5 ms·

Asus launches touchscreen desktop that turns into an 18 inch tablet

24 points by rubikscube 14y ago

smoyer 14y ago
Hmmm ... the idea of using it strictly as a remote desktop sounds intriguing, but do I really need the PC base-station then? I use my iPad with a blue-tooth keyboard to work on remote computers quite a bit, so this basically gives me the equivalent with more pixels. The down-side is that it won't fit into a laptop bag. Edit: I work in a similar way to what's described in this article - http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/swap-your-laptop-ipad-linode http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/swap-your-laptop-ipad-li...
StavrosK 14y ago
And after a year, no more updates. I'm really frustrated that my TF201 isn't going to be updated to 4.2, the multiple users feature is a Godsend. I don't understand why more manufacturers don't run stock Android, does it not help them upgrade more easily?
- lnanek2 14y ago
  The manufacturers are all fighting to differentiate themselves from other manufacturers, to get sales, and justify more than razor thin margins. Often retail stores and their staff want the same - something exclusive. If you don't get into stores, you don't sell large quantities anyway, so the stores' wants are as important as the end users'.
  - StavrosK 14y ago
    Sure, but a tablet that gets updates more than a year later is a damn sight more exclusive than anything else out there, save the Nexus line :/
  - dscrd 14y ago
    Aren't all Windows 8 installations pretty much identical?
- edtechdev 14y ago
  You should be happy, once I set up multiple users on my nexus 7, I never saw it again :)
  - StavrosK 14y ago
    Haha, I don't use it that much, I'd rather my parents used it, but I don't want them to see every email/text/chat I get!
  - robotmay 14y ago
    I got a Nexus 7 yesterday and I've already noticed this phenomenon :\
- pavlov 14y ago
  And after a year, no more updates. You'll be pleased to know that the computer in question runs Windows 8, so upgrades are guaranteed to come from Microsoft.
  - mtgx 14y ago
    Only bug fixes "upgrades". Not like he will get Windows 9 for free.
    - pavlov 14y ago
      At least you can always pay to upgrade to stock Windows 9, regardless of what the hardware manufacturer thinks about it... I think many Android users stuck on older versions of the OS would prefer that model.
      - vanderZwan 14y ago
        In general I'm wondering: if phones are more like PCs, why can't I build one of my own yet with the specs I need?
        aw3c2 14y ago
        same reason as with laptops: they are small and integrated. you cannot "plug in" different hardware. manufacturing uniquely for you is too expensive.
        nivla 14y ago
        But atleast with most laptops we can upgrade/replace the RAM, hard drive and the battery. I am starting to hate the new trend where phones are going: no easy access to the inside, batteries are glued on making it impossible to be replaced, no sd slots and finally the gimmick of upselling the higher spec'd version.
  - talmand 14y ago
    Except for when you decide to use it as a tablet, it would be Android 4.1 at that point.
- hollerith 14y ago
  >And after a year, no more updates. Although some will pay $1300 for this product just for the 18-inch 1080p Android tablet, whether it achieves the goals of the manufacturer (Asus) or not probably depends mostly on the customers who spend almost all of their time interacting with the "Windows 8 layer" and who use the Android layer only for the (to quote the OP) "remote desktop solution that lets you basically login to the PC base station over a remote network so you can interact with software on the desktop PC while using the tablet." And of course the Windows 8 layer will get frequent updates.
  - StavrosK 14y ago
    Yeah, I'm more griping about the lack of updates on my Android tablet, rather than this one in particular, though...
  - stephengillie 14y ago
    Many Android RDP apps already exist. You can remotely log into your PC from your Nexus and do things, if you have your network configured to do so. I wonder how operational this base station will be without the monitor-tablet attached -- could you RDP from other devices, not just the tablet? Maybe Asus just wrote their own RDP app?
stephengillie 14y ago
That's an interesting form factor for a docking station. It's also the first monitor to run Android...or the first tablet to allow an external device to display on its screen.
- lmm 14y ago
  It's interesting that they felt the need to use Android when in tablet form, even though that's what Windows 8 was built for.
  - stephengillie 14y ago
    Maybe it's for hardware reasons -- can Win8 run on a Tegra? Would Asus have wanted to put an i7 in this tablet? (that might have actually worked pretty well, as it has the back surface area for a big battery and lots of heat dissipation...) In a way, it's also like dual booting Android and Win8...
ChuckMcM 14y ago
Wow, that is a creative use of computing power. I am surprised it doesn't have a TV tuner so you can also use it as a TV. Reading the Penny Arcade discussion about the Surface Pro made me wonder whether there is a niche market for a designer PC/tablet with something like Wacom pen support. Sit in front of is with CS6 and lay out something, pick up the display and lay it on the table like it would look like as a magazine cover, take a picture of a magazine cover with a rear facing camera and touch it up and back on the stand, moving back and forth. Probably wouldn't work for me but perhaps. I was thinking about my notebooks and how a tablet could replace those. Something like the Galaxy note with a really killer implementation of something like Trello might do it. My note taking has never completely switched to a laptop because of the drawing requirement. Even with OmniGraffle which is pretty epically cool I can draw faster and more creatively it seems with a pen and graph paper.

