The ASUS Transformer Book Trio: Atom + Haswell, Android + Windows 8
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 3, 2013 3:31 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Asus
- Mobile
- Laptops
- Trade Shows
- Computex 2013
- Notebooks
Now on to notebooks, ASUS just announced the Transformer Book Trio - what it is calling the world's first three-in-one notebook, tablet and desktop PC. In a move that's sure to keep Microsoft grumpy, the TF Book Trio runs both Windows 8 and Android. It looks like the 1080p IPS display portion of the detachable notebook is an Android tablet, while the base runs Windows 8.
Since both OSes are running at the same time, just on different pieces of hardware, you can switch between OSes instantaneously. As a tablet, it's an Android device, but as a notebook it's a Windows 8 PC (or a docked Android tablet I guess). You can also use the PC base to drive an external display wirelessly.
The tablet portion is driven by an Intel Atom SoC (Z2580), while the PC base runs a Haswell CPU.
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gxtoast - Monday, June 3, 2013 - link
Why not just use a hypervisor, like what has been done on Xbox One? Oh, yeah. They aren't THAT tight with Microsoft, and it's not like they're... Apple.LancerVI - Monday, June 3, 2013 - link
This is a perfect solution for my wife who prefers android, but still wants to use MS office all while not sitting at a desk.It's a perfect solution for her.
andrewaggb - Monday, June 3, 2013 - link
meh. I thought it would run windows 8 or android in tablet mode/laptop mode. Give you the best of both, (some apps are only available in one or the other), but nah. It's kinda cool, but if they were just going to use the atom for android why didn't they use an arm chip instead....LancerVI - Monday, June 3, 2013 - link
My wife could care less about those distinctions. You and I, sure, but for her purposes and people like her, who cares. Angry Birds and MS Word with a Youtube video or two are about as complex as it's going to get for that crowd, which is fine.fteoath64 - Tuesday, June 4, 2013 - link
Here Intel must have give them a great break in price of the Atom SoC since Haswell is already a default cpu used in this lappy. I figure a Tegra4 would be real cool with Android 4.2.2. Why pay additional when Intel offers FREE (for Atom only in this config) ?!.rwei - Monday, June 3, 2013 - link
First reaction: nice!Second reaction: wait, what? i7 AND Atom?
I'd rather take Silvermont on its own, but dang if this isn't awesome for Intel.
While those nutcases at Asus are putting these crazy ideas through their funny little heads, I'd love to see an Atom-class tablet with both W8 and Android running on a thin hypervisor. I might even buy one just for the novelty factor.
editorsorgtfo - Monday, June 3, 2013 - link
All goes well until MS releases an update that borks your perfect little combo device. Of course, it'll be a "necessary security update". Then in true Android fashion *crickets*cditty - Monday, June 3, 2013 - link
I like the novel concept, but I don't see it really being useful. Seriously, with Haswell and Windows 8 (soon 8.1), battery life will be fine. Also, you can just run Android virtualized if you really need it.I think it's a neat concept, but for me, not particularly useful in the world.
HisDivineOrder - Monday, June 3, 2013 - link
This is stupid. I mean, I'm all for Android tablets and I'm all for Windows 8 PC's and hell I'm for Android PC's and Windows 8 tablets. (Though not RT tablets.) But the thing is, I just don't see why you'd want to change interfaces when you made it a tablet from a PC.Hell, this makes Windows 8 even worse. You use it as a tablet, it's Android. You use it as a PC (laptop/desktop), it's Windows 8 with all its frankenstein stitched together Windows and Metro. So now Asus has stitched Android vaguely beside Windows 8, which itself was just Windows and Metro stitched together.
I can hear some Asus tech screaming, "It's alive! ITS ALIIIIIVE!!!"
Just because you CAN do a thing does not mean that you MUST do that thing.