ASUS has unveiled the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime, an ultra-thin tablet with a powerful quad-core processor. Apple Inc. last year claimed more than 90 percent of the tablet market with its iPad. In the recent quarter, Samsung's Galaxy Tab and other tablets cut Apple's market share to less than 70 percent. Asus, the world's fifth-largest seller of personal computers, is poised to make the iPad look outdated with the revolutionary features of the second-generation Transformer, which will hit shelves in December.

Quad-Core Processor. The Eee Pad Transformer Prime is the world's first tablet with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The up to 1.3GHz in a quad-core configuration processor gets a boost with 1GB of RAM and beefy 32 GB / 64 GB of storage. The iPad 2 sports an A5 1 GHz dual-core processor, 512 MB of RAM and 16 GB to 64 GB of storage. With the quad-core CPU, 12-core GeForce GPU and vSMP technology, the Transformer Prime provides extreme multitasking capabilities, lightning fast app loading, a rich and fluid web experience, full 1080P HD video playback or recording without compromising battery life, and of course, console-quality gaming. Laptop Mag says some benchmarks are showing a huge improvement of the Tegra 3 over Apple's A5 processor. Also known as Kal-El, the Tegra 3 chip is a quad-core processor that uses a Variable SMP architecture to activate the four cores to deliver power as needed, according to Laptop Mag. While it offers 3 times the graphics performance of its predecessor, Tegra 3, which is based on the Cortex-A9 processor design from ARM,actually draws less power (61 percent less), thanks to a fifth low-power companion core.

Ice Cream Sandwich. The tablet will ship with Android 3.2 Honeycomb. But the operating system can be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich in December. Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 5, boasts of 200 new features, which Apple says takes "a mobile operating system that was already years ahead of anything else and moving it even further ahead. But Ice Cream Sandwich is not be outdone with improved voice commands, an enhanced browser, facial recognition, photo enhancements, and changes to core apps such as Gmail and Calendar. The main draw of iOS 5 is Siri, but the virtual assistant is temporary exclusive for the iPhone 4S. For quick highlights of Ice Cream Sandwich vs. iOS 5, check an article by PCWorld.

Long Battery Life. The iPad 2 has been winning battery-life tests among tablets. But the iPad 2 won't last in your long trip from Tokyo to New York as its 25Wh lithium-ion polymer battery gives up to 10 hours. The Transformer Prime has a battery life of up to 12 hours, but when combined with the mobile dock, it lasts up to an incredible 18 hours, the longest battery life of any current tablet.

The Price is Right. Hewlett Packard and Research In Motion failed with their tablet because their TouchPad and PlayBook were as expensive as the best-selling iPad despite the lack of apps. With a release date in December, the Transformer Prime's 32 GB version will be sold by retailers for US$499, same as the entry-level 16 GB iPad. The 64-gig Transformer Prime is priced at US$599. The mobile dock, which gives the Transformer its namesake, though raises the price up by $149. The Transformer Prime is pricey but it has a quad-core processor among many differentiators. Cheap tablets, like the Amazon Kindle Fire, will be available in shelves this month. But the $199 Kindle Fire only has a 7-inch screen, 512 MB of RAM, has no camera, and 8 GB, although it has quick access to Amazon's deep portfolio of digital content.

Innovative Design. Although it's one of the most powerful tablet in the market, it's still ultra-thin at 8.3mm (0.33") and lightweight at 586g (1.29lbs). The Transformer Prime, which features a stylish metallic swirl design, is actually skinnier and lighter than the iPad 2 (8.8 mm, 600 g). Its innovative metallic swirl design is made of aluminum for a "secure yet extremely comfortable grip". The device is available in Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold.

8 MP HD Camera. The iPad has a VGA-quality, 0.3 MP front camera and a 0.7 MP camera. For the Transformer Prime, a 1.2MP front camera allows for instant photos or high-quality video conferencing while an 8MP rear camera with auto-focus and continues LED flash to enable full 1080 video recording at night. The rear camera includes a large F2.4 aperture (matching the iPhone 4S), back illuminated CMOS sensor, touch-to-focus depth of field and low-light noise reduction.

Amazing Visuals. The Eee Pad Transformer Prime boasts a wide 178° viewing angle IPS display and a 10.1-inch, 1,280x800 resolution display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. The device features a "Super IPS" mode, which turns up the brightness to 600 candelas per square meter, for better outdoor reading. The iPad 2 actually has a 9.7-inch (250 mm) display with 1,024 x 768 resolution.

Mobile Dock. More than 90 million PCs have been sold in the third quarter, compared to only 20 million tablets, indicating that there's still demand for powerful computing devices with physical keyboards. The Transformer Prime is already as powerful as a desktop with its quad-core processor. The Transformer Prime's signature feature is the mobile dock (263 mm x 180.8 mm x 8-10.44 mm / 537 g) which turns the tablet into a laptop. Although it costs $149, the dock is actually worth the price given that aside from a keyboard and a touchpad, it provides additional 6 hours of battery life provided by the 24Wh battery and limitless expandability options via the USB port and SD card slot.

Advanced Audio. Another differentiator for the Transformer Prime, is its SonicMaster technology, which offers impressive audio capabilities in a tablet, powered by ASUS exclusive SonicMaster technology, which promises crisp and acoustically accurate audio.

Unlimited Productivity and Customization. The Transformer Prime features a micro SD card slot, 3.5mm combo audio jack and micro HDMI port so sharing both what's inside and on-screen is quick and easy. The device has s 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a gyroscope, and GPS, but it doesn't come in 3G or 4G. As to the apps, ASUS will include several innovative applications like note-taking app SuperNote and Polaris Office, for reading, editing or creating Word, Excel and PowerPoint (MS Office 97-2007) compatible files. Apps like Asus WebStorage, MyNet, MyCloud, File Manager, and Asus sync are also built-in. Plus thousands of apps and games are available in the Android Market. While apps from the Apple App Store are malware free, Android devices actually more appropriate for customization. You can't tinker with your iOS device unless you decide to jailbreak, which actually voids the warranty.