At Intel's Developer Forum in San Francisco, Asus has revealed a brand new 10.1-inch Transformer tablet, the Transformer Book T100, that packs a full version of Windows 8.1 and Intel's recently detailed 'Bay Trail' Atom processor. Like with previous devices in the Transformer line, the tablet docks into a keyboard, transforming it into a small, portable laptop.
Asus hasn't gone all out with including high-end hardware in the Transformer Book T100, which is highlighted by its modest 1366 x 768 10.1-inch display. However, with twice the CPU performance and thrice the GPU speed of previous Atom SoCs, the Intel Atom Bay Trail-T Z3740 - with a 1.3 GHz 'Silvermont' quad-core CPU - should pack a decent amount of grunt.
Other features of the T100 include 2 GB of RAM, a 1.2-megapixel front facing camera, micro-HDMI, a microSD card reader, and a dock connector that doubles as a USB 3.0 port. Internally there's a 31 Wh battery, which Asus claims is good for 11 hours of battery life, thanks to power optimizations in the Bay Trail CPU. Overall, the tablet weighs 540 grams, or 1.1 kg when docked.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the Transformer Book T100 is the price: you'll be able to pick up a 32 GB model for just $349 (or $399 for the 64 GB model), which makes it a very attractive prospect for anyone looking at purchasing a cheap fully-fledged Windows device. The T100 will go on sale starting on October 18th, in the United States at least.