ASUS Transformer Book Chi T300 Review
It’s Razor thin, highly crafted premium quality laptop tablet in one. That is how ASUS Transformer Book Chi T300 is described. I my self been amazed how they manage to make the Chi T300 elegant inside and out. Design wise its one of the best looking 2 in 1 device out there in the market, it’s sturdy and solid build. The Diamond cut finish is seamlessly crafted both in the tablet and keyboard. having a Sapphire blue tone with an alloy crafted body for both tablet and dock.
The unit we had, is powered by the Intel Core M-5Y71 1.20GHz (1397 MHz) 64bit with8GB of RAM and 128GB ISSD SSD (also available in 256GB SSD) with the Integrated Intel HD Graphics 5300. Performance wise this is monstrous for its kind,still not intended for high intensive gaming but still it can run it comparing to other convertibles, but for a full-blown productivity portable device.
A device that you will not have any problem bringing anywhere, I like using small backpacks and the ASUS Transformer Book Chi T300 best fits this scenario where you don’t want to be notice bringing a luxury item that is worth 47,000+ right? just slide it to your bag pack its good to go.
Usually when you have a very thin device first impression it’s very fragile, well not with the Chi T300 at first I was really bothered if I will put it beside all my other gadgets like cameras and other gears I bring all the time. But because of its solid build premium quality aluminum body I was surprise it didn’t have any dent’s or scratches. ASUS really did a great job crafting this device.
Having a thin device also have some negative impact in terms of ports since its razor-thin they compressed all the ports, looking at the top is the location of the power button and beside it is the Power / Charging LED indicator. Right side has the Micro USB 3.0 port that can detect all type of Cards from External HDD drives, USB and Card Readers since it also comes with a USB 3.0 OTG adapter that can be inserted to this port. It also has a Micro HDMI for extending the monitor if in case you’re not satisfied with the Full HD 1080p resolution and lastly the 3.5mm Audio / Mic Jack.
The speakers are not noticeable on both sides and since its compact type, with that it can’t give the best audio output even on a max volume. But still I’m glad they put it on the side rather than at the bottom.
While on the left side is the DC input for charging then the Window button to unlock the screen and the volume rocker. the keyboard dock also has one port which is the Micro USB port but take note that this cannot read HDD drives and peripherals, it’s intended for small capacity since it’s just a USB 2.0. Keyboard dock is Bluetooth powered, tablet can still be used even when detached to the keyboard since it has an on/off switch plus a charging LED indicator to monitor of the keyboard is charging since it’s still a wireless device. Unfortunately it doesn’t have any LED light on the Keys.
The only issue for Wireless Bluetooth powered keyboard is the delay when the tablet wakes up, takes a couple of seconds to pair and connect. and sometimes it needs to turn off the switch just for it to pair again which makes it annoying sometimes. But in terms of keys its just perfectly fine it has enough room space when typing very tactile and clicky.
Trackpad is seamlessly responsive to both single and multi-touch gestures but I hope they made it larger to have enough room space for fingers. When the tablet is attached to the keyboard it has slight wobble since it only has two latches to lock with an easy to remove feature but its sturdy and won’t detach easily, since the bottom part of the keyboard has a curve edges it also wobbles even on a flat surface.
But what I really like about the Tablet it can be placed inverted in the keyboard dock, but I think it’s not really design for that since there’s a gap when its close to the keyboard. best use for watching videos and presentation.
Using the tablet just itself is awkward for its size and weight , half pounds without the keyboard is still heavy for long usage and the BEZEL is really thick in terms of display. The quality of the display is almost flat in the panel and even viewing in 179 degree angle still very clear and readable. using with a Capacitive Stylus pen is very responsive and smooth I used it on Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop it works really well. I didn’t have any issues when pressing smaller section part of the screen thanks to the full 1080p resolution display.
Since it’s a 64bit ready , the Touch UI of the Adobe Illustrator works well using some of the modern windows app for creative design its top-notch with this device. Even rendering a Full 1080p minutes video took only 14mins to render even not having a CUDA gpu feature in the Adobe Premiere, very surprising for a Tablet PC. But likewise still not for a modern 3D graphics games but working on multi tasking is quick and painless. though there’s a slight heat at the back when used for a long duration since it has an aluminum build.
In terms of battery life I only manages to crank it up to 7hrs on a normal usage and when used for an intensive app usage it boils down to 4hrs which is less than the average battery life of a tablet. 🙁
Overall It’s still powerful , very attractive premium and incredibly thin. The lack of ports options may be a disadvantage to some but in terms of performance I will choose this over the Ultrabooks 🙂 the Full HD display with 16:9 aspect ratio is a big plus with this tablet. Chi T300 is just the start on what we can expect with a ASUS defining portability with elegance.
