Asus is set to launch the Transformer Book T300 Chi next week, Apr. 7, in the Philippines but we managed to get hold of an early unit to check.
The Taiwanese company has been one of the most innovative laptop manufacturers since they introduced the first netbook (EeePC) many years ago and then followed it up with a really good lineup of ultrabooks (Zenbook).
Many iterations later, they introduced the Transformer Book T300 Chi, which is a hybrid tablet and ultrabook in one.
At first glance, the Transformer Chi looks like a regular laptop or ultrabook with a full metal body and very sleek design. It resembles the Asus Zenbook line but in a slimmer form factor and smaller footprint.
The 12.5-inch IPS LCD display has a full HD resolution (1920x1080 pixels) but there’s an option for a WQHD.
The display is also detachable from the keyboard which allows for using it as a Windows 8 tablet. It’s actually a huge tablet with a 12.5-inch screen but still very usable and comfortable due to its thin and light profile.
This basically makes the Chi a standalone Windows tablet that comes bundled with a Bluetooth keyboard dock. The keyboard latches to the tablet with a magnetic lock but there’s actually no electrical connection between the tablet and the dock except for Bluetooth.
The keyboard dock acts as a separate Bluetooth device, allowing navigation and input into the tablet wirelessly (regardless if it is docked or not). The dock has its own power source which is a rechargeable Li-Ion battery solely for Bluetooth operation. Battery life of the tablet goes up to 8 hours on a single full charge. It’s not as long as the 12 hours on the previous Transformer Book T100 but considering the display size and the thinness of the T300 Chi, 8 hours is already very impressive.
Key to the long battery life is the Intel Core M processor. It’s a low-power, dual-core CPU that performs much better than a quad-core Intel Atom. Compared to the more powerful Intel Core i-series, the Core M is between a 4th-gen Core i3 and Core i5. The biggest advantage of the Core M is that power consumption is much lower compared to the i3 and i5, thus the impressive rated battery life.
Due to low heat output, the T300 Chi also allows for a fan-less design, which allows it to have a much thinner chassis.
The downside, though, is that there’s not much room for full-sized ports. As such, the T300 Chi only has micro-USB ports, micro-HDMI and a microSD card slot. To plug it to a regular USB device like a printer, you will need a USB adaptor (thankfully, it comes with the box).
We can confidently say that Asus has finally found a good balance between a powerful ultrabook and a sleek yet functional Windows 8 tablet in the Transformer T300 Chi.
The all-metal construction, the gorgeous design coupled with pretty decent hardware performance puts the Transformer T300 Chi on top of our must-have device for 2015.
Asus Philippines is set to launch the Transformer Book T300 Chi in the country on April 7 with a starting price of P39,995 for the 4GB/128GB model.
ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi specs:
12.5-inch fHD IPS LCD @ 1920×1080 pixels
Intel Core M 5Y10/5Y71 processor, up to 2.90 GHz
Intel HD Graphics 5300
4GB/8GB LPDDR3 RAM
128GB SSD
WiFi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.0
HD Web Camera
1 x COMBO audio jack
2 x Micro USB
1 x micro HDMI
1 x Bluetooth On/Off Switch
1 x SD card reader
1X AC adapter plug
Built-in Speakers and Array Microphone
SonicMaster Audio
32 Whrs battery
Windows 8.1
317.8 x 191.6 x 7.6 ~ 16.5 mm
720g (tablet)
1.43 kg (with keyboard dock)