14 DAY TRIAL // The ASUS Transformer Book Duet TD300 might not be dead after all, as new uncovered information rekindles hope for those wishing to tap into the goodness of Android and Windows 8 combined.
Recently, we told you the ASUS Transformer Book Duet might be facing an uncertain future. The device was the absolute high-light of CES 2014, where it was introduced as the world’s first 4-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrid capable of switching between Windows 8 and Android in a mere few seconds.
The device certainly drew the attention of a lot of perspective customers and soon after it was made available for pre-order in on-line retail locations in Europe. But then something bizarre happened, as all the traces of the Transformer Book Duet were wiped out from the net, leaving no trails behind.
More than that, a report coming via Asian sources claimed ASUS was thinking of discontinuing the Transformer Book Duet altogether, due to pressure coming from Google.
The reasons behind this blockade are virtually unknown, not to mention odd, as we believe the Android and Windows 8.1 combo would be appreciated in most circles.
But due to recent developments, it now appears the Duet might have a chance to make it into sunlight after all. Spotted on the website of design firm red dot 21, is the Transformer Book TD-Series, which is listed among the products to have received the prestigious “IF Product Design Awards” and said to be a dual-OS machine with Windows and Android onboard.
The description of the device reads the following “In order to fulfill mobility and high performance needs during the whole day life, TD series chose the 13.3 / 11.6 / 10.1 inch IPS panels with 10 point touch screen to provide the best user experience.”
As a memory round-up, the ASUS Transformer Book Duet is supposed to have an IPS 13.3-inch display with either 1366 x 768 or 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.
In the hardware department, users were supposed to be given a choice between 4th-gen Intel architecture (Haswell) in the form of Core i3/i5/i7 processors fitted with 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD (expandable to 64GB via microSD card).
Anyway, at this point all we can do is hypothesize the smaller models of the Duel might be called the Transformer Book Duet TD100 and TD200, but we can't be certain.
Given that the pictures on the design site show the Duet running only Android, there’s also the question whether the products will come bundling dual-OS or will arrive with only one operating system, which users get to choose (although the listing states otherwise).