Asus Transformer Book T100HA review: Small and imperfectly formed

Remember when netbooks were the darlings of the tech scene? Ah, those were the days. Asus became synonymous with the low-cost portables, and was arguably the first to ace the formula (Yes, I’m talking about the original Transformer Book T100), so it’s no surprise to see it keep the pint-sized dream alive with yet another addition to its Transformer Book range.

Partnering a 10.1in tablet with Windows 10 and a clip-on keyboard, the Transformer Book T100HA attempts to rekindle that 2-in-1 netbook magic – and all importantly for only £230.

Asus Transformer Book T100HA: Design and features

If you ever clapped eyes on Asus’s recent Transformer Book T100 Chi, then you know what to expect. The T100HA isn’t quite as dashingly chiselled and handsome – the magnetic clip-on keyboard is now plastic rather than metal – but while it’s a touch on the chunky side, it looks and feels pretty smart for the money. Our review sample came in a bright, peppy aqua blue – and you can choose from white or pink if those take your fancy – but fans of more sober palettes can always opt for the dark grey version instead.

Build quality is something of a mixed bag. The tablet’s metal back gives it a solid, sturdy feel, and while it isn’t the lightest tablet on the block – it weighs a middling 580g – it’s comfortable to hold thanks to the gently curved edges. The keyboard, on the other hand, feels decidedly plasticky and cheap. All told, the keyboard and tablet weigh a modest 1.04kg, which is more than light enough to carry around day-to-day.

Upfront, the 10.1in display is pleasingly bright and clear, and as it uses IPS technology, the wide viewing angles mean that it looks good whichever way around you’re holding it. The resolution isn’t high at 1,280 x 800 pixels, but for a budget Windows device, that makes sense: the lower resolution means that you don’t have to battle with awkwardly miniaturised menus and icons in applications.

Behind the scenes, one of Intel’s new-ish Atom x5 processors takes the helm, and it’s this which helps the T100HA power through the 64-bit installation of Windows 10. Excitingly enough, gaming performance has taken a leap forward with this generation, too – but I’ll get into more detail about that later in this review.

Asus Transformer Book T100HA: Display and connectivity

Thankfully, the T100HA’s display is a ray of sunshine by comparison. There isn’t the eye-pampering depth of colour that you get from the best tablets, but it’s a solid all-rounder. Brightness pumps up to a very respectable 350cd/m2, which is bright enough to be useful in most situations, and contrast is a rather impressive 1,034:1. All told, it makes watching movies and tapping around the internet a very pleasurable experience, and it’s by far the T100HA’s finest moment.

Asus has packed in a pretty decent assortment of connectivity. There’s a microSD slot for expanding on the tablet’s 64GB of eMMC storage, a micro-HDMI output, a micro-USB connector for charging the tablet with the supplied USB adapter and cable, and a headphone output, too. The presence of dual-band 802.11n and Bluetooth 4 is reassuring for the money, too.

That’s not all, though, as it gets far more exciting once you peer around the T100HA’s left-hand edge: Asus has only gone and squeezed in a USB-C 3.1 port. You can’t charge the tablet from it, which is a shame, but shell out for an adapter cable and it means you can get data on and off the tablet at USB 3 speeds – which is darn handy for offloading files and freeing up space on the 64GB drive.

There’s also a 5-megapixel camera on the rear of the tablet, with another 2-megapixel selfie-sensor on the front, but these are mediocre at best. Snap photos in good light and the resulting photographs are lacking detail and smeared with nasty noise-reduction smudges. Take photos in low light, and the results are plainly awful. I can see the front-facing camera coming in handy for Skype and general video chat, though.

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Asus Transformer Book T100HA: Tablet and Laptop modes

As ever, the big question with these 2-in-1 devices is whether they actually function well as both tablet and laptop. Sadly, in this instance, the answer is no. Despite years and years (and years) of experience designing 2-in-1’s, Asus seems to have forgot some of the bare essentials with the T100HA.

