ASUS Advances Convertibles With Transformer Book Chi Series, Reveals New ZenFones
ASUS is making its presence known at CES this year, and in doing so is unleashing the new Transformer Book Chi Series. The 2-in-1 detachable laptops range in size from 8.9” to 12.5” and can be equipped with screens featuring a resolution of up to WQHD (2560x1440).
The smallest member of the family is the T90 Chi, which comes with an 8.9-inch WXGA (1280x800) IPS display. Powering the device is a quad-core Intel Atom Z3775 processor, and the T90 Chi can be equipped with either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage. The tablet is just 7.5mm thick by itself, but grows to 16.5mm thick when the keyboard dock is attached. Likewise, the T90 Chi by itself weighs 0.88 pounds by itself and 1.65 pounds with the keyboard.
Transformer Book T90 Chi
Stepping up to the T100 Chi will bring you a 10.1-inch Full HD display, but you’ll still be stuck with the Atom Z3775 processor and 32GB/64GB storage options. The T100 Chi is actually a smidgen thinner than its smaller brother at 7.2mm without the keyboard attached. But it’s also slightly heavier as well, weighing in at 1.25 pounds.
The top-of-the line T300 Chi brings more firepower to the table with an Intel Core M processor and a large 12.5” WQHD display. Storage space is also more plentiful, as a 128GB SSD is included. The 7.6mm thick T300 Chi weighs in at 1.59 pounds, and nearly doubles in weight to 3.13 pounds with the keyboard dock attached.
“The ASUS Transformer Book Chi is the ultimate dream machine that wraps mobility, entertainment and productivity all into one beautiful device,” said ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih. “We appreciate the support of our longtime friend and strategic partner Intel on this journey In Search of Incredible.”
The Transformer Book T90 Chi will be priced at $299, while the T100 Chi starts at $399. The Transformer Book T300 Chi is priced at $699 for the FHD version, while stepping up to a WQHD display will set you back $799.
Moving on to smartphones, ASUS has two on tap for CES 2015. The first is the ZenFone 2, which features an all-new design, 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 processor paired with 4GB of RAM, and an integrated Intel LTE-A modem. You’ll also find a 5.5” Full HD display, and a 13MP PixelMaster camera with an F/2.0 aperture lens. Powering the device is a respectable 3000 mAh battery.
ZenFone 2
The second smartphone entry comes in the form of the ZenFone Zoom. According to ASUS, it’s the thinnest smartphone in the world to include both a 13MP camera and 3x optical zoom (28-84mm equivalent). The camera features optical image stabilization, a 10-element lens design, and boats digital zoom levels of up to 12x (but who wants to use nasty digital zoom anyway?).
Specs wise, the ZenFone Zoom is no slouch; it includes a 5.5-inch Full HD display, a 3000 mAh battery, and is available with up to 128GB of internal storage space. Both the ZenFone 2 and ZenFone Zoom come preloaded with Android 5.0 Lollipop and ASUS’ ZenUI.
ZenFone Zoom
The ZenFone 2 will be priced at $199 for the U.S. market, while the ZenFone Zoom will be priced at $399. There is no word on whether the latter will land on our shores.
