Windows 8 has opened a lot of new devices in the market like tablets, convertibles, 2-in-1 and many more. I love what ASUS has been doing in the past years because they’ve been truly innovative with their products. One of those innovative products is the ASUS Transformer Book Flip. Unlike the ASUS Transformer Book T100 that I’ve reviewed before, this one isn’t a 2-in-1 laptop but the ASUS Transformer Book Flip is capable of rotating its display for up to 360 degrees.
Construction
The ASUS Transformer Book Flip has a metallic construction, which makes it premium looking and it gives a feel of sturdiness. Actually, the ASUS Transformer Book Flip reminds me of the Macbook Pro (Not the Retina model!) because of the same feel and almost the same weight and thickness. However, the downside of having a brushed aluminum at the back of the display is the annoying fingerprint smudges. Yes, it easily attracts fingerprint smudges.
The keyboard doesn’t feel cramp and sometimes, I even prefer typing on my ASUS Transformer Book Flip instead of my Retina Macbook Pro but unfortunately, there’s no backlit LED on its keyboard but for its price, I wouldn’t complain much about that. The touchpad of the ASUS Transformer Book Flip is already large enough but I wished they’d made it bigger since there’s more space on the laptop. The touchpad is very accurate it is very comfortable to use.
ASUS Transformer Book Flip has a 360-degree hinge, which transforms the device into 4 different modes. There’s laptop mode, tent mode, tablet mode and shared viewer mode. In tablet mode, tent mode and shared viewer mode, you won’t be able to use keyboard and the touchpad of the device however at tablet mode, it’s annoying to feel the keyboard of the device if you’re holding it on your other hand. Nonetheless, the 360-degree hinge of the ASUS Transformer Book Flip works perfectly fine.
The power, volume and Windows button are placed at the side of the device that is kind of odd for a laptop but the buttons feels very normal when using the device on tablet mode. However, I often bumped with those buttons accidentally. The sound quality if this laptop isn’t really loud and enticing and you might be disappointed with it.
Display
ASUS Transformer Book Flip got a 13.3” 1366×768 display. At today’s standards, that resolution for a 13.3” isn’t that great. Actually, the ASUS Transformer Book Flip’s display isn’t that really great. The outdoor visibility isn’t that good and the viewing angles aren’t that great. But the touchscreen is responsive and I didn’t have any problems with the rotation of the display when switching to other modes. The bezel below the display is noticeably thick too.
Software
ASUS Transformer Book Flip is powered by Windows 8.1 and of course, there are some bloatwares installed inside but don’t worry, there’s a 500GB of HDD storage in this device so you won’t have to worry that much about its storage but of course, you could uninstall those bloatware if you don’t need them.
You could download touchscreen applications and games on the Windows store without a problem; however, playing touchscreen games on this laptop is a little bit difficult if you’re holding the laptop in tablet mode because of its size and weight.
Performance
There are three variants of the ASUS Transformer Book Flip here in the Philippines and I got the Core i3 variant, which is affordably priced at P26,995. There’s a 1.7GHz Intel Core i3-4010u processor, Intel HD 4400 GPU & 4GB RAM. Core i3 processors aren’t meant for intense and heavy work load but this laptop can handle some new games.
Not so demanding games like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Sniper Elite V2, Civilization V and Final Fantasy XIII won’t have any problems playing on this device at full resolution but don’t expect to play these games at highest settings.
Some of the newest games might struggle a little bit on this device since this is just powered by a Core i3 processor. I’ve tried Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor on this laptop and I was able to play it at lowest settings at 1366×768 resolution but I experience low fps and lags when there’s a lot of effects that’s why I set it at 50% resolution to fully enjoy it.
One of the hottest games right now is NBA 2k15 and I’m happy to tell you guys that this game works fine on this laptop although you have to put the settings of the game at lowest settings at full resolution to make it playable. But unfortunately, I experienced a lot of graphical glitches on this game but I think a software update or a NBA 2k15 update would fix that.
Battery Life
4th Generation Intel Core processors are known for having a very decent battery life and even the entry-level Intel Core i3-4010u processor is no exception. I was able to get a 6 hours of battery life at normal use while I was able to get 3 hours of heavy use. Not bad, Asus.
The flip experience
One thing that set this apart from other laptops is the 360-degree flip display. That feature really change how I use a laptop. Sharing presentations with my classmates are now easier and watching movies are now more convenient. I also love playing touchscreen games like Civilization V and Hearthstone on ASUS Transformer Book Flip at tablet mode. When playing touch optimized games, it is much easier to play it on tablet mode however, I prefer to place it on the table instead of holding this laptop. This might be an entry-level variant but I’m quite happy with it. If you want to see a better performance, you might want to opt for the i5 or i7 variant.
Verdict
The display and the audio quality might be a little bit off on this device but the pricing, build quality and its 360-degree flip display is really great. I didn’t had any problems with flipping the display and the laptop feels very solid. The ASUS Transformer Book Flip starts at PhP26,995 while the i5 and i7 variants are priced at PhP39,995 & PhP49,995 respectively. Despite those issues, I still like this laptop ;).
