Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsI like my Taichi, I hate Windows 8 (Windows 8 Rant Ahead)
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2013
So I have been looking for a replacement for my aging Sony Vaio W 10" laptop, one that was a real computer and not another crappy netbook, but I also wanted a small screen like on my current Sony W.
I like small screens (with high resolutions) because I like the portability that comes with having a small laptop. I had been waiting for the non-existent Samsung Sliding PC7, but it never came, I bought the Sony Duo (another sliding form-factor touchscreen) because I was worried that the ASUS would never come (delayed since Oct 2012), but had to return it because of some of the issues it had (see long review at its product page). So now I own the Taichi i7.
Pros:
Fast, it's an i7 so it better be.
Solid, it feels solid despite being the lightest computer I have ever owned.
Two LCD screens, which means that there is no elaborate twisting or sliding mechanism to give me both a laptop and a touchpad. Now I have the best of both worlds without the "prone-to-failure" alternate methods for using one screen in both orientations.
Two fast USB 3 ports (not new, but I'm coming from an Atom based old machine so it's fast from my point of view).
Hinge is solid and tight at any angle.
The screens are HD and the inner one is matte.
It comes packaged nicely in a nice box and it made it across 3 continents unbroken.
I had no problems out of the box with the dual screen setup with switching between laptop and tablet mode. I did use the little blue key at first to switch between the two modes, until I realized that simply closing the screen (with the left-side screen lock button in the non-red mode) would switch to tablet mode, and opening it again would switch it back to desktop mode. (I use the power button for sleep now)
It has two cameras, one forward facing and one facing out.
The sound is great for such a small laptop.
The keyboard is backlit (and brightness is adjustable from keyboard hotkeys).
The multi-touchscreen works well, and the included pen works even better.
The BIOS has the ability to turn off UEFI protected mode and turn on CSM mode. (for loading other non EFI operating systems like Linux or others).
The install of Windows 8 still works even after the protected mode is turned off in the BIOS (the Windows 8 install on the Sony Duo did NOT do this and refused to work in any capacity until UEFI protected mode was turned back on). So huge plus there for people that want to dual boot (or triple boot) to non-EFI compliant OS'es (the big Linux distros support EFI now, but not the smaller ones).
This thing actually can support 3 monitors (with the included video dongle).
You can use third party apps to give back some functionality to Windows 8 (Start Clasic, and SearchFX).
The 256gb SSD is big and fast.
The power-plug seems pretty smooth (it rotates smoothly). Hopefully it lasts a while.
It's all metal and glass and looks nice.
It comes with a nice cover/sleeve (not fit to drop it in, but free)
Cons: (most of these cons are related the Windows 8 Home edition that comes on it)
It's so light that I worry I'm going to drop it. (I wish manufactures would design in some areas on the back to grip tablets and ultrabooks better.)
It's a fingerprint magnet. (Although my hands could stand to be cleaner I guess)
There is no place to store the included pen.
It has Windows 8 Home and the upgrade to Pro is $200 from Microsoft ($39 for everyone but people running Win8 Home already, so basically not for anyone buying a new computer).
Windows 8 Home doesn't like to let programs access Linux-based SMB mapped drives correctly (oh you can hack the registry to make them work correctly, normally you could use gpedit.msc, but Microsoft removed it from Home versions, so you'll be manually fixing registry entries related to NTLM2 and policies instead).
Windows 8 Home doesn't have Hyper-V installed (needs Pro now), so forget about running XP mode or an XP emulation without using a third party program (or paying $200 to Microsoft for Pro).
There is no restore DVD or USB drive, and it's a Home version of Windows that doesn't let you properly make one from the software included in Windows. There is also no ASUS program to make one. I had to boot into Linux and "dd"ed a copy of the SSD to a large NTFS formated USB memory stick (the image was a 25gb .gz file, hence the need for a NTFS filesystem).
Windows 8 has no way of modifying the priority or deleting stored WiFi connections (short of manually updating the contents of a system .xml file). So you better hope the order it puts them in is the way you want it. (You can find a quirky 3rd party program that modifies the .xml for you).
When you uninstall the included Mcafee, it leaves 5 running programs installed. (I guess uninstall means something different nowadays).
The SSD comes with multiple partitions installed (2 EFI, 1 restore, 1 recovery, 1 system boot, 1 for C:, 1 for D: (user data). This seems excessive, and after installing Linux I now have 10 partitions.
There is no start bar (no surprise it is Windows 8), but it is a con. I tried to use it as is (Windows 8 that is), but I can't, and I advise that if you have high blood pressure that you should have a few drinks prior to using Windows 8 for anything other than clicking on the internet or Facebook, as the risk of stroke increases proportionally with the amount of time you spend trying to use your Windows 8 install for real work.