Let’s start with the good stuff. As a tablet, the T100HA works just fine. It did very occasionally decide to ignore my fingers prodding the touchscreen, but it was generally responsive enough to not become annoying. The modest CPU and 2GB of RAM do get bogged down with memory-hungry applications such as *cough* Google Chrome, and there’s a bit of lag and judder while navigating around the OS, but it’s fine for prodding your way around the web, watching movies and the like.

For those moments when the onscreen keyboard just won’t suffice, you can reach for the keyboard. This clips home with a couple of magnetic metal prongs and a docking connector, and it does a darn good job of keeping the two tied together. I employed the Shake It Vigorously Until Something Falls Off test, and wasn’t until i shook it silly that one of the magnets finally let go and it tumbled to the ground. Bear in mind, though, that the docking connector only carries data to and from the USB 2 port on the keyboard – the tablet and keyboard actually communicate via Bluetooth, so engaging Flight mode disables the keyboard, which is a mite annoying.

Where it all falls apart, however, is when you actually try to type things – words and such. I’ve never had too much trouble getting used to the tiny keys on Asus’ 10in Transformer Book keyboards, but this is an exception. Not only are the keys small, but they’re also slippery, rattly, and typing feels akin to drumming your fingers on a shoebox. Is it better than using the onscreen keyboard? Yes. Well, marginally so. Unless my memory fails me, the keyboard on the original T100 was nowhere near this bad.

The other thing to note about the keyboard is that it’s made from plastic. Light, insubstantial plastic. The tablet, however, is much heavier – you can probably see where I’m going with this. Put it on a lap, and the T100HA constantly threatens to topple backwards if your thighs aren’t perfectly, spirit-level flat. This isn’t a problem on a desk, but then that presents other problems: as the screen doesn’t tilt very far back it’s pretty much impossible to get the display at the right angle.

The touchpad is the coup de grace. I’d forgotten how mind-bogglingly annoying a bad touchpad can be, and the T100HA’s is all that and much, much less. You can lightly tap, or depress the pad with a plasticky click, but it’s difficult to know when either has actually registered. Click just slightly too far to the right of centre, and you sit there wondering if the intended left-click has registered, or if the Atom CPU is just having a think. Tap again. Wait. Give up. Prod touchscreen. Repeat as necessary. Nil points, Asus.

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Asus Transformer Book T100HA: Performance and gaming

Given the occasional performance hiccups, it’d be natural to point the finger of blame at the Atom processor. This would be unfair, though, as the slow 64GB of eMMC storage also plays its part. It’s not much faster, if at all, than a mechanical hard disk, and I suspect that this is where many of the stutters and pauses originate.

In terms of raw performance, the quad-core Atom x5-z8500 is actually pretty decent – not blazingly quick, but fast enough. In Geekbench 3’s single- and multi-core tests, it racked up quite respectable scores of 1,011 and 3,382 – only a touch behind the faster Atom x7-z8700 in the Microsoft Surface 3. Compared to Apple’s tablets, it’s a touch behind the triple-core Apple A8 in last year’s iPad Air for single-core performance, while its extra core gives it the lead for multi-core numbers. For a £230 device, that’s not to be sniffed at.

Gaming performance is roughly double the previous generation. You still won’t get away with playing demanding first person shooters such as Bioshock Infinite, but there’s enough power to take on more sedate strategy games and older titles. In GFXBench 3’s tests, the Asus took full advantage of its relatively low screen resolution by racking up a reasonably smooth average of 25fps in the Manhattan 3 benchmark. The offscreen Full HD tests reveal that the Atom’s GPU still isn’t up to the job at higher resolutions – an average frame rate of 16fps reveals that Intel are still off the pace of Nvidia’s mobile chip, the Tegra K1.

Battery life is healthy, too. With the screen brightness cranked up to a fairly bright 170cd/m2, the T100HA lasted for 11 hours before running out of steam. Turn on the Wi-Fi and the battery life drops markedly – I got around nine hours of everyday use out of it – but that’s enough to last most of the working day before needing a top up.

Asus Transformer Book T100HA: Verdict

Asus should be kicking itself. The Transformer Book T100HA is a lesson in how to ruin a promising, affordable Windows device with one terrible flaw. In case you hadn’t already guessed, I’m referring to the keyboard – it is, by any measure, unutterably awful. If it weren’t for the full-sized USB 2 port, I’d be tempted to throw it in the bin.

