I’ve only really owned one tablet, the original Microsoft Surface RT, and try as I might to integrate it into parts of my life I honestly really can’t figure out where it fits in. Primarily I think this is a function of apps as whilst the Surface is capable in most respects there’s really no killer feature that makes me want to use it for that specific purpose. Indeed this is probably due to my heavy embedding within the Android ecosystem, with all the characteristics that make my phone mine persisted across Google’s cloud. With that in mind when ASUS offered me a review unit of their new Transformer Pad TF103C for a couple weeks to review I was intrigued to see how the experience would compare.
The TF103C is a 10.1″ tablet, sporting a quad core, 64 bit Intel Atom processor that runs at up to 1.86GHz. For a tablet those specs are pretty high end which, considering the included keyboard signals that the TF103C is aimed more towards productivity than simply being a beefy Android tablet. The screen is an IPS display with a 1200 x 800 resolution which is a little on the low side, especially now that retina level displays are fairly commonplace. You can get it with either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage which you can easily upgrade to 64GB via the embedded SDHC slot. It also includes the usual affair of wireless interfaces, connectors and sensors although one feature of note is the full sized USB port on the dock. With a RRP of $429 (with street prices coming in well under that) there’s definitely a lot packed in the TF103C for the price.
As a full unit the TF103C is actually pretty hefty. coming in at a total 1.1KGs although the tablet itself only makes up about half that. The keyboard dock doesn’t contain an additional battery or anything else that you’d think would make it so heavy, especially considering other chiclet style keyboards come in at about half that. Considering my full ultrabook weighs in at about 1.5KGs it does take away some of the appeal of having a device like this, at least from my perspective. That being said I’m not exactly the biggest tablet user, so the use of two different form factors is lost on me somewhat.
When used in docked form the TF103C is actually quite capable, especially when you attach a mouse to the dock’s USB port. I had wondered how Android would fair when used in a more traditional desktop way and it actually works quite well, mostly since the web versions of your typical productivity applications have evolved a lot in the past couple years. The keyboard is probably a little on the small side for people with larger hands but it was definitely usable for quick tasks or replying to email. It falls a little short if you’re going to use it on your lap however due to the fact that the screen can’t be tilted back past a certain point. It’s still usable but it’s a much better experience when used on a desk.
The quad core Intel Atom powering the TF103C is extremely capable, as evidenced by the fact that everything on it runs without a stutter or hiccup. I threw a few of the more intensive games I could find at it and never noticed any slowdown, commendable for a tablet in this price range. When you’re using such performance however the battery life does take quite a hit, knocking the rated 9.5 hours of run time to less than 4. That being said it managed to stay charged for about a week when it was idle making it quite usable as a casual computing device.
All in all I was impressed with the capabilities the TF103C displayed, even if I couldn’t really see it replacing any one of the devices I have currently. There’s a few missed opportunities, like integrating a battery into the keyboard and allowing the screen to tilt more, however overall it’s a very capable device for the asking price. I could definitely see it having a place on the coffee table as something to be used when needed with the added keyboard dock capability coming in handy for more grunty work. It might not end up replacing the device you have now but if you’re looking for a decent tablet that can also be productive then you wouldn’t go wrong with the TF103C.
A review unit was provided to The Refined Geek for 2 weeks for reviewing purposes.
