Am I mad to buy this hybrid ASUS laptop?

ProudDUB

Am I mad to buy this? It is only 199 euros, but am thinking there is a catch somewhere.

ASUS Transformer Book Touchscreen
2GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC Hard drive, Windows 8, HDMI port, 11.6' screen, card reader, bluetooth, 10 hr battery, Intel Atom Processor.

I need a new, notebook size, lap top for: Basic web surfing. Browsing sites such as Boards. Occasional Netflix watching. Using Microsoft Word to create CV's and upload them to job sites. That is pretty much it.

I will not be gaming, watching live streams (unless watching Netflix counts,) or storing music, photos & videos on it. So I don't need much memory, or storage.

It being a hybrid that converts to a tablet, is a huge plus. So is the 10 hr battery life. But it having an Intel Atom processor worries me, seeing as that is even less powerful than a stone age Intel Celeron. Can it handle what I'll be using it for?

Cheers.

Alanstrainor

It is not less powerful than a stoneage Celeron. The Celeron brand has been around a long time, and it's performance has increased as the years have gone on. I would bet that it is a quad core Atom, that is more than powerful enough for HD movies, browsing and office.

The main thing that would annoy me about that tablet/convertible for your usage is using it to write CV's and the likes. The small screen could really be painful for such usage.

ProudDUB

Thanks for that. It's been donkeys years since I bought a new laptop, so am not really up to speed on everything I need to look out for. My current every day laptop is notebook sized too, so I am used to working with the smaller screen. Is Asus an ok brand? Am not very familiar with it. I've only ever owned Toshibas & Gateways.

Alanstrainor

ProudDUB wrote: »

Thanks for that. It's been donkeys years since I bought a new laptop, so am not really up to speed on everything I need to look out for. My current every day laptop is notebook sized too, so I am used to working with the smaller screen. Is Asus an ok brand? Am not very familiar with it. I've only ever owned Toshibas & Gateways.

Just for clarity, I presume you mean netbook (old term for 10" small laptops from around 8 years ago). Notebook could mean any laptop really.

Asus is a long established good brand. But you have to consider that this machine is on the cheap end so there is a certain element of, you get what you pay for. That being said, I wouldn't worry too much in this case.

I would recommend going and taking a looking at this machine in person if you could. Just to make sure it will work for you.

ProudDUB

Yeah, when I say "notebook" I mean the smaller size of laptop. I've already seen it. I was in the shop yesterday. It works for me, on several levels, not just the price.

My only other concern, is that it only has one USB port. I only need the one port (for my cordless mouse) on a day to day basis, but if it went kaput, I'd be left with none. Is getting a USP port replaced/repaired a big job? Is it a big worry, do they go faulty often?

mordeith

They can go faulty and could also be damaged physically. If it's soldered to the board (which is likely) it wouldn't be worth paying for a repair on a machine of that price

ProudDUB

Cheers. One of the USB ports stopped working in my old Toshiba lap top, out of the blue. It had 2 others, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but it got me thinking about what would happen if I had just the one.

Was driving out over to buy the new Asus one today & the old Gateway net/notebook was stolen out of the boot of my car. Not sure if that's a sign or not....:mad: