14 DAY TRIAL // ASUS US may be deliberately uncooperative, but ASUS Italy didn't mind disclosing some info about the upcoming firmware update for the Transformer Prime tablet.
We mentioned that ASUS was preparing an “awesome” update for the Prime just a few hours ago.
We didn't really have any details about it, since ASUS chose not to provide them.
That's changed though, thanks to ASUS Italy, which even said when the update (9.4.2.21) would happen.
March 29 is the date. And the Facebook-posted change log is actually pretty long.
For one thing, Android market will be renamed into PlayStore, and the other content sections will get new monikers too (Play Books, Play Music and Play Movies).
It will also be possible to control notifications from the lockscreen, which means that the homescreen will be bypassed in order to start the relevant app immediately upon receiving a message or whatever else.
Furthermore, as some people may have been hoping, Face Unlock support will be part of the new features too.
In short, the phone will use the camera to get a good look at you and, if it recognizes you as the owner, it will allow you to use it.
Alas, even though this is all very convenient and fun, there is that little problem of how a photo can be used to trick the product. In other words: don't use it much, especially if you have online accounts synced to the Prime.
Then again, we can't imagine that Android developers missed this limitation, so we assume the technology will require users to blink or make a particular facial expression in order to respond as intended.
Moving on, ASUS Italy included support for a “Prime LAN cable” accessory that would let an USB port connect to a wired ethernet cable.
Furthermore, choosing between landscape and portrait orientation during HDMI video streaming will be allowed, along with scaling to fit the screen or bracket.
Happy wait until March 29, and know this: ASUS Italy also promised an upgrade to the TF101 (original Transformer), although its arrival date is not known.