I'm joining Jack With an ASUS Transformer

[RV_]

OK,

I made an offer for a bit too low for the Surface3 pro. Well I decided that since a friend who still has a full time computer shop in a Chinese restaurant (long funny ironic story) had a three week old unused ASUS TA 200, Atom Z3795, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 12" IPS panel HD display, and a 500GB hard drive in the keyboard base. I'm giving him my old x2and$100.00. I will be spending the weekend factory restoring to Win 8, then all the updates, then the 8.1:, then all the updates and drivers to present. Gotta clean it well. We swap on Monday. I'll do a review later. I played with it for a bit and really liked it. But ownership for a few months will tell.

 

Nice rig! It's one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Transformer-12-Inch-T200TA-C1-BL-Detachable-Touchscreen/dp/B00NMVEWC6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425139916&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+ta+200

[lasttruck]

That link did not work for me.

 

Is this the one?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Transformer-12-Inch-T200TA-C1-BL-Detachable-Touchscreen/dp/B00NMVEWC6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425139916&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+ta+200

 

I recently picked up a Acer 2 in 1 from Costco that has been working really well for me...so far.

[Pat & Pete]

Got a 404 for that link :

 

"

Looking for something?
We're sorry. The Web address you entered is not a functioning page on our site

Go to Amazon.com's Home Page"

[Jack Mayer]

It looks like it is the one that lastruck linked to.

 

That is a really nice setup with the 12" screen. My ONLY real complaint about my T100 is the screen size. Of course, you don't want too big when using as a tablet, but for "real" work you want bigger than 10". At least I do. I tried one of the HP 13" with removable screen.....it was too big. The 12" may be just right. Derek will be a good judge since he has been using an 11" screen.

 

It may seem that 1" is nothing to be concerned about....but it DOES make a difference.

 

SWEET!

[RV_]

Jack,

Yep an inch does make a heckuva difference! The funny thing about the 12 inch tablets, both the surface and the ASUS TA200, is that while both are heavier than my x2, they feel the same because of the way 12" distributes the weight or something. But then again I have only played with them and as you know, it takes a month or so to really decide if it is to one's taste.

 

Yep lasttruck, that is it! I just compared it to my link and realized that Amazon in its wisdom will not allow another to use my Amazon account by making the ones when I am logged in inop except for me. At least that is what I think happened. Using lasttruck's I am not logged into my account.

 

For those wondering what is going on when it works, I corrected it thanks to lasttruck so it works now.

 

Jack, it may be the exact sweet spot. Jack you already know this but I am going to try to explain what we both know and don't spell out. Please correct me or comment.

 

There are two distinct classes of Windows tablets regardless of whether they are a tablet alone, or come with an optional or not keyboard dock and are classed as hybrids.

 

1. Atom SoC (system on a chip) powered. Runs so cool no fans needed and most importantly, when used they don't usually even seem warm. Only on charging do mine get warm

 

2. Pentium and i3/5/7 CPU (early) and SoCs powered. Needs fans to keep cool which adds weight but the chips and fans are getting reduced in size and weight.

 

OK for those who just shut down and decided this is too technical hold on and read on.

 

Atom Tablets to date.

 

The Atom powered tablets started with the Atom Z27XX chips usually the Z2760, a dual core chipset that is very limited but much faster than any previous Atom processor in netbooks and computers. You can tell it is first generation Atom SoC by the number. The Atom Z2760 were first generation, dual core 1 MB cache, and limited to 2 GB of RAM, no more. They had only USB 2.0 and could not handle full HD only 720p which is technically HD. They were a great first gen and ran so cool no internal fans were needed. Thus they were amazingly lightweight. My 11.6" weighed less than the Apple iPad of the same year yet was not a tablet in the old sense. It is a full blown computer. However it was faster than my old Galaxy Tabs and used all my computer programs not just Apps, but it has them too. My HPx2 and Lynn's Lenovo Lynx, both 11.6" first generation Z2760 SoC systems are still in use. Micro SD card was only SDHC and could only handle up to 32 GB except for some hybrids like my x2. First gen systems were only offered in 32GB and 64GB SSDs. The HPx2 has the 2 USB full size 2.0 ports, full size SDXC 64GB card port, and full size HDMI port only on the keyboard base. The tablet part only has the SDHC micro card port and headphone ports. Most first generation tablets, like my wife's Lenovo Lynx, only have one USB 2.0 micro port, one SDHX micro SD card slot, and one micro HDMI port on the tablets themselves. The smaller 7 and 8 " may or may not have HDMI ports.

