However, in tablets specifically my personal feeling is that, while Samsung is one of the leaders, the most exciting vendor using Android is ASUS. ASUS doesn’t have the recognition and attention of Samsung, but they’ve been doing some great work in tablets – and it looks like Google took notice as they took ASUS’s planned $249 Eee Pad MeMO 7-inch tablet and reworked it to become the $199 Nexus 7, Google’s first branded tablet. The first quad-core 7-inch tablet and the first device to launch with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

In the first generation of real Android tablets, those launched with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the Galaxy Tab was well known for its sleek design. But the ASUS Transformer, and later Transformer Prime, we nearly as slim and light while keeping functionality like a microSD slot, which the Galaxy Tab did without. And, of course, they had the unique capability of effectively becoming a netbook with a purpose designed keyboard dock. They’re tablets have been competitively priced and have had a series of firsts. The first Android tablets designed with a keyboard dock, the first ‘slider’ tablet with the Eee Pad Slider SL101, the first quad-core Android tablet with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 powered Transformer Prime, the first HD Android tablet with the 1920×1200 10.1″ Transformer Pad Infinity, and more.

The the Transformer Pad Infinity’s display is 224ppi, effectively making it the Android market’s answer to the iPad’s 264ppi retina display. Though I personally feel the 10.1″ 1920×1200 16:10 aspect ratio display on the Infinity is preferable to the iPad’s 9.7″ 2048×1536 4:3 aspect ratio display when it comes to consuming content, especially HD video.

Of course, ASUS also has the Padfone which is a truly revolutionary design that I’ve been waiting for someone to build for years. I hope it finds its way to the US in an LTE model. ASUS also has a good track record for updating their devices to newer Android versions. It hasn’t been painless, but they’ve done a better job that a lot of the bigger names. And we’ve just heard that even the original Transformer and Slider will be receiving Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, along with the newer models.

All of these, IMHO, have been sleek, well designed products. I myself own the Transformer Prime (though I’m starting to feel the lust pangs for the Transformer Pad Infinity since I don’t see Verizon picking up the Padfone soon) and I couldn’t be happier with it. My wife & I gave our nephew the Transformer last xmas and he’s still using it regularly. He hasn’t lost interest or broken it – not bad considering he’s 13. I’ve recommended the ASUS Transformer line to many people, as I think they’re truly the best Android tablets out there.

The keyboard dock, or just the capability of using one, is a major advantage over other tablets for anyone looking to use a tablet for productivity. A keyboard case or Bluetooth keyboard just isn’t the same. The keyboard dock makes an effective case for the tablet in one solid, easy to carry, solid package. And the extra battery life is most welcome. I love the way ASUS designed it to keep the tablet battery charged, charging it from the keyboard battery when connected. That way the tablet is always topped up if you want to use it solo, and the keyboard provides a kind of portable charger if the tablet gets drained.

Performance is top notch and inclusion of memory card slots and ports makes the ASUS tablet more flexible than some of the competition. Personally I think the Galaxy Tab 2 line was something of a disappointment. It is really more of a refresh of the original Galaxy Tab than a next-generation tablet. Similarly the Motorola Xoom 2/Xyboard wasn’t a big jump from the original Xoom. With the ‘flagship’ vendors kind of dropping the ball it really left the market open to ASUS, and other vendors like Acer and Lenovo, to produce some of the best tablet values considering performance and price.

I think there is a strong argument to be made that ASUS is really the leading Android tablet maker when it comes to innovation, value, and functionality. I think they deserve more attention from consumers and the press covering the tablet market. Whether they get it or not, I hope they continue down the same road and continue to provide innovative products. If you’re considering an Android tablet purchase I think you’d be well served to carefully consider ASUS’s offerings. The second generation ‘low-end’ model Transformer Pad TF300T is a close match to my first generation ‘high-end’ Transformer Prime TF201, and the model I think most buyers will be looking at.

ASUS recently released a series of videos which gives us a peak into the design process and philosophy that shaped the Transformer products, especially the new Transformer Pad and Pad Infinity. I think they’re a nice look behind the scenes and not overly full marketing spin.

So what do you think? Do you agree that ASUS is really the flagship Android tablet maker? Do you think someone else is? If so, why do you feel that way? Leave a comment!

The TF300 Transformer Pad is closer to the TF201 Transformer Prime than the original TF101 Transformer. Like the TF201, the TF300 has a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU, 1GB RAM, 802.11b/g/b WiFi, and a 10.1? 1280×800 display. However, the display is IPS, not Super IPS+, and it is only available in 16GB & 32GB versions – instead of 32GB or 64GB. The TF300 has Bluetooth 3.0+EDR, up from 2.1+EDR. The TF300 loses the flash on the rear camera, though it is still 8MP, with a 1.2MP front camera.

