Technology Update

Review: Asus Transformer Book T100HA

Introduction and design

Few laptops get to be brands. But Asus' Transformer is a brand in itself, having been around since 2011, when it was a ground-breaking design. The concept of all the computer's brains being carried in the screen was truly innovative, and the removable keyboard was a neat trick too.

The world has changed since 2011, and now tablet-laptops are ten a penny. Even Asus does three different versions of the Transformer, of which this is by far the cheapest – the Chi is an ultrathin version and the Flip is a rotating variant. The biggest competitor of course are Microsoft's Surface Pro PCs, which follow the Transformer's model exactly, but with a much higher level of quality. Similarly, put a keyboard stand on the latest iPad and you have another competitor – though this device is actually closer to the Kindle Fire in terms of size and performance.

That reflects the fact that the T100 models are the smallest of the Transformer line-up at a diminutive 10-inches wide. They've also moved on and are no longer the flagship product they once were – as can be seen by the low resolution screen, poor SSD substitute and slow processor. But perhaps all this could come together to be more than the sum of its parts?

Design

The tablet is fine to look at, with a wide glossy black bezel around the small screen, and its exterior is pleasantly cool to the touch. We were supplied with the least interesting colour available, the bolt gun-metal version, and we can safely say that we'd never pick anything this dull. If you're going to buy this machine, make sure you get one of the other effervescent colours – it also comes in off-white, pastel blue or electric pink versions.

The keyboard matches the tablet design, with a smoothly curved lip that makes it seem thinner than it is. However, despite being nearly the same weight as the tablet itself, it's a much flimsier construction – and I didn't find it great for typing on, with the construction too narrow and bouncy for my mighty meat-paws.

I also had repeated problems with the touchpad's clicking and buttons, having to always hit the same spot multiple times before it would register. As we always say though, you need to try a laptop keyboard yourself before buying – it's one of those areas where everyone's experience is different.

The two distinct elements are joined by three separate ports that clip together quickly and easily, without much human force or manoeuvring. When in place, it's a solid construction which seems like it could take some punishment without breaking apart – the rotation bracket and support is cunningly built into the keyboard itself, so the ports aren't taking the strain. Despite that, the tablet itself is heavier than the keyboard, so has a tendency to fall over on surfaces which aren't level – making it no good for typing on your lap, for example.

The tablet is obviously no iPad Air, presenting a chunkier profile from both front and side-on. Asus marketing claims that the "T100HA (is) super-slim but strong enough to shrug off the knocks and scrapes that come with a hectic on-the-go lifestyle". It does look like it could take a whack or two – but we weren't tempted to try that proposition out.

We did note that the aluminium lid looked pretty scratchproof but after a ride in a bag around London for the day, it had a couple of marks that we couldn't polish or shrug away. Despite that, the underlying structure seems extremely rugged.

Specifications

Physically, the Transformer is around 100g heavier and 1mm thicker than the iPad Air, ignoring, for the moment, that device's superior specifications and performance – and of course the Asus offering is up to £300 (around $450, or AU$630) cheaper, depending on the model you choose.

Similarly, it's a third of the price of the Surface Pro 3, though the latest iteration of that device now boasts more screen real estate (12-inches from its previous 10.6-inches and 2160 x 1440 resolution – nearly double that of the Transformer). The Surface is around the same thickness as the Transformer, despite that larger size.

Those are luxury propositions, though, compared to the T100's £300 (around $450, or AU$630) price. But what does £300 buy you in the world of Transformers?

