Three into one does go

Both powerful notebook computer and tablet, with separate processors for each system, the new Asus Transformer Book Trio TX201L also makes life easier by coming with two operating systems – Windows 8 and Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).

To use it as a tablet, simply push the lock switch to remove the screen from the keyboard and base unit of the notebook. That gives you an 11.6-inch tablet powered Intel Atom processor Z2560 1.6 GHz that runs on Android 4.2 OS.

Leave the monitor attached to the base/keyboard unit and you have a powerful Windows 8 notebook that is powered by Intel Core i7 4500U with 1.8 GHz speed.

But the Transformer Book Trio also has another function. Add an external monitor and it morphs into a desktop computer. It’s easy to do too: just connect the base/keyboard unit to an external monitor, using the mini DisplayPort.

In fact, when you remove the screen and attach the TX201L, you will have both a tablet computer and desktop computer working at the same time.

Thus the 11.6-inch tablet becomes the monitor for the notebook when it is attached to base unit. When separated, it is a standalone tablet with its own OS, CPU, memory, storage and connectivity.

As a tablet, TX201L has 2 GB of DDR2 RAM or active memory and 16 GB of built-in storage, expandable with a microSD card. It also has 802.11n Wi-Fi connection as well as Bluetooth 3.0. There’s also a micro USB port, a microSD card slot and a 19Wh Li-Polymer battery. It sounds good with B&O ICEpower audio system.

The Android tablet performed well during the test, with menus and touch screen all very responsive.

The display is great too – a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

When the tablet part is connected to the base and keyboard unit, it will automatically start up into Windows 8 OS when you turn it on. To use the Android OS with the keyboard, press the button on the keyboard and it instantly switches.

When you shut down the notebook from Windows 8, it will turn into an Android system and require you to press the power button behind the tablet to turn it off.

The TX201L is a powerful Windows 8 notebook computer. The Core i-7 processor is really fast and the notebook part comes with 4 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM and it has 500 GB hard drive.

It uses Intel HD Graphics 4400 engine to provide graphics power.

The notebook function has better connectivity features. It uses the super-fast 802.11ac dual band for the wireless LAN as well as Bluetooth 4.0 connection.

The front camera of the tablet becomes the 720p HD webcam for the notebook, which has one mini DisplayPort, two USB 3.0 ports, and one micro-HDMI 1.4, supporting 1080p output.

The notebook has good quality sound system thanks to B&O ICEpower audio system. 

It has 33Wh Li-Polymer rechargeable battery and the touch screen supports 10-point multi-touch and it was very responsive during the test. 

Like the tablet, the display of the notebook also has Full HD 1080p resolution so it renders HD movies and photos crisply.

The test found that TX201L really has good performance thanks to Core i-7 processor.

It took about 15 seconds to boot and show up the file home screen of Windows 8. When I ordered it to shut down, it took three seconds to turn off the monitor and a further eight seconds to completely shut down the system. It went into Sleep instantly when I tapped on the Sleep command and likewise came out from Sleep mode instantly when I pressed the Escape button.

Measured with the Windows 8’s internal benchmarking tool, TX201L got good scores.

On the scale of 1.0 to 9.9, it got up to 7.1 points for the processor’s performance of calculations per second.

It got 5.9 points for both performance of memory operations per second and performance of disk data transfer rate.

It got 5.7 points for the desktop graphics performance and it got a high score of 6.5 points for 3D business and gaming graphics performance.

ASUS Transformer Book Trio TX201L has a suggested retail price of Bt34,990.

 

Key specs

_ Tablet

_ OS: Android 4.2

_ Processor: Intel Atom Z2560 1.6 GHz

_ Memory: 2 GB DDR 2 1066 MHz RAM

_ Storage: 16 GB expandable with microSD

_ Display: 11.6-inch 16:9 IPS Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixel)

_ Camera: 5MP rear camera, 720p front camera

_ Connectivity: 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0

_ Interface: 1 x micro USB, 1 x micro SD card, 1 x audio jack COMBO, 1 x USB2.0 port in dock mode

_ Battery: 1 Cell 5070 mAh 19 Whrs

_ Dimensions: 304.92 x 193.78 x 9.7 mm (WxDxH)

_ Weight: 0.7 kg (with 1 cell battery)

_ Notebook: Windows 8 64-bit

_ Processor: Intel Core i-7 4500U 1.8 GHz

_ Memory: 4 GB DDR 1600 MHz RAM

_ Display: 11.6-inch 16:9 IPS Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixel) with ten-point multi-touch

_ Graphic processor: Integrated Intel HD Graphics 4400

_ Webcam: 720p

_ Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4

_ Interface: 1 x COMBO audio jack, 2 x USB 3.0 port(s), 1 x micro HDMI, 1 x mini Display Port, 1X AC adapter plug

_ Audio: Built-in Speakers And Microphone, Bang & Olufsen ICEpower

_ Battery: 2Cells 4430 mAh 33 Whrs Polymer Battery

_ Dimension: 304.92 x 193.78 x 13.4 mm (WxDxH)

_ Weight: 1kg (with 2 cell battery)