Three tech companies unveiled new tablets today that they hope will add another nail into the PC industry’s coffin.

Samsung unveiled two new variants of its popular Galaxy Tab 3, an 8-inch  and a 10.1-inch model, whilst Asus popped out a new Nexus 7 with rear camera, plus the latest iteration of its flagship Transformer Pad Infinity. Finally, not to be outdone, Acer showed up with the first ever 8-inch Windows 8 tablet.

Before we pit these tablets against one another, let’s first look at what these new comers have to offer.

Samsung Tablets

8-inch Galaxy Tab 3

The device features an 8-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 5MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera, 1.5GB RAM, and comes available in 16GB and 32GB storage with approximately 11.26GB and 26.16GB usable memory. For those who need more, there’s a microSD slot allowing users to increase storage to up to 64GB via a microSD card.

10.1-inch Galaxy Tab 3

Larger, but with lower end specs, this device features a 10.1-inch screen with the same resolution as the 8-inch version, a faster 1.6GHz dual-core processor, also available in 16GB and 32GB versions, albeit with only 1GB of RAM, a 3MP rear camera, a 1.3MP front camera, and a microSD card slot for expansion.

Both tablets run Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and support 800, 850, 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600MHz LTE bands, which means the tablet are compatible with networks across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and South America.  No news yet if the devices will support the 700MHz LTE band which is widely used in the US. There will be a WiFi only version for both tablets for those who do not want to tie up their gadgets to a network carrier.  Samsung hasn’t given details on how much the devices would cost, but consumers will soon find out as they’re set to go on sale in the first half of June.

How Do They Compare to the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 3?

Both devices have better display resolution when compared with the 7-inch version, which only has 1024 x 600.  The camera of the 10-inch version is similar to the 7-inch version, but both new tablets are running the latest version of Android.  Tech sheet-wise, the 8-inch version seems to be the best option as it boasts better resolution and higher camera specs. All in all though, looking at Samsung’s new devices, nothing much has changed – at the end of the day, a Galaxy Tab is a Galaxy Tab!

Asus Tablets

Memo Pad HD7

The new Memo Pad HD7 tablet is almost identical to the original Nexus 7, except that it has a 5MP rear camera.  Aside from the presence of the rear camera, it features a 7-inch 1280 x 800 HD IPS display, a quad-core A7 CPU, 1.2MP front camera, and a microSD slot for storage expansion.  It will be available in a variety of colors when it launches in July and will come in 8GB and 16Gb versions for $129 and $149, respectively.

Comparison to the Nexus 7

Asus’s device features the exact same specifications as the Nexus 7 except for the rear 5MP camera, and the CPU.  Google is said to be launching a better and more powerful version of the Nexus 7 in July, which could mean that this Asus tablet will be rebranded as “Nexus”. Alternatively, it could mean that Asus is working with Google on another, more powerful 7-inch tablet.

Refreshed Transformer Pad Infinity

Asus’ second offering of the day is hybrid style laptop/tablet featuring a 10.1-inch 2560 x 1600 IPS display, a Tegra 4 processor, 2GB of RAM, a USB 3.0 port, 32GB of storage, SD card slot in its base, a 5MP rear camera, and a 1.2MP front camera.  The dock is still present and device comes with a full QWERTY keyboard that should have some appeal for those who need to get work done on the thing.

Other features include additional ports, and a better battery for longer usage.  Asus promises that the tablet will have enough power to output 4K videos via its HDMI-out port, when they come available.  The revamped Transformer will be available by fall 2013 and will sell for roughly for $399 for just the tablet, or $499 with the bundled dock.

Comparison to the old Transformer Pad Infinity

The revamped version has a better display resolution, but for now that’s about all Asus is letting on.  No news yet if the new version will be available in WiFi-only and 4G versions, or if the chips used for the two versions will be different – however, don’t be surprised to find that it contains something better. Also,  no word as yet on the battery life of the new device, or what version of Android it’ll be running.

Acer Tablet

Iconia W3

Final offering of the day is Acer’s bid to make Windows fashionable again.  It’s newest tablet is the first 8-inch Window 8 tablet EVER, and it seems to be a fairly capable machine. Featuring a 1,280 x 800 resolution display, a full version of Microsoft Office (free, by the way), equipped with Intel’s dual-core 1.8GHz Atom Z2760 processor, 2MP front and rear cameras, and a built-in micro-HDMI port.

The device is available in two flavors – 32GB or 64GB versions, both of which can be expanded with up to 32GB via a microSD card slot.  It will be available for pre-order tomorrow at Amazon, Microsoft’s retail stores and online Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples and Walmart starting at $379 for the 32GB version, as previously leaked by Amazon. It’ll also be available in retail stores by the end of June, however there is some confusion over how much they’ll cost from the aforementioned stores, with other sources claiming that the 32GB version will be priced at $427 while the 64GB will cost $492.

Head-to-Head with the old Iconia W7

It’s remarkably smaller but don’t let the size of this thing fool you.  The processor that comes with it really ought to be fitted in a much bigger a tablet, but it isn’t. What this means is that if you’re looking for a tablet that means business and does business, Acer’s new Iconia certainly won’t disappoint.  Also, the free Microsoft Office that comes with it is great addition for professionals, no two ways about it.  Unfortunately, you might be a bit disappointed with the W3’s camera since the W7 is packing a 5MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front camera.