ASUS Transformer Book T100 Review: Redefining the Entry-Level Windows Notebook
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 18, 2013 12:00 AM ESTDisplay
The T100 features a 10.1-inch 1366 x 768 IPS display, which makes for awesome viewing angles and an experience that will put most entry level notebooks to shame. Compared to what we’re used to seeing from Windows notebooks, ASUS did a tremendous job with the panel selection given the price of the T100.
Brightness, black levels and contrast are all reasonable but nothing extraordinary. Max brightness in particular is limited to only 228 nits. That’s more than bright enough for indoor use, but outdoors or in direct sunlight you may wish for a brighter panel. Black levels are quite good, which helps deliver great contrast ratio. As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, the gap between display panel and cover glass is large enough that reflections can be an issue - a problem that is worsened by the fact that the panel can’t get super bright.
Whether or not any of this is a problem to you really depends on perspective. If we’re limiting our comparison to traditional entry level PC notebooks then ASUS has really redefined what it means to be a $349 PC. If you broaden the comparison to Android tablets and even Chromebooks, the comparison grows more difficult.
Color accuracy isn’t great on the T100. Once again, compared to what you’d traditionally get from a Wintel PC at this price point it’s amazing. Compared to the Chromebook 11 we recently reviewed at $279 however, the T100 needs some work.
It’s definitely not a bad display, it just doesn’t live up to the expectations of some other low cost devices we’ve seen lately (e.g. 2013 Nexus 7, Chromebook 11). The charts below show you the stark difference between what we're expecting to display and what the T100 actually displays:
There's a green hue to all of the white/grays, and the other colors are just off. Users definitely benefit from the viewing angles of IPS but the T100 needs calibration.
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ACA777 - Saturday, October 26, 2013 - link
Thanks for the fantastic review. I like this device and I'm considering buying one. It's reasonably high quality, addresses a need and is priced right. I won't solely rely on this (just bought a i7 4700HQ laptop), it'll be a good companion to take advantage of the touch screen and long battery life for basic games and videos.vinayshivakumar - Sunday, October 27, 2013 - link
The only shortcoming I see is 2GB of ram. Add 50$ more - throw in a Z3770 + 4GB of RAM + 64GB SSD. That will be awesome...aritai - Sunday, October 27, 2013 - link
Hmm. My Sony VIAO Pro has (Intel's) "Connected Standby" (64 bit Windows8, now 8.1). So I'm not sure there's a 32 bit constraint. Though for 2 and even 4 gbyte machines, 32-bit Windows will have a somewhat smaller memory and disk footprint.I've never been happy with Chrome and touch. Seems a mistake to not evaluate the default configuration "full up" before pointing readers towards alternate setups - esp. since their competitors tend not to have this flexibility. For those who must use Chrome it is good to see that it can be set as the default touch browser.
I also have seen a number of low priced laptops that are claimed to be ultrabooks (or qualify to use the Intel brand) that are pretty impressive even with spinning disks. With the default configurations "sleeping" in response to everything a non-technical user would do to quit using a machine (rather than hibernating or shutting down) - most users see what appears to be instant-on because even these cheap laptops have 4gb or more. And cheap no longer means poor keyboards or touchpads - just because it doesn't cost a lot to make doesn't mean they don't work well (says anyone looking at U.S. manufacturing quality compared to Asian.. where cheap no longer means junk).
azazel1024 - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
Thanks for commenting on the microUSB functionality! That is awesome to know.rgdave - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
This is exactly what I've been waiting for. I'm not looking for an 'alternative' to my workhorse laptop (Dell Latitude with all the docking bells and whistles), but an 'adjunct'. I want something really light I can take on short trips, and not haul a laptop, albeit a 5 pound one. I've had an Acer A500 tablet for 2 years, and it's functional for email and web browsing, and great for watching movies on a plane. With Touchdown, it even connects well to Exchange. But with my work, I occasionally need X86 Windows programs, like Dreamweaver, when I need to make an on the run change to a web page, for example. I really don't care if it's slow, as long as I can do it. I'm nervous when I don't have my laptop with me, just in case I need an old reliable Windows program.For me, this is a perfect adjunct. At $399, it's almost a throw away buy. I only plan to use it a few weeks a year, when I'm on the road. The fact that it can also be a 1.2 pound tablet for couch surfing is a bonus. 64G storage plus 64G microSD is fine, because most everything I work on is now stored in the cloud. The USB port offers plenty of extra storage for movies on a thumb drive.
I've been waiting for the new Nexus 10 tablet to come out, because I've been looking to upgrade to a faster and lighter Android tablet. But when I found out about this, my money is moving to the Asus T100. I think Asus has hit a home run with this.
mfm - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - link
How will T100 stack-up against Acer TZ1810 in term of productivity?buzzerbeeser - Friday, November 1, 2013 - link
"I was sampled a 64GB model (using a SanDisk eMMC controller). Around 30GB of the device's storage was free at first boot (total partition size = 49GB, ~30GB free for additional apps/data)."So exactly how much space is left for my files when I get the 32GB model??
geekfoo - Friday, November 1, 2013 - link
well YOU might be asked to pay $350 dollars (including taxes ?) but in the UK we are asked to pay £349.99 for instance http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-transformer-book...with No Ethernet, No 11AC (or even 2x2 mimo N), and especially NO Intel AVX(2) SIMD not to mention 4th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor with Intel® Iris™ Pro Graphics 5200 for a mass produced 2014 retail produce is a no go , an 11.1" pad would be fine too OC for that price
Khuva - Sunday, November 10, 2013 - link
U didnt even say a single thing about the USB3.0 port, thats even one of its biggest advantage!!mythrocks - Monday, November 11, 2013 - link
Anand, thanks for this review (and for that of the reference Bay Trail tablet). I'd be very keen on reading your review of the Dell Venue Pro 11 (Bay Trail and i3/5). Is such a review on the cards?