Spec sheet

Here is the full spec sheet of the Asus Transformer Book T100HA configuration sent to TechRadar for review:

• CPU: 1.44GHz Intel Atom x5-Z8500 Processor (quad-core)
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
• RAM: 2GB
• Screen: 10.1-inches 1280 x 800 resolution
• Storage: 58.2GB eMMC (34GB available)
• Optical drive: N/A
• Ports: 2-in-1 card reader (Micro SD/Micro SDXC), 1 x Microphone-in/Headphone-out jack, 1 x USB 2.0 port, 1 x USB-C Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps), 1 x Micro USB, 1 x micro HDMI
• Connectivity: Integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0
• Camera: 2 cameras; front 2 megapixels, rear 5 megapixels
• Tablet Dimensions: 265 x 175 x 8.45mm (WxDxH)
• Dock Dimensions: 265 x 173.7 x 10mm (WxDxH)
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home
• Tablet Weight: 0.58kg
• Dock Weight: 0.46kg

That CPU, despite being quad-core, is pretty damn slow, as we'll see in the benchmarks on the next page. That's also a pretty awful, slow eMMC drive – not just slower than an SSD, with all its bells and whistles, it's also slower than an SD card. That's a pretty terrible core drive for a laptop, though it does have pretty amazing low power consumption too – feeding into Asus' claimed 12 hours of video playback (more on that later). Thankfully, you can expand the storage using the SD card slot.

At least there is a nice array of ports – the usual suspects, plus a USB Type-C port to charge the tablet. This latter supports fast USB 3.1 data and up to 100W of power, meaning the device should charge quickly from such a source – but it was extremely slow to charge in our tests, taking as much as four hours on one occasion.

Bundled software

On the OS front, the good news is that the device does come with Windows 10 pre-installed, which saves you having to do the inevitable upgrade from Windows 8 – which would probably be impossible anyway, given the teensy-weensy eMMC drive that this comes with.

And Windows 10 is pretty sharpish on this, though we'd go for a coffee break during any intensive tasks. We did have problems during the initial Windows 10 setup, where the screen was incorrectly rotated throughout – but it seemed to have ironed itself out by the time the system was running properly.

The other applications are classic bloatware, but at least they're separated out into their own little part of the tablet. I've no idea what the Asus Giftbox app is doing on there. There's also an Asus WebStorage app that pops up regularly to offer you 1TB of storage for a year – and the Asus LiveUpdate app looks for updates for your other apps.

Performance and display

The Asus isn't a fast starter and it doesn't handle everyday tasks well. It's fine for browsing the web, if a little slow, and the sluggishness gives it a slight input lag, meaning you can find yourself waiting for the smallest things. At least Windows 10 recognised when it was changing mode every time, and suggested a change to a mobile mode for that.

The speakers are fine here, producing an acceptable if tinny sound. What was worrying, though, was that we couldn't get the microphone to work on some of our Skype calls (though that might be a problem with the increasingly unreliable Skype), and that for some reason the tablet turned the front camera video image upside down – which we could do nothing about at all.

Benchmarks

Our test Asus Transformer T100HA came with Windows 10 Home, an Intel Atom CPU clocked at 1.44GHz, 2GB of RAM and a 58GB eMMC drive. Here's how it performed in our suite of benchmark tests:

• 3DMark: Cloud Gate: 1,953; Sky Diver: 1,044; Fire Strike: 253; Ice Storm: 21,516
• Cinebench R15: CPU: 125 points; Graphics: 12.14 fps
• PCMark 8 Home Test: 1,659 points
• PCMark 8 Battery Life: 5 hours 28 minutes

Let's just remind ourselves how that compares to the 2013 model's scores:

• Cinebench R11: CPU: 1.09 points; OpenGL: 6.09 fps
• 3DMark: Cloud Gate: 1, 222; Fire Strike: Would not run; Ice Storm: 15,842

And a further comparison to the more recent ultra-slim and hi-res Transformer Chi:

• 3DMark: Cloud Gate: 1,404; Sky Diver: 562; Fire Strike: Would not run
• Cinebench R11: CPU: 1.44pts; GPU: 6.94 fps
• Cinebench R11.5 GPU: 6.94 fps
• PCMark 8 Home Test: 1,217
• PC Mark 8 Battery Life: 8 hours 38 minutes

So, yeah. You're not going to be running much of anything intensive on this, save perhaps for extremely low-poly mobile games. Some of its scores were so low 3DMark couldn't find any lower reference devices. It isn't just 3D that it struggles with – before we even got to do the Cinebench benchmarks, it took an age for the Transformer just to unzip the Cinebench download file! And, hilariously, we couldn't run the Shadow of Mordor benchmark because it was, by itself, the size of the entire eMMC drive.

