Mobility

Transformer Book Boasts Special Software

ASUS offers several handy tools to increase the usability of the convertible notebook.

Jeff is tasked with separating the “gee whiz” factor from the truly useful when it comes to the latest tech gadgets, and oh, he holds a Ph.D. in physics. He currently works as the supervisor of enterprise architecture services for Grange Mutual Casualty Group of Columbus, Ohio. His biggest challenge is being an avid Wolverine fan while living in the midst of Buckeye country.

The ASUS Transformer Book T300 boasts all the power of a Microsoft Windows 8.1 desktop, as well as a number of special ASUS applications.

Accessible from either the Windows 8 Start Menu or by clicking a special light-blue key on the docking keyboard, the ASUS Console allows the user to see system information such as memory or hard-disk usage at a glance.

An Audio Wizard supports five different modes: Music, Movie, Recording, Gaming and Speech. Users can audibly recognize the changes among them.

For backup and recovery, Backtracker (part of the ASUS Console) goes a little further than most tools. Not only can users return the Transformer Book to factory default settings and create restore points, but they can also refresh the system to save data and revert to an earlier state, or delete the recovery partition entirely to gain hard drive space.

ASUS Smart Gesture enables users to select the touchpad gestures they want to use and turn off the ones that might cause problems during normal use. Gestures such as pinch to zoom, navigate pages via swiping, and toggling Windows 8's menu and charm bars are all available in Smart Gesture. Users can easily disable the touchpad whenever the T300 detects a mouse, and southpaws can switch the left/right mouse buttons.

Finally, the ASUS SuperNote application is one of the best note-taking secrets in the industry. The app makes it easy to switch between writing text and drawing notes and mixing the two, a must for anyone whose work life revolves around meetings. The only thing missing is a stylus, though most users have a preference for a particular brand and would probably replace it anyway.

Read StateTech's full product review here.