We’ll start by saying that the Asus Taichi is a drop-dead gorgeous
piece of technology that wouldn't look out of place in a billionaire's
boardroom. The chassis tapers to a razor-thin 3mm at its slimmest point, ad
weighs only 1.3kg. Textured with a gunmetal grey finish and featuring a backlit
keyboard, this laptop/tablet hybrid has taken its cue from the likes of the
Asus Zenbook UX31 and the Samsung Series 9. It's not enough for new laptops to
be both portable and powerful these days, they have to look cool at the same
time, and the Asus Taichi certanily manages this- it's piece of equipment that
will turn heads
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| Asus Taichi |
Of course, its no slouch when it comes to power either. Tucked
inside our review model was a top -of-the-line Intel Core I7 processor and 4GB
of Ram which is enough to keep multi-taskers happy all day long and most importantly.
Keep windows 8 ruining smooth and lag-free. Graphics are handled by Intel’s
integrated HD Graphics 400 chip, which keeps on top of HD video and image-heavy
websites, as well as apps and games. You won't be able to play Call of Duty on
the Asus Taichi, but you shouldn't let the put you off. Even without intense
gaming, multimedia is impressive on this device. Both screens boast a Full HD
1080p resolution with the choice of matte screen in laptop mode or reflective
screen in tablet mode
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| Asus Taichi |
Flip your lid
And here we come to Asus Taichi's party trick. Unlike an
ordinary laptop, the taichi has a second screen built into the back of the lid.
That means you can close the laptop and use ut as a tablet instead. With
Windows 8's touch-optimized Start screen, this works exceedingly well.
Admittedly, the Taichi is a bit heavier and bulkier than conventional tablet,
but we're willing to forgive it because it's so convenient and easy to use. A blue
key towards the top-right of the keyboard lets you select whether to have the
main, secondary or both screen active. You can even have 'mirror mode' where
actions on one screen are duplicated on the second. We can see its use
stretching from giving business presentations to enjoying two-player games
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| Asus Taichi |
This is far from the only windows 8 hybrid on the market,
but while other devices require you to pivot, attach or rotate components, the
dual-screen approach of the Taichi keeps the conversion simple, Usability is first
class, with a spacious isolated keyboard and a large centrally placed touchpad.
The multi-touch response on the touch screen is very accurate and the sound
reproduction is excellent thanks to built-in speakers from audio experts, Bang
& Olufsen. Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to the Asus Taichi, The least
of which is the shudder to think what would happen if you dropped it. For all
its style and sex appeal, we can’t help but feel it's little on the fragile slide.
Similarly, its small size limits connectivity and means you only get two USB
ports, a mini Display Port and a micro HDMI port. These are minor gripes
though, and overall we're happy to recommend the Asus Taichi as an excellent
hybrid and a real showcase for the windows 8 operation system. It's likely
Microsoft had a device like this in mind when developing the OS and Asus has
risen to the challenge in spectacular style
