Back in February, Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700, the successor of the much acclaimed Asus Transformer Prime, was unveiled at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 in Barcelona.

The fourth member of the Asus Infinity family gained a lot of compliments on its debut and since then, tech enthusiasts have been waiting eagerly for the new tablet/laptop hybrid to hit the U.S. retail shelves. And now, the guys over at Engadget reports that Asus has announced its Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 will be available in the U.S. from July 16 in two models - 32GB, which will cost around $499, and 64GB, which will be available for $599. The company is throwing in free 8GB Asus WebStorage online storage space as well for the lifetime of the tablet.

Asus had earlier announced that Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 will be available in three different variants, including a WiFi-only version, an HSPA+ version, and an LTE version. However, Engadget’s report indicates that the tablet will be arriving in the U.S. market in WiFi-only version initially. Later, the company will introduce the 4G LTE model with Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor.

The new Asus tablet boasts of some impressive features, including the tablet’s accompanying proprietary keyboard dock, which transforms the device into a laptop.

The Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS and it is powered by 1.6GHz quad-core NVidia Tegra 3 processor, accompanied by 1GB of RAM.

The tablet sports a 10.1-inch Super IPS+ panel Brilliant HD display with 1920 x 1200 pixels of resolution, and packs a rear-facing 8-megapixel auto-focus camera with dedicated LED Flash that is capable of 1080p HD video recording capability, and a 2.0-megapixel front-facing camera for HD video chat.

Connectivity features include 3.5mm jack, micro-HDMI output, microSD card reader , Bluetooth 2.1, enhanced 802.11 Wi-Fi b/g/n, enhanced GPS performance and keyboard dock.

The tablet boasts a dimension of 263 x 180.8 x 8.3mm and weighs around 586 grams. On the battery front, the tablet's 25WHr battery delivers up to 9.5 hours of activity time before needing a recharge.

Pitted against the Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 is Microsoft Surface, which the software giant unveiled at the Los Angeles event last week.

Microsoft introduced the Surface in two different models - one running an ARM processor featuring Windows RT, and another that comes integrated with the third-generation Ivy Bridge Intel Core processor featuring Windows 8 Pro. Here's a look at the key specs:

Windows RT model: 676 g, 9.3 mm, 10.6" ClearType HD Display, 31.5 W-h, microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae, 32 GB or 64 GB internal storage options.

Windows 8 Pro: 903 g, 13.5 mm, 10.6" ClearType Full HD Display, 42 W-h, microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae, 64 GB or 128 GB internal storage options.

According to Microsoft, the Surface tablets will be made available sometime around the Windows 8 release date, likely to be October or November this year.

In addition to the impressive specs, the new Surface tablet offers some innovative accessories including Type Cover, Touch Cover, Integrated Kickstand and Pen with Palm Block.

While the 3mm Touch Cover clicks into Surface via a built-in magnetic connector, offering the user the power of gestures, strokes, touch and type with a unique pressure-sensitive technology, it also works as a protective cover at the same time. On the other hand, the 5 mm-thin Type Cover offers users the experience of a true keyboard with real moving, clickable keys for a more traditional typing feel.

Additionally, the Surface's built-in kickstand comes handy for watching movies and HD videos or even while using rear-facing video cameras.

The Surface also has a pen and a feature called "Pen with Palm Block" in which the screen accepts the input from the stylus but ignores the touch of the palm and the fingers.

With all these breakthrough features, Microsoft Surface also looks to be a promising device. While Microsoft's Metro interface is bound to turn some heads, on the other hand, with the advantage of Android app world and Asus proprietary dock connector and its predecessor's success graph, Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 will prove to be a fierce rival. Hence, right now it's difficult to say which tablet is better, though Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 holds a slight edge because of it is lighter (1.29lb) than the Surface and more portable, which is what a real tablet should be.