Unofficial by Official ASUS Thread - Product Updates

Good Day,

I am starting this thread to provide general updates and information on current or future products. In addition, at times I will address rumors where applicable.

Request-
1. I travel a lot, especially this time of year as there are numerous events. In addition I am also responsible for notebooks, netbooks, desktops, monitors, networking, audio, motherboards and video cards as part of the Technical Marketing umbrella so the majority of time I spend on forums and assisting users has to be segmented and is usually on my personal time. Having a family also interferes with my personal time as do 14-hour flights.
2. As such, when sending Private Messages please include a contact email address and the serial number of the unit. It will greatly assist me in ensuring that return contact is quicker and less obtrusive.
3. In the very near future, there will be additional ASUS technical support on this site and other Android centric sites for our Tablet products. Obviously this is an extremely important service for our valued customers and the direct feedback allows us to further improve the products.

Items- 3/8/2012
1. For users with the WiFi/BT dropout problem we expect additional materials or replacement units in stock at the repair depots by 3/12. We apologize for some of the lengthy waits a few customers had to endure but it will be solved shortly.
2. As to the rumors of a hardware fix for WiFi/BT dropouts, the actual fix is just ensuring that the hardware utilized in current units is performing to tested standards. Basically to ensure this level of compliance we are replacing components within the WiFi subsystem on an as needed basis and then testing the units before shipment.
3. I am still responding to messages sent during my last two events at the end of February and beginning of March. I should be current by the weekend.
4. I will have some exciting news in about two weeks on the TF201.
5. Expect to see a .16 or later release in the near future with further tweaks and updates.


Rumors - 3/8/2012
1. As to various rumors or threads about every unit having a problem, the numbers indicate otherwise as evidenced in the CNET article and an upcoming followup. While not dismissing there have been some problems, the return/repair rates are no greater than other competing products based on current data and are actually lower than several. I am not going to defend us 100% as like with all manufacturers we have areas of improvement.
2. That being said, I want to discuss a certain population of users who complain about multiple unit problems or seem to have every problem that is discussed in a forum.
a. Of these problem repeat users, around 71% (varies on a monthly basis) never responded to direct communication attempts.
b. Of the remaining users (around 30%), we directly assisted 9% of these users and confirmed actual unit problems. Of the remaining 20% or so, we could not verify all of the problems reported (multiple units, service, returns). However, I would like to give two examples that generally mimic a lot of this 20% contact.

2a- User reported in the forums and private messages purchasing and returning 5+ units, all of which had various problems. Actual purchase history indicated only 3 units purchased and for each purchase the user called for an RMA number, was granted an RMA number that day, and yet returned the unit the next day to the retailer and purchased another unit and then cycled the same process for the next two units. This user also has a repeat history of doing this process for other items including notebooks over the past couple of years and then claiming to receive a new product after said complaints. We tracked down one problem unit based on purchase/serial number history and guess what, no problems discovered and in fact the GPS works wonderfully on this unit as I sit here testing it. As to the other two units, we will locate and test those also.
2b - Users posted numerous times about a multitude of problems and yet would not return the unit for an RMA or replacement and instead offered to quit "*****ing" in the forums if we would provide a free unit, replacement unit or upgrade. We still do not know if said user or users actually owns a unit or not. (note - had this situation play out several times with users in this forum and other forums)
2c - Total number of users we tried to assist reporting multiple TF201 problems - 43. I will leave the math up to you.

Also be aware that some companies will instruct personnel to post problems, complain about products or services and generally ensure some type of problem is mentioned numerous times while pimping their own products in forums. In addition, also be aware that legal representation from firms or users looking for a quick handout or settlement might be doing the same. I know several PMs I have received looked exactly like a legal beagle wrote the questions expecting a response that can be used in trial, especially once you run the message through heuristics. Of course, I could be incorrect and those questions were from extremely articulate individuals with product law knowledge that I apologize to for not answering the questions in requested detail.

