way faster and much more efficiently than a windows laptop, so all these rumors are bs.
olivierm 2 February, 2012 14:35
Asus has definitely lost the PR battle on this one. Some bloggers should write a "how not to launch a product". It's bad in absolute terms but when trying to compete with Apple at the moment it's lethal.
anonymous 2 February, 2012 17:30
What a load of old tripe. I have a prime and I'm typing on it right now I love it. The wifi is much better than expected tbh. I researched the product extensively before buying as i am not going to part with that much moneywithout being 100%. The general consensus is definitely positive. Maybe a hate campaign? I don't know. But I am sure that the Prime is by far the best tablet i've ever seen.
anonymous 3 February, 2012 08:20
Have no worries you prospecttive buyers. Arrived this week through Carphone Warehouse - good price so accepted the risk of going on backorder but their service was brilliant (very surprised and I eat a large portion of humble pie), arrived earlier than they predicted and they even rang to keep me in touch.
WiFi and GPS? No problems at all. Brilliant piece of kit, get in there.
NineToTheSky 4 February, 2012 16:55
Clove has not sold any Primes, so it isn't a question of 'withdrawing it'. As they refuse to announce the results of their 'tests', I'm not convinced that they have ever had any, and that this isn't just sour grapes. This isn't to deny that the Prime does have problems; but not all of them do.
anonymous 4 February, 2012 21:58
I am just getting used to my prime being an old windows user. It's very strange I am happy with the wifi as use it on the beach, some 50 metres away from the commercial router and it performs ok. But if I switch the wifi off and try the gps it finds nothing. I don't need the gps but as I said it's strange that different primes are doing different things. Must be time for asus to do a survey and get their act together.
Still love it though
anonymous 9 February, 2012 00:27
i really wanted to buy prime ASAP...but confused!!..what shall i do??
NineToTheSky 9 February, 2012 18:47
My Prime is faultless; most are. Get one: it's great!
anonymous 13 February, 2012 18:24
Is this worth me spending my cash on? im realy starting to dowt it?