That battery life is much lower than the claimed 12 hours of video – but processor or 3D intensive tasks seemed to eat into the battery much faster. Given the lengthy charging times, that's not something you want to happen, lest this device be permanently bound to a plug-socket.

Despite all that, it is an improvement on the 2013 model. (But things were simpler back then). It does have passable benchmark scores for the home and office operations, and ran video and Skype smoothly, alongside other apps and open tabs. And it can still run other Windows software, which the equivalent Chromebook won't be able to do.

Display

The resolution is, simply, a bit rubbish. 1,280 x 800 is less than most mobile phones and when you glance over at the T100 Chi with that 1,920 x 1,200 retina-level screen, you feel like maybe you should spend that extra £100 (around $150, or AU$210). Elsewhere, a cheap Chromebook or Netbook can be picked up with a 1080p screen without looking very hard at all.

That said, the 10.1-inch IPS screen of the Transformer does produce some nice colours and glossy blacks. The viewing angles are also perfectly good – not that many people will be clustering around a screen this small.

The cameras were disappointing. Neither seemed good in low light and the front camera consistently displayed us as upside-down, despite our best efforts to fix this. At least there is a rear camera now, which is an improvement on the dreadful 2013 model.

Verdict

The change from the older T100 to this model also signified a change from plastic to aluminium, and the arrival of some bright colours to go alongside the tedious tin-grey finish. That's the biggest quality change in the product, followed closely by the improved CPU, which should handle everyday tasks slightly better.

So who might we recommend this device to? Someone wanting to use a cheap computer for work and home, mostly plugged in, and commuting regularly between the two locations. That poor recharge rate means it's not ideal for someone going on longer journeys, despite the good battery life.

We liked

The best thing about the Transformer is its price. You have a versatile, simple and passable laptop/tablet for £300 (around $450, or AU$630). It does a range of home tasks well, and can handle reasonable multitasking as well as any other laptop. And, as you can only do basic tasks on it, you don't have to worry about the processor-intensive stuff that eats up battery.

We disliked

There was plenty to be annoyed about with the T100HA. This is fundamentally not a very good laptop, and only a passable tablet – and perhaps not one that you'd pay £300 (around $450, or AU$630) for, when a Kindle Fire HD is so much less.

The keyboard build quality was of concern. It feels notably flimsy and the greater weight of the tablet compared to it can let the whole thing topple over on uneven surfaces. The aluminium shell on the tablet itself did scratch and mark, that's true enough, but looks like it should survive any real damage.

The excruciatingly slow charging speed and the reduced battery life compared to earlier models mean this device is going to spend a lot of every single day plugged into walls. It's a pity that Asus didn't include a second battery in the keyboard – but understandable, given the cost and weight impact of that.

The tiny, slow eMMC is an offensive choice for a tablet's storage unit. Being able to augment its size with an SD card doesn't stop it from being pretty useless – especially given how slow the Transformer was at processor-intensive activities like unzipping.

Final verdict

Despite our forced positivity above, we can't say that we enjoyed our time with the T100HA. It's not an immediately friendly laptop, at least in this grey incarnation, and the poor keyboard means it's mostly useful as a tablet – and not a wonderfully good value one at that.

That said, for the right role, this is a good purchase – if you want a laptop/tablet that can handle just about any office task and won't need recharging for a good long time. Just be aware that when you do set it charging, you may want to consider going into hibernation yourself.

On the whole, you may want to consider the Transformer Chi as a much more modern version of the same machine, for not that much more money.

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