The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime 10.1-inch Android tablet is coming in December and it’s coming in hot. It will be the first mobile device to run on the quad-core (or should we say penta-core) Nvidia Tegra 3 chip. The Tegra 3 promises both amazing performance, with three times higher graphics performance than the Tegra 2, and as we’ve seen in our initial coverage, it will also offer better battery life, since it features a fifth low-power core which takes over automatically to reduce energy consumption.
The Eee Pad Transformer Prime is set to debut for $499 in December, while a keyboard dock accessory will also be offered, essentially turning it into a ‘laptop’, hence the the transformer part. It will initially come with Android 3.2 Honeycomb but a promised Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update will soon be in the works.
A Brazilian blog, Ztop, managed to get its hands on the tablet and has posted some first pictures of the Transformer Prime, showing off its thinness against an iPhone 4 and a Droid RARZ and getting friendly with the keyboard dock. There is also a hands-on video showing the tablet’s gaming abilities running the game Shadowgun; you’ll find it all after the break.
Gallery: Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime hands-on
Quick specs
Operating system: Android 3.2 Honeycomb (upgradable to Android Ice Cream Sandwich)
Processor: NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core 1.3GHz
Memory: 1GB
Display: 10.1-inches, 1280×800 pixels, Gorilla Glass LCD Super IPS, 600 nit brightness
Camera: 8-megapixel rear with LED flash and 1080p capable; 2-megapixel front
Storage: 32GB or 64GB built-in; microSD card slot up to additional 32GB
Connectivity: Wi-Fi GPS, Bluetooth, microUSB, micro HDMI
Battery life: up to 12 hours of use
Thickness: 8.3mm (0.33-inch) tablet only; 18.7mm (0.74-inch) with dock
Weight: 586g (1.29lbs) tablet only; 1.1kg (2.5lbs) with dock
