Asus Transformer Book - This Is The Windows 8 Ultrabook To Buy!

Hands-on with the Asus Transformer Book 13.3" convertible tablet - Liliputing. The big day is almost here. As other manufacturers continue to come out with Windows 8 computers with touch screens and hard drives, the convergence of the tablet and the ultrabook inches closer. As per usual, Asus will be in the market in a couple of months with the winner. An ultrabook with a hard drive and an extra battery for power, a Core I7 or Core I5 chip, and, wait for it, a detachable screen that functions as a light, portable tablet when detached, this is the one for me. Some will say that a 13.3 inch tablet is too large and bulky; and, since I have adopted the 7 inch form factor for my carry around tablet with the Nexus 7, I might agree. However, a unit that serves two purposes brilliantly is a powerful lure. The only problem with this computer is that I promised SWMBO that I would save up for the pricey trip to Paris she has wanted for forever, and would use tech purchase savings to do it. Ouch. The Book costs $1,499 in its Core I7 incarnation. That will buy a round trip ticket to France. Oh well. Perhaps my well heeled readers will take up a collection and buy me one so that I can review it for you. I won't hold my breath.

Comments

[Yousef]

What do you make of the Lenovo Yoga? I'm waiting for the 11S as I felt the 13" was a bit unwieldy for a tablet. I'd rather not have to detach/reattach stuff together. The processor/specs of the tablet are prob inferior to most ultrabooks anyways.

[Richard Georges]

Good question, Yousef. I agree that an 11 inch screen would be better for tablet use. I suppose it depends whether the user will be using the tablet function or the ultrabook function more. I suspect that 13 inches is the bottom end for a traveling notebook, and if you are only going to use it as a tablet sometimes, the extra 2 inches won't make much of a difference. And, I really like ASUS tablets.