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Asus is following up its successful Transformer and Transformer Prime tablets with the new Transformer Infinity, but how does it compare to Apple's new iPad?
FormApple iPad 3 - 241.2x185.7x9.4mm, 652g
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity - 263x180.8x8.5mm, 586g
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity - 263x180.8x8.5mm, 586g
Considering Asus managed to put out one of the better looking Android tablets of the year at the end of 2011 with the Transformer Prime, the company has rather sensibly decided not to re-invent the wheel when it comes to the visual design of its successor, the Transformer Infinity.
Put them side-by-side and you might be hard pressed to tell the difference, they both feature the same expensive-looking spun aluminium bodywork in one of two eye-catching colour finishes - Amethyst Grey or Champagne Gold.
The result is a colourful metallic matte expanse which makes a refreshing change from the bog standard black or white glossy shells of other manufacturers' devices.
Apart from this, it's still remarkably thin and light and the keyboard attachment mirrors the tablet's design very closely.
Apple's new iPad is a bit thicker and heavier than both its predecessor and the Transformer Infinity, although with the Infinity tablet and its dock combined it is the heavier and thicker of the two here.
Generally the form factor of the iPad is softer than its Asus rival, which isn't something we're that in favour of. We much prefer the Transformer Infinity's sharper edges.
The iPad 3 is fairly typical of Apple's designs and again you might struggle to spot the difference if you saw one next to an iPad 2. We can't fault Apple's iconic styling as ugly, it's just not to our tastes and it is somewhat generic, in our view.
Winner - Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity
DisplayAt time of writing Apple is sitting at the top of the tablet pile when it comes to display technology having translated its famed Retina screen from the iPhone to the new iPad.
The iPad 3's 9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS capacitive multi-touch screen has a resolution of 1536x2048 pixels resulting in the highest tablet pixel density on the market at 264 pixels-per-inch (ppi).
While Asus' new Transformer might not be knocking Apple off its market-leading display podium it's doing a good job of coming within touching distance.
The larger 10.1-inch Super IPS + touchscreen supports 10-finger multi-touch and is made with Corning's new Gorilla Glass 2. The Transformer Infinity sports a 1920x1200pixel resolution giving a still extremely impressive 224ppi.
Apple's iPad has to be the winner here, but make no mistake you'll still get one of the most rewarding displays on the market if you go with the Asus Transformer Infinity instead - it's not far off the iPad's level of clarity but on a larger screen size.
Winner - Apple iPad 3
StorageApple's iPad 3 has the company's standard three options for internal storage with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB variants available, each with 1GB of RAM to boost performance. Of course, being an Apple product there's no sign of a micro SD slot, so no memory expansion for you.
Asus' device has the two top-tier options of 32GB or 64GB for its Wi-Fi only model, while the 3G or 4G variants also have 16GB options too. In all cases there's the same 1GB of RAM onboard. The trump card is a micro SD slot allowing you to expand storage of all mdoels by up to an additional 32GB.
We feel the addition of card storage makes the Transformer Infinity the more well-rounded choice here.
Winner - Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity
ProcessorThe processing power is where the Transformer Infinity gets rather complicated. The plain Wi-Fi only version runs a quad core setup using ARM's Cortex-A9 architecture clocked to 1.6GHz. This uses Nvidia's Tegra 3 T33 chipset with an integrated Geforce ULP graphics processing unit (GPU).
However, the 3G or 4G enabled models run on a totally different setup using Qualcomm's new S4 Snapdragon Krait dual core tech. The 3G variant runs on the MSM8260A chipset wile the 4G model uses the MSM8960, both are clocked to 1.5GHz and feature an Adreno 255 GPU.
Meanwhile, Apple's iPad 3 also uses ARM Cortex-A9 architecture, in a dual core configuration and clocked to 1GHz on the company's own A5X chipset, which features a PowerVR SGX543MP4 quad core GPU.
The whole dual core vs quad core debate continues as developers push out their new chipsets, however, early benchmarking indicates that Qualcomm's new S4 dominates most of the competition.
Both the 3G and 4G Transformer Infinity models should give comparable performance as the main difference between the chips used is the type of wireless modem built into the hardware.
Behind the S4-weilding Transformers, Apple's iPad 3 seems to be performing well with its A5X setup, which according to reports is faster than Nvidia's Tegra 3.
Considering how fast we found the Tegra 3 when we had hands-on with it on the Transformer Prime this is pretty good news for all involved. Essentially you should see some hugely impressive performance from all these devices, but with Asus' data-enabled models sitting pretty at the top of the pile.
Winner - Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity (3G/4G)
Operating SystemAsus' Transformer Infinity runs on the latest build of Google's Android platform, version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), while Apple's iPad tablet runs the company's own iOS version 5.1.
Once again we come round to the issue of Android vs iOS. We'll get this out of the way quickly and say that this is an area with no winners and no losers, as feeble as that sounds, it's personal preference city when it comes to the operating system debate.
There was a time where we would say that although we're not fans of Apple's services we couldn't deny the slickness and ease-of-use and that whatever we thought of it it's one of the most stable platforms available.
Comparatively, we would've then have said that as much as we enjoy Android's freedom and customisability it's not the most streamlined or reliable operating system in the world.
Now though, Android has made considerable leaps and bounds with Ice Cream Sandwich and although we can't categorically say you'll have a crash-free experience, it's a significantly more complete operating system than its predecessors.
iOS 5.1 is as good as ever and there's plenty to recommend if you want the most hassle-free option.
Winner - Draw
CameraApple's iPad is equipped with same iSight camera technology found in the iPhone 4S and comprises a 5-megapixel backlight-illuminated sensor (BSI) at 2592x1944 pixels with a five-stage lens configuration. Features include touch focus, autofocus, image stabilisation, video stabilisation and face detection. Video capture is at 1080p and the VGA FaceTime camera on the front captures at 480p.
Asus has opted for an 8-megapixel setup virtually identical to that found in the Transformer Prime. This has a 3264x2448 pixel resolution with autofocus, geo-tagging and an LED flash. It's also got a 2-megapixel front-facing secondary.
Although the megapixel count is in Asus' favour the iPad's setup punches well above its weight and we expect you'll actually get better results on Apple's extensively tweaked optics.
Winner - Apple iPad 3
Final ThoughtsApple's iPad 3 has quickly established itself as one of the best tablets on the current market, however, Asus' new Transformer Infinity is proof that there's plenty of potential in Android waiting in the wings to knock the iPad from its pedestal.
The Transformer Infinity is currently one of the most capable alternatives to the iPad 3 and is worth serious consideration if you aren't convinced by Apple's overall package of hardware and software. In the 3G and 4G models it is boasting some serious performance muscle too.
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