 

The Atom Z37XX SoCs were second generation and very different. Quad core, 2MBs of cache, faster, lighter, capable of full 1080p HD and more. Some Atom Z3700 series SoCs could use 4 GB or RAM and all of them had full 1080p HD capabilities and more. My Dell Venue 11 Pro is second gen with a Z3770 SoC in it. It is very fast, has full HD 1080p, USB 3.0 full size port, and full HD. It also has a separate micro USB dedicated to power and charging only. It has the mini HDMI port and all are on the tablet.

 

The third gen Atoms are the Z3700 series but with a 5 instead of a zero at the end. Second generation on my Venue is a Z3770. The new ones that are third Gen are Z3775s. Jack has a second gen quad core Z3740 I believe and the third gen is the Z3745.

Now let's not get hung up in the different models just know that the third gen Atom chipsets are capable of handling 4GB of RAM and up to quad HD on some IPS display systems.

 

The next 4th gen ATOM chipsets are coming out this year.

 

The i3/5/7 Windows chipsets require fans and are now in their third Gen for tablets. The Surface pro generations are easy to get. The are first gen in the Surface Pro, second gen in the Surface Pro 2, and third gen in the Surface Pro 3. The mobile tablet i series of chipsets have been reduced in size and as greatly improved in run time per charge, the heat has been reduced a bit in each gen, the fans and other requirements of the greater capacity i series chipsets have been further enhanced and reduced in size while increasing performance that the new Surface 3 runs cool where the original surface Pro ran hot in the hand and ran only about 4 - 5 hours instead of the ten plus the new ones get (Owners correct me on run times if wrong).

 

When you talk tablets they are lighter and/or better in performance and speeds as well as capabilities with each successive generation of both the i series and the Atom series.

 

Regardless, the Atom series in a tablet is not what we all thought about with the sloooooow Atom netbooks compared to today. I thought my x2 with the first gen dual core Z2760 was fast in Jan 2013, and for then it was. Today it seems slow as molasses next to my Dell Venue 11 Pro with a gen 2 Z3770.

 

The performance and displays are much improved. The displays know your socks off. The form factor is in flux because the fourth gen is due any month now.

[jpatrickc]

It looks like it is the one that lastruck linked to.

 

That is a really nice setup with the 12" screen. My ONLY real complaint about my T100 is the screen size. Of course, you don't want too big when using as a tablet, but for "real" work you want bigger than 10". At least I do. I tried one of the HP 13" with removable screen.....it was too big. The 12" may be just right. Derek will be a good judge since he has been using an 11" screen.

 

It may seem that 1" is nothing to be concerned about....but it DOES make a difference.

 

SWEET!

I agree with Jack. I can't seem to find the right sized screen. My wife's netbook doesn't show enough on screen and I don't want a 14" or 15" screen as it makes the computer to large. Hopefully someone comes up with a 12" or 13" laptop with reasonable resolution.

 

Pat

[Bill Joyce]

I agree with Jack. I can't seem to find the right sized screen. My wife's netbook doesn't show enough on screen and I don't want a 14" or 15" screen as it makes the computer to large. Hopefully someone comes up with a 12" or 13" laptop with reasonable resolution.

 

Pat

Lenovo Yoga Pro 3, 13" with a 3200x1800 screen or the new Dell XPS 13, also with a 3200x1800 display and good reviews. I know a couple people with the Yoga Pro 2", with the same 3200x1800 resolution and they love it. If I had to get something today I would get the Dell XPS 13 with 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD and the Core i7, but it is $1600 and most would not want to spend that kind of money.

[RV_]

From a gorgeous display perspective I am happy with my Venue 11 Pro and the TA 200 looks good too with a 720 HD but IPS panel. I firmly believe the sweet spot isn't just size for me but weight too. I will see about the 12" size starting tomorrow. I had to wipe and do hours of updates to 8, then the upgrade to 8.1 and the updates to 8.1, on my much loved, but obsolete speed and display wise, HP x2 and pick up my TA 200 tomorrow. If I don't like the TA200 then it is off to a Surface Pro 3 for me. Again, just the i3 and 64GB SSD. I have a monster i7 desktop AIO XPS One 2720 with SSD and separate 2 TB fast hard drive, and a backup small form factor Lenovo i5 desktop with 8GB RAM that I keep sync'd with my main desktop, and somewhat with my two tablets. My SH has her quad core HP desktop with an SSD and 8 GB of RAM and her Lenovo Lynx Tablet that she refuses to let me upgrade to my Dell Venue 11 Pro when I get my TA200.

