ASUS Transformer P1801 Pro Reviews

Windows 8 has ushered in a new era of PC form factors designed to offer one device that does double duty as both a tablet and a laptop. We've seen devices with detachable screens (such as HP's Envy x2$679.95 at B&H Photo-Video), screens that spin around (like Lenovo's ThinkPad Twist$829.00 at LapTop Authority), and even a laptop with two screens, one on either side of the lid (Asus' Taichi 21$1,499.99 at Amazon).

In the blockbuster movie Avatar, the head technician character grabs active telemetry data from a desktop workstation and continues to work with it on a networked tablet. This is the essential idea behind the Asus Transformer AIO (P1801-B037K) . You can start working on a project in Windows 8 while the screen is docked on the base unit. Then you can pick up the screen, which is an Android tablet that continues to act as a remote desktop. All of the computing happens on the base unit, but you can keep working on your work in the den, in the kitchen, or even out on the balcony. As long as you're on your home Wi-Fi network, you're still using your powerful Windows 8 PC. It's a neat concept that has potential. It's not perfect yet, but it works well enough to use, at least well enough for early adopters looking for new ways of doing things.

Setting up the connection between devices is simple. You must put both Windows 8 and Android on the same wireless network, then launch the Splashtop program in one OS, make an account, and then launch Splashtop again in the other OS and sign in to the account. Once all of that is set up, the tablet will automatically go into remote desktop mode and let you use Windows 8 away from the base station. You can still swap between operating systems on the tablet, as well, and again, you don't lose any data when you do.

Asus's Transformer P1801 is an odd beast: part extra-large Android tablet, part Windows 8 all-in-one desktop. When docked, the tablet is an 18.4in IPS display for the PC, but as soon as you lift it from the dock, it becomes a stand-alone tablet with a Tegra 3 processor, that gives you continued control of your Windows applications via a remote desktop client.