Asus Transformer Prime getting an update that boosts speed. Also comes with a locked bootloaded.

A double shot of Asus Transformer Prime news coming our way today. If you have one of these bad boys on order or happen to be lucky enough to already have one delivered then you'll be pleased to know that an update for the Prime is pushing out today which increases the overall performance of the tablet.

The software version is 8.8.3.33-20111223 and brings with it some performance improvements making everything just a bit faster on the Transformer Prime. This is pretty much related to everything across the board from loading apps and games to just switching between home screens. If you haven't gotten the update yet, don't worry, it'll come your way at some point today most likely. If you find out anything else that this update brings, let us know in the comments below.

There is some bad news though regarding the Transformer Prime. This beastly quad-core tablet unfortunately features a locked bootloader. Modders over on the XDA Forums have found out that the bootloader is encrypted which will prevent owners from tweaking and modding the device, rooting it and installing ROMs. It is encrypted with 128-bit AES encryption to prevent any 'tampering' with the device.

If you were planning on doing any modding or flashing ROMs onto your new Tegra 3 Transformer Prime when it arrives, you may have to wait awhile until someone manages to break through or Asus reverses it's decision to lock it and releases an update unlocking the bootloader. This sort of thing doesn't generally happen with a WiFi device so we are not sure why Asus came to this decision to lock it. Hopefully it won't be locked for long.

Just to clarify though, the update doesn't contain the locked bootloader. The device actually comes with it locked so avoiding this update won't mean you are avoiding the locked bootloader unfortunately.

Websites Referenced: Android Central | Slashgear