 

BTW, I learned something today and should have before now since I have had the device for a year or more. I have one of these : http://www.trendnet.com/support/supportdetail.asp?prod=150_TU2-ET100 and never used it. Yesterday and today I used it on the x2 to connect via Ethernet cable and it cut down the times to download updates by 70% and a two day ordeal essentially took one evening. However I'm selling it to the guy who is getting the x2 which has no USB 3 ports. And since I will, as of tomorrow, have no computers (including tablets) save my SH's Lynx, that do not have at least one USB 3.0 port. So I am ordering the newer USB 3.0 version which is 2.0 backwards compatible. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FFJ0RKE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

If you have broadband via cable with Ethernet cables these are unbelievable! I had it but never really thought it would make THAT much difference, so never used it. DOH!

 

If one goes down to Best Buy and tries out the 10.1" Lenovo yoga 2 tablet with its display for I think $399.99, I think you guys might be surprised.

 

Perhaps too many choices? Lenovo is making a Yoga 2 pro with built in Pico projector too.

[RV_]

OK just got done doing a factory restore last night and installing al my stuff. The printer wireless drivers for the network laser plugged into the router with Ethernet networking, Office 2010, all my Music which was easy because I had a 64 GB SDXC card already loaded when I made the other 64 GB SD for my Windows phone. I just made folders for all of my data and then reloaded it into the new Tablet. The new tablet is not as solid feeling as any of the other tablets we have, BUT IT IS LIGHT, 11.6" SCREEN NOT 12" This one is a good buy for the $469.99 it is selling for now, not great, but good. It has a fast processor and with the quad core, and the 4GB of RAM makes it very fast compared to the dual core 2 GB tablets. Good Entry level with two Full size USB on the keyboard dock, and separate power ports from the micro USB data, the HDMI port. I think the screen is not what it should have had. But at 11.6" it's lighter than my 10.8" Dell Venue 11 Pro. But the Venue has full HD to die for, and a great display for it. The Lenovos coming out seem to have the best displays and some nice specs. This ASUS TA200 is a bit disappointing all because of the less than stellar display to my tastes. I give it a seven out of ten.

[Jack Mayer]

I hear you on the display.....but I would say for the specs/price that is a pretty nice machine. The question really is - what can I get for that $$$. Do you have something else in mind that is "better" for under $500??? It actually boils down to what is important to the individual.

 

At the moment I'm liking the XPS 13 in the faster versions.....but it is no sub-500 machine !!!

 

On the upper end, I looked at an HP i7 upper level processor-based laptop at Sam's Club yesterday. 17" display, all the goodies, 16 gig ram, 1TB drive, touch screen, AC wireless, etc. For under $800. That price is suspect in my mind, but I could not figure out what the compromise was from the available info. Likely the screen - but it sure looked good to me. It did not have a secondary SSD, but to me that is not a requirement.

[RV_]

Nope, you're right. For the money this is a lot of tablet. There are some Lenovo mix2 but they have USB2. The screen is fine, and the plasticky build is fine too. But 'its remember this is only my second day with the tablet. It definitely gets ten hours plus of runtime. It has a GPS! Now that is neat!

 

You are right, bang for the buck it is the best value today. And the screen size is perfect. It says 12" in some advertising but this one is 11.6" I think like Dell calls it the Venue 11 pro, when it is really 10.8", the tablet makers are doing like the TV people, using " 60" class when it is actually 58".

 

This screen is really very good and is identical to the one on the x2 I traded. Movies and HD look perfect. This is on a par with the best laptop screens of two years ago save retina and full HD which was hard to find then.

 

The Venue which I still have is very bright and they had those with 64GB of SSD and only 2GB like mine for $449.99. I just looked and those are not on the Dell website.

 

The Dell can now go in for warranty repair as it needs a new motherboard. I can use this anytime. So for now I have a laptop at 11.6", and a tablet that is a bit slower and heavier feeling, but HD. I just need to use it for a month. The GPS is fast. I'll see about navigation.

 

On edit. It has the windows button as a button on the top side not at bottom mid screen. Keeps clothes from making it change.

