Some technology companies don’t get the credit they deserve for breaking new ground, taking chances, and coming out with amazing innovative designs which influence the marketplace. Asus is one of those such companies. Apple better look out because Asus is quickly becoming a trend setter. Their press events are legendary to those who follow such things. Their chairman Jonney Shih is the Mick Jagger of the technology world and new product presentations. Sometimes awkward but always entertaining.
Just this past week in Taipei was Computex 2013. This is one of the biggest shows for Asus and Acer. This year Asus in particular didn’t disappoint. I want to draw your attention to one of the most innovative designs in laptops/tablets/hybrids/detachables that’s come out yet. May I present to you the Asus Transformer Book Trio TX201LA. It’s unclear whether it will take a foothold in the mainstream but it’s so interesting I must tell you about it.
As Asus says, it’s the world’s first 3-in-1 device. It’s a tablet, it’s a laptop, and it’s a stand alone PC. The Transformer Book Trio can switch instantly with the press of a button between Android and Windows 8. Imagine that! This feature is available only when the tablet portion is attached to the keyboard dock. When the tablet is detached from the keyboard dock, you have a full fledged Android tablet running a new Intel Atom processor which is the Z2580 running at 2.0GHz. The size of the screen is 11.6-inch and the tablet display is a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution. That’s not all. Get ready for this. The keyboard dock is in fact a full fledged PC computer with its own processor! The keyboard dock runs a powerful Core i7-4500U processor. If you want a PC mode, simply connect to a display and you have a full fledged Windows 8 PC. The keyboard dock has a good size battery and can charge the tablet when docked.
You have to give Asus credit don’t you? The Transformer Book Trio TX201LA is very creative and it’s a very robust computer and tablet all rolled into one. There is no official price and no official release date just yet. It’s possibly coming out in Q3 2013 so stay tuned for details!
In case you’re wondering, this isn’t the first Asus Transformer Book. Recently the 13.3-inch Transformer Book TX300 came to market and is priced near $1500. The T300 was shown off at Computex 2013 which is essentially a cheaper version of the TX300 made of plastic instead of aluminum. Both these models don’t feature the dual OS or dual processor option like seen in the Trio model. The TX300 and T300 both run Android.
