Is expected to get Android Ice Cream Sandwich by the end of the year

Oct 20, 2011 06:39 GMT  ·  By

Subject of many leaks and teasers, Asus' second-generation Transformer tablet, now called the Transformer Prime, was finally unveiled by the company's chairman Jonney Shih at the AsiaD conference together with some specs of the device.

As most have expected, the 10.1-inch tablet is built around an Nvidia Tegra 3 system-on-a-chip (SoC) device that is fitted inside a 8.3mm thick chassis that reminds us of the recently launched Ultrabooks.

Just like the original Transformer tablet, the Prime can also be connected to a keyboard docking station to provide a more laptop-like experience.

We covered Nvidia's Kal-El in detail in a previous article, so we are not going to get into too many details right now, but we'll remind you that the chip packs four Cortex A9 cores based on an ARM architecture paired together with a fifth low-power companion core.

Nvidia chose this arrangement in order to increase the power efficiency of its design, as the companion core handles many of the tasks the device runs when in idle mode.

Moving back to the Transformer Prime, the tablet also comes with an SD card slot, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and with a mini HDMI port for connecting it to an external display.

According to Asus' representative who was cited by engadget, the tablet should be able to deliver an impressive 14.5 hours of battery life, and it will run the Google Android operating system.

The initial version is expected to ship with Honeycomb, but Ice Cream Sandwich is expected to hit the Prime by the end of the year, or even earlier than that said Shih.

As expected, no information regarding pricing or availability was made public by Asus, but Shih did mention that we should expect more details to arrive on November 9, when the Transformer Prime is officially revealed.

Photo Gallery (5 Images)

Asus Transformer Prime tablet with Nvidia Kal-El SoC
Asus Transformer Prime tablet with Nvidia Kal-El SoCAsus Transformer Prime tablet with Nvidia Kal-El SoC
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