Asus are back, and this time they are looking to “transform” the PC again with the world’s first 3-in-1Unveiled in Sydney last night, the Transformer Book Trio is an Android tablet, laptop and Windows 8 desktop in 1, running dual OS’s – Android and Windows 8.1, dual CPU’s and can be used separately.
With a RRP of $1599, this work-and-play device is Asus’ hero and the “world’s first 3-in-1 PC”. It is a major point of differenciator for the PC maker. Asus says it “continues to break the boundaries of PC”, and has enjoyed 30% growth in the 3-in-1 market in 2013.
The full HD 11.6″ hybrid runs Intel’s potent 4th gen Core i5 processor (on Pc Station) and Intel Atom Z2560 (1.6GHz) on the tablet, Intel HD graphics, stereo speakers and plenty of separate storage. The tablet runs Android (Jelly Bean 4.2) and PC runs Windows 8 so it’s handy for work use.
Users can switch between form factors by just pressing the ‘Trio’ key on the keyboard.
Expanding on the original Asus Transformer launched in 2010, PC users needs are now becoming more diverse, more personal, said Vivian Hung, Country Head of the System Business Group for ASUS Australia.
The real beauty of the Trio is you can use the tablet and PC station separately, so it transforms into a portable 11″ touchscreen tablet by just un-docking it, and used as a fully fledged Windows PC by another user when hooked up to a monitor, or just a laptop, so for $1599 its not a bad price at all.
Users can switch instantly between Droid and Windows OS’s and share data.
The PC workstation has 4GB RAM with 500Gb hardrive and the tablet has 2GB.
PC Station: 802.11ac (dual-band), Bluetooth 4.0, 2 x USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, Micro-HDMI 1.4, 3.5mm headphone/mic
Tablet: 802.11n (2.4GHz), Bluetooth 3.0, Micro-USB 2.0, 3.5mm headphone/mic, microSD card slot
The Trio also has a rear 5MP Full HD camera and front 720p HD camera. Its pretty light considering its capacity to be three things at once and has a metallic design.
It will be available at mass retailers and smaller specialist stores.
It sells for $1599 for the Intel Core i5 model.
Asus also launched a new slimmer than slim Zenbook Ultrabook and T100 2-in-1 laptop and tablet, more on that later.
