Hands On with ASUS' Transformer All-in-One (P1801)
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 7, 2013 2:47 PM ESTASUS showed us a near production-ready sample of its Transformer All-in-One PC. The machine features a multitouch 18.4" 1080p IPS display driven by two independent systems. In the base, a Core i5/i7 machine running Windows 8, and in the display itself there's a Tegra 3 Android system. There's a physical button on the right side of the system that switches display inputs between the two systems. Since you're just changing display inputs the switching lag is similar to how long it takes to switch between systems on a multi-input monitor.
You can undock the 18.4" display, transforming it into a giant Tegra 3 Android tablet (running 4.1.1). When undocked you're also able to wirelessly stream (over Miracast or some alternative) the Windows 8 base's display over to it, making it a giant Windows 8 tablet if you prefer. Both the base and the display/tablet have their own storage obviously.
The tablet experience is surprisingly reasonable, although cradling an 18.4" tablet can be an issue over the long haul. Thankfully ASUS equipped the display/tablet with an elegant kickstand. With the display detached, you can also use the Core i5/i7 base to drive a separate external display if you'd like.
The display has an integrated battery which ASUS claims will power the tablet for around 4 - 5 hours.
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Death666Angel - Monday, January 7, 2013 - link
Of all the companies in the tech space, Asus has impressed me the most these last few years. Although I have none of their products, they deserve my respect for trying new things and pushing the boundaries sometimes. Nicely done. :)ludikraut - Monday, January 7, 2013 - link
IMO this is one of those products that falls squarely into the "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" category. Other than the form factor, what was the point of making this device? A Windows 8 base with an Android tablet, what? I guess the other thing it does accomplish is to add yet another layer of unwanted complexity on top of the already jarring Metro/Win32 experience. Guess what kids, now you can have a Metro/Win32/Android mashup ... Oh wait, I can already do that from my phone and RDP.l8r)
twotwotwo - Monday, January 7, 2013 - link
I don't exactly *want* an 18" tab, but in some ways just a giant Android touchscreen is the fun part: you could imagine building a snazzy touchscreen kiosk with one (as folks do with iPads now), or younguns that get all their TV online could use 'em for media (throw in a half decent wireless remote) or as a lean-back Web machine (w/wireless keyboard/touchpad or Wii-style motion remote).I don't know if the price would be right for any of that, but cutting the Core i5 out ought to make the thing a good deal cheaper. I guess the bigger problem might be that those niches, while cool, don't obviously add up to enough sales to justify developing a funky new device. On the other hand, my gut is that Windows devices aren't the long-term future for Asus, so maybe some insane experiments are just what they need. :)
blueeyesm - Tuesday, January 8, 2013 - link
This would have been a great candidate for it! Using WiDi to stream data from the base to the screen would have made this a killer option.