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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2014
I bought this tablet to replace my bulky laptop that I'd be carrying for years, since I mostly just needed something light for some coding and writing. In that regard, this tablet is perfect. It's extremely light, easy to carry, with a big enough screen to easily see what I'm typing but not too big as to become cumbersome to hold in one or two hands if I have the keyboard dock detached. Overall, I love this tablet. I'ts been absolutely great for what I need it for, but there are some issues I wish Asus had dealt with prior to me purchasing it.
Pros:
Extremely lightweight
Preinstalled with a FULL version of Office 2013
Fast with a full version of Windows 8.1, not the RT nonsense.
Screen has a good range of brightness, good for brightly lit classroom or watching Netflix before bed.
Keyboard dock doesn't add much weight, types reasonably well once you get used to it.
Sound isn't bad for the speakers being in the back, headphones are definitely your friend though.
Touch screen is very responsive, very little delay in commands if any.
Wi-Fi works perfectly, able to stream relatively quickly and with few lags or pauses for buffering depending on your connection speed.
2GB RAM seems to be plenty, even with Spotify, Chrome, and some coding applications open. Almost never lags or slows down noticeably.
USB 3.0 port on the keyboard dock is very useful, as is the MicroSD slot on the tablet itself.
Physical Sound, Lock, and Desktop keys function very well, not overly hard to press or reach.
Charges within ~3 hours from almost dead to full charge with the 2.0 amp adapter provided, can probably go faster with a higher amperage charger. I usually charge it overnight, no big deal for me.
Battery does last an extremely long time, I can go all day before needing to charge it with some light to moderately heavy usage (coding, Spotify, Chrome, Amazon Instant Video/Netflix, etc.)
Cons:
Touch screen is very responsive, just not always perfectly accurate for trying to do certain file and window operations, like double clicking or dragging certain items.
Mousepad on keyboard dock is somewhat flimsy, I would recommend a Bluetooth mouse for it.
Does come preinstalled with some bloatware, though nothing majorly annoying and can be easily enough removed.
Docking section doesn't always want to seat correctly when adding to the tablet, can usually fixing by pressing down on whichever side isn't fully connected or removing tablet and re-docking again.
Dock section feels somewhat loose after a couple months of use, but not majorly so.
With keyboard attached, tablet becomes rather top heavy, prone to tipping over when tilted fully back.
Small rubber grips on keyboard don't fully make contact when tablet is fully tilted, making it somewhat difficult to use on slanted, smooth surfaces.
Charging port can seem difficult to plug cable into, I usually plug it in at a very slight downward angle, usually makes it easier to plug in for charging.
Plastic back does feel a little cheap, but doesn't majorly affect overall build quality of the tablet.
Overall, this is a great tablet for a student that doesn't need a heavy-duty laptop, but still wants something that's relatively capable while still being small and compact. For the price, some compromises will have to be made, but it's an excellent value for the price and I would highly recommend it as a small, compact Windows 8 tablet that can still run many things just as well as a full laptop counterpart.
Pros:
Extremely lightweight
Preinstalled with a FULL version of Office 2013
Fast with a full version of Windows 8.1, not the RT nonsense.
Screen has a good range of brightness, good for brightly lit classroom or watching Netflix before bed.
Keyboard dock doesn't add much weight, types reasonably well once you get used to it.
Sound isn't bad for the speakers being in the back, headphones are definitely your friend though.
Touch screen is very responsive, very little delay in commands if any.
Wi-Fi works perfectly, able to stream relatively quickly and with few lags or pauses for buffering depending on your connection speed.
2GB RAM seems to be plenty, even with Spotify, Chrome, and some coding applications open. Almost never lags or slows down noticeably.
USB 3.0 port on the keyboard dock is very useful, as is the MicroSD slot on the tablet itself.
Physical Sound, Lock, and Desktop keys function very well, not overly hard to press or reach.
Charges within ~3 hours from almost dead to full charge with the 2.0 amp adapter provided, can probably go faster with a higher amperage charger. I usually charge it overnight, no big deal for me.
Battery does last an extremely long time, I can go all day before needing to charge it with some light to moderately heavy usage (coding, Spotify, Chrome, Amazon Instant Video/Netflix, etc.)
Cons:
Touch screen is very responsive, just not always perfectly accurate for trying to do certain file and window operations, like double clicking or dragging certain items.
Mousepad on keyboard dock is somewhat flimsy, I would recommend a Bluetooth mouse for it.
Does come preinstalled with some bloatware, though nothing majorly annoying and can be easily enough removed.
Docking section doesn't always want to seat correctly when adding to the tablet, can usually fixing by pressing down on whichever side isn't fully connected or removing tablet and re-docking again.
Dock section feels somewhat loose after a couple months of use, but not majorly so.
With keyboard attached, tablet becomes rather top heavy, prone to tipping over when tilted fully back.
Small rubber grips on keyboard don't fully make contact when tablet is fully tilted, making it somewhat difficult to use on slanted, smooth surfaces.
Charging port can seem difficult to plug cable into, I usually plug it in at a very slight downward angle, usually makes it easier to plug in for charging.
Plastic back does feel a little cheap, but doesn't majorly affect overall build quality of the tablet.
Overall, this is a great tablet for a student that doesn't need a heavy-duty laptop, but still wants something that's relatively capable while still being small and compact. For the price, some compromises will have to be made, but it's an excellent value for the price and I would highly recommend it as a small, compact Windows 8 tablet that can still run many things just as well as a full laptop counterpart.
