ASUS Launches Windows 8 Compatible Notebooks, Tablets and AIOs (Updated with Taichi and Transformer Book)
Today, ASUS announced a whole year's worth of products that will be using Microsoft's latest and greatest operating system, Windows 8. Could one of these be your next Windows 8 device? We're certain there's something for everyone, including one of the most impressive gaming machines available.
ASUS Prepares an Onslaught of Windows 8 Devices!
We can tell you that ASUS is going all out with an extensive line-up to support the launch of Windows 8. After all, this is the OS that everyone has been waiting for to dazzle consumers and every tier-1 PC vendor has been busy churning out new hardware designs to better take advantage of Windows 8. It's more than just a pretty Start screen, so if you haven't yet found out first-hand or seen how Windows 8 functions, head over to the region's only Windows 8 Mega Guide to get updated. Back to the Windows 8 line-up from ASUS, here's our video walkthrough of a few highlight products that we'll be elaborating in more detail in this article:-
One of the most intriguing products that we didn't yet get hands-on during our video filming (but should be available later this year) is the ASUS Taichi Ultrabook. As such, we'll begin our article with more details of this product:-
ASUS Taichi
The Taichi features dual screens, one on the interior of the lid, and one on the exterior. Only the exterior lid is touchscreen.
First seen at Computex 2012 the ASUS Taichi will soon be making its way into the consumer market. This 11-inch Ultrabook has a maximum thickness of just 17mm, which tapers down to 3mm, and a weight of just 1.25kg. The Taichi features a unique form factor, with dual back-to-back full HD screens on either side of the lid, combining both tablet and notebook into one device, without the need for any screen converting or transforming. With the notebook open, it operates as a standard Ultrabook, but close it, and it becomes a tablet. Only the exterior lid operates as a touchscreen, so for Windows 8 usage, you're likely to be using it in the closed screen position most of the time.
On the inside, the Taichi operates as a standard 11-inch Ultrabook.
The secondary lid display can also be used in the open position as a presentation screen, and it can also be toggled on/off if you don't want other people to see what you're doing. The Taichi will also come supplied with an ASUS stylus.
Components-wise, the Taichi is armed with an Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB RAM and a 256GB SSD storage drive. The Taichi will retail in Singapore for $2698, however availability is currently unknown (we hear it could be towards the end of November, but nothing is concrete yet).
ASUS Vivobook Series
The ASUS Vivobooks are meant to be affordable, but have excellent build quality.
Sitting in the lower end of the notebook spectrum, we’ve got the new touch-enabled Vivobook notebook series with two variants upon launch. These touchscreen notebooks are targeted at price-conscious consumers, who are looking for the lowest entry point into Windows 8. Despite their price point, they retain the same premium design principles seen on the Zenbook series. Both of these notebooks sport slim and tapered aluminum bodies like those of the Zenbooks. The difference here is that they are thicker and heavier than the Zenbooks. And because of their increased thickness, ASUS is able to add in more connectivity options like a VGA and RJ45 port.
The most visible way to tell them apart is that the Vivobooks have brushed aluminum lids, rather than the swirled metal imprint design on the Zenbooks. The Zenbooks are of course officially classified as Ultrabooks, but sadly because the cost conscious Vivobooks use a mechanical hard disk, they aren't officially marketed and classified as Ultrabooks. For most general consumers, both series will look and feel like Ultrabooks as the differences in overall design and usability are technical. That's both a good and bad point for both series, but you would be hard pressed not to just pass them off as affordable Ultrabooks.
ASUS Vivobook Series X202
The ASUS Vivobook X202 will be going for under S$1000. It has got specs that rival an Ultrabook, save for its regular mechanical 500GB HDD.
The Vivobook X202 is a 11.6-inch (1366 x 768 pixels), 1.3kg touchscreen notebook with a rather premium looking body that is mostly made of aluminum. Design-wise, it looks just like a, 11-inch Zenbook, but thicker (21.7mm thick to be exact) and heavier. As we mentioned earlier, it has got additional connectivity options that the Zenbook can only dream of like a full sized VGA port, an RJ45 port, an HDMI port, a card reader as well as three USB (2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0) ports.
During our brief hands-on session with it, we also found that the X202 is as robust as it looks. The aluminum body really adds to the overall premium feel of the notebook. Even the keyboard (note that the keyboard well is separate from palm rest) and trackpad is very similar to the more expensive Zenbooks that we’ve come across. The only way you can tell that it’s an affordable offering to get started on Windows 8, is when you look at its specs sheet.
