Best value Windows 8.1 tablet - ZDNet

Summary: Looking for the best value Windows 8.1 tablet? Put down the Surface 2 and take a look at the ASUS Transformer Book T100.

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes for Hardware 2.0 | November 20, 2013 — 15:15 GMT (07:15 PST)

Time to take a break from the regular posts to answer a question from today’s mailbox:

What’s the best value Windows 8.1 tablet out there?

When you think of Windows tablets the first devices that spring to mind are Microsoft’s Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 hardware. While the Surface 2 tablets are not a bad investment, there’s a tablet out there that I think beats it hands down.

That tablet is the ASUS Transformer Book T100.

(Source: ASUS)

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This is a 10.1-inch 2-in-1 convertible that switches from being a tablet to a notebook. This tablet beats the Surface 2 offering on almost every metric you care to use.

• Price: You can pick up the T100 for $ 379 from online retailers such as Amazon, which is a full $ 70 less than an entry-level Surface 2 tablet.
• OS: The T100 runs the full x86 version of Windows 8.1, not the ARM-powered Windows RT that the Surface 2 runs. If you want a Surface Pro 2 that runs the full version of Windows 8.1 then you’re looking at a starting price of $ 899.
• Microsoft Office: Full version of Microsoft Office verses the cut-down version for Windows RT.
• Faster CPU: Intel Atom verses Nvidia Tegra 4.
• Better battery life: 11 hours verses 10 hours.
• Lighter: 1.2lbs verses 1.49lbs

About the only win for the Surface 2 is the screen size and resolution, which comes in at 10.6-inch 1920 by 1080 compared to the 10.1-inch 1366 by 768 display on the T100.

For me, the upsides of the ASUS Transformer Book T100 far outweigh the downsides, and it is a steal at $ 379. 

See also:

• Samsung shifts 800,000 Galaxy Gear smartwatches
• Why I’ve all but given up on Windows
• Nvidia CEO claims ‘Android is probably the most versatile operating system that we’ve ever known’
• Microsoft and Apple unleash thermonuclear war on Google and Android
• Jelly Bean powering more than half of all Android devices
• Qualcomm to push Snapdragon into the set-top box market

Topics: Mobility, Hardware, Laptops, Windows, Windows 8

About Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

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