Asus blends the tablet, laptop, and desktop with a new type of Transformer

The majority of the hybrid computers out today started with one machine: the Asus Transformer, which in its original form blended an Android tablet with a battery and keyboard dock, making it a combination of laptop and tablet. But Asus isn’t finished looking at the Transformer design, taking it more places than just your lap.

Announced at Computex in Taipei, the Transformer Book Trio is a neat concept that evolves the detachable tablet-laptop that is the Transformer in a way that makes it useful for more than just the notebook customers out there.

Labelled as the “world’s first three-in-one mobile device,” Asus is combining both a Windows 8 machine and an Android tablet in a way that the company has yet to try, making it possible to switch between either operating system depending on what you’re doing.

First is the tablet, which will be powered by an Intel Atom processor clocked at 2GHz, running up to 64GB storage, and a Full HD 11.6 inch screen. Operating as a tablet, the Transformer will run with Android, but plug it into the keyboard dock, and Windows 8 kicks into gear, offering a proper notebook experience.

And then there’s the desktop mode, which makes up the “trio” in the Transformer Trio name.

A special desktop PC dock will allow the tablet to attach, and will speed up the system with the inclusion of a fourth-generation Intel Core i7 processor, 750GB hard drive, and support for external displays and accessories.

Interestingly, while this is the first time Asus has blended the tablet, notebook, and desktop spaces, it’s not the first time the company has blended the tablet and desktop area, with the Transformer All-in-One from earlier in the year connecting both an 18.4 inch tablet with a desktop computer designed to take on the likes of the iMac.

Pricing or availability has yet to be announced, but if we know Computex announcement, we suspect we won’t hear anything about this till August or September at the earliest.