Posted in: Featured, Tablets

ASUS Transformer Prime takes on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and iPad 2 [TABLE]

by 82 comments

ASUS today officially unveiled the eagerly awaited Transformer Prime. The first ever tablet to come with a quad-core Tegra 3 chip pushes the boundaries of what could be achieved in performance land and will definitely be the King of the tablet Hill for couple of months.

And with Ice Cream Sandwich promised to come until the end of the year, it gets more and more appealing by the minute. However, is its raw computing power and clever laptop dock enough to win your heart?

As usual, we put the newcomer against its rivals. This time it’s up against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the all-time bestseller – Apple’s iPad 2. Check out our extensive specs-comparing table to find the answer.

 

ASUS Eee Pad
Transformer Prime
Samsung
Galaxy Tab 10.1
Apple
iPad 2
OS

Android Honeycomb 3.2
(Ice Cream Sandwich in December)
Android Honeycomb 3.1
iOS 4.3
Display
10.1-inch
Super IPS+ LCD
10.1-inch
PLS LCD
9.7-inch
LED-backlit IPS LCD
Resolution
1280 x 800
1280 x 800
1024 x 768
Height
263 mm
256.7 mm
241.2 mm
Width
179 mm
175.3 mm
185.7mm
Thickness
8.3 mm
8.6 mm
8.8 mm
Weight
586 grams
560 grams
601 grams
Processor
1.3GHz quad-core processor
Tegra 3 chipset
1Ghz dual-core
Cortex-A9 processor
1Ghz dual-core
Cortex-A9 processor
Storage
16GB / 32GB
16GB / 32GB / 64GB
16GB / 32GB / 64GB
microSD
Yes
No
No
Front camera
1.2MP
2.0MP
0.3MP VGA
Rear camera
8.0MP Auto-Focus with
LED Flash (1080p)
3.15 MP Auto-Focus with
LED Flash (720p)
0.7MP Fixed-Focus
720p video
Wi-Fi
802.11 a/b/g/n
802.11 a/b/g/n
802.11 a/b/g/n
USB
USB 2.0, Host with adapter
USB 2.0, Host with adapter
USB 2.0 (host with Adapter)
HDMI
HDMI (via adapter)
HDMI (via adapter)
HDMI (via adapter)
Bluetooth
2.1 + A2DP
2.1 + A2DP
2.1 + EDR
Battery
22Wh
25Wh
25Wh
Price
(Wi-Fi only)
$499 (16GB)
$599 (32GB)
$499 (16GB)
$599 (32GB)
$499 (16GB)
$599 (32GB)
$699 (64GB)
Availability
Coming December
Currently available,
Currently available
Sensors
Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light Sensor
Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light Sensor
Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light Sensor
Video codecs
MP4 / DivX / Xvid / H.264 / H.263 / MKV / WMV 9 / MPEG2
MP4 / DivX / Xvid / H.264 / H.263 / MKV / WMV 9 / MPEG2
H.264

As you can see, the Transformer Prime has its weak points, compared to the others, but manages to overcome them with finesse. For starters, it has a smaller battery than its rivals and misses a 64GB storage option. However, it compensates this with the laptop dock, which can provide up to 6 additional hours of battery life and the presence of a microSD card slot.

Another possible setback is it’s later availability scheduled for some time in December. But if you think about it – it will definitely be upgraded to run Ice Cream Sandwich. Is it worth the wait? Shout it off in the comments.

Comments

Rules for posting