24 points by rubikscube 14y ago

Hmmm ... the idea of using it strictly as a remote desktop sounds intriguing, but do I really need the PC base-station then? I use my iPad with a blue-tooth keyboard to work on remote computers quite a bit, so this basically gives me the equivalent with more pixels. The down-side is that it won't fit into a laptop bag. Edit: I work in a similar way to what's described in this article - http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/swap-your-laptop-ipad-linode http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/swap-your-laptop-ipad-li...

StavrosK 14y ago

And after a year, no more updates. I'm really frustrated that my TF201 isn't going to be updated to 4.2, the multiple users feature is a Godsend. I don't understand why more manufacturers don't run stock Android, does it not help them upgrade more easily?

lnanek2 14y ago
The manufacturers are all fighting to differentiate themselves from other manufacturers, to get sales, and justify more than razor thin margins. Often retail stores and their staff want the same - something exclusive. If you don't get into stores, you don't sell large quantities anyway, so the stores' wants are as important as the end users'.
- StavrosK 14y ago
  Sure, but a tablet that gets updates more than a year later is a damn sight more exclusive than anything else out there, save the Nexus line :/
- dscrd 14y ago
  Aren't all Windows 8 installations pretty much identical?
edtechdev 14y ago
You should be happy, once I set up multiple users on my nexus 7, I never saw it again :)
- StavrosK 14y ago
  Haha, I don't use it that much, I'd rather my parents used it, but I don't want them to see every email/text/chat I get!
- robotmay 14y ago
  I got a Nexus 7 yesterday and I've already noticed this phenomenon :\
pavlov 14y ago
And after a year, no more updates. You'll be pleased to know that the computer in question runs Windows 8, so upgrades are guaranteed to come from Microsoft.
- mtgx 14y ago
  Only bug fixes "upgrades". Not like he will get Windows 9 for free.
  - pavlov 14y ago
    At least you can always pay to upgrade to stock Windows 9, regardless of what the hardware manufacturer thinks about it... I think many Android users stuck on older versions of the OS would prefer that model.
    - vanderZwan 14y ago
      In general I'm wondering: if phones are more like PCs, why can't I build one of my own yet with the specs I need?
      - aw3c2 14y ago
        same reason as with laptops: they are small and integrated. you cannot "plug in" different hardware. manufacturing uniquely for you is too expensive.
        nivla 14y ago
        But atleast with most laptops we can upgrade/replace the RAM, hard drive and the battery. I am starting to hate the new trend where phones are going: no easy access to the inside, batteries are glued on making it impossible to be replaced, no sd slots and finally the gimmick of upselling the higher spec'd version.
- talmand 14y ago
  Except for when you decide to use it as a tablet, it would be Android 4.1 at that point.
hollerith 14y ago
>And after a year, no more updates. Although some will pay $1300 for this product just for the 18-inch 1080p Android tablet, whether it achieves the goals of the manufacturer (Asus) or not probably depends mostly on the customers who spend almost all of their time interacting with the "Windows 8 layer" and who use the Android layer only for the (to quote the OP) "remote desktop solution that lets you basically login to the PC base station over a remote network so you can interact with software on the desktop PC while using the tablet." And of course the Windows 8 layer will get frequent updates.
- StavrosK 14y ago
  Yeah, I'm more griping about the lack of updates on my Android tablet, rather than this one in particular, though...
- stephengillie 14y ago
  Many Android RDP apps already exist. You can remotely log into your PC from your Nexus and do things, if you have your network configured to do so. I wonder how operational this base station will be without the monitor-tablet attached -- could you RDP from other devices, not just the tablet? Maybe Asus just wrote their own RDP app?

stephengillie 14y ago

That's an interesting form factor for a docking station. It's also the first monitor to run Android...or the first tablet to allow an external device to display on its screen.

lmm 14y ago
It's interesting that they felt the need to use Android when in tablet form, even though that's what Windows 8 was built for.
- stephengillie 14y ago
  Maybe it's for hardware reasons -- can Win8 run on a Tegra? Would Asus have wanted to put an i7 in this tablet? (that might have actually worked pretty well, as it has the back surface area for a big battery and lots of heat dissipation...) In a way, it's also like dual booting Android and Win8...

ChuckMcM 14y ago

Wow, that is a creative use of computing power. I am surprised it doesn't have a TV tuner so you can also use it as a TV. Reading the Penny Arcade discussion about the Surface Pro made me wonder whether there is a niche market for a designer PC/tablet with something like Wacom pen support. Sit in front of is with CS6 and lay out something, pick up the display and lay it on the table like it would look like as a magazine cover, take a picture of a magazine cover with a rear facing camera and touch it up and back on the stand, moving back and forth. Probably wouldn't work for me but perhaps. I was thinking about my notebooks and how a tablet could replace those. Something like the Galaxy note with a really killer implementation of something like Trello might do it. My note taking has never completely switched to a laptop because of the drawing requirement. Even with OmniGraffle which is pretty epically cool I can draw faster and more creatively it seems with a pen and graph paper.