The hot Asus Transformer Book T100 sold out fairly quickly since its debut on Oct 18 on popular websites such as Amazon.com, Newegg.com, etc. In fact, the inventory still runs low across the internet right now. A couple of reasons make this new Transformer Book from Asus such a hot pick: $349 for a 32gb model and $399 for a 64gb. It is definitely the least expensive transformer book you can get. It comes with a Microsoft Office 2013, which is a huge plus to its value. The keyboard is also included, unlike Microsoft Surface which you need to purchase the keyboard separately. It is also the first tablet/laptop hybrid that ships with the new Intel Atom Bay Trail CPU and have the new Windows 8.1 preinstalled!
Appearance-wise, it is not flattering, especially the casing of the tablet itself. It has a glossy plastic finish which is not too bad until it is covered with fingerprints. If you are someone who likes to snack while staying in front of the computer, you will probably need to have a bottle of alcohol with you handy whenever you are disgusted by its look. But it really is not bad for its price. I mean, it can be uglier. The top of the keyboard actually looks pretty cool with a "brushed-metal" look. The bottom of the keyboard, however, has a matte surface and thus does not match with the glossy plastic finish. At this price, we really don't expect Asus to spend time on the details of styling.
For specs, here is some details:
Processor: Intel Atom Bay Trail-T Z3740 Quad Core
Operating System: Window 8.1 with MS Office Home & Student 2013
Main Memory: 2GB
Storage: 32G/64G eMMC with ASUS WebStorage
Display: 10.1" HD (1366*768) IPS with multi-touch
Graphic: Intel HD Graphics
Camera: 1.2Mp front-facing camera
Bettery: 31Whr (11 hrs)
DimensionsTablet: 263 x 171 x 10.5 mm (WxDxH)
Dock: 263 x 171 x13mm (WxDxH)
Weight
Tablet: 550g
Dock: 520g
Experience so far
Having used it for about a week, I have to say that I like it! I am really cautious when it comes to Asus product as I had horrible experience before with my Nexus 7. In my experience, their quality control and customer service are quite questionable. Having said that, I'm surprised/lucky that the machine I have is working okay so far. There was once I thought that my touchpad and keyboard didn't work. It turns out that by pressing f9, it resolves the 'problem', as that function key is designated as disabling the keyboard, including the trackpad. So for those who stumble upon the same problem, don't freak out yet, maybe all you need is to press f9 (fn key + f9).
Switching from iPad
I have been an iPad user. While I can't thank my iPad enough for being so helpful, there is one big drawback to me: I cannot open two windows/apps at once! I always need to type while I read and thus I need two apps that can run in parallel. Therefore, something that runs a full version of operating system, portable, and has long battery power are definitely on my list of consideration. All three points are checked for this little device. Although I would say that the battery of the iPad 4th generation is still more powerful in terms of the drainage rate when sleeps. iPad drains only so little while it sleeps but the T100 drains quite noticeably in stand-by mode. It drains about 10% after standing-by for about 18 hours. Will see if it gets better after more charging.
In part 2 of my review of T100, I will cover more the pros & cons, some suggestions and will have more photos to come. Stay tuned :)
Appearance-wise, it is not flattering, especially the casing of the tablet itself. It has a glossy plastic finish which is not too bad until it is covered with fingerprints. If you are someone who likes to snack while staying in front of the computer, you will probably need to have a bottle of alcohol with you handy whenever you are disgusted by its look. But it really is not bad for its price. I mean, it can be uglier. The top of the keyboard actually looks pretty cool with a "brushed-metal" look. The bottom of the keyboard, however, has a matte surface and thus does not match with the glossy plastic finish. At this price, we really don't expect Asus to spend time on the details of styling.
For specs, here is some details:
Processor: Intel Atom Bay Trail-T Z3740 Quad Core
Operating System: Window 8.1 with MS Office Home & Student 2013
Main Memory: 2GB
Storage: 32G/64G eMMC with ASUS WebStorage
Display: 10.1" HD (1366*768) IPS with multi-touch
Graphic: Intel HD Graphics
Camera: 1.2Mp front-facing camera
Bettery: 31Whr (11 hrs)
DimensionsTablet: 263 x 171 x 10.5 mm (WxDxH)
Dock: 263 x 171 x13mm (WxDxH)
Weight
Tablet: 550g
Dock: 520g
Experience so far
Having used it for about a week, I have to say that I like it! I am really cautious when it comes to Asus product as I had horrible experience before with my Nexus 7. In my experience, their quality control and customer service are quite questionable. Having said that, I'm surprised/lucky that the machine I have is working okay so far. There was once I thought that my touchpad and keyboard didn't work. It turns out that by pressing f9, it resolves the 'problem', as that function key is designated as disabling the keyboard, including the trackpad. So for those who stumble upon the same problem, don't freak out yet, maybe all you need is to press f9 (fn key + f9).
Switching from iPad
I have been an iPad user. While I can't thank my iPad enough for being so helpful, there is one big drawback to me: I cannot open two windows/apps at once! I always need to type while I read and thus I need two apps that can run in parallel. Therefore, something that runs a full version of operating system, portable, and has long battery power are definitely on my list of consideration. All three points are checked for this little device. Although I would say that the battery of the iPad 4th generation is still more powerful in terms of the drainage rate when sleeps. iPad drains only so little while it sleeps but the T100 drains quite noticeably in stand-by mode. It drains about 10% after standing-by for about 18 hours. Will see if it gets better after more charging.
In part 2 of my review of T100, I will cover more the pros & cons, some suggestions and will have more photos to come. Stay tuned :)
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