It runs on a third generation Core i3 (1.8GHz Ivy Bridge) processor (with 4GB RAM), which means it’s more than enough for casual usage. However since it's going for under S$1000, it won’t be sporting an SSD cache. Instead, it will simply have a 500GB mechanical HDD. Another point to take note is that it will have a resolution of only 1366 x 768 pixels. However because it’s only 11 inches in size, the resolution won’t affect the way the notebook is used, unlike on the larger 14-inch Vivobook S400.
ASUS Vivobook Series S400 - S$1098
The larger S400 is still affordable at slightly above S$1000. At that price, not only do you get more connectivity options, but also an SSD cache that lets it boot up really fast.
Even though the naming conventions are quite different here, the 14-inch S400 is essentially a bigger X202. It’s got the same robust and stylish looking aluminum body, as well as the brushed aluminum lid. It’s thicker and heavier than the Zenbooks, but a big surprise here is that it’s actually slightly thinner (21mm) than the X202. That’s likely due to the fact that it’s larger, and ASUS has more room to space out components across. Due to its large size, the S400 comfortably sports the same amount of connectivity options as the X202.
When holding the S400 in our hands, the tapered body helped make it feel lighter than it really is. Its actual weight is a notable 1.8kg, primarily because of its larger (44Wh) battery. The keyboard and trackpad here are as equally impressive as that of the X202. Here, it has no keyboard well, unlike the X202. This makes it much more rigid, which makes for a more comfortable typing experience. The clickable trackpad is also really big, and features no buttons. Users will appreciate this because entry-level machines of this price point often don’t boast such trackpads.
As for the rest of its specs, it’s running on a Core i5 (1.7GHz Ivy Bridge) processor and 4GB of RAM, which we find is enough for most standard light usage needs like web-surfing, music and videos. It will retail for about just above S$1000, quite a bit more affordable than the notebooks under the Zenbook series branding. An obvious give-away of its more affordable nature, is the rather dated screen resolution of just 1366 x 768 pixels, and the lack of an SSD. However, what you will have is a 500GB mechanical HDD, augmented by a 24GB SSD cache. This means you will still have the speedy boot-up and resume times that have become an Ultrabook hallmark, but it won't be as speedy as a true performance SSD unit.
ASUS Transformer Book
The Transformer book is a hybrid Ultrabook-tablet, with a removable docking keyboard.
The ASUS Transformer Book is a hybrid Ultrabook-tablet with a detachable touchscreen display and keyboard dock. Overseas, three different screen sizes (11-inch, 13.3-inch and 14-inch) are available, however, in Singapore only the 13.3-inch will be available.
Design-wise, the Transformer Book is quite similar in style to ASUS' Zenbook series, with a sleek tapered, aluminum body design. The Transformer Book features a full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution IPS panel multi-touch display. Hardware components have not been confirmed at this time, but it is expected to have standard Ultrabook components. We do know that it will include full SSD storage.
Unfortunately, pricing and unavailability is currently unknown.
ASUS VivoTab RT
The ASUS VivoTab RT was actually formerly known as the ASUS Tablet 600.
ASUS isn't content with just building Android tablets as it today launched the VivoTab RT, which is one of the first tablets powered by Windows RT and Office Home & Student 2013 RT Preview. Formerly known as the Tablet 600, it was first revealed at Computex 2012 with great fanfare. Apart from the name change, nothing has changed with the VivoTab RT.
Bearing a striking resemblance to its Transformer line of Android slates, the VivoTab RT sports a refined, metallic design that measures a mere 8.3mm thin and weighs just 525g. This makes the VivoTab RT one of the thinnest and lightest Windows RT tablets in the market.
Similar to the Transformer Pad TF300 / Pad Prime, the VivoTab RT is equipped with NIVIDA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, an 8-megapixel rear autofocus camera and comes along with a mobile keyboard dock that transforms it into a netbook for increased productivity and longer battery mileage.
The VivoTab RT sports a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, which is reinforced with the scratch-resistant Corning Fit Glass and incorporates Super IPS+ technology for better viewing outdoors. Here's a quick video demonstration of it when it was known as the Tablet 600:-
During our hands-on with the VivoTab RT, we were impressed by its stellar build quality and lightweight form factor which are comparable to the Transformer Pad Prime (the world's first quad-core tablet). We had no issues holding the tablet in one hand. Its 10.1-inch display is one of the best we've seen so far, as it offers wide viewing angles and great clarity.
The mobile keyboard dock features a new "hidden hinge" design to accommodate the slim design of the VivoTab RT, which is in contrast to the protruding hinge of the Transformer Pad tablets. Keyboard warriors will like the chiclet keyboard as it is comfortable to type on. More importantly, the VivoTab RT aims to be the ultimate productivity machine as the mobile dock extends the battery life of the tablet up to 16 hours.
