Priced at $379 for 16GB of storage, and $399 for 32GB of storage, the Transformer Pad is the new value tablet in Asus' lineup. The Transformer Prime, which was released last December and was the first Tegra 3 tablet, remains at the top of the pyramid, for now; that model stars at $100 more than the Pad for the 32GB version. (Asus has already announced high-definition, 1920 by 1280 resolution 10.1-inch models, coming later this spring/summer season.)

Those prices also put Transformer Pad in direct competition with the 16GB Apple iPad 2, which is priced at $399. And if you're just interested in specs, the Transformer Pad has the advantages over the iPad 2 in spades, starting with the fact that you can get twice as much internal storage for the same price. Why anyone would consider spending just $20 less for the 16GB model is beyond me, though; for the cost of less than two movie tickets, you can double your storage capacity for your media and apps. The Transformer Pad's extra bang-for-your-buck resets the bar of expectation for other 10-inch class Android tablets, too, since no other tablet offers 32GB for $400.

Given their shared heritage, it's only natural to wonder how the Transformer Pad stacks up to the Transformer Prime, which is currently our top pick among Android tablets (only Apple's third-generation iPad and iPad 2 rank higher). The answer is simple: They have a lot of shared DNA, but the two tablets are not identical.

Both run on Nvidia's Tegra 3 processor and come with 1GB of RAM; both offer 32GB of storage in addition to a microSD card slot; both have an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera (no flash on the Transformer Pad, unlike the Prime) and 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera; and both have a keyboard dock accessory that transforms the tablet into a compact, netbook-like clamshell. The Transformer Pad comes with Bluetooth 3.0, and it adds Wi-Fi Direct support so wireless devices can directly connect with one another.