Two years on, Asus has decided to update one of the better Windows 8 hybrids it released, and the good news is that it’s not only looks better, it’s also a little less exy, too.
With school laptop buying season only a few months away (if you can believe it), we’re not surprised to see a few new computers make their way out for not just the holiday season, but also as a massive precursor to the back to school season.
Asus is one such company ready with a computer, and it’s a follow-up to one we first saw back in 2013, as the T100 gets its long-deserved update.
The new model on its way to store shelves is the T100HA — Ha! (we’re not sure this is Asus laughing, though) — and going on specs alone, it appears as if Asus is taking what worked about that first generation, upping the specs, getting rid of Windows 8, and making it more friendly for people who don’t want to change laptops on a yearly basis.
Because we’re mostly looking at a spec change and refresh, expect the same hybrid form-factor, with all of the important bits in the screen section, which has gone backwards a little and now sports a 10.1 inch 1280×800 screen instead of the 10.1 inch 1366×768 from before.
We’re told the hinge is a little better, now even sporting magnets to position the tablet better, but you’ll still be able to attach and detach the keyboard docking section when you need keys to work on.
Under this screen is a whole new processor, with a two-year old Intel Atom changed out for one of the quad-core x5 “Cherry Trail” Atoms from Intel, working alongside 2GB RAM and 64GB storage, with Windows 10 installed on the computer out of the box.
The small computer also appears to arrive with a decent amount of connectivity, offering WiFi across 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, while wired connections are both a mixture of connections from today and one for tomorrow, offering microUSB, microHDMI, standard USB 2.0 in the keyboard dock, and even a Type-C USB 3 port.
Unfortunately, Asus tells us that the Type-C port isn’t going to be used for charging like it is on the Apple MacBook, but the upside is that even though you don’t get to charge from that standard, you can charge the T100HA from another standard, and that’s microUSB.
A full charge is said to offer as much as 12 hours of battery life, too, pushing that Intel Atom to its limits of day-to-day usage, while the aluminium-clad lid provides a modicum of protection and durability.
The price looks quite good, too, with the T100HA chiming in at $100 less than the original, pushing a recommended retail price of $499.
