Asus launches the successor to the Eee Pad Transformer-- the Transformer Prime, the first tablet from the company carrying the newly revealed quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor (previously known as Kal El).
The Transformer is best known for having the keyboard dock turning it into an Android-powered laptop of sorts.
The Prime carries a 10.1" 1280 x 800 display, 8.3mm-thick body, 1GB of RAM and 32 or 64GB of storage, together with mini-HDMI output, microSD slot, SonicMaster audio and 2 cameras (1.2MP front-facing, 8MP back-facing with an auto-focusing f/24 lens). The exterior gets a Zenbook-style spun aluminium makeover, and has in hydro-oleophobic coating preventing fingerprint smudging.
It uses Android 3.2, and Asus promises an Ice Cream Sandwich update will be available by December 2011. The company claims the tablet has a battery life of 12 hours (through 22Wh battery), with the dock adding a further 6 hours of power.
The separately available keyboard dock also gets an upgrade, being thinner and lighter. It has a touchpad, USB 2.0 port and a full-size SD slot.