Perfect for gigantic people who want an iPad experience (in terms of human-to-tablet size ratio) or for people who believe big equals best, Asus is now selling the Transformer AiO P1801 desktop/tablet hybrid in the US.
Yes, it’s a PC running Windows 8 and yes it’s an 18.4-inch Android tablet that you probably won’t want to take with you on public transport. We first got our hands on the P1801 at CES 2013 in Las Vegas a couple of months back and were intrigued by this rather extraordinary piece of kit.
Connected to its dock, it’s a Windows 8 machine with a decent-sized monitor, powered by a third-generation Intel Core i5 0r i7 processor and with 1TB of storage. Lift it from the dock and it becomes a gargantuan tablet running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of solid-state storage .
DT’s Jennifer Bergen, who went hands-on with the device at CES in January, had a lot of good things to say about it, praising its “sharp and bright” full HD LED-backlit IPS display. Perhaps surprisingly for a piece of kit this size, the almost-six-pounds machine “didn’t feel overly heavy”, according to Jennifer.
A neat though essential feature is the handle on the back of the tablet, making it easy to haul about your home – thinking about it, wheels might have worked just as well.
It has a kickstand too, so you can easily prop it up when it’s away from its dock. One assumes the kickstand works effectively to really stabilize the device, for you wouldn’t want to see this giant heading towards the floor after a particularly over-enthusiastic tap or swipe.
With most tablet makers recently opting to produce smaller, not larger, tablets, it’s going to be interesting to see if consumers go for the Transformer AiO P1801 in any great number. However, view it more as a desktop PC with a detachable tablet that you can use easily on the sofa, and perhaps Asus is onto something here.
The Asus Transformer AiO P1801 starts at $1,299 for the Core i5 version which comes with a 1TB drive in the base and 32GB of solid-state storage in the tablet.
[via Pocket-lint]
