ASUS has made good on its promise to bring the Android Jelly Bean software upgrade to its Transformer Prime and Infinity Pad tablets, with the update now available for both devices.
At the moment the update isn’t going to be available over the air, so you’ll need a PC or Mac and a USB cable in order to get it installed. The process you’ll need to do in order to get the update is called ‘sideloading’ and involves downloading the update file and then transferring it to the tablet.
First off, head over to the ASUS download site here. Transformer Prime users will need to search ‘TF201’ while those lucky Infinity Pad owners will need to enter ‘TF700’. Once you’ve searched, select your product name from the list of results.
Next, select the OS drop down box and choose Android. Below that, click the ‘+’ icon next to Firmware to expand, and you’ll be presented with several versions of firmware – these are all Jelly Bean, but vary for the different regional versions of the tablet around the world. You’ll need to find out which one is for you by checking the SKU number on your tablet and matching it to one of the downloads. To find your SKU number, follow these steps:
Settings > About tablet > Build number
The build number will be in the format ‘WW_epad-9.X.X.X_2012xxxx’, where WW is the SKU number. Match this up with one of the three JB 4.1.1 downloads and click Global to start your download. You’ll want to save the file somewhere you can find it.
Once downloaded, right click on the update file and select copy. Plug in your Transformer and open up its file system, then right click and paste the update file in the root folder (the main area containing all folders). Disconnect the tablet and reboot it, and with any luck it’ll find the update and start to install it.
The Jelly Bean update will bring in a series of enhancements, but the key one is Google’s new ‘Project Butter’ which will make the device much smoother and faster.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.