This is a crying shame, because there really is a lot to like elsewhere. This is a nicely executed budget Windows tablet with 64GB of storage; it’s long-lasting; and it’s not much slower than Microsoft’s Surface 3 – that’s not to be sniffed at for £230. And if you desperately want a 10in Windows 2-in-1 for under £250, then you may possibly be able to find it in your heart to make peace with the Asus’ keyboard. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

If, however, you simply want something light, portable and usable, and you’re really not bothered about the whole 2-in-1 schtick, then the solution is simple – save some cash and go and spend £175 on the 11.6in HP Stream 11 instead. It’s not quick, or exceptional in any way, but it’s a much better all-rounder, and, crucially, it has a keyboard that won’t make you want to eject it through the nearest window. That’s always a plus point, in my book.

Looking for a low-cost laptop or tablet that really does get it right? We’ve collected some keenly priced alternatives on the next page. 

Asus Transformer Book T100HA review: What to buy instead?

Back in 2013, the Transformer Book T100 was a revelation – it’s a shame the T100HA hasn’t rekindled its 2-in-1 magic in 2015. Now, it finds itself up against an increasing number of cheaper, and equally competent rivals. 

Here are the low-cost Windows alternatives that are well worth considering:

HP Stream 11

Price: £180 Rating: 5/5 Key specs: 11.6in 1,366 x 768 display | Intel Celeron N2840 | 32GB eMMC | 1.29kg

HP’s budget laptop comes in a choice of vibrant colours, and it’s slim and light enough to carry about all-day. Windows 8.1 means that it’s that bit more versatile than a Chromebook, and while the 32GB of storage fills up pretty quickly, it’s easy (and cheap enough) to pair it with an external USB 3 hard disk. Importantly, the keyboard and screen don’t get in the way of getting work done – it’s far more capable than the price would suggest. 

Toshiba Chromebook 2

Price: £280 Rating: 4/5 Key specs: 13.3in 1,920 x 1,080 display | Intel Celeron N2840 | 32GB SSD | 1.35kg

The fact that this laptop doesn’t run Windows will leave some people running for the hills, but the Chromebook 2 is a delight. The top-quality Full HD screen is the highlight, and is better than you could expect to find on much pricier laptops. Right now, this is the Chromebook we’d buy – it is a worthy adversary to the HP Stream 11.

Microsoft Surface 3

Price: £419 Rating: 4/5 Key specs: 10.8in 1,920 x 1,280 display | Intel Atom x7 | 64/128GB SSD | 622g (tablet only)

At £419, the Surface 3 is as gorgeous as sub-£500 Windows tablets get. The price jumps up steeply, however: the Type keyboard inflates the price by £119, and the Surface Pen adds another £45. The Atom x7 processor is a tad underpowered, but if you don’t push it too hard, it’s a capable little hybrid – and it’s bloody lovely to look at, too.

Toshiba Satellite C40-C 

Price: £200 Rating: 4/5 Key specs: 13.3in 3,200 x 1,800 display | Intel Core i5/i7 | 128-512GB SSD | 1.27kg

The Satellite C40-C brings Windows 10 to the table for only £200. The 14in display strikes a good balance between portability and all-day usability, and though the Celeron CPU is pretty slow, it’s good enough for basic use. Battery life is good, too – over 7 hours of video playback is good going.

Toshiba Satellite CL10-B

Price: £180 Rating: 4/5 Key specs: 11.6in 1,366 x 768 display | Intel Celeron N2840 | 32GB eMMC | 1.1kg

Toshiba’s Windows 8.1 laptop is no powerhouse, and it’s equipped with a mere 32GB of storage, but it also comes bundled with a two-year subscription to 100GB of OneDrive cloud storage. As a basic laptop for everyday use, it’ll do a sterling job. The all-plastic chassis is sturdy, and while the display is hardly the last word in quality, it’s bright, and battery life is decent.

Still in need of some help selecting the right Windows tablet or laptop? Click here to bounce on over to Alphr’s guide to the Best Laptops (and tablets) of 2015.