As I stated before, I am not excusing any problems actually experienced due to a manufacturing defect or service issue. We certainly can and will improve but based on the hard numbers, what I am seeing is in alignment with most electronics and for the "A" users posting here, just do a search for WiFi, Screen bleed or lockup problems at their forum. This launch has been a humbling process in several areas, we fully recognize it and will improve our services and responses as quickly as possible.

At the same time, the amount of effort we expend tracking down false or misleading reports only serves to disrupt services to valued customers. I know this is part of doing business but it does not make it right. Just my personal opinion.

3/9/2012 Update:
General Comments-
1. Thank you to any members contacting me and including their serial number and email address, it really helps as I now receive email notifications directly once a PM is generated. It will cut down on the time required to respond and allow me access to requests regardless of travel or event schedules. I have one last request, please ensure the email address provided is current and working. About 25% of the email addresses provided yesterday bounced back. I think we cleared all of those up by this morning.
2. I will be working with our North American Service and Customer Care group shortly to train individuals to assist in tracking forum problems (product or service), product suggestions and in providing consistent information to our valued customers in this forum and others. Once we roll this out I will make an introduction to the new team members and contact instructions. I will still be available but will concentrate more on product trends and technical aspects of the hardware and software as this is my primary job responsibility. Of course, if you into a roadblock feel free to contact me.
3. Even though I am North American centric, I am still assisting international users at the moment. Hopefully, those users who contacted me over the past two weeks have been contacted by a regional rep today. If not, probably no later than Monday. In the meantime, the same requests I have asked of our Customer Care group for direct forum support in North America has also been requested of our other regions.
4. I apologize for any delays over the past couple of weeks and I should be current by Sunday night.

Product Comments-
1. Speaking of trends, I have noticed a pattern in several messages over the last couple of weeks with people complaining about slight pauses, hitches or browser closures. One item that seems to be a common thread in most of the messages is that the user recently downloaded the Chrome Beta. I will start a separate thread on this after I speak with Google/Nvidia on Monday. However, if you are up for wasting a few minutes and have these symptoms, please uninstall Chrome, reboot, uninstall Flash, reinstall Flash and see if the native browser works any better along with general system responsiveness.

3/20/21012 Update -

1. I will be back to the forums on 3/22/2012.
2. We will have a major ICS update (.19) arriving shortly (might be .20 now).
3. We will have a major announcement on the TF201 in the near future.
4. We will have dedicated forum assistance starting in the near future.

3/22/2012 Update -
1. I am back for the next few days. I will get caught up on messages and updates shortly.
2. The next firmware update is in qualification testing now. We are also working on solving some flickering problems reported by a few users and hopefully that will be addressed in this next release.
3. The announcements on the TF201 (not being canceled as speculated) will occur as soon as I have a release to do it.
4. Full time forum support at a few Android centric sites will be launched in the near future as discussed.


3/26/2012 Update
1. Firmware Update 9.4.2.21 will be released by 3/30 for North America. Updates and fixes galore for the lack of better words.

3/29/2012 Update -
I hope to announce some TF201 updates in the near future. We are finishing testing and should be able to discuss the update shortly.

4/2/2012 Update -

Still working on the details regarding the announcement and once finalized it will be released as quickly as possible. In addition, I have gathered additional details from a few users who are seeing locks or weirdness after playing a Tegra 3 optimized game after a few hours. I will be in California next week to work with NVIDIA and Google on this problem and browser slowness or closure that a few users have also reported.

4/5/2012 Update -

I guess the cat is out of the bag in regards to the planned announcement discussed above. I cannot comment officially at this point but will provide a detailed update once released to do so. In addition, if you PM me, please include an email address for contact within your message. It will greatly facilitate receiving an answer.

4/9/2012 Update -

I am in California this week to meet with Google, NVIDIA and others on current software packages and upcoming products so there will be some delays in messages. As for the GPS Dongle program on the TF201, we will make an official announcement (program details and registration) next week.

