ASUS TRANSFORMER BOOK

ASUS Transformer book

No one has yet come up with the perfect Window 8 laptop-tablet hybrid, despite dozens of attempts between late last year and now. The powerful Asus Transformer Book, however, comes pretty close, adding several premium features.
This is, at first glance, an ultrabook-thin 13-inch laptop, similar to Asus 'Zenbook line, and with a desirable 1,920x1080-pixel screen resolution. The aluminium-clad 13.3-inch full HD IPS display produces punchy colours along with good viewing angles. Connectivity includes a 3.5 mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, microHDMI port as well as Asus's SonicMaster audio enhancements.
   The Intel Core i5-3337U supplies ample of horsepower for even the most demanding tasks which is further supplemented with 4 GB RAM and a 128GB SSD for faster loading times. Storage is handled by a 500GB hard drive in the keyboard dock. The notebook is a little top heavy so using it on your lap is challenging. The brushed aluminum finish on the palm rest feels great and the chiclet keys are very comfy to use.
   Asus has once again built an exquisitely crafted product that's guaranteed to turn eyeballs. Pricing is little steep considering Samsung's ATIV hybrid PC shares a similar configuration (minus the 500GB HDD) and is priced almost $20,000 lesser. The Transformer Book is another addition to Asus's growing arsenal of hybrid devices. It makes for a great Win 8 tablet but as a notebook, it isn't the lightest on the block.

Performance

   Windows 8 runs incredibly smooth in desktop mode and the touch sensitivity is spot on as well. The full HD panel is very good for either watching movies or working on a spreadsheet. The notebook is a little top heavy and due to this, you can't use it very comfortably on your lap as you would a regular notebook. The keys themselves are quite large and have a soft touch without sacrificing tactility. There's a new shortcut on the keyboard, which bring up a customised console giving you a quick overview of your entire system and settings.
Battery Life:
The Transformer Book uses a 65 watt charger with a magnetic connector like Apple's MagSafe charger, and you plug it into the tablet or the keyboard dock to charge. The tablet has a 5,000 mAh battery that's sealed inside and the dock has a 3,120 mAh battery that's also sealed inside.