It is a great product but we're not sure it will have the same impact the straight-forward Transformer had as this is much more of a genre bender than its predecessor.

Asus Eee Pad Slider: Build

The Eee Pad Slider is a bulky, heavy beast, weighing in at close to 1kg, but there’s a good reason for that extra girth. Push the screen upwards and the whole thing shifts, revealing a dinky keyboard beneath. This is the main selling point, and should be enough to sway anyone who needs a basic portable device for emailing, chatting with friends online, or even knocking up a novel during those irksome commutes.

The keys are rather small, with a particularly tiny Shift key, but we still found we could touch-type without making many mistakes. The included Polaris office software can be used to bash out a document or create a spreadsheet. You also have access to Google’s online Market, where you can download plenty of excellent apps for free (or a small fee).

Asus Eee Pad Slider: OS

Packed with Android "HoneyComb" 3.2, the Asus Eee Slider is nippy but only has an array of apps as good as Honeycomb and they are still few and far between - even on version 3.2.

Asus Eee Pad Slider: Screen

If you tire of boring work stuff, the Slider is also a worthy entertainment machine. The bright 10.1-inch display is a perfect way to take in a movie, thanks to its sharp resolution and excellent viewing angles. It also does a decent job of masking fingerprints, which plague most other tablet displays. HD movies play perfectly, and even complex games run smoothly thanks to the dual-core nVidia Tegra 2 processor.

Asus Eee Pad Slider: Features

Strangely the browser did not support Flash websites such as BBC iPlayer as default – we had to download Adobe Flash Player from the Android Market to catch up with last night’s TV. Still, the built-in GPS is a lifesaver when using Google Maps, and the built-in 32GB of storage provides plenty of space for apps as well as movies and music.

The bulky frame also means there’s plenty of room for ports. A full-sized USB port can be used to attach peripherals, while an HDMI port means you can hook up a TV, for boring friends with your fuzzy holiday snaps.

Asus Eee Pad Slider: Verdict

The Asus Eee Pad Slider is a good performer that is practicial and laden with solid multi-media specs. We not quite sure who would go and can buy one, but we do know they won't be disappointed.

Asus Eee Pad Slider availability: Out from Oct 24.

Asus Eee Pad Slider price: £350