Asus to launch Transformer Prime Android tablet with quad-core Tegra 3 in January

Hybrid device is thinner and lighter than the iPad 2

Asus has confirmed that it will be the first to ship an Android tablet with Nvidia's quad-core Tegra 3 processor, as the firm looks to improve the power and performance of the tablet form factor.

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime will ship with a 10.1in LED backlit screen with Super IPS+ technology and a resolution of 1,280x800. The device also comes with a docking keyboard allowing it to be converted into a netbook, much like its predecessor the Eee Pad Transformer.

The Transformer Prime measures 263x180.8x8.3mm and weighs 586g, making it thinner and lighter than the iPad 2 (8.8mm and 601g).

The tablet will pack the highly anticipated quad-core Tegra 3 processor, codenamed Kal-El, which provides three times better graphics performance than the commonly used Tegra 2 chip and a cut in power consumption of up to 61 per cent, according to Nvidia.

This will give the Transformer Prime a battery life of up to 12 hours for HD video playback and 18 hours when docked with the keyboard, Asus said.

Other key features include 1GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a micro SD card slot, USB 2.0 port and micro HDMI port. Connectivity comes in the form of 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+ EDRA.

The unit has a front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera and rear-facing 8-megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash, and is capable of recording in full 1080p HD.

Despite being the first tablet to ship with the Tegra 3, the Prime will not come with the latest version of Android. Instead it will ship with Android Honeycomb 3.2, but Asus has confirmed that it will be upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich.

Business users could be attracted by the long battery life, and enterprise friendly apps in the form of SuperNote for taking and recording notes, and Polaris Office for creating and editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.

The Transformer Prime will be bundled with the keyboard dock and is due to launch in the UK in early January at £499.