4/20/2102 Update -
Please contact me if you are a North American owner and have any issues with the GPS dongle. To date, testing has proved successful on a wide variety of units but we want to ensure a pleasant user experience. Also, working on validation testing on a new firmware image now.

4/27/2012 Update -
We are still validating a new firmware release. We are also tracking user reported issues with Tegra 3 games, WiFi Direct and some continued random reboot/lock problems with a few units. Based on current regression testing at HQ, NVIDIA and Google it appears we will need to swap out a few units to pinpoint exact user problems. For the unlocked audience, we have requested a version of NVFlash that works properly for users who unlocked their units.

5/3/2012 Update -

We have new NV base code that is undergoing validation testing now. I will released this firmware to a few beta users in the near future. It addresses random reboot/lock problems among a few other items. In addition, we are still working with NV and Google on code changes to address browser issues once multiple browsers are installed and Flash is not uninstalled and reinstalled again after a cold reboot.

5/9/2012 Update -

I have been out with pneumonia but will have messages forwarded to the Customer Care Team.

5/10/2012 Update -
I will provide test build 9.4.2.25.2 to a few power users tomorrow that addresses ANR problems identified with NVIDIA and Google. If this tests out fine, we will release as general beta to a wider group and then qualification release for users. Various browsers use different WebKit versions and thread priorities, which create some of the problems users with multiple browsers have been experiencing and even with other applications.

junrider said:

Why whats wrong with the current one? Wierd how Japan is on the .17 and the US is still on .15 and the next one is .19 or .20. Could there be possible difference in hardware amongst the different region?

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I'd say things like language prompts in Android, and Kanji support, and PAL that Japan uses for Video may have something to do with it.

---------- Post added at 12:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:26 PM ----------

bluefoam said:

While the post is written in a very authoritative tone and seems on the surface to be quite reasoned. The figures make no sense whatsoever. $1m to retool a back cover - ha ha. I am often amused by the uneducated drivel that is spouted on this site regularly!

While there are costs associated with retooling the back cover for the Prime, the problems relate more to marketing and distribution. What they would do by releasing a redesigned Prime is to create a two tier product line... Those with the current model would want the new back plate etc... & it would create an unworkable situation. They are better off to deplete current stock & to phase out the Prime & replace it with a new model - as it appears they are eventually going to do with the TP700 & TP300.

I already see posts here from people who bought C2 Primes and are disappointed now that they have discovered that the latest release is C3. I have noticed a number of posts stating that they are returning their C2's in order to get C3's, even though they don't speak of any significant problems they are having with their current device... They just want the latest model - this reaction would be exasperated by releasing a new TP model with the same components but a new shell.

I find it genuinely amusing that users here actually expect Asus to give them a $100 voucher for a TP700, just because they bought a Prime - or that Asus will incur the cost of recalling every single Prime to put a new back cover on it... The cost would be incredible & makes no sense from a logical or business point of view. But it doesn't stop people on here getting hyped up by silly rumors that have no basis in reality. There are going to be allot of posts on the forum giving out when they discover that Asus have a more realistic approach to the imminent update...

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+1

I've been watching it all and don't get a lot of things here.
1) I have a problem
There is already 50 threads on the same issues. Read them, don't make another.

2) How awesome it is
There is already 50 threads on the same issues, Read Them, don't make another

3) You don't have a clue what ASUS will be doing, announcing, etc...
Thats the truth. Get over it and wait until they announce it.
Your a genius marketing guru.. so what, you don't work for ASUS and unless your sleeping with a board member, it's just a guess.

4) Gary is a xxx
Face it, you have someone from the manufacturer here who is actually reading your posts (or at least he was).
Send him a pm if you want to whine about your specific issue - refer to #1 and #2 above for everything else.
Be happy you get any info, be it marketing slime, or real insight.
The alternative is Motorola or Microsoft.
You think they give a rats behind what you say in a forum? Think about it.

