Question 1

Does this take a sim card?

Accepted Answer

It has a microSD port, but not a sim card like a cell phone would.

Question 2

Does this model come with a pen?

Accepted Answer

No it does not. The only other peace of hardware other than the tablet itself is the power/USB cord.

Question 3

This Model support S Pen right? Is the S Pen available for sale now?

Accepted Answer

That is correct, this model supports the Asus Z Stylus. The Z Stylus is also currently available. Although I had to order mine from another online retailer.

Question 4

were you able to upgrade the tablet to the latest Android Operating system Marshmellow?

Accepted Answer

Still on 5.0 but with security patches. I am on my third Asus Zenith Pad as the microphone keeps failing!

Question 5

How tough is it though, can it handle a fall?

Accepted Answer

Mine has a cheap flip case.  I do drop it from time to time on my hardwood floor (not on purpose lol).  Its fine.  Having said that, its absolutely not designed to be rugged.  If it hits a concrete floor or just happens to fall at the wrong angle, it will break.  I've been lucky.

Question 6

This looks like a nicely designed product, but I have to ask: is it easily rooted and upgraded? Asus have apparently loaded a lot of garbage on this device and the ability to install CyanogenMod would be a huge selling point.

Accepted Answer

I use a lot of the installed apps because they're more efficient and usually look better than anything I could've downloaded.  It does take an open mind at first, because they don't look like what you download from the Play store, but they're nearly all full of features and written specifically for this tab.  You'll have to go to XDA to research your need to install third-party ROMs. Asus keeps up with regular security updates.

I've had it a year, use it for movies, email, books and comics. I play a few games, but I've never enjoyed serious gaming on a small screen.

It replaces my Nexus 7 with aplomb; I'm not concerned with anything else.

Question 7

Does this tablet support OTG?

Accepted Answer

Yes it does. I had to purchase an adaptor that had a male USB type c to female micro USb in order to use my OTG cable. There may be some new USB Type C OTG cables available by now. Hope this helps.

Question 8

does this item have an onboard GPS?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it does.

Question 9

this looks a great replacement for a 2012 Nexus 7 but there's one and ONLY one thing stopping me from ordering;

how does asus handle software updates? at time of release of this tablet it doesn't even come with the most current version of android, and M is right around the corner.

will this tablet get android updates within a couple months of their release for a couple of years?

why don't device makers just let google handle android updates then offer their custom ui packages in the play store which can be updated separately? this makes the most sense.

Accepted Answer

I currently own a Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML, and this tablet uses the same Zen UI as my phone and has the same processor and amount of ram. I don't usually say this for Android skins but this UI will blow your mind as there no lag whatsoever and everything launches and works extremely quickly. Asus normally releases patches for the Zenfone 2 like every 3 weeks. Asus said they are currently working on Android 5.1 and will release it on the Zenfone 2 and I suppose they will also release it on this tablet. Plus I'm pretty sure Asus plans on putting Android M on this but not sure how long that will take. This tablet smokes the Nexus 7 2013 Edition by a huge amount. This is definitely worth the investment as I plan on buying this in a few days. Trust me you will not regret buying their new Asus Zen powered devices.

Question 10

this tablet is a great candidate to replace a 2012 nexus 7 but am uncomfortable with it not coming with the latest version of android as well as software updates in the future.

how does asus handle android updates? why not let google push android updates and asus develop their zen ui as a package in the play store which can be updated separately?

software updates are the ONLY thing keeping me from placing an order.
thanks in advance for your reply.

Accepted Answer

Actually this tablet makes a Nexus 7 look like a kiddie toy looking at the specs. I have an Asus Me572C and it crushes the Nexus on performance and yes, it actually has a microSD slot also.  If they ever get this one in stock, I will be purchasing it in a heartbeat! Incidentally, my ME572 had a speaker issue just after I bought it, when I got it back from servicing, in about 5 days, it had android 5.01 on it, so software updates are not an issue.

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