Asus Transformer Prime will get Android upgrade on UK launch

TAIWANESE ELECTRONICS MAKER Asus has announced that its Transformer Prime tablet will get an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on 12 January.

That is when punters in the UK will be able to get their hands on the two in one hybrid tablet and laptop. Asus has said the rollout of the most recent version of Android will happen on a worldwide basis alongside another software update for the tablet.

Asus said on Facebook, "This update, version 8.8.3.33, will improve the focus of the camera, the fluidity of the touch experience, and the APK capabilities in Android Market."

The long Facebook post also talks about some issues surrounding the bootloader and GPS. The Transformer Prime comes with a locked bootloader that prevents users from modifying it, but Asus said it is "developing an unlock tool for that community", although using it will void the warranty.

The firm also explained that the metallic material used for the casing of the tablet might affect the GPS performance in terms of signal. "To avoid inconveniencing users who demand a powerful GPS device, we made the decision to remove it from our specification sheet and marketing communications. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused," said Asus.

When the Transformer Prime tips up next week it will come with an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and a £499 price tag for the 32GB model. µ