The ASUS VivoTab RT will come in two variants: Wi-Fi version and 3G version. Available from 26th October, the ASUS VivoTab RT (Wi-Fi) will retail for S$949. The 3G model will be available in Singapore at a later date. Full pricing and availability details will be released nearer to the availability period.
Here's a quick look at how the ASUS VivoTab RT fares against the Surface for Windows RT and Samsung Ativ Tab (Windows RT): -
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ASUS Multitouch All-in-One PCs
When it comes to Windows 8, you will only fully experience it if you have a touch-enabled display. However, if you feel that notebooks or tablets with screens under 13-inches are simply too small for you, just check out these multi-touch All-in-One PCs (AIO) from ASUS. For now, we’ve managed to get our hands on two AIOs that might look familiar.
ASUS ET2220INTI
The 21.5-inch ASUS ET2220INTI is an affordable way to get started with Windows 8, if you're not into notebooks.
The ASUS ET2220INTI is an AIO with a 21.5-inch (16:9 widescreen, Full HD LED backlit) screen size. This is definitely a large step up for users who are used to staring at tiny notebooks screens. It is able to detect up to 10-points at any one time, which makes it easier to fully engage Windows 8 with both your hands, or for 10 people who only have one finger each.
As it will be retailing at a relatively affordable price, something has got to give. Hardware-wise, it isn’t very spectacular. It has a capable but standard Intel Core i5-3330 with a clock speed of 3.0GHz, 4GB RAM and a 1TB mechanical HDD. It will be supported by an NVIDIA GeForce GT 610M (notebook class) discrete graphics, which is enough for casual use but non-angry birds gaming is definitely out of the question.
As for connectivity, it’s got a grand total of 6 USB ports. Two speedy USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0/e-SATA port on the side, with an additional three USB 2.0 ports on the back for your peripherals. It also has a built-in card reader, a DVD optical drive, a headphone jack, and an mic jack on the side, while its RJ45, HDMI-In and HDMI-Out ports are located at the back.
ASUS ET2701INTI
The ASUS ET2701 is a stylish 27-inch All-in-One PC that not only saves space, but is powerful enough to get work done.
Consumers with a bit more space in their homes could definitely consider getting the ASUS ET2701INTI 27-inch AIO. This model also has a 10-point multi-touch display that has a Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels), and a 16:9 aspect ratio just like the ET2220INTI. However, it will cost almost a S$1000 more.
During our interaction with it, we didn’t find that it was any more responsive than the ET2220INTI, so a little bit of extra consideration might be needed when getting this model. For S$1000 more, you will just get a bigger screen, a Core i7-3770S (3.10GHz) processor, a Blu-ray drive, a 2TB HDD and a slightly better (but still notebook class) NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M (2GB) discrete graphics.
The ET2701INTI has a 10-point, Full HD multi-touch display that lets you use all of your fingers to slice fruits in an efficient manner (well, in the case of Fruit Ninja).
The processor and discrete graphics bump-up will definitely result in improved performance over the ET2220INTI. At the very least, you will be able to enjoy lag-free casual gaming on the modern UI environment or low-quality graphics 3D gaming, but it probably won’t be enough for some graphics intensive gaming. Connectivity is also the same as the ET2220INTI, but there will be an additional hybrid TV jack and a VGA port for connecting an extra display, if having two screens is your thing. Our recent review of the EN2411INTI, 24-inch AIO machine will give you a good idea of what to expect of the ET2701INTI.
ASUS ROG TYTAN CG8890 Gaming Desktop PC
Hit the Turbo Gear Overclock button and watch the TYTAN CG8890's vents open outward for improved airflow and better heat dissipation.
For gamers looking for something as impressive as it is powerful, the new ASUS ROG TYTAN CG8890 certainly fits the bill. This ridiculously powerful gaming machine boasts best-in-class components across the board, and spares no expense, utilizing a liquid-cooled six core, Intel Core i7-3960X (3.3GHz) processor, ASUS Rampage IV Formula (Intel X79) motherboard, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 dual-GPU graphics card, ASUS Xonar Phoebus sound card, 128GB SSD with a 3TB HDD for storage and 16GB RAM.
If that wasn't impressive enough, this behemoth of a machine features ASUS' one-touch Turbo Gear overclocking system, which allows you to dynamically overclock the CG8890's processor up to 3.8GHz without requiring a reboot. For massive cool-factor points, hitting the Turbo Gear overclock button also transforms the chassis, with the lights changing from blue to red, and the system vents opening outwards to allow for improved airflow and better heat dissipation, ensuring system stability.
Of course, something this cool isn't cheap, the ROG TYTAN CG8890 will set you back a hefty S$5900! For more photos and details, check out our coverage in Computex 2012.
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