I'm writing this on a quad-core tablet, and I'm blown away by how powerful it is. It's the first tablet with a quad-core processor to hit the market, and it's only one of many that are expected to flood the market this year.

Before you get too excited, I should probably clarify that I'm not using the highly-anticipated Apple iPad 3, which is rumoured to have a quad-core processor too, and will likely launch sometime next month. No, I'm currently using an Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime (no relation to the leader of the Autobots), a tablet that's easily the most impressive I've seen so far that's running the Android operating system. Having a quad-core processor isn't the only feather in its cap; it's also got a unique form factor that lets it transform from a tablet to a notebook (hence its name) by clicking it into a keyboard dock. Essentially, you get the best of both worlds: a touchscreen tablet that you can use for 'up close and personal computing' like couch surfing, social networking and multimedia playback, and a notebook for when you need to enter lots of text.

Is this the future of tablet computing? I wouldn't complain if it was — I'm loving the versatility of this setup, although it would be even better if it switched over to a more powerful desktop operating system when using it in notebook mode. Imagine: the touch-optimised Android user interface when using it as a tablet, and then the full-fledged Windows operating system when you click it into the keyboard dock. As great as Android is for smartphones and tablets, the lack of windows (you can only see one application at a time on the screen) and fairly limited functionality in the apps available make Windows a far better option for proper productivity.

You can already get Windows 7 on a tablet, but while the experience is reasonably good, it's still not as intuitive as using one of the operating systems that were designed for a touchscreen from the get-go, such as Android or iOS (the operating system using on the iPhone and iPad). Plus, the slower performance, shorter battery life and higher price tags prevent them from really taking off in the consumer space. But we may not have to wait too long before we see a touchscreen-optimised version of Windows hitting the tablet form factor. The first Windows 8 tablets are expected to hit the market in the second half of this year, and these may prove to be a far bigger challenge to the iPad than any Android tablet.

Think about it: a tablet of similar size, spec and price tag of an iPad, with a user interface that's been specifically designed for navigation with your fingertips (similar to the look and feel of the Windows Phone 7 operating system for smartphones), and the ability to run all of the applications you currently use on your desktop computer rather than the 'scaled down' versions that are available for iOS and Android, plus apps specifically designed for Windows 8 that you can download from a dedicated apps store. All of the peripherals and gadgets that you currently connect to your computer like LCD monitors, external keyboards, hard drives, digital cameras and mobile broadband modems will all also work with the tablet out of the box. I don't know about you, but this sounds far more appealing than an iPad or Android tablet. Provided the manufacturers that will be shipping Windows 8 tablets this year get the mix right, I'll be one of the first in line to get one!

Will you buy an iPad 3 when it's released, or do you think the competition has something better to offer?

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