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Was out in the market in search of a replacement for my 3 years old HP Pavillion DM3.nnThe primary usage for my home PC is:nn- Media consumption (YouTube, downloaded mkv/avi movies, music files/internet radio etc.)n- Torrent downloadsn- Some MS office processing (create word, excel, PPTs)n- Casual browsing, mails, social networking, bit of news, blogging and online bankingn- Some photo editing (Picasa, PhotoShop)nnI believe the home usage pattern covers the need of 90% users for 90% of time.nnWas looking for convenience of a tab (light weight, long battery, good touch n display) along with functionality of a PC (moderate multi-tasking, connectivity/ports, ability to run windows desktop applications). So it has to be a windows, creating/editing office files are still the best in good old MS Mr. Gates and had to be a 10 inch one.nnThere came the weekend and I found myself in the hunt already. Lenovo lynx, HP hybrids, Dell Venues - well all in contention. Internet reviews revealed about the 2nd gen of Intel Atom Baytrail CPUs that they made a giant leap towards future and the UI experience is no more limited. Found the Asus transformer T100 being the only one in India released with the configuration, rest aren't.nnOff I went to the Asus store, let the fingers dirty the demo unit and positive, it was not launched @flipkart yet - so 32.5k it was from the store.nnUsing it for more than a month now and here are my takes on it:nn- Even though Not full 1080p, the display is vivid n bright with good viewing angle being a capable IPSn- Touch response is good, no less than android smart phonesn- Surprisingly good sound from speakers, loud toon- Even better when you connect your trusted pair of headphones (paired with my Sony in ear-phones and Bose AE jugs, acoustic!!)n- Handles 1080p videos at ease with nice saturation (plenty of options to control resolution, display properties in Intel graphics SW)n- Multi-tasks pretty efficient, running 6/7 IE/Chrome tabs with one playing a HD video from YouTube, couple of PPT/word processing, Picasa and uTorrent running at the same time - no stutters.n- Very good wireless reception with dual band WiFi, at par with high-end HP/Lenovo laptopsn- Office home 2013 full editionn- Perpetual battery life, lasts whole dayn- Ability to connect USB external HDDs, USB DVD drives with the tiny micro USB using an OTG micro-to-USB female cablen- Micro HDMI can connect to HD TVsn- Bundled keyboard touchpad doc can turn it to a laptop whenever need be, comes with additional full USB 3 portn- Supports all kind of USB hubs for more options (can connect wireless mouse, keyboard, 2 1 TB drives, LAN converter and what not)n- Full Windows 8.1 ensures your favorite legacy windows apps aka Winrar, Winamp, VLC, Photoshop runs finen- Portable 2amp mobile style charger, not brick like laptops which means you can grab any USB to micro charger handy. The charging times are longish though.n- Love the large onscreen keyboard, typing is breeze and using it right nownnDon't asks:nnGaming - I don't play games, but low to mid end games should be oknCamera - The single front cam should be fine for your Skype/Hangout chats but nothing more.nnGives, throws and wish-listsnnMemory - why on earth a 32 gig version in India only, we are ok to pay 2.5k more for a 64gig or even a 128 for that matter. After all my usual installs about 13gb is free. Plus I have added another 32gigs of micros. Thankfully options are there to install apps on SD card.nnBuild - could have been better with an all plastic body, glossy back n front panel that contributes to a very reflective display. Manages to look decent enough though and also solid to hold.nnTouchpad - not the kind of preciseness you look for, the keyboard is fairly alrightnnPorts - one more USB would have been usefulnnWindows app store - Mr. Gate's office has to do a loot of catch up to do with Android and iOS here. nnAccessories - hope this product gets popular enough to get mat finish screen-guards, cases etc.nnIf you are still reading this long write-up thanks for your patience and you are probably seriously thinking of buying the t100, well go ahead it won't disappoint you if your needs are on a similar tone.
I did not buy from Flipkart, here are the Pros and Cons (64GB):nnProsn1. Full fledged windows 8.1. Hardware permitting can run any windows application.n2. Ultra Portable, sleek light weight, around 0.5 kgs each.n3. The display is very goodn4. The two in one roles are played very well. It feels completely like a netbook when you clam the Tablet and Keyboard together. Keyboard also contains touchpad.n5. Keyboard has USB 3.0 port, can use to connect to Internet using 2G/3G dongles. This is in addition to the micro USB on the Tablet. n6. Touch experience is pretty good and responsive.n7. Great battery life, much higher than the 3 hours in the specifications above, easily gives 8+ hours.n8. Extendable Memory using Memory Card and External Hard Disk.n9. No issues in streaming HD videos over internetn10. Speakers are very good and loud, upto about 75 percent volume.n11. Licensed Microsoft office 2013 includedn12. Great Value for moneynnCons:n1. Despite being Quad Core not really for multi tasking. Begins to show some resource crunch on opening 4 to 5 windows, otherwise very smooth.n2. Rate of charging while using is very slow.n3. No Ethernet(LAN) connectivityn4. Micro HDMI port and not the normal HDMIn5. 32 GBs is not sufficient, as very less space is left for user, go for 64 GBs.n6. Video camera is a big disappointment, still pictures with web cam are just ok.n7. A little plastic feel, no complains though. Fingerprints though tend to stick.nnHave not used wifi much, but looked good.
Pros:n1. The Design: Hands down, the most beautiful device I have held. I haven't been a fan of tablets per se, as I didn't find any use for them, but since this is a hybrid, I went for it and I am not dissapointed in any way. It is very lightweight and you probably wouldn't feel it on your lappy. The metallic finish on the keyboard dock is amazing and makes this device look a lot more expensive than it really is.n2. The Battery: This has a monster battery inside. I don't know how but I managed to complete a 4 hour skype video call from a full charge and still had 60% battery remaining. What else can one ask for!n3. The Touch and The Keyboard: The touch response is amazing. Windows 8 is tailored to be used with a touch screen. The keyboard response is also good but the mousepad is horrible. Whenever you start using it, you'll feel a tint of lag which kills the whole experience and you won't be using it much. Thank god for the touch screen.nnNow some things I wish they had added even for this price point:nn1. Charging: Simply put, you won't be able to charge this device while using it. The battery percentage will remain the same or sometimes, will fall very slowly even while charging. To use it, simply "Charge and Use" :)n2. USB Port: Just one USB port and that too on the keyboard. Quite irritating. Could've been so much better if it was on the tablet. But thank god it is USB 3.0. Atleast you won't get irritated by the transfer speeds.n3. Charger: My HTC Charger has a longer cable than this one. Seriously I need to glue myself to the wall if I think of charging and using this device simultaneously. Buy a good quality long USB cable.n4. Fingerprint magnet: Use the touch for 5-10 minutes and you'll start seeing greesy fingerprints all over the screen. Quite irritating but can be solved by a wipe. :)n5. Inbuilt HDD: You'll get just 26 GB of storage to use but if you're a light user, you won't be needing many softwares to be installed. I have all the basic applications installed (Office, Acrobat Reader, some Win8 games and apps etc) and still have 10-12 GB left. So not a big issue for me. And you can alsways use a Micro SD Card (upto 64 GB) or an external HDD for your use.nnAll in all, this device suits all my needs which are basically: watching movies and sitcoms, watching youtube, browsing, facebooking, e-shopping, applying for jobs, updating resume, downloading music etc etc.nAnd if your needs match mine, then go for this thing of beauty. You won't regret (much).
Its been almost 2 months since I got my transformer, and I have to say so far I am extremely satisfied it. I added a 32 GB Micro SD card to it as well and all media, docs are getting saved to the card now. Getting used to Windows 8.1 was not tough and I enjoy using it in the tablet mode. nThe system is quite responsive, though I am not planning to add too many applications/ games to it. It has quite a list of useful applications pre-installed. The fact that MS Office is pre-installed is quite a blessing. Also the free cloud storage offered by ASUS(though for a short time) and by MS OneDrive is an added advantage.nI am getting into the habit of checking the news every night on the tablet, which I find quite convenient.nIt also boots up and shuts down quite fast, which is something I was looking for.nnThe only downside, if I say so is that in tablet mode, unless you rest it on your lap or something, it can feel a little heavy after some time. Not much though.nnSo far, the experience has been good. Hope it will remain that way and will get the support from ASUS when required.
I bought this product from flipkart around 2 months back.nWorked fine for a month and then touchscreen stopped to work.nNo replacement as it crossed 30 days and incorrect service centre information from flipkart.nnThe entire trust on this product is broken.nGiven it to service centre in chennai. But not expecting the product to work beyond its warrenty period which is 1 yr only!nnIf you can afford the risk, its probably for you.
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