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We still wouldn't advise penning a PhD dissertation on this button slate, but it's still a few orders of magnitude better than using a tablet's touchscreen to input text. The only thing holding it back from excelling is the pair of extremely shrunken Shift keys.

If you can handle the smallish keyboard, The Eee Pad Transformer TF101 Docking Station turns the Asus tablet into a powerful productivity device.

The experience was smoother than I expected, and the innovative design is a huge step beyond other dock setups I've seen. I loved being able to tap away fast e-mail messages, navigate the tablet while it stood upright, and even alternate between keyboard, touchscreen, and touchpad navigation.

When you need a netbook form factor, you have one, and when you just want to kick back and relax with a tablet you've got that as well. The experience isn't quite fast enough for me to replace my notebook, but I can see where things are headed.

The docking station for the Transformer TF101 tablet adds more than just a keyboard. You get more ports, more battery life, and more bulk.

In addition to making typing easier, the Transformer's $149 dock adds a battery life boost, even though we're not fans of the oversensitive touchpad.

ASUS’ Keyboard Dock is undoubtedly what makes the Eee Pad Transformer so interesting, a matching peripheral designed to turn the TF101 into an Android netbook/smartbook.

With the keyboard and with the inclusion of Polaris Office, you're immediately well on the way to not needing a secondary laptop – we're not quite there yet though. Typing is quick and easy, and the keyboard isn't spongy in the slightest.