Apple iPad 3 vs. Asus Transformer Prime HD: Which Is the Best Tablet?

This is the tablet battle of the year: The Apple iPad 3 versus the Asus Transformer TF700T HD. Although the new Transformer Prime HD won't be here until this summer, Asus released the Transformer Prime in December, and the Prime TF700T (HD) is nearly identical to it.

In fact, the TF700T has only three things different from the original Prime. The most obvious one, given the name, is that the new version will feature a 1920x1200p HD display on its 10.1-inch screen. The old resolution was 1280x800p, so it should be a notable difference. The only other changes are to the back of the tablet, where a re-designed cover will allow for a better signal response. And compared to the original version of the tablet, the Prime HD should get better bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity.

What that means is this: There was a problem with the original Prime's back cover, and the TF700T is going to fix it. Asus could have revolutionized the tablet industry if not for this slip-up, because the Prime was critically acclaimed by most experts as a superior tablet device. It probably still would not have outsold the iPad, but the Prime was, well, primed to become the best-selling Android tablet yet.

Indeed, until Google releases its un-skinned Ice Cream Sandwich tablet in the last part of the year, it well could be. That's in large part due to its being the first quad-core tablet, and the first tablet overall to see the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system. The Prime HD also has an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, 32 gigabytes of storage, Gorilla Glass, a microSD card reader, a micro-HDMI port, 12 hours of battery life and Android 4.0. It's rumored to be starting at $600, too.

For the iPad 3, most reports we've seen point to a similar-sized device as the iPad 2, but with 4G LTE support, a QXGA 2048x1536p resolution display and Siri voice recognition. Look for an Apple announcement at the Mobile World Congress in late February. Tell us in the comments if you bought the original Prime and if you've had any Wi-Fi issues.

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