…and it’s not cheap!
Update: It’s not light either. See product page for size and weight info.
As we watched this ASUS Transformer Book video from Liliputing yesterday, we heard some talk about a price and immediately started to write an article while simultaneously contacting Brad Linder at Liliputing for confirmation. He couldn’t give it. Apparently the voice was from another conversation and as there were other devices on the table he couldn’t confirm. We have new information now though.
The good news is that the Transformer Book is going to available in Italy from December. The bad news is that the price is going to be…
The Transformer Book is beating every other Ultrabook in terms of audience here. It was clear months ago that it was going to be popular. Yesterday’s ASUS event didn’t reveal much but we’ve managed to put most of the pieces together now. Today ASUS activated a micro-site for the device (thanks eeepc.it) and the bloggers there have spoken to ASUS to confirm availability.
Aggiornamento: ASUS Transformer Book in Italia da dicembre in configurazione (non ancora nota) da 1499€.
It will be available in December and the given price (for an unknown configuration) is €1499, which matches what you can hear on the Liliputing video, recorded in the US where prices often match the post-tax European prices. Let’s be a little bit careful but given the traction that the Transformer Book is getting, the specs and the audience, it’s very likely to be the launch price for the package.
Update: Core i5 version showing at Amazon.de for €1399 Core i7 for $1499. See comments below.
Asus Transformer Book Specifications, gallery, videos and links.
That $1499 price doesn’t mean you won’t be able to buy the tablet on its own for less or even see a low-spec model (320GB HDD, Core i3 perhaps) later and if it’s an RRP, there’s could be some room for discounting after the initial rush is over.
Still, it’s a high price and I’m sure many of you that had the Book high on your list could be thinking again now.
What price would you be prepared to pay? Check out ASUS’ Transformer Micro site here and comment below.
Thanks EeePC.it for the tip.
1300€ Max..
But is the dedicated GPU confirmed?
I guess I’ll stick with the UX32VD then..
I’m still waiting for a touchscreen version of the UX42VD. It would be fantastic!
we are paying 300€ for the transformation laptop/tablet and touchscreen…
I would have gone for an 11″ up to $1300, alas it is not meant to be. Probably go Atom this time and Haswell for the next one in 2013.
The Asus Transformer Book is listed up on Amazon.de , along with numerous other Asus and Windows 8 laptop
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B009PKYTL2/ref=s9_simh_bw_p147_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1H68TPJYQJ67TQWDTWVF&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=247628287&pf_rd_i=514699031
Obviously take it with a pinch of salt, but good too know
1399 for the Core i5. Thanks TTV.
Correct. And we published a news on Notebookitalia 2 weeks ago about it :)
http://notebookitalia.it/asus-taichi21-taichi31-tx300ca-ultrabook-tablet-convertibili-prezzi-15825
Well actually it’s not so overpriced. 1400$ was the 13.3″ Samsung Series 9 when it launched. The prices will drop probably 50-100$ after few months. Then 1300$ is really not overpriced for truly ultrabook.
PS: There are many cheap ultrabooks, but all of them are just not real ultrabooks. They are still “fat” and with less battery. Don’t measure with their price. Such technology still needs to be developed in order to lower the prices…
Lenovo Yoga 13 core i5 is $1099 ($999 for core i3) so why would this be much more expensive? Is it the 600 nits screen which I assume it has?
the core i5 is more expensive. Let’s say 100$ and the HDD and the other stuff in the dock more 100$. So we have difference from 200$.
So we have 100$ more because of the more practical design (tablet+dock) and probably 100$ that will drop after the initial drop :)
Btw you know such “new products” are quite expensive in the beginning because of the money invested in research and development, right?
I don’t deny it’s expensive gadget, but I doubt it’s so much overpriced.
The point here is that although this is apparently a more popular form factor than the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, it will face direct price competition from the Yoga. In this case, raw competetition is likely to limit the price, especially since the Yoga is already being given the hands-on treatment by paying customers at BestBuy in the USA.
And if the IdeaPad Yoga doesn’t suit a customer (because it’s form factor more closely competes with the Taichi), then the Lenovo Helix is going to undermine it pretty quickly if it goes global for a lower price than the one quoted here.
By the way, the IdeaPad Yoga was initially quoted by Lenovo at $1499+ fairly close to release as well, but you could pick it up for several hundered dollars less than that on it’s initial retail release. I anticipate the same thing here. Competition and the free market still function marginally well outside of the orchard.
So when will this be released in the UK?
When I asked about the price at the Asus event, I was given a quote I wasn’t sure I heard right so I didn’t put it in my posts. It was considerably higher for the i7 demo model I was trying.
Trying these in person made me think about the tablet-keyboard combo and I really liked that 13″ combo. Although in a pinch the 11.x” ones might do too. But 10.x” is iff my radar completely as a combo. Might be good as a standalone tablet, but the keyboard would be too small.
There’s a massive design problem here in my eyes. The keyboard dictates screen size which in turn dictates weight because bigger screens need big backlights and more battery. The backlight issue is significant.
Personally I dont think I can handle a 10, 11 or 13 inch tablet at these weights so i’m focusing on a decent Ultrabook while still keeping a high-end smartphone or 7″ tablet for the truly mobile scenarios.
Having said that, cruising an 11.6″ or 13.3″ tablet with zero fan and fast response on the sofa in front of the TV could be very nice indeed. That’s a tiny scenario for me though.
I would be willing to pay up to $1699 FOR the top spec. SSD and the 500GB extra disk in dock and I7 and the Nvidia Card. Having the dual storage as a photographer is amazing in a portable device and would allow me to work untethered from my office.
Stop writing articles
$1500 is too much for me. I’ll wait a little bit longer when newer tech arrives or competitors have some reasonable alternatives.
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Now, ASUS are fully aware that this is going to be INCREDIBLY popular when it comes out…they teamed up with google and released the Nexus7 for pretty much pocket change… In my eyes; due to what this product means for the future of computing they should be selling it for £999 and making sure we ALL have one. and at closer to £1K …we will all have one.