Can’t decide between a new Android tablet and a Windows 8 hybrid? Asus doesn’t think you should have to, so they’re offering up the Transformer Book Trio.
It looks like an ordinary tablet-notebook hybrid, but there’s a big difference. The Asus PC dock — the keyboard unit — isn’t just keys, a touchpad, and a spare battery. It’s actually got its own mainboard, a Haswell Core i7 processor, a 33Whr battery, and up to 1TB of built-in storage. The PC dock runs Windows 8 — or more likely Windows 8.1 by the time it hits store shelves.
All that’s missing is the display, but it’s got all the ports you need to hook up a standard desktop monitor (like that amazing 31.5-inch 4K model Asus just unveiled). You can also drop in the 11.6-inch removable panel, which acts as a mere laptop display when it’s seated in the dock.
Pull it out, however, and you’ve got a fully-functional Android tablet. It’s also powered by an Intel chip — albeit a much more humble 2GHz Clover Trail+ Atom. Visuals should look nice and sharp on the 11.6-inch 1080p screen, and a 19.5Whr battery will provide a decent amount of use between charges. It’s running Android 4.2.
It might actually be more appropriate to call this thing the Quatro, because you can still use Android when it’s docked. There’s a dedicated key that lets you flip back and forth between operating systems.
Asus hasn’t announced pricing for the Transformer Book Trio yet, but you can bet it’s going to command a premium. This is, after all, a device that can function as an Android tablet, Android notebook, Windows 8 notebook, and a Windows 8 desktop. Theoretically Asus could sell the two separately, but a Core i7 keyboard computer would probably sell a whole lot better with some kind of display to fill out its clamshell chassis.
Now read: Thinner MacBook Pro using a Haswell processor expected at WWDC
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