The product key is stored in the bios and you can't see or change it, which means that you can not simply buy Windows 8 Pro and install it clean (it will find and use the Home one stored in the bios), so you have to upgrade, but you can't with a full version key.
Mint Linux 14 Xfce installs and works ok (my guess is that all Ubuntu based distros will be the same), all the hardware seems to work except the touch screen and the clickpad mouse, the mouse works, but the nature of a clicking touchpad is different than a normal touchpad and without special software to stabilize the bottom of the touchpad (where the button is under) it is hard to click on small things without the mouse jumping about while pressing down. ASUS could release some support files for Linux related to the clickpad and touchscreen that would make the experience better for us Linux users. Right now the coolness and useability of the second screen goes away on anything except Windows 8.
There is no Pause/Break keyboard key. (this seems to be a trend with most manufactures nowadays)
Final:
In the end I had to install a lot of 3rd party apps to be able to do the same things I was doing under XP. (Start Clasic, SearchFX, WiFi-Profile-Editor) and then tweak those apps settings. This has nothing to do with this machine's hardware, but seeing as how it does come with Windows 8, it does belong in its review. Any machine I would have bought new would have had most of those cons (excluding the ability to make a ASUS Restore USB, I blame ASUS for that failing).
I am happy I bought the Taichi, I wish ASUS gave the end user some more operating system choices by releasing drivers for Linux, Windows 7, and since I'm dreaming, Windows XP 64-bit. The hardware is great from the speakers to the screens, the EFI options in the BIOS will make me look to ASUS for my next laptop purchase (I love choices). The only real problem with this device is that is comes with Windows 8, but it is up to Microsoft to fix its problems not ASUS.
Microsoft Rant:
Truth is I would have paid an extra $200 if I could have purchased this with XP on it from the factory and had the same touchscreen and second screen functionality as on Windows 8. I really truly hate Windows 8, much more than I hated Windows 7. Windows 8 has all the same problems Windows 7 had with its GUI (once in desktop mode), and then they managed to break everything else with the Modern/Metro interface. This is a computer, not an XBOX, and I'm not 15. Microsoft needs to realize that most 15 year old kids may think this interface is great, but they are not the ones with the money, nor do they make the software that makes the world work, so stop making "cool" interfaces and give me back my efficiency. There is no universe where clicking in a corner, then clicking a magnifying glass, then typing the name of the program I want to run (providing I even know the name), and then clicking on it, is faster than simply clicking an icon in a menu. Just give me back my Start-menu, File Explorer, Control Panel, and Wifi Manager from XP, at least as a choice. Fin.
UPDATE: March 5, 2013
I still like it, but really hated Windows 8, so after an UEFI/CSM issue, I erased all the partitions, converted the SSD to an MBR from a GPT using a PE (wow that's a lot of acronyms), and then created three 20gb partitions (2 NTFS, 1 EX4) and a put the rest as a big NTFS drive label "DATA". I used my Technet ISO of Windows 8, converted it to a bootable USB install, upon booting it picked up the product key embedded in the BIOS and I installed on the first partition. I then tried using my backup of the eSystem (ASUS driver folder on original HD) to reload the now missing drivers and Apps, but it glitched and wouldn't install past a certain point, so I just went to ASUS's website and downloaded all the updated drivers from there (for Windows 8). After installing the downloaded drivers, a few updates, and a few reboots, everything was back to stock (mostly, and minus some factory crapware), both the screen and touch mouse would switch the way they are supposed to. I then proceed to install Mint Linux XFCE 14, it went in perfectly and grub2 listed both Linux and Win8, and both would boot great. I then installed Windows XP 64 SP2, after slip-streaming the AHCI and chipset TXTMODE driver into the install disk with nLite )and removed all the unnecessary Windows crap and services). The creating of the XP disk took 3 tries to get the right version of the AHCI real-mode and TXTmode drivers installed, but afterwards it installed quickly (albeit in 640x480 resolution). Finding the XP-64 drivers on ASUS's website wasn't going to happen, but I found the Intel HD-4000, Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 (Wifi), Bluetooth, 7 Series Chipset, and AHCI SATA drivers on Intel's website, and that got me pretty far. It's still a work in progress to find all the drivers but I think it's possible. I should also note that Windows XP took control of the booting and only would boot itself, and because it wasn't installed on "C:" it took moving XP boot files, repairing Windows 8, and re-installing Grub2 and some manual grub config file creations to get it back to using Grub2 to select between the 3 operating system choices, but it is possible. I almost have what I wanted, a Windows XP replacement for my old Sony that can also be used as a tablet.
UPDATE: Sept 5, 2013
I still like it, the battery is lasting a little less, but the hinge has given up the ghost. It will hold near the end of travel in either direction but not in a position that is at the "normal viewing angle", it just drops back a bit. I can't really tell if the hinge is loose inside or if the spring is worn out. I'll have to try contacting Asus to see what they want me to do.