Until recently, ASUS wasn't even in the tablet market so this is new territory for them. They are basically a harware card manufacturer gone device retail. They have issues with handling things in a timely manner. Understand it or just get a refund and move on.

5) If you don't like your TFP so bad-
Don't return it 4 times and ***** about it. Send it back and go get a hello kitty tablet.
Nobody is twisting your arm to keep getting the same product you obviously think is so flawed.
Your not contributing.


Dam I have been on XDA lurking for years then a member for last 4 or so years and never saw a forum with this much whining and totally non constructive conversations.

One issue regarding supply could be that the assembler of the TFP was pegatron (AFAIR) who were then told by a certain company with a fruit logo that it "might be in their best business interests) if they concentrated on producing goods for said fruity company as that way they would be fully concentrated on said fruity company and Asus were then forced to use another company who assembled other goods for them. This would obviously cause a glitch in supply chain if it happened at short notice.

One of the reasons that this thread being so long is that peeps post provocative stuff on it for their own reasons (believe it or not, there are some XDA members who spam(for want of a better word) their views and experiences whether or not they are relevant to the thread. I have felt like responding to some but have not bothered as it then gives the opportunities for flame wars.

This is a thread in which an official representative from Asus is posting and trying to improve OUR experiences by offering a level of support that I have rarely seen in this field and what do we get....Childish posters insulting him, his company and his colleagues posting about issues that have been repeated in many places in this and other forums. Does anybody stop and think "How do I want to be treated ?" before they use inflammatory language about him or the company he represents. He has already stated that his work on this forum eats into his personal life and yet we still get peeps posting insulting comments.

I can live with other threads in this forum being *****y but I would ask the mods to at least wield the sword of moderation on these "official threads" in which Gary has started to seek information and pass information through as part of a process of his company reacting and trying to be pro-active with problems.

Peeps seem quick to forget that not only is this device using a cutting edge processor, but it is also one of the first devices to use a new version of the operating system and Asus have been a heck of a lot better at responding to issues than a lot of companies.

Rant over and if peeps feel the need to respond, why don't you open up a new thread called *****ing or something like that (feel free to message me and I will happily join you in that discussion)and carry on the petty crap there and keep the "official threads" for what they should be!!

Andy

I dont get you people^^ Asus sends someone to talk to us and give us help and updates. That alone is awesome, dont you think? Still there is so much bashing going on.. I just dont get it if you dont like the prime why do you still have it? If mine was **** i'd have already sold it and waiting for the infinity tab.

All this energy spent on crying and thinking about conspiracy theories and hoping for Asus somehow giving you a free infinity pad when it comes out. Sry but lol.

-Be happy with your prime, let it put a smile on your face by playing around with those awesome emulators. Read some good comics on it. Watch some HIMYM.
-Dont like it or have issues? Send it to RMA, or bring it back, or sell it on xxx.
-If you do get rid of it, be prepared that the next tablet you buy will have similar or different issues.
-Get real and go to the Zoo to have some fun (bring your prime and take some fotos!) instead of crying and blaming some company who is trying their best to keep their customers happy and providing updates asap. There are so many companies that give a **** about you. They take your money and never upgrade or support their devices.

Sorry if this sounds harsh - i dont take this whole thing as serious as others i guess Its just a gadget, it wasnt even that expensive if i think about all the amazing things i can do with it. It is my dvd/movie player, my n64, my psX, my Comicbook, my Musicbox ... ... Hell it even reads me bedtime stories if i want to.
Chill Get your wife some serious orgasms! Thats about 100x more important than getting your prime "fixed" and crying for free "updates" to the next asus tablet - that probably will have issues of its own...

Still looking forward to the time when this becomes a DEV forum again - and this place here being filled with DEV related posts.

Now plz do flame me.