ASUS today announced Transformer Book Trio, a new breed of ultraportable device with a two-part dockable design that can be used by one person as a laptop, or by two people as a separate tablet and desktop PC. With the ability to switch between Windows 8 and Android at the press of a button, Transformer Book Trio offers unmatched three-in-one flexibility for users who want the best of all mobile worlds.
The Trio runs both Windows 8 Pro and Android, thanks to a pair of processors — a Core i7 Intel Haswell chip in the keyboard half, and a 2GHz Atom chip In the detachable tablet-screen. Because the keyboard part has its own brain, this means it can be plugged Into a larger monitor at home and used as a proper desktop PC, while the tablet’s off running Android. When you want to use them as a touchscreen laptop, clunk them together and you can switch from OS to OS with a mere press of a key.
Like previous Transformers, the Trio fits in power cells behind the screen and under the keyboard. In the Android-only machines, this has meant battery life that could last a couple of working days. If it allows its two halves to borrow each other’s battery power, we could see similarly plug-defying smarts from the Trio.