Hands-on review: IFA 2012: Asus Transformer Book

In association with Sony

The Vivo tablets may be the brand for its tablet orientated hybrid devices, but Transformer has been retained for Asus's flagship Windows 8 laptop the Asus Transformer Book.

While the Vivo Tabs are primarily tablets that transform into laptops by plugging the screen into the docking station, the Transformer Book feels more like a laptop first, which has the power to be released from its keyboard to give you more freedom to work.

Asus is infamous for changing its branding halfway through a launch - see the Asus Transformer announcements from MWC - but even for the Taiwanese name changers, this is a triumph.

The Asus Transformer Book features an Intel Core i7 powered 'convertible Ultrabook' that brings all the power of the excellent Zenbook series, but can also be used as a tablet, giving you the ability to disconnect the keyboard when you want to play, and turn it back into a laptop when you want to work.

Build quality is a step above anything we've seen on the Asus Transformer range, or indeed the newly announced Vivos. The brushed mental finish is genuinely comparable to that of the Asus Zenbook UX31 and is more solid and refined than any hybrid you'll find in the halls of IFA 2012.

The Transformer Book will be available in three sizes, a refreshing change for this kind of laptop and will suit most user needs. The size line-up starts at 11.6-inch but can also be found in 13-inch and 14-inch flavours.

We're yet to see any traction for tablets over 10 inches, and we're sceptical that this will be the first, but with a full HD IPS display, SSD and HDD, and a 3rd Gen Intel Ivy Bridge processor Asus is giving the Transformer Book every chance of holding its own as a tablet and Ultrabook.

Like the rest of the Windows 8 Asus range, the camera and speakers have been invested in, and you'll find a 5MP snapper on the back and Bang & Olufsen ICEpower speakers, identical to those in the Asus Zenbook.

There's no availability or pricing, but expect this to come in a second wave of products after the release of Windows 8 on October 26.

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'Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.

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