Although other tablets have a higher profile, and new adversaries are entering the battlefield at a cracking pace, we suspect it’s only a matter of time before these two contenders make their presence felt in a big way.

Asus Eee PAD Transformer
Okay, now that we’ve played with it (any more Angry Birds and we’ll need shock therapy), provoked it (opening and closing apps with reckless abandon) and even slept with it (hey, some people get very close to their tablets), we can state with utter conviction that the Asus Eee Pad Transformer 10.1 is a very fi ne product. And yes, a legitimate iPad 2 rival.

What’s to like? Rather a lot, actually. First up is the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, which allows you to multi-task like a maniac, browse the Web at breakneck speed (that is, when the rest of the country is asleep) and view your favourite videos in all their crisp, razor-sharp glory at angles of up to 178 degrees, so it’s by no means a selfi sh device.

In fact, the specs are quite formidable. Its HDMI 1.3a port allows the Transformer to connect to a HDTV and 5.1 surround sound system, delivering an impressive multimedia experience at a useful HD resolution of 1 280 x 800. We’re not quite sure why the designers surrounded the 10,1-inch screen with a wide black bezel plus a rim of metal; perhaps they needed the extra room for electronic components.

The 5 MP rear- and 1,2 MP front-facing cameras can shoot and record HD video, and the tablet distinguishes itself from rival products with an optional docking station. This provides access to a full QWERTY keyboard, along with unique Android Function keys that turn the tablet into a full-fledged notebook while extending battery life to 16 hours. Build quality is excellent throughout, although the magnifi cent iPad 2 takes the design crown.

A 3,5 mm audio jack, two USB ports and a built-in SD Card reader allow easy file sharing and storage expandability (taking advantage of the microSD slot in the tablet and the SD card slot in the dock), making the Transformer a versatile media hub. Google’s Android Honeycomb operating system works like a dream, and we had loads of fun exploring the fast-growing Android Market. For the record, if you haven’t “zombified” your friends in the Zombie Booth, you haven’t really lived.

COST: R4 299 (16 GB) and R4 999 (32 GB), plus R1 499 for the optional dock.

Toshiba AT100
Comparing Toshiba’s robust tablet – actually, plump might be a better word – with the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer makes perfect sense. They share a 10,1-inch touchscreen, offer similar ports and features, and run almost identical software. However, they are by no means thinly disguised clones.

Let’s kick off with the important stuff. You get the 1 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor plus Android 3.1 Honeycomb, which is good. The multi-touch display has a resolution of 1 280 x 800 pixels, providing ample room for viewing Web sites in landscape or portrait mode, and allowing a cinematic experience for video viewing and gaming. Front- and back-mounted cameras make chatting easy, and photography er… a snap. Providing up to eight hours of mixed browsing and video playback, the removable and easy-to-exchange batteries mean the Toshiba AT100 is always ready to go. Oh, and it recharges in an amazingly short time.

A very cool feature is Adaptive Display, which works by constantly adjusting parameters such as brightness and contrast according to the ambient lighting conditions, making sure that you get the best possible image display. We’ve had mixed reports on this: whereas some users are impressed, others say they need to turn the brightness way up to achieve acceptable views.

Toshiba is also proud of its Resolution technology, which tweaks the quality of standard-defi nition videos to exploit the full potential of the AT100’s high-def display, independent of the quality of the source material. Good sound quality is achieved with various audio enhancements that adapt sound output to the surrounding conditions.

Toshiba’s new tablet, weighing in at a somewhat hefty 765 grams, features a built-in gyroscope, an accelerometer, integrated GPS, a 2 MP front-facing camera and 5 MP rear-facing camera. It also offers multiple connectivity options and ports – specifi cally, a full-size HDMI port, a full-size USB 2.0 port (for connecting external hard drives and cameras), a mini-USB port and an SD Card slot… all of which makes for easy integration into your digital life.

Naturally, it comes with wireless connectivity (Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth (version 2.1). All in all, it’s a neat, stylish – personally, we like a little beef in our tablets – and thoroughly appealing device, and it comes with a recommended retail price of R5 499.

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