ASUS to provide GPS dongle to Transformer Prime owners, free of charge of Course

The ASUS Transformer Prime is one of the best Android based tablets you can pick up. ASUS makes a great product, continuously provides updates and keeps customer in the loop. Which is more than we can say about many manufacturers out there. Their tablets aren’t ridiculously priced, *cough* Motorola *cough* and aren’t tied to a network makes them a hot item to have. When a manufacturer releases an update we expect it to work, if it doesn’t, we expect them to fix it in a timely manner. No one out there can argue that ASUS leaves customers hanging with a busted tablet. They just don’t do that. That is why no matter what issues you might have at the moment, you will still recommend an ASUS Transformer, which ever model, to anyone you know. One constant issue plagues many users that can’t be resolved with a software update, that is GPS.

While I can understand the reasons behind why GPS is important to users, I can’t fathom why it is a big issue to have on your tablet. Personally, that is what my phone is for, my tablet is for browsing, movies, media and other things geared towards a larger screen. That doesn’t mean it isn’t something that many users want to work, after all the tablet is advertised as having GPS available. Unfortunately the GPS receiver just isn’t working out so well inside the aluminum body of the Prime. To combat that issue, ASUS is creating a GSP dongle that will plug into your Prime externally to give you the GPS you so desire. This might not be the ideal solution to your ongoing issue, but it is a solution that can work.

According to XDA member demandarin, the dongle is in the hands of testers already and it is “very cool though… very minimalistic and made to look like part of the Prime.” That is a good thing. I don’t see ASUS offering an add-on that is cumbersome to an ultra thin portable tablet. One would expect a major manufacture to force you to purchase this add-on in order to gain GPS. Again, this is where ASUS meets and exceeds all expectations. If you are a current Transformer Prime owner, you can register to receive a dongle for FREE.

1. Please ensure you have already joined our ASUS Membership program. If not, please click Sign Up.
2. Please proceed with “Product Registration” after you have joined as an ASUS Member. There are two methods:
A. After activating the ASUS Member account successfully, please proceed with Product Registration.
B. After login, please click on “Product Registration” on the left side menu.

Well played ASUS, well played. I continue to respect these guys as a major device contributor to Android and continually raising the bar on how a manufacturer should approach their customers. Compared to other tablet manufacturers out there, I can’t see how anyone could really say anything bad about ASUS. They quickly resolve issues, update OS versions quickly and efficiently and continue to improve their products rather than let them sit by the wayside to focus on a new addition.

Source: XDA via AndroidPolice