Asus Transformer Book T100 review: The low-cost hybrid that started it all

The Asus Transformer Book T100 was the device that led the low-cost Windows charge, but time – and technology – have marched on. Since its launch, several generations of low-cost Windows cloudbooks, and Google’s Chromebooks, have transformed the laptop marketplace completely – a £300 ultraportable is no longer something to get excited about. If you’re looking for the best alternatives to buy, then click here to peruse our guide to the best laptops and hybrids that you can buy right now.

Alternatively, feel free to scroll down and read our review of the original Transformer Book T100, the affordable hybrid which started it all. If you can pick it up dirt cheap on Ebay, or second-hand, it may still be worth snapping up.

We were sad to see the netbook sink into obscurity, so it was with some pleasure that we unpacked Asus’ latest low-cost Windows device, the Transformer Book T100. Just like its Android-powered namesakes, the Transformer Book T100 partners a 10.1in tablet with a matching keyboard dock – the difference is that it has a quad-core Intel Atom processor and runs Windows 8.1. The big news, though, is that it costs only £349. See also: The best laptops of 2015

If your memories of netbooks are of chubby, miniaturised laptops with glacial performance, then be assured – this Asus is nothing of the sort. In the flesh, the Transformer Book T100 isn’t only surprisingly petite; it’s even moderately attractive. The dark-grey plastics of the base are imprinted with a fake brushed-metal finish, and the tablet’s glossy plastic lid mimics Asus’ top-flight Zenbooks with circular patterns spinning around the Asus logo.

On its own, the 10.1in tablet weighs a mere 550g, and measures 11mm thick, and while there isn’t the premium-feeling build quality of the best Android tablets, or Apple’s iPad Air, it isn’t unforgiveably low-rent. There is some give in the plastic rear when you press on it, but it feels solid enough in normal use. Slot it back into the keyboard base and the two latches hold it firmly, only letting go once the release catch on the hinge is pressed all the way in. Together, the pair weighs 1.07kg.

Blazing a trail

The Asus’ design is nothing revolutionary, but the hardware inside certainly is: it marks the debut of Intel’s latest Atom platform, Bay Trail. This is big news, and perhaps the biggest development for the Atom platform since its inception – Intel has promised dramatic performance improvements.

At the heart of Bay Trail lies the new 22nm Silvermont microarchitecture. This introduces a quad-core design and out-of-order execution, as well as support for USB 3, DDR3 RAM and 64-bit operating systems. Graphics performance promises to take a leap forwards, too, thanks to the presence of a cut-down Ivy Bridge-class GPU.

The Transformer Book T100 is powered by a mid-range Bay Trail CPU, the quad-core, 1.33GHz Atom Z3740, which is capable of running at burst frequencies of up to 1.86GHz. Although the Atom Z3740 supports up to 4GB of RAM, Asus has focused on keeping the Transformer Book T100 affordable – there’s a basic 2GB of DDR3 RAM and 32GB of eMMC flash storage. Nothing fancy, in other words.

In everyday use, however, the new face of Intel’s Atom brings as dramatic a transformation as you could hope for. Compared to our experiences of Windows 8 on the previous generation of devices (Atom Clover Trail), the Asus is a veritable speed demon. Applications load far more energetically; web browsing is slick and smooth; and the overall experience remains impressively responsive, right up to the point where the limitations of the 2GB of RAM start to show.

Full speed ahead

In benchmark testing, the Asus left Clover Trail-powered rivals far behind. Where the 1.8Ghz Atom Z2760 of the Dell Latitude 10 scored 0.22 in our Real World Benchmarks, the Asus racked up a result of 0.32, which is more than 45% faster. The biggest improvement was in the Media element of our benchmarks, which tests a device’s ability to encode MP3 files, render HD video and edit image files in Photoshop. Where the dual-core, Hyper-Threaded CPU in the Dell scored 0.18, the Asus’ quad-core CPU sped ahead with 0.35 – an improvement of 94%.

The increase in graphics performance is harder to gauge, since our Crysis benchmark never worked on Clover Trail hardware, but the Asus exceeded expectations. With Crysis running in Low quality settings and at a native resolution of 1,366 x 768, the Bay Trail GPU managed an almost playable average of 20fps. Knocking the resolution down a touch to 1,280 x 720 was enough to buoy the average to 23fps. Set your sights on less demanding games, and modest screen resolution and detail settings, and the Asus will cope far better with PC games than you’d expect of a half-kilo tablet.

Battery life remains as good as we’ve come to expect from Atom devices. In our light-use battery test, which dims the screen brightness to 75cd/m[sup]2[/sup], switches off Wi-Fi and scrolls through a selection of web pages, the Asus lasted 9hrs 6mins. That doesn’t come close to the Dell Latitude 10, which lasted 12hrs 35mins with its standard battery, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the Dell weighs a more portly 658g. Sadly, in contrast to Asus’ Android Transformer tablets, the T100’s keyboard dock doesn’t sport a second battery.