While the TF300 is currently only available with WiFi, it will also eventually come in HSPA+ & LTE versions. Battery life is 10 hours, 15 with the dock – down from 12/18 on the TF201. And it is physically slightly larger. But it also has a $399.99 MSRP for the 32GB model, $100 less than the Transformer Prime. However, with the TF201 available for less than the MSRP, while the TF300, being new, isn’t available at much of a discount, the gap is currently smaller. It isn’t a clear choice – do you get the TF300 with most of the features and save a little, or go for the slicker TF201 with all of the features for just a bit more?

When the forthcoming Transformer Pad Infinity, effectively an HD Transformer Prime, launches it’ll be interesting to see if they keep the original Prime in the lineup or drop it to create more differentiation in the lineup. For now I’m happy with my Transformer Prime.

When you need a larger display the phone docks with a tablet. But the tablet is really just a screen and larger battery – it has no native processing capability. Instead the phone provides all of the power. That means no need to install apps twice and keep them in sync, or to have two data plans, etc. The tablet is just a ‘sleeve’ for the phone.

ASUS takes this even further with the PadFone, building on their Transformer products, but having the tablet dock with a keyboard. So the phone becomes a tablet becomes a netbook.

The PadPhone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 8260A Dual-Core 1.5 GHz CPU, 1GB RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and 16/32/54GB internal storage with a microSD slot for expansion. It has a rear 8MP camera with flash, though the front camera is listed as only VGA (.3MP) which is a little disappointing. The dimensions are 128mm x 65.4mm x 9.2mm with a weight of 129 grams. The display on the phone is 4.3″ qHD (960×540), which is respectable, though it’d be tough to give up the 720p display of my Galaxy Nexus.

The magic happens with DynamicDisplay, a special feature developed by ASUS. It dynamically resizes apps as the PadPhone is docked with or removed from the PadPhone Station. Not only do you get a 10.1″ 1280×800 display, but apps with optimized tablet views, such as Gmail, will change. So you won’t just see the phone display blown up, but the proper tablet view.

When docked, the PadPhone’s camera and flash are still used, but the front camera is replaced by one built into the tablet. What’s not clear from the specs and images is which ports the Station dock has. The keyboard dock looks very similar to the one for my Transformer Prime. Like the Prime’s keyboard it adds additional battery, as well as a full size USB port and full size SD slot.

This looks like a very interesting product. I’m not sure if I’d give up my Galaxy Nexus phone and Transformer Prime tablet for the PadFone, especially since I’ve really only just picked up both. But down the road when my G-Nex is up for replacement I’d certainly look at the then-current generation of the PadFone. This is exactly the kind of design I’ve been waiting for.

ASUS also announced that the Eee Pad Transformer line is bring rebranded as the Transformer Pad, and two new models are being introduced.

The Transformer Pad 300 looks like a slightly lower-end version of the existing Transformer Prime. Like the TF201, the TF300 has a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU, 1GB RAM, 802.11b/g/b WiFi, and a 10.1″ 1280×800 display. However, the display is IPS, not Super IPS+, and it only has 16GB of storage – instead of 32GB or 64GB. The TF300 has Bluetooth 3.0, up from 2.1+EDR. The TF300 loses the flash on the rear camera, though it is still 8MP, with a 1.2MP front camera.

While the TF201 is only available with WiFi, the TF300 will also come in HSPA+ & LTE versions. Battery life is 10 hours, 15 with the dock – down from 12/18 on the TF201. And it is physically slightly larger.

The other model, the Transformer Pad Infinity, goes the other way – an upgrade on the Transformer Prime. We saw this model teased at CES as a new model of Transformer Prime, the TF700. Specs-wise it is clearly an updated version of the Transformer Prime. It is the same size and weight – the keyboard dock is actually the same unit.

The WiFi model has the same 802.11b/g/n and BlueTooth 2.1+EDR, 1GB RAM, 32/64GB storage, and the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core CPU – only here is is clocked up to 1.6GHz. The like the TF201 the screen is a 10.1″ Super IPS+ display – but the resolution is 1920×1080 Full HD. It does as some new tweaks. In addition to Bluetooth 2.1+EDR it has Bluetooth 4.0 LE, or Low Energy.

Unlike the TF201, the TF700 will also come in HSPA+ and LTE models, which differ in other details. Instead of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core CPU, these units will use the Qualcomm MSM 8260A/8960 Snapdragon S4 Krait Dual-core clocked at 1.5Ghz. Why? When they started designing this unit the Tegra 3 wasn’t yet paired with 4G chipsets. It seems the TF300 was designed later, as there is no indication the cellular variants of that model will not be using the Tegra 3. Battery life is given as 10/16, which makes sense with the higher resolution screen and higher CPU clock.

I love my ASUS Transformer Prime, and the Transformer Pad Infinity looks interesting. I’d go with the WiFi model since I currently use my Prime with WiFi tethering on my G-Nex.

EDIT: ASUS just posted a video of the launch event at Mobile World Congress: