I won’t hide that I was more than a little excited to be asked to test-drive the new ASUS Transformer Book T100. In many ways the clever design of laptop and tablet in one is ideal and I really wish my Macbook Air had that same feature. I dont own a tablet so I find myself regularly feeling jealous at everyone I see who does have one, especially those who travel. “Why not just buy one?”, I hear you wonder. The problem is that I need to retouch photos on the go and for that I need a proper laptop. But if I can have both, THEN YES, I’LL HAVE BOTH, thank you very much.
Before I used a Mac I went through many years of using Microsoft computers, so Windows wasn’t completely new territory for me – or so I thought. In reality Windows 8.1 really is a completely different ballgame to the time when I left things at Vista.
What I noticed right away was the intuitive usability. I must say I am completely guilty of never ever ever reading a manual (I’m more likely to call a friend and whine until they come and help me) and everything that is so complicated that I cannot figure it out by applying the trial and error principle is no fun to use. Thankfully that was not the case here. Instead everything is readily compiled on the desktop – internet, camera, apps – you name it.
A tablet for holiday mode, a laptop for workmode
I was excited to bring the ASUS Transformer Book T100 with me on my 3 month trip through Thailand. I want this to be a fun time to spend with me and my baby son but I do have to spend his nap times and evenings to work. As a working mother the one thing I need is flexibility. The T100 gives it to me. As a tablet it is so light that I bring it with me wherever I go. I use it to shoot a video diary of my trip (the camera is great quality!), to take selfies with my son (he giggles so much when he sees himself on the tablet!), to go online when I’m at a restaurant (which happens 3 times a day right now) and as a laptop in the evenings, when I sit on the balcony of my hotel room working or typing this blogpost while baby Atlas is snoozing.
As a photographer my prime concerns in a computer are a crisp display with vivid colors, a good quality camera to shoot videos and photos and a good amount of space on the hard disk (500GB!!!!!!!). As a traveler I want a product that is light, easy to use and ticks as many boxes as possible without taking up a lot of space or drilling a giant hole in my budget. As a blogger I want a fast system, a quality keyboard to type all my blogposts on and longlasting battery power that insures I can go online whenever I want (and not whenever a power outlet is near).
High expectations, right? Well, I must say the ASUS Transformer Book T100 didn’t let me down on a single one of them. I didn’t think I might one day consider going back to Windows but the plus points of the T100 are weighing in heavily and at least for traveling I might switch to this one in the future.
On a more personal note – as a mom of a little boy I knew the day would come when I would have to get a tablet to always have an emergency cartoon handy when the flight gets too long and the restaurant visit too boring for the little one. Knowing that I won’t have to add yet another piece of electronics to me already very heavy hand luggage gives me exactly the peace of mind a working any mom longs for.
Do you think the ASUS Transformer Book T100 could be an ideal travel companion for you as well? Then tell us why in a comment for a chance to win one!
The winner will be selected on Friday, January 30th 2015. Good luck!
UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed!
*This post was created in collaboration with ASUS.
The ASUS Transformer Book T100 would be my constant companion. In the job, on vacation, on buses and trains.
As a replacement for my big heavy laptop. This works only with electricity. The battery has long been defective.
Our next journey together would Corsica. For trekking. Since it is small and light it is in the backpack guarantees nor a place.
Thank you for this great recommendation and the detailed review!
This laptop sounds like a perfect combination. I am not really happy traveling the world with a notebook in my bagback. They are always too heavy and too big. And for my blog a tablet isn't very handy as I need a keyboard for typing.
My first notebook was an ASUS too but after this I always used other brands. The new t100 sounds like I want to give ASUS another chance - if it really delivers what it promises.
I would be more than happy to figure that out :-)
Greetings from Germany!
First of all, thank you for a helpful review. Now I know that I want this laptop for sure. I have been reading reviews about it for quite a long time, but somehow, I never bought it.
I only started travelling last year, and as you can imagine, I was not a pro at packing light. My 2,5 kg 'light' Toshiba sure didn't help with light packing, and my shoulders always hurt after carrying it around, even for a short time.
I am planning to do a six-month trip next year, and I will start a travel blog. At first, I thought that tablet would be perfect, but then I remembered that keyboard is just essential for me.
To sum up, I think that Asus T100 would be my perfect travel companion.
Thank you for this comprehensive review! I'm currently on the search for the perfect lap top (or tablet... can't figure out which one I prefer) and the recommandation of a fellow travelette is exactly what I needed! I recently gave up on the idea that I could work and travel with only a smartphone. As a tour guide, I need a tablet to show the students who I travel with pictures, maps and visual information to complement the tours but I also need a lap top for all the paperwork. Same goes for my travels... I need a device that can meet all my needs and the ASUS T100 looks like the perfect companion :)
Merci!
Thanks for this review! I guess that a combination of laptop and tablet will be perfect for me. I travel a lot and it will be easier to use a tablet on my way. At home a laptop is better. The laptop I'm using now is more than four years old and I'm thinking about getting a new one. This ASUS Transformer Book T100 is just perfect.
Reasons? Ok then:
1. My left arm has grown 10 cm longer from carrying my laptop around during past travels. I am getting more and more lopsided! This has to stop before my left fingers reach the level of my toes!!
2. Last time I traveled to a remote village in the jungle of Indonesia I had to leave my laptop in the town hostel because it was too heavy. The dog doctor of the village was really disappointed when I couldn’t show him a video of my dogs. I do not want to disappoint people in remote villages anymore.
3. Sometimes I get really bored when traveling, like when waiting at the airport. Meticulously cleaning the gaps around the keys of the keyboard would give me a truly meaningful occupation, and it takes so beautifully much longer than just wiping the screen of a tablet in two seconds.
4. My laptop often tells me it feels lonely being the only device I carry around, so I have to spend a lot of time comforting it. A tablet AND a keyboard makes two – they could entertain each other, so I can finally do more exciting things than offering my notebook soul support.
5. Having played volleyball in the past, my fingertips have become thick and fleshy from smashing the ball all the time. Whuch lewds to manny erroirs whem I typpe on a toichscren. Not so on a keyboard – where my thick ones have all the space they need!
6. It’s in the brand already! There will never be a couple as happy AS US (= ASUS & me)!
Thank you for the review!
Right now I'm in the middle of writing my master thesis and "travelling" with my 5 year old laptop and a whole lot of books with my bike to the library every day is, especially with this nasty winter weather, sometimes a real pain in the ass (and also a pain I feel in my back). The Ausus Transformer book would be such a perfect and lightweight library compainon. And of course it would come in handy when I reward myself with real holidays and some backpack travelling after the thesis madness. With the Asus tablet-laptop (... or tabtop... or laplet... or so) I could travel and simultaneously search a job and write amazing cover letters while having my feet in the sand and the sea breeze around my nose. Oh my, that would be perfect!
Ciao!
I was very happy to stumble across your informative blog at the right time... will be leaving in March for a 6-week travel adventure mainly in Italy, where I'll start in Milan and zig-zag down the boot to Sicily where I'll lead a tour, and ending in Spain for the Feria de Abril, and have been thinking how much I really do not want to lug around my heavy big-screen laptop this time around. I don't think I knew that there was a combo tablet and laptop... was thinking I would just have to go it with a tablet, and lug around a full size wireless keyboard, since I'm awful at typing on a screen. So this is good news for me. Thanks for your review! Am enjoying your blog... just found you recently after joining Blog lovin'.
Baci,
Jodina
www.ItalianoWithJodina.com
Is it better than i-pad with a wireless keyboard? actually i want a tablet to travel with but i really fed up with windows ?