Long live the netbook

For all its potential, it’s reassuring to find that Bay Trail has materialised in such a sensibly designed device. For what it’s designed to do – that is, deliver a workable halfway house between tablet and compact laptop – it’s a cracking piece of kit.

As a tablet, we’ve no qualms with the Transformer Book T100 at all. The 10.1in display isn’t stunningly good, but the 1,366 x 768 resolution is a good choice for the screen size, and the IPS panel has wide viewing angles. Brightness tops out at a modest 240cd/m2, but the contrast ratio of 889:1 is excellent, and ensures that there’s plenty of detail in images and movies. Colour reproduction isn’t the match of pricier devices – skin tones look yellowish, and colours lack boldness – but these are minor quibbles given the asking price.

Slot the T100 into its keyboard dock, and it brings back all manner of warm, fuzzy netbook memories. The Scrabble-tile keys are small, but there’s a pleasing amount of resistance to each keystroke, and while we’d prefer a wider right-Shift key, it’s something we could get used to.

The buttonless touchpad beneath is similarly miniaturised, but it works well and supports edge-swipes, pinch-to-zoom and two-fingered scrolling, as well as two-fingered taps to emulate right-clicks. Our only complaint is a minor one: clicking the pad is noisy, so you’ll want to resort to dabbing the pad unless you fancy enraging everyone in your vicinity.

Asus has included a fine range of features for the money. The tablet charges via the micro-USB connection, but there’s also a micro-HDMI output, and a microSD slot for expanding the frugal 32GB of storage. There’s also dual-band 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 4, a TPM2 security module and a passable 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera.

Meanwhile, the dock adds a single USB 3 port, which is a most welcome addition. Offloading files from the main 32GB system drive is painless as a result.

By far the most attractive feature, however, is the bundled software. Somehow, Asus has found room in the £349 budget to provide a copy of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013. For many people, that will be enough to turn the Asus from being a highly tempting purchase, into an absolutely essential one.

Verdict

While Microsoft is still trying to convince everyone that Windows RT devices are the spiritual successor to the netbook, Intel has made its feelings clear – ARM isn’t welcome to a piece of the Windows action.

The new Atom platform delivers a dramatic performance increase, enough power for casual gaming and the same great battery life, all at a price point that’s allowed Asus to sell the Transformer Book T100 for only £349. In our opinion, this is the death knell for Windows RT.

As for the Transformer Book T100 itself, it’s everything you could ask from a compact, go-anywhere hybrid, and it’s ludicrously affordable. Snap one up while you can – we predict these will sell out fast.

Details
Warranty
Warranty	1 yr return to base
Physical specifications
Dimensions	263 x 178 (tablet, 171) x 24 (tablet,11mm) (WDH)
Weight	1.070kg
Processor and memory
Processor	Intel Atom Z7340
RAM capacity	2.00GB
Memory type	DDR3
SODIMM sockets free	0
Screen and video
Screen size	10.1in
Resolution screen horizontal	1,366
Resolution screen vertical	768
Resolution	1366 x 768
VGA (D-SUB) outputs	0
HDMI outputs	1
S-Video outputs	0
DVI-I outputs	0
DVI-D outputs	0
DisplayPort outputs	0
Drives
Capacity	32GB
Replacement battery price inc VAT	£0
Networking
802.11a support	yes
802.11b support	yes
802.11g support	yes
802.11 draft-n support	yes
Integrated 3G adapter	no
Bluetooth support	yes
Other Features
Wireless hardware on/off switch	no
Wireless key-combination switch	yes
Modem	no
ExpressCard34 slots	0
ExpressCard54 slots	0
PC Card slots	0
FireWire ports	0
PS/2 mouse port	no
9-pin serial ports	0
Parallel ports	0
Optical S/PDIF audio output ports	0
Electrical S/PDIF audio ports	0
3.5mm audio jacks	1
SD card reader	yes
Memory Stick reader	no
MMC (multimedia card) reader	no
Smart Media reader	no
Compact Flash reader	no
xD-card reader	no
Pointing device type	touchpad, touchscreen
Audio chipset	Realtek I2S
Speaker location	tablet, bottom edge
Hardware volume control?	yes
Integrated microphone?	yes
Integrated webcam?	yes
Camera megapixel rating	1.2mp
TPM	yes
Fingerprint reader	no
Smartcard reader	no
Carry case	no
Battery and performance tests
Battery life, light use	8hr 49min
3D performance (crysis) low settings	20fps
3D performance setting	Low
Overall Real World Benchmark score	0.32
Responsiveness score	0.44
Media score	0.35
Multitasking score	0.18
Operating system and software
Operating system	Windows 8.1 32-bit
OS family	Windows 8
Software supplied	Microsoft Office 2013 Home and Student