Asus Announces x86 Transformer

MrSeb writes with the scoop on Asus's new Transformer tablet/laptop devices: "If you've ever looked at an Asus Transformer and wished that it was slightly bigger, had an x86 processor, and ran Windows, I have good news: At Computex in Taiwan, Asus has unveiled just that. Dubbed the Transformer Book, this isn't some wimpy Atom-powered thing either: This Transformer will ship with a range of Ivy Bridge Core i3/5/7 processors and discrete Nvidia graphics. Like its Android-powered predecessors, the Transformer Book is a touchscreen tablet computer that plugs into keyboard docking station, effectively becoming a laptop (or ultrabook, if you prefer). Rounding out the specs, the Transformer Book will come in a range of models (11.6, 13, and 14 inches), your choice of SSD or HDD, up to 4GB of RAM. All three models will have an IPS display capable of full HD (1920×1080). There's a webcam on the front of the tablet portion of the Transformer, and a 5-megapixel shooter on the back. There's no mention of wireless connectivity, but presumably there's Bluetooth and WiFi; on the wired side, there seems to be only a single micro-HDMI socket (on the tablet), and a USB socket (on the keyboard/dock). On the software side, the Transformer Book will of course run Windows 8. It all sounds great — but Asus kept one tiny tidbit out of its presentation: battery life." Aside from the Nvidia graphics (which, from the looks of it, can be disabled for the on-chip output), perhaps this could be the first "tablet" capable of running fully Free Software? (UEFI evil aside).

Now comes the test of MS's EFI freedom pledge

[sethstorm]

If it's EFI setup is locked from the user, I wouldn't be surprised. Asus has done so for their later Transformer models, with no functionally equivalent alternative that does not have UEFI unlocked.

For those snarky folks who say "don't buy it", that doesn't work in practice. That requires a like-for-like alternative to exist which does not have the encumbrances of UEFI locks.

Re:is that a mac book air

[Solandri]

Contrary to Apple marketing, the ultraslim notebook existed long before the Macbook Air. Here's the notebook I was using in 2000 [lenzg.net]. Sharp came out with this model in 2001 [theregister.co.uk]. "But those don't taper towards the front like the MBA!" you say? Apple wasn't the first with that either. Take a look at Sony's X505 from 2004 [theregister.co.uk].

BTW, all of those fit into a manilla envelope. Apple was just the first to think of doing that as a marketing gimmick. The people who think the MBA invented the form factor remind me of the people in 1995 who thought Microsoft invented the Internet because the first time they got online was with Windows 95. Just because the first place they saw something was on an Apple/Microsoft product, they think that's who invented it.