Most of us just use our laptops for casual use; Streaming movies, some simple excel work, browsing the internet, some light software, and that’s all. Therefore, why buy an expensive work laptop which has the highest performance, when you can buy an inexpensive one, which does all your jobs. Thus, the Asus Transformer Mini T102HA is one such laptop, which can also serve as a tablet.
Furthermore, due to the specifications of a working power-horse laptop, those are usually heavier while this Asus Transformer is extremely portable and suitable for home and small office use. The Asus Transformer Mini T102HA in itself is a tablet, which can also be used a laptop if needed. Combined with Windows 10, which has a custom mode for both tablets and desktop mode, you won’t feel the difference between the two. Hence you can easily switch between the two types, whenever required.
Design
If you are looking for a flashy laptop with some premium looks, those aren’t found in the laptops like Asus Transformer Mini T102HA which are designed for be “2 in 1”. It doesn’t appear to be expensive, but it isn’t hideous either; a perfect design for a laptop chassis made of aluminum for super-lightweight.
The colors though are a bit subdued. It caters to the younger generation in a way by offering bright colored cases. These serve two purposes: Not only does the case function as a physical keyboard and trackpad, but it also protects the screen from damage. In case you accidentally drop the Asus Transformer Mini, the case is there to protect the screen as it can absorb most of the damage.
As for the weight, the tablet cum laptop just has a mass of 530g without the keyboard cover. Including the cover, it just weighs 790g. This makes the laptop extremely portable to carry around all day. Not only this, but the dimensions measuring 259 x 170 x 8.2mm also add to the portability.
Keyboard and TrackPad
Though, don’t expect higher typing speeds on the keyboard since it is specifically designed to cover the whole of the 10.1-inch screen. On the contrary, most of us don’t really have to type much, but even if have to, the laptop’s keyboard is acceptable.
You might find the keyboard keys to feel like “plastic”, though that’s acceptable if it does the job. At least you won’t have to use an on-screen keyboard on most tablets.
There is also a TrackPad on the cover which serves the same function as trackpads do on laptops. You won’t feel any lags while using the mouse, as it is smooth and precise. Yes, it might be a bit odd to use the “buttons” on the trackpad, since you won’t feel the click as you do on most laptop’s trackpads. Another thing on which the Asus Transformer’s Trackpad loses out is that it doesn’t support multi-touch gestures, but then you can always use the touchscreen for that.
The touchscreen supports stylus use, and you can keep your style safe in a small loop which is embedded in a keyboard case. In case, you want to remove the case, then you can easily do so too, and use the laptop completely as a tablet. You can always reattach the case later through magnetic connections. For power-saving purposes, the laptop goes into sleep mode automatically when you close the case.
You can also pull out the bottom half of the back to be used as a stand.
Ports
Since the basic difference between a tablet and a proper laptop is not only hardware, but also ports, so this Asus Transformer has some of them notably the USB 3.0 one through which you can connect most of the peripherals. There is also a Micro-HDMI port along with a micro-USB port too, which can also be used as a charging port.
The much-needed volume control buttons are also there on the right-hand side of the tablet. As for those who want to insert a microSD card into the tablet, they do so since there is a microSD card slot too on the top edge, where the power button resides.
Fingerprint Scanner
Not many tablets and laptops even have fingerprint scanners, but this one does. It makes life a lot easier for you since you can quickly log on to Windows without having to enter your password or pin by just pressing your fingerprint on the back of the Asus Transformer Mini T102HA.
Battery and Specs
The specifications are the only point, where you might want a proper laptop instead. Though it all depends on you, since with low specifications, you would be getting a great battery life, and as mentioned earlier if your work doesn’t involve much processing power, then perhaps it is a better trade-off indeed.
To be tech-savvy, the laptop has an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor which is quad-core with a clock speed of 1.44GHz. This is designed to be power-efficient, therefore, it doesn’t match the processing capabilities that of an Intel Core processor or even the mobile Core M range. Still, the processor does have an edge over other mobile processors from the ARM, and you can compare it with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801.
Though it is a good processor for most smartphones, don’t expect it to run many Windows 10 programs. Also, don’t even expect to run games on this Asus Transformer Mini, since it has an Intel Integrated Graphics, which uses the Intel Gen 8 Architecture. Though, you can play the simplest games on it. With a screen resolution of just 1280 x 800, it might be a form of disappointment to some, but again you are getting better battery life.
Perhaps, having the latest 801.11ac wireless network card, is the strong point, since it leads to faster Internet access.
The battery life is extremely impressive giving almost 12 hours and 38 minutes from a single charge when a 1080p video was being run in a loop. Although, with the micro-USB as its charger, it might take a while to charge it completely.
Price
There are a couple of configurations for the laptop if you are looking to buy a new one. Both offer 128 GB of storage, but one of them has 2 GB of RAM, while the other has 4GB. Don’t buy the 2GB one, since it would be pretty much useless if you want to use it for some time. The top-model is available for $399 currently, while the lower end priced at $349. This is quite less, as compared to top-end models.
Again, it is up to you to decide, if you are willing to buy a laptop with excellent battery life or excellent performance.