For just $399 you can be one of the first to pick up the quad-core Baytrail-based ASUS Transformer Book T100 Windows 8.1 2-in-1 that we saw launched at IDF last month. We were impressed! $399 gets you the 64GB version (there’s a 32GB version but we advise going for the one with the bigger storage.) It should ship soon after 18th October.
A quick re-cap on the key ASUS Transformer Book T100 specifications:
It’s a Baytrail – Z3740 (nominal 1.33Ghz quad-core with boost to 1.8Ghz) – which should bring in a really good improvement over the Clovertrail-based tablets of the previous generation. The 10.1-inch screen cheap xenical online is IPS and has a 1366.768 screen. 2GB of RAM should be OK for the Windows 8.1 32bit OS and included Office software. The battery is in the tablet and it’s a 31Wh unit that will give you anything from 5-10 hours of working time, depending on what you’re doing and how bright you’ve got the screen. There’s a USB3.0 port on the dock so running it through a DisplayLink dock to a larger screen should not be a problem. There’s a Micro HDMI and Micro USB on the tablet.
Here’s an interesting bit of information. Amazon say that the USB port on the tablet supports “charging and USB device.” Does that mean the tablet can be trickle charged via USB? That would be great for mobility.
The tablet weighs just 1.2 pounds and the unit together just 2.4lbs. This is a product high on our list.
The Amazon order page is here. Do let us know if you’ve ordered and what you’re planning to use the T100 for.
Our hands-on below. More information and discussion on the product page.
Thanks to Kyle for the tip.
Pre-ordered it immediately :p pretty excited. I wish Microsoft didn’t wait until a Friday to release 8.1 though.
Great! What are your plans for it?
Well I sold my old thinkpad tablet 2 which I was mostly using for personal use. But I’m hoping with this I can use instead of my laptop for more things like college classes etc.. I’m excited to benchmark it and maybe be able to bring it with me to a friends for light gaming like league of legends. I will be posting some YouTube videos on performance like I did when clover trail came out to give everyone a look.
Fantastic. Keep us posted on status and we’ll link in to your content.
So tempting! But the battery life of my Acer W510 will be hard to live without. I am fairly sure the track pad on this Asus will be better than the Acer 510’s but, unless the keyboard has a battery in the Asus version I am going to pass. Perhaps equally important is the Acer W510’s various configurations: The Display Mode has grown on me and is very nice to have late at night in bed…
I understand. I still find the W510 very useful for day trips and it’s often the only laptop/tablet in the house/studio that has any charge left in it! Have you considered the Dell Venue 11 Pro? There’s a keyboard with battery available and the tablet section is light, although not as light as the W510 tablet.
Chippy,
Dell Venue Pro looks very good! Thanks for the suggestion! I will have to get over my obsession of the Acer W510’s form factor (screen size, configuration options, battery-life and weight) to go for another convertible. But I am going to keep looking–leisurely though.
Waiting on Bay Trail M (ie. Pentium N3510) 10 inchers. Any leaked devices yet? Hoping to see upgradeable RAM and storage. Don’t really care about the whole hybrid and touch thing but I guess it’ll help having the components that generate the most heat in the lid rather than in the base when putting the notebook on non-hard surfaces.
No leaked devices yet. I get the feeling that it will be a 2014 rollout. They might be working on 64-bit drivers too. Intel said that those are coming, but not ready yet. The OEMs will need that if they’re to offer 8GB RAM
The HP Pavilion 11 x2 should be using an Intel BayTrail M version (Pentium N3510 precisely). It is described as such on HP own web site (at least here in France).
Here is a link (in French) with the detailed specs:
http://www8.hp.com/fr/fr/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=6420738#!tab=specs
I wonder what will be the performances of the SSD they use, and what will be the size options. So far, only 64GB…
Thanks. I wonder when this version will be available. I was under the impression that M versions will wait for the 64 bit drivers, available Q1 2014
Chippy, any news on that amazing “smart frame” technology Intel showed on the North Cape reference design ? Have you heard if any of the OEMs have picked it up ?
A 13.3 incher in a 11 inch frame sounds fantastic.
No, I haven’t seen or heard anything on that. I hope we get to see it though as it was a great idea.
Pre-ordered from Amazon. I was considering the Sony Viao Duo 13, which is a beautiful “tablet-first” convertible laptop, but it is quite expensive and the non-detachable tablet is never going to feel light enough for really casual consumption. This t100 actually looks like it could be a pretty good tablet. For less $$$, I figured I’d test out the Baytrail battery life with this device and separately upgrade the home desktop.
I’m very tempted by the Dell Venue 11 Pro, but I haven’t seen confirmation that it’s coming to the US in a timely fashion. Does anyone here know anything about that? Even if it’s not “official” from Dell, are we all expecting a Q4 2013 US release for the Dell? If not, I’m tired of waiting and I’m going to pull the trigger on the T100.
Just pre-ordered it.
