Eee Pad Sells Out on First Day—The Biggest iPad Rival to Date?

The iPad has established itself as "the" tablet computer for gadgeteers on the go. But Google is giving Apple a run for their money as Android tablets improve with each new release. Motorola XOOM and Samsung Galaxy are among the top dogs competing against the iPad, along with another from ASUS, which just became available yesterday in the United States—selling out in mere minutes.

Now, don't let the name fool you. When I first heard it, I thought it was some horrible Michael Bay creation called "Anus Eww", but trust me—it's not. It's actually called the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, ASUS coming from the Greek mythological creature Pegasus, which represents inspiration and knowledge. Truthfully, I have no idea what "Eee" means or how long I have to hold that "e" sound, but names aside—it's the coolest and cheapest alternative to the iPad 2 (or any other Android tablet for that matter—unless we're talking NOOK). Best Buy even thinks it's worthy, taking a stab at iPad 2 in their Eee Pad promo. Gutsy.

Similar to the XOOM, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 boasts a 10.1" touch display, 16GB memory, Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS and NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, all contained within a slim 12.98mm body. The cost: $400. The best part, and the reason this tablet is called Transformer—the additional Keyboard Dock that turns the Eee Pad into a mini-notebook computer. Additional cost: $150.

Wondering if the Eee Pad is your next tablet/notebook? See the video below for a walkthrough of its features, and get more details at AnandTech.