24th October 2012- ASUS launched a whole new line of Windows 8 products which includes tablets, notebooks and all-in-one machines at today’s launch event at Shuffle Bistro Bar at Clarke Quay.The event started with a few presentations from the regional business directors from ASUS, followed by an exhibition of their new products. Pricing and availibility details were also released.
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| ASUS Launch Event at Shuffle Bistro Bar |
ASUS has divided their Windows 8 products into 3 lines, namely the notebooks, tablets and all-in-one machines. Each category will be separated further into their target markets, targetting the various needs of end users.
Windows 8 ASUS Product Showcase
ASUS Windows 8 Notebook lineup
The new Windows 8 Notebooks/ Laptops from ASUS will be clearly segmented into 3 categories. They will be the VivoBook for the mainstream users, Transformer Book and Zenbook Touch for the people who requires high portability computing and then ASUS TAICHI, for those who wants to show off their new dual screen tablet/notebook hybrid computational device.
All devices in this category will be powered by Intel Core Processors and will come in “Vanilla” or Pro version of Windows 8. This also means that usual Windows 7 Desktop like applications will run on these machines. It’s a good transition device for users from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
ASUS VivoBook
When it comes to Windows 8, we are embracing the touch technology. That’s why the new notebooks from ASUS running Windows 8 OS are all touch enabled. The ASUS VivoBook will come in 14″ and 11.6″. Good news : It starts only at $799SGD
ASUS Transformer Book
Is it a laptop? It is a tablet? It’s both. ASUS Transformer Book is a notebook by heart, but you can simply remove its screen to use it as a tablet PC. It’s a 13.3″ panel. However, it may not make total logical sense to bring a 13.3″ Tablet around, but it’s definitely good if you want to show off some presentation slides or charts to your boss. It’s funny to carry a 13.3″ keyboard around too, don’t you think?
ASUS Zenbook Touch
Continuing the Zenbook craze which ASUS created, it now better with an additional “Touch” word to its name, enabling touch capabilities with it’s screen. It’s just as light and just as sexy. Sadly, Zenbook Touch doesn’t come cheap being priced at SGD 2498. This probably means that not everyone will be able to afford this one.
ASUS TAICHI
The highlight of the whole event was about ASUS TAICHI, the tablet/notebook hybrid with 2 screens. TAICHI comes in a 11.6″ form on 1920 x 1080 resolution, and is powered by a Intel Core i7 Processor. A 256GB SSD ensures that your experience with Windows 8 is seamless. TAICHI is an awesome product to have, but it comes in a premium price of $2698SGD.
ASUS Windows 8 Tablet lineup
In addition to current Android tablets by ASUS, these Windows 8 tablets comes in similar form factors. They are mainly come in 10.1″ and 11.6″. It seems that ASUS is focusing more on Intel’s Pinetrail platform. We see Dual-Core Atom processors in these tablets, other than the RT version which comes with a Nvidia Tegra 3 chip. All tablets now comes in a “Tranformer” form, which means they they all come with detachable keyboards. It’s good to see NFC included in all the devices, which is actually not found in Microsoft Surface tablet. Besides that, all the tablets are ultra light.
ASUS VivoTab
ASUS VivoTab is a 11.6″ tablet with 1366 x 768 resolution. It also comes with an included Wacom digitizer which make the whole device a great tool for people who like to draw. The keyboard will also act as an additional battery pack, allowing the device to have battery life of up to 19 hours from original 10 hours. The down side? There’s still no 3G/LTE, but future SKU may be different. It weighs only 675g.
ASUS VivoTab RT
VivoTab RT is the only ARM powered Windows 8 device from ASUS. The RT is in 10.1″. Other than chipset differences, specifications remains similar. If you thought the vanilla VivoTab was light, the RT is even lighter at 525g.
ASUS VivoTab Smart
VivoTab Smart is a different tablet. It will meet the requirements of teenagers as it comes with a trendy cover. It’s different from the Microsoft surface as the cover only acts as a stand, but not the keyboard. An optional bluetooth keyboard can also be bought to give a full PC experience. It will come with an dual core Atom processor, and prices starts at $699SGD. It weighs 580g.
Smart Keyboard Cover
ASUS Windows 8 AIO Machines lineup
On the other hand, it was a much simpler affair with the all-in-one PCs. Segmentation comes in 21.5″, 23″ and 27″. Specifications may differ with more SKUs after actual Windows 8 launch. ASUS focused much on the technology on the AIO PCs, and boasts that all their AIOs have a 10-Point touch capabilities. I’ve tested it out and it worked perfectly well with all the fingers on both my hands. Look out for new Fruit Ninja records soon!
ASUS All-In-One 27″ PC
Resolution is still limited to Full HD on the 27 incher, which means 1920x 1080. ASUS may have seen scaling problems with windows 8 on high density displays, and decided to stick with a Full HD resolution. All-in-ones are not targeted towards the end users who need higher resolutions of 2560x 1600 etc, and therefore I wouldn’t think a lower Full HD resolution on this machine will defer buyers who need it for enterntainment purposes.
Word of thanks
We had a great time at the launch event. Here at The Tech Revolutionist, we would like to thank ASUS Singapore again for the opportunity and especially Michelle Lim of ASUS Singapore who helped us find our ways to the event venue when we got lost.
Pricing Consolidation
Prices from OCWORKBENCH Facebook page.
ASUS TAICHI
Available date: TBC
RRP: S$2,698/-ASUS Zenbook Touch
Available date: TBC
RRP: S$2,498/-
ASUS Transformer Book
Available date: TBC
RRP: TBC
ASUS VivoBook S400
Available date: 26 October 2012
RRP: S$1,098/-
ASUS VivoBook X202
Available date: 26 October 2012
RRP: S$799/-
ASUS Vivo Tab
Available date: TBC
RRP: S$1,399/-
ASUS VivoTab RT (Wi-Fi version)
Available date: 26 October 2012
RRP: S$1,049/-
ASUS VivoTab Smart ME400
Available date: TBC
RRP: S$699/-
ASUS ET2220 21.5″ AIO
Available date: 22 November 2012 (SITEX 2012)
RRP: S$1,339/-
ASUS ET2701 27″ AIO
Available date: 22 November 2012 (SITEX 2012)
RRP: S$2,459/-
ASUS ROG TYTAN CG8480
Available date: 22 November 2012 (SITEX 2012)
RRP: S$2,250/-
ASUS ROG TYTAN CG8890
Available date: 22 November 2012 (SITEX 2012)
RRP: S$5,900/-
