Quad-core ASUS Transformer Prime tablet now available for pre-order
The highly anticipated sequel to ASUS' convertible Android tablet, the Eee Pad Transformer, is now available for pre-order in North America. Set for release some time next month, the Transformer Prime features …
Context & Ripple Effects
ASUS has moved fast from announcement to shelf: Jonney Shih unveiled the Transformer Prime at AsiaD less than five weeks ago (10-inch, 8.3mm, quad-core Tegra 3), and the sequel to the Eee Pad Transformer that shipped in March is now taking North American pre-orders for a December release. The quad-core bet itself was visible as far back as May, when ASUS was reported planning a Tegra 3 tablet alongside another Intel slate.
What makes the pre-order window matter is timing: it puts the first Tegra 3 device into consumers' hands while Android's momentum elsewhere is strong — Gartner put Android above 50% of Q3 smartphone sales and Kantar ComTech showed it dominating the UK market within 18 months — even though its tablet share is still contested, with one-in-four quarterly tablet sales only rumored rather than confirmed.
First-order effects
- North American buyers can now lock in a December unit, converting the AsiaD unveiling's buzz into committed demand before any rival quad-core tablet reaches market.
- NVIDIA gets its first retail flagship for Tegra 3, making the Prime the reference point reviewers will use to judge the chip's real-world performance.
Second-order effects
- Android tablet makers competing on specs — Motorola, Samsung and the rest — are forced to answer with their own Tegra 3 or equivalent designs, compressing the usual generational gap between flagship launches.
- If the Prime sells through its pre-order stock, ASUS gains leverage over component supply for follow-on models, echoing the cadence set when the original Transformer shipped in March.
Third-order effects
- Tablet competition shifts from OS availability — Android's phone-side dominance is already settled per Gartner and Kantar — to silicon generation, making the SoC roadmap the primary differentiator against Apple.
- A successful convertible-tablet-plus-dock formula at the leading edge of mobile chips would push the category toward laptop-replacement positioning, where power-per-core matters more than raw core counts.
The trend: Android tablets are entering an arms race over mobile silicon, with each vendor racing to ship the newest ARM generation first to stand out against the iPad.