ASUS Transformer T300 Chi Review

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Asus has been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to hybrids. It was one of the first to market with its Transformer series way back when companies were still struggling to get their laptops and tablets right, separately. Asus had a vision of the future and thought it would be great to combine the two, and the Transformer series was born. Asus has been upgrading that innovation and expanding both vertically and horizontally.

One of its latest innovations is the T300 Chi hybrid with the up and coming Intel Core M processor, same processor found on the new Apple Macbook.

We tested the Transformer T300 Chi and had some mixed feelings about it. Here’s the review of the Windows laptop/tablet hybrid.

Design & Features

Competition in the hybrid market is fierce, with the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro and the 12-inch MacBook getting thinner and lighter, while still using premium materials and high-res screens.

The T300 Chi is slim, reasonably light at 1.45 kilograms, most of it seems to stem from the tablet. Made mostly of aluminum (with some plastic), but several hundred dollars less than either the Yoga 3 Pro or MacBook. It’s not exactly in the same design tier, as the screen bezel is thick, the hybrid hinge mechanism is clunky, and the clamshell form is top heavy, but starting at $699, it’s one of the best-looking hybrids in the price range.

When it comes to the laptop/tablet transformation; the T300 Chi uses what I consider to be a better system than most of what’s out there, a strong magnetic connection that pulls two small metal tabs on the base into two corresponding slots on the bottom edge of the screen.

Pulling the two halves apart takes some effort, and you’ll have to hold the base down with your other hand. Reconnecting is easier, if you manage to line up the tabs and slots reasonably close to on-target. The strong magnetic pull usually does the rest, but it can be hit or miss, depending on how much attention you’re paying.

One issue we struggled with was the power button placement. Placed at the top left side of the display/tablet, and almost invisible, it’s difficult to find and easily pressed when tilting the screen forward or backwards. My colleague spent a good 3 minutes trying to locate the button before I stepped in. I myself  struggled to locate it in the beginning as well. That’s never a good sign.

The keyboard base is closer to a traditional laptop keyboard than on the Surface Pro 3, as it has large keys that have reasonably key depth and a decent-sized touchpad. Typing was good and on par with the best-in-class laptops out there like the MacBook Air. The touchpad was sluggish and imprecise though, leading to more frequent use of the touch screen to hit buttons and scroll through long web pages.

One great thing about the keyboard is that it works both when attached and detached from the tablet. It comes with a built-in bluetooth that connects to the tablet allowing you to use it in either modes. This is enabled with a switch to turn the bluetooth connection on/off. To downside to this is that the keyboard requires its own battery to pull this off, which means it needs to be charged as well. This can take place either when connected to the tablet and charged with it or separately through a micro-USB slot.

Connections & Performance

Connection options here are very limited, with only a single Micro-USB port on the side of the display, plus a microSD card slot. The keyboard base has a micro-USB connection, but that’s to keep its internal battery (used only for the keyboard, not the system) charged.

The Intel Core M processor used here performs better in some tests than in the first Core M system we tested, the Yoga 3 Pro. Core M was pitched for power efficiency, not performance, but in some of our tests, it performed on par with recent mainstream Core i5 laptops.

In hands-on use, it felt less sluggish than the Yoga 3 Pro did, with a little occasional stuttering. For lower-power systems such as this, you’ll get a better experience using Microsoft’s built-in Internet Explorer Web browser rather than Chrome, as IE is so well optimized for Windows 8.

The real test for Core M will come with Apple’s 12-inch MacBook, which will also use that chip. Significantly lower performance or battery life than the current MacBook Air models will be a tough challenge to overcome.

Battery life seems to be a weak spot for the Core M, at least in Windows 8 hybrids. According to our tests of the Yoga 3 Pro, it lasted for 8-9 hours. While the Asus T300 Chi ran for about 6 hours in our video playback battery drain test and about 8 hours in regular usage mode. That’s fine for an afternoon of meetings or a work session in a coffee shop, but despite being very portable, this isn’t going to be an all-day companion, unless you use it sparingly.

Key Specs & Configuration Comparison:

Conclusion

On paper, the Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi sounds like a great combination of smart design, new components, and a very reasonable price. In person, it’s not as effortless to use as I’d like, and the Intel Core M platform doesn’t seem to be optimized for especially long battery life. But, starting at $699, it still represents a very good value, and is worth a look if you want a small hybrid that packs in features without packing on the cost.