[Jack Mayer]

MAN......I missed that it had a GPS!!! That is sweet, and changes a lot of things for me. For use as a nav device that is required...I don't like messing with the external GPS devices, even though I have a bluetooth puck that works well. It does eat power.....

[RV_]

That was a surprise to me too. And they use the whole back cover as a sound resonator for the sound. It seems to come from everywhere. And the slot in it for a second hard drive? Newegg just had the Crucial BX100 256GB SSD on sale for $89, $92.00 shipped. Ordered it. It came with a 500GB 7mm hard drive that I had planned to replace with my old 256GB Toshiba Q, but it is 9.5mm and won't fit in the 7mm drive space on the bottom. No biggie I'll just put the Toshiba in Lynn's desktop that only has a sloooow 100GB Kingston SSD, so I'll clone it to the Toshiba. She'll never use even 100GB!

 

I really do have too many drives and am selling all of them that are older than 2012. 2010 was the switch over to 4k from 512 blocks. Better boards and firmware on the later ones.

 

Anyway, it gets the SSD in a few days. I have the Apricorn Drive wire and software for cloning. Now that I'm happy with this ASUS transformer I called Dell today to complete the repair I should have sent in last October but I waited until the 2720 was totally done and stable.

 

Anyway, I'm more impressed every day. I first booted it up today at 9AM, and it's now 11:30PM. I just checked and it still has 37% charge left. Of course a hard drive would affect that, but the SSD makes little difference. I already removed the HD for my initial testing. So it's all good!

 

Oh, and it doesn't have the haptic vibrate to indicate boot up starting like my HP and Venue has. It's like my wife's Lynx and Android phones where you hold the button down for a full second then release it, and the indicator light comes on. Camera isn't near as god as my Window phone, but it has one in front and back. No flash and grainy in low light. Haven't tried it in good sunlight as we haven't seen the sun for a week!

[Jack Mayer]

You are tempting me, Derek......stop it!!

[RV_]

Jack,

This is not for me but some might like an Android tablet with a 13.3" (2560 x 1440) IPS display, 2x Front large-chamber speakers, JBL® subwoofer, Dolby® Audio, Wolfson® Master Hi-Fi™ Codec, G-Sensor, e-Compass, Ambient Light, Hall, Vibration, and get this - a built in Projector too for $469.99. It only has a micro USB and a micro SD card slot and audio jack. http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets/lenovo/yoga-tablet-series/yoga-tablet-2-pro/?cid=EDM_20150305_NA_US_CON_IP_SpringForward_0-6_JJ&RRID=225105072&esrc=NETMINNG#tab-customize

 

If they ever make that in a Windows tablet, maybe.

[RV_]

Jack,

Like Bill Engvall says . . . "Here' Yer Sign!"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Asus-Transformer-Book-11-6-HD-Tablet-w-Dock-4GB-RAM-64GB-Storage-Dark-Blue/331494696004?&rmvSB=true

[Jack Mayer]

Derrek you are quite the tease, there, my friend. But I think I will resist and hold out for the equivalent unit with: Windows 10, USB 3.0, and perhaps a little more memory. I can "live with" my T100 until then. Yes, I will pay more by waiting....but I'll get more, too. The really compelling thing to me is the GPS. That opens up all kinds of doors.....

[RV_]

Jack,

It has USB 3.0 on the base. The base/keyboard has two full size USB ports, one is a USB 3.0 the second is a 2.0. I got confused by those specs but realized they did not specify that those are the ones on the tablet only. If you scroll down further you see this:

 

 

 

I would wait but not for the USB 3.0 that it does have. Next gen Intel SoCs will be improved but not necessarily in speed or RAM capability. It also has a very cool flip down Ethernet port so the contour of the kb dock side is uninterrupted when using it. considering it has twice the cache, RAM, and has USB 3 bus, I'm amazed that it has slightly more run time than my Dell Venue 11. The only thing this is missing is full 1080 HD which my Venue has. the most awesome tablet displays I've seen are on the Lenovo Yoga 2 tablets and their miix 2s but none of them have USB 3. Fur now under $400.00 this is now king.

 

I'm not trying to tempt, just answering your comment about being tempted. This unit has a hardwired connector between the tablet and kb dock. So no hokey Bluetooth kb like several of the tablet with kb offerings have had and I don't want. Hard wired = no lagging or fussy pairing and connecting.

 

And don't feel alone, that weird way of laying out the ports separately confused me at first making me look at my base then read the rest of the specs too.