ASUS at CES 2014: ROG 27” 1440p 120Hz G-Sync Monitor, Tablets, Smartphones, and a new Transformer Book
by Ian Cutress on January 6, 2014 3:30 PM ESTNew at CES: Transformer Book Duet TD300
The TD300 is being advertised as the world’s first quad-mode, dual-OS laptop that combines an Android tablet and Windows 8.1 laptop into the transformer form factor with up to a Core i7 processor under the hood. The quad-mode implies two ways to use Android (tablet or notebook) and two ways to use Windows (tablet or notebook) – switching between them is designed to be as simple as pressing the Instant Switch button.
The tablet/screen of the device will be a 13.3” 1080p IPS touchscreen with multi-touch display features and responsiveness, with audio supplied by ASUS SonicMaster technology. The front-facing HD camera is paired with a microphone, along with 128GB of storage that can be boosted with a microSD card while the keyboard dock can house a 1TB hard disk drive (unsure whether this is 2.5”, mSATA, PCIe or proprietary yet). The dock also has increased functionality (USB 2.0, USB 3.0, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 1.4) and the tablet segment comes fitted with 802.11ac dual band WiFi and 4GB of DDR3L-1600 RAM.
In terms of dimensions, the tablet measures 342.7 x 216.3 x 12.9mm and the dock is 340.9 x 217.6 x 16mm, suggesting a potential overall of 342.7 x 217.6 x 28.9mm (over an inch thick at the widest point) with a total weight of 1.9 kg.
The TD300 will be available in the EU/APAC in late Q1, with North America in Late Q2. Pricing will start at $599 for the i3/HD Display combination, whereas the i3/1080p will start at $699. No word on the i7 editions as of yet.
New at CES: VivoTab Note 8
As the name suggests, the VivoTab Note 8 is an 8” tablet running Windows 8.1 with a professional Wacom digitizer stylus in tow, with the aim of making this device suitable for productivity or creativity. The VivoTab Note 8 will come bundled with Microsoft Office Home and Student for this purpose, and ASUS like to point out the thin bezels and high definition display, to go along with the ability to use it one handed, as serious plus points.
Specification wise we are looking at an Intel Atom Z3740 (quad core 1.33 GHz, turbo up to 1.86 GHz) with 2GB LPDDR3 and up to 64GB of internal storage, with space for a microSD card and 1 year of unlimited ASUS WebStorage. The screen puts the VivoTab Note 8 in the mid-range specification pile, being only 1280x800 on an eight inch device, along with only 802.11 a/b/g/n support (not 802.11ac). It will feature a 15.5 Whr battery however, and weigh in at 380g.
Prices will start at $299 for the 32GB model and $349 for the 64GB model (making 32GB of storage only $50 – other companies could learn from this). Projected release dates is late Q1, early Q2.
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TheJian - Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - link
No, we are conditioned to pay higher prices for two reasons. The products is actually better, or it's a brand new tech everyone wants (sometimes both reasons I guess, like here).$600 is reasonable to you, but if it sells out, nobody agrees with you right? Having said that, I'll wait for at least 4-5 brands competing because I refuse to be the 1st adopter that gets raped :) Once the shine wears off (next xmas) I'll have tons of choices and much better NON 1st adopter pricing. I paid $600 for a 24 in 2007 and $900 for my Viewsonic PT813 years before (at OEM pricing, because I bought it to DEMO as a reseller you could do this legally, saved $200 or so). So I'm ok with the price, I just want something else and more models to choose from. I'm hoping for 2560x1600. I hate wide crap for games or web pages. I want 16:10 and maybe a shot at 30in for $1000 for xmas (or I hope top end $700 27in, but I'd pay $800 for 16:10 27in).
TheJian - Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...Lowest price of a brand I recognize (acer) is $500. You'd have to GIVE me a Korean monitor to get me to use one. I don't find that junk appealing, nor will I Ebay a monitor :) I still can't believe Ryan thought that was a good idea in 2012 660ti article...ROFL. Catleap's etc from some guy on Ebay? My Visa# to that guy? ROFL. Whatever...To this day he's still pushing this crap as a res tons of people use (lies) and they still are 2% of the market for 1440p+ combined (all resolutions at or above this). It hasn't changed.
euler007 - Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - link
Don't mind the price tag, will order as soon as it is in stock.WaitingForNehalem - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
This is my dream monitor! Could not care less about the dime-a-dozen mobile products.Sabresiberian - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
I'm actually a little miffed at Asus for not making Windows phones. I mean, I've spent plenty of money on their products for Windows computers, I'd like them to support me in the rest of their devices as well! (I'm not buying a tablet. Sorry, a smart phone is as close as I ever plan to get there - maybe a solution that happens to be convertible, but no outright tablets for me.)I'd love to see a serious Asus design of a Windows phone. They don't always hit the mark with their products, but they are always interesting.
dragonsqrrl - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Looks like THE g-sync monitor to get. It's everything everyone's been asking for.Jodiuh - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Ummm...no mention of panel type? 1400P + 120hz + Gsync mean nothing if this is a TN.Friendly0Fire - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Precisely. If this is IPS, it's my dream panel. If it's TN, it better have fantastic picture quality and viewing angles or you just lost me.efeman - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
Very unlikely that it'll be IPS. Maybe VA or PLS, either of which would be nice. But more than likely it's TN, for a product like this at that price.sandineyes - Monday, January 6, 2014 - link
I've never heard of a 1440p 27inch panel that wasn't either IPS, PLS, or AHVA, and $800 bucks is pretty average for such a display. The G-sync and 120Hz might make it seem like it should be more, but my guess is that as a gaming monitor, it won't have any fancy features like hardware calibration support or factory calibration presets (because obviously gamers care nothing for image quality, right?). There have also been some 28 inch 4k displays announced for around this price, so I imagine that might have an influence on pricing as well.