The ASUS T100 is a compact laptop tablet, which runs on the Windows platform. It’s a well-priced device that is great for families.
I’m liking
The children, familiar with an apple operating system, have had no trouble adapting to using the windows system. Initially we didn’t realise that it was possible to set up a children’s account, and a significant purchase was only narrowly avoided, but setting up a kids’ account is relatively easy.
There are plenty of kid’s games available in the app store and there are a few great educational aps that we’ve found as well. The tablet also came preinstalled with a bunch of application and the Microsoft Office suite is particularly nice to have.
The physical size of the tablet makes it really easy to travel with, it fits nicely on the plane’s drop-down tray and being able to practise (and edit) powerpoint presentations on the way to a meeting is great. The battery life also means that the tablet lasts nicely through an all-day meeting. Recharging takes a while, about four hours, but it charges faster than an ipad and uses a micro USB to charge which means that if you’re caught short a charge is easy to source.
I’m not a great fan of typing on the screen – as required with ipads, so having the keyboard with the tablet is a real bonus for me.
While theoretically the screen resolution isn’t that flash watching a movie is actually great. The depth and tone made watching a downloaded movie a pleasure.
Things that made me go hmmmm
One disadvantage of Windows OS is that New Zealand specific applications often aren’t easily available – for example, there currently isn’t a stuff app or a tvnz ondemand app. However, in both cases internet explorer works as with a full sized computer and allows you access to these sites.
The conclusion
This is a perfect tablet for the kids. While our kids are not really old enough to use the keyboard, they quickly figured out the OS and can now drive it better than I can!
