ASUS Transformer Prime official bootloader statements confuse further
Confusion around ASUS' locked Transformer Prime bootloader continues, with the company's US arm promising an official statement imminently while the firm's Italian team suggests users should simply accept the lock-down as it assures security and stability. Both turned to Facebook to answer increasingly vocal criticism of the encrypted bootloader - including at least one online petition - though the message to modders is yet to be consistent.
ASUS Italy's statement attempts to address the battery concerns some have voiced about the Transformer Prime, as well as the GPS issues and the bootloader, though the machine translation leaves things unclear. Problems experienced in overseas Primes "will not affect the units" offered in Italy, it's suggested, with "battery life [in] line with what was promised." As for GPS, ASUS Italy argues that the Prime was never intended to be a personal navigator, and so the absence of a dedicated GPS chip isn't too great a limitation.
Bootloader access, however, is the most controversial part, with ASUS Italy seeming to say that owners should appreciate the lock-down as it has been done for their own good. "The product is guaranteed as it is" the statement says. "Different firmware altering the basic functionality of the product or push the hardware beyond the standard frequencies will void your warranty and may threaten the reliability and proper functioning of the product itself."
We'll wait to see what ASUS US says next about the Prime situation, though we're not sure whether the company's suggestion that would-be owners "relax" comes across as reassuring or patronizing.
"We see that there was a bit 'choppy sea of questions about some "hot". We talk about issues with Prime. It is called the root block. About First it should be noted that the product is not yet available on our territory. So the problems that some (we want to emphasize) users have complained will not affect the units deployed overseas on our territory. Battery life is line with what was promised. Obviously, this parameter depends strongly on the conditions of use and maximum range is always referred to use "light" with all the energy saving features active. On the GPS is wrong to compare a product like Prime to a smartphone. First, because smartphones using 3G connectivity to download the table with the position of the satellites and then more quickly identify the satellites. What you can do even Prime WiFi, but only when it is connected. Secondly, because Prime does not come as Car Navigator, nor do we imagine that users will use it while walking the streets of the city, looking for a street or a shop. For those things are just smartphones. Finally speech root: our position in this regard is simple. The product is guaranteed as it is. Different firmware altering the basic functionality of the product or push the hardware beyond the standard frequencies will void your warranty and may threaten the reliability and proper functioning of the product itself. Basically to respond to some posts on the bulletin board: we do not delete the "post uncomfortable" because we do not have anything to hide. Delete spam, misinformation and the news is not official. Keep them on the bulletin board would be to confirm their content. But it is not. It is incorrect that a user who attends board ASUS Italy will find us to be informed instead of misinformation. We hope with this post that I made clear the misunderstanding.
The staff ASUS Italy"