ASUS Transformer T300 Chi Hands-on, First Impressions: The Evolution of the Hybrid Notebook

ASUS Transformer T300 Chi Hands-on, First Impressions: The Evolution of the Hybrid Notebook

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We go hands-on with the Transformer T300 Chi!

While there’s been a lot of companies who have hybrid PCs (essentially tablets with separate keyboard docks on them) ASUS was one of the companies that first popularized the concept. It made sense that the company continually improved the formula, and today we’ll be taking a look at the culmination of those efforts: the T300 Chi. The T300 Chi is the thinnest hybrid PC that’s available in the market today, making its worldwide debut during COMPUTEX last year as a prototype.

ASUS Transformer T300 Chi specs

  • Intel Core M 5Y10 (2.00GHz)/5Y71 (2.9GHz) dual-core processor
  • Intel HD 5300 Graphics
  • 8GB/4GB RAM
  • 12.5-inch full HD IPS display, 1920 x 1080 resolution
  • 128GB SSD storage
  • WiFi, Bluetooth

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Initial Impressions: the next iteration of the hybrid PC

When we first saw the T300 Chi last year, we were really blown away by its externals. The T300 Chi uses a lot of metal and aluminum in its construction and it shows. The T300 Chi may be a hybrid device, but it looks and feels like a traditional notebook when the 12.5-inch tablet (which contains the device’s guts) is attached to the keyboard.

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Taking a closer look at the T300 Chi, you’ll see that the edges of the device sport a chamfered, polished edge. It’s that attention to detail that make the T300 Chi stand out from similar hybrid devices in the market today.

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ASUS boasts that the T300 Chi is the thinnest hybrid device currently out in the market, sporting a thickness of just 16mm with the tablet inserted in the keyboard. ASUS managed to achieve the T300 Chi’s anorexic proportions by eliminating the usual mechanical locking mechanism that’s prevalent in most other hybrid devices. Instead, the company used powerful rare earth magnets that’s strong enough to keep the tablet docked into the keyboard even if you lift the entire device via the display. We tried yanking the keyboard loose from the tablet portion by shaking the entire package vigorously, but we gave up after we saw it wasn’t going to give anytime soon.

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Internally the T300 Chi uses a choice of either the Intel Core M 5Y10 (2.00GHz)/5Y71 (2.9GHz) dual-core processor and 4GB/8GB of RAM, which is also utilized by Apple’s newest MacBook. The unit that we handled utilized a WQHD display though the PH units will only come with full HD displays.

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ASUS PH has stated that the 8GB RAM version of the T300 Chi will be around Php 47,000 whil the 4GB version will cost Php 40,000.

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