Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Last years set of windows 8 tablets were a great start to getting windows 8 into the ultra mobile arena. The Atom processors in them kept them thing, cool, and energy efficient all while allowing us to run a full windows operating system halfway decently. They weren't perfect, with limitations like usb 2.0, 2gb of ram, poor graphics, and a sometimes lackluster desktop performance. Intel sets to out do itself with the newer Baytrail chipset giving better processing and video performance as well as compatibility with newer technologies. With windows 8.1 a while slew of new tablets are being released with newer processors and other updated specs, the Asus T100 is one of the first. Design: If you have used a transformer pad, you will be in a familiar territory. The T100 has a glossy back with the usual Asus logo coming out of the center. It is comfortable and has a decent enough grip to it. The front compared to some other tablets has a decent bezel but nothing to bad, it helps when holding it so you don't accidentally touch the screen. On the right you have the micro usb (for peripherals and charging), micro hdmi, micro sd, and headphone jack. Top has power, and left includes a volume and windows start button strangely (the front windows button doesn't do anything). One bad thing is I am putting an sd card in to stay, and it kind of sticks out a little on he side which could eject it easily or have more of a chance of damaging it. On the bottom you have the port connection the the keyboard. This snaps and locks in to the keyboard to kep it steady and from disconnecting. Overall the feel of the tablet on the keyboard is pretty good, it feels for the most part like a laptop (as well as looks like one albeit a tiny one). The provided keybaord looks good, it has a polished metal look and some good weight to it (which helps with the weight of the tablet).The size is fairly is tiny, which is expected and because of this kind of hard to type on, I wouldn't try a very huge typing session. The only thing That I really don't like is the mouse pad, it works for pointing but the clicking goes far to deep and is just hard to use overall. Display: The display looks pretty nice, it has good angles, good color and just really for the price doesn't disappoint in the slightest. Battery life: I haven't had any trouble with it so far but I haven't actually paid enough attention to give an accurate say on it. It looks like I could get the advertised 11 hours, some reviews have claimed they got up to 12 hours even. I will try and update once I get a better read on it. Software: Windows 8.1 seems to have some decent additions to what windows 8 already offered. As I have said in other reviews windows 8 I think it is the most dynamic mobile operating system right now. I have used many android tablets, as well as Ipads and while they are all great in their own right windows 8 just takes the cake. Apple has the most apps (especially tablet apps) , Google is a good mix of openness and a large amount of tablets apps. Windows 8 doesn't have a ton of table optimized applications, but the ability to have a full windows desktop applications is just awesome. It runs a smooth touch interface tablet when I need it for that, but if I really want to do business I can do it with this and run real windows programs such as photoshop, flash, steam etc. Performance: Bay trail performance greatly meets my expectations. Almost all of the performance woes I had with clover trail are gone. The desktop lag I had is now pretty much gone, applications and windows open pretty much immediately. I had issues with websites like hulu before and now it runs without any issues. The metro touch interface is as smooth as ever, dual apps work like a charm as well. I've also tested the gaming ability, with some older and newer games just to test out the video capabilities. The first game I tried was Elder Scolls V: Skyrim , I know right , is this thing ever going to start? Well after a lengthy load session I got in and at lowest settings I got a 10-15fps really not the worst performance ever though not really playable. From there I tried some more realistic titles Bastion - For some reason stuck at 20fps, probably a glitch between the hardware and software. League of legends - At low settings a very playable 40fps which is just great! Half-life 2 - At medium settings I got around 40fps Far cry 2 - low settings 20 fps Torchlight - high settings 40-50 fps Rollercoaster tycoon 3 - high settings 40+ fps Tony Hawk HD - 15 fps Legend of Grimrock - 40-50 fps medium settings Flatout 2 - 40-50 fps I figure that should give a pretty good idea of what to expect as far as older games, it really doesn't do bad at all considering it is a 10 inch tablet ultra thing tablet, with 11 hours of battery and no fans. Overall my conclusion is a real giant thumbs up to this new generation of windows tablets. It did everything it's predecessor did but better. Asus itself gives a really great deal here including the keyboard that works well for what it is. The only thing I wish this tablet had is dual digitizer pen input which if you have ever used it on these makes things a lot easier sometimes. Spending extra on a Surface Pro tablet might have some performance advantages but you lose a lot of mobility and battery as well. Looking at the other platforms I really encourage you to give windows 8 a go, it really has a lot of advantages to possibly consider switching over to this newer tablet market. You can check out my videos of the T100 at [...]