Started to obsessed with Windows tablets a couple weeks ago, and told myself should wait for Bay Trail instead of buying Acer W3. Two more,Acer W4 and Dell Venue Pro 8, were realsed while I was shopping around, and Toshiba Encore was also on my list. I intended to buy a 8-inch one, because weight is one of my biggest concern (had ipad 1 and 2 before. now using Nexus 7.ipad is too heavy to me.), so Dell Venue Pro 8 was my first choice until I read specs of T100. Why not pay $50 more to get a bigger screen and a keyboard? as it is not much heavier.
I will use it for digital readings of my college course instead of my Nexus 7, which’s screen is kind of small. and I guess using it in bed instead of holding the “hot” laptop would be much nicer. I will see what else Bay Trail with 2G RAM can do.
There is a seller on Amazon.com that also have it up for pre order and they do international shipping. I put an order in for £290 including delivery but excluding import charges.
Also chippy the manual is online and it confirms micro USB port charging. This was the selling point that made me pull the trigger
http://www.asus.com/supportonly/T100TA/#support_Manual
I would get this if it had a better display (1920 or 2560) I do way too much reading at home and work to use a low res display.
seems to work well as a mirror too.
With the Dell Venue 11 Pro showing up at Amazon at price-points well above the T100 (as it was expected to), I actually made a list of all the features and prices of all the things I wanted from the Venue 11. When I realized that I was going to be spending almost triple the money on all the V11 stuff, I decided to scale back my expectations and pre-order the T100.
I’d love to have a tablet i5 with a drop-in dock and use it for all of my day-to-day computing, essentially carrying my whole computer with me everywhere I go. However, the size, weight, and price of the whole V11 kit to make that happen was too much.
Ultimately, if my T100 is as useful as my TF300 (Android) with a usable, functional Microsoft Office, then I’m going to call it a win.
And FWIW, as much as I’d like a Full HD display, 1366×768 at 10.1 is good enough for me. If I’m going to be doing serious reading, I’ll use my Paperwhite. YMMV, of course.
Why do you recommend the 64gb over the 32 gb, is it just a more is better kind of thing ?
Because this uses a x86 version of Windows, just like a PC. If you get the 32GB you won’t have any space left for apps or files. It’s pretty amazing they would even have a 32GB version to begin with.
I agree with dicobalt, but, a 64g micro sd card costs around $50 bucks, I’m thinking I’m gonna get the 32g version plus 64g card for around the same price as the 64g version. That way ill have an entire 64g of storage plus whatever is left on the tablet after the OS and MS office is preinstalled.. Anyone have any reason why that’s not a good idea?
The first major Windows 8.1 updates will likely gobble up any space left of basic 32GB memory consumed by the Windows folder and Office 2013 Home & Student files. You cannot install Windows & Office updates to your (removable) SD card memory. So that begs the question, where are you going to store all your user files?
I have a MacBook Air running OS X for my main mobile work, plus an iPad mini. I preordered a Transformer Book T100 to be able to do Windows-only work on the go without chugging along in VMWare and to have a target device if I decide to develop a Win8 app.
“Supports charging and usb device” i think refers to being able to charge electronics from it (ipods/phones), not that it can be charged through the usb port.
When will the T100 be aviable in normal stores? I’m not from the US, and I’m staying at a hotel I LA before I fly home on Saturday the 19th late in the night. Would really like to get one, but I’m not sure I take the risk of preorder from Amazon if it should get delayed.
According to me, and to all ive read, retailers should have it in store on the 18th. I haven’t found any that advertise it though! I called bestbuy and the costumer service rep dirt know wth I was talking about. I’m calling again tomorrow, along with any stores that might carry it. Ill let you know what I find out.
Thanks allot, appreciate it! If nobody sels it, could I still get it on Friday 18th from Amazon if I order it to night?
It looks like amazon.com is sold out, now they only offer it from two other online retailers (still fulfilled by amazon though) but it appears to be on back order. I added it to my cart and they said it wouldn’t ship until Monday October 21-24 and it would arrive anywhere from oct 25 to nov 5th :/. If you’re from another country, one of them (EXcaliber PC) offers international shipping. All they’re reviews are good in regards to shipping speeds, so that might be an option for you. I’m not sure what their fees are like. bestbuy also had preorders but the website says its out of stock. They open in a few minutes ill let you know what they say. I didn’t think it would be in such high demand! I’m a bit upset with myself. Amazon was offering it with free two day shipping (if you have amazon prime) and it would have shipped on the 18th. The problem is it comes out on a Friday and wouldn’t arrive until Monday anyway. Your best chance is an in-store pick-up since you say you’re flying out on the 19th. But anyway, imma call around ill post again in a few mins
Bestbuy says to call back tomorrow since their inventory won’t update until then. Walmart says to call on the 18th but I doubt they’ll have it. Fry’s electronics also said to call back the day of. Target was unaware and unhelpful…in other words: fuck. I’m not a fan of ordering electronics through the mail so ill prob just wait until I find in in store. Ill call best buy back tomorrow I think that’s the best shot..
I had a pre-order from amazon the day it started. Now today after I was told monday delivery they tell me they aren’t in stock. I was pretty angry, I ended up cancelling my order with them and going with bhphotovideo.com for my order as they said they had it in stock and for a normal price. Amazon offered a credit for the amount if i used another seller, hopefully bhphoto works out and I won’t have to do that though.