ASUS TP500LA Core i3

 this individual Asus Transformer Book Turn TP500 is a fifteen inch convertible laptop with a touchscreen, capable Haswell hardware and a start price of roughly 650 dollar. A lot more powerful configurations sell for between $700 to $1000 at launch.

Within this post I'm proceeding to inform you what to expect from the standard version of the TP500 line, called the Transformer Book Flip TP500LA. Asus also has a TP500LN version in stores, which is identical to this reviewed one, but also bundles an Nvidia GRAND TOURING 840M dedicated graphics chip. So performance aside, the article remains a research no matter which model you plan on getting.

ASUS  TP500LA Core i3

Design and exterior

The form factor sets this Asus ultrabook besides most other 15 inchers out there. The screen folds shells to 360 degrees, allowing you to use the device in several different modes: laptop, stand, tent or tablet.

This particular approach is more practical with 10 to 13 inch machines (like the Lenovo Yoga exercises 2 Pro) than on a big and heavy (roughly 5 pounds) device like here, as actually using the TP500 in tablet setting isn't exactly comfortable, but it's just something extra you won't get with many other laptops (the Lenovo Flex 15 offers a similar form-factor, but its screen only retracts back to 270 degrees).

Its keyboard counterpart does lock automatically when flipping the display screen past about 210 certifications (you'll get a tiny pop-up that allows you to know the Asus FlipLock is activated) and the accelerometer does a well job at spinning the canvas to the suitable position. In other words, as long as you can get used to the mass and the weight, you should be fine with this Transformer Book, although you may want to utilize it in a other mode than as a regular laptop.

Aesthetically, I would the TP500 is not bad. A dark cleaned sheet of metal dresses the lid, while the body is cast from your single piece of silver aluminum and the bottom part settles for a difficult, simple plastic cover. Typically the interior is smooth, simple and spacious and the hinge (which is also metallic) is rigid enough to hold the display screen in place just as you set it up. Last but not least, the laptop also seems strong in hand, durable, although there will be some flex and some cranks when grabbing it firmer.

Around the sides you'll find a good set of ports, with 3 UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS slots (only one of them is USB 3. 0 though), HDMI, headphone/mic jack, card-reader and an RJ45 connector. There are also some status LEDs on the front switch, and a few other just on top of the keyboard, towards the right. The Strength Button is positioned on the left edge, next to a volume rocker and a dedicated House windows button, which might come in convenient in pill mode.

All in all, the Asus Transformer Book TP500LA appears and feels great for a sub $1000 laptop. It might not ooze the same premium impact as the Dell XPS 15, the Zenbook NX500 or maybe the Retina Macbook Expert do, but let's not forget it is a lot cheaper than those. I do have two gripes with it though: the dark metal page easily catches smudges and fingerprints, and when having the laptop in pill mode, the screen will not lock properly in place and tends to wobble.

Windows 8.1 64 bit

Category	Vendor	Description	Size	Date	Download
Audio	Realtek	Audio Driver	120.36 MB	28/06/2014	Here
Bluetooth	Qualcomm	Bluetooth	95.54 MB	22/01/2015	Here
Bluetooth	Ralink	Bluetooth	81.2 MB	24/12/2014	Here
Card Reader	Realtek	Card Reader Driver	17.59 MB	03/06/2014	Here
Chipset	Intel	Chipset	5.36 MB	28/10/2013	Here
Keyboard	ASUS	Keyboard	12.16 MB	03/07/2014	Here
LAN	Realtek	LAN	5.81 MB	28/05/2014	Here
Touchpad	ASUS	Touchpad	33.04 MB	09/12/2014	Here
VGA	Intel	VGA Driver	142.46 MB	17/04/2014	Here
VGA	nVidia	VGA Driver	346.12 MB	03/06/2014	Here
Wireless LAN	Qualcomm	Wireless LAN Driver	41.78 MB	17/12/2014	Here
Wireless LAN	Ralink	Wireless LAN Driver	11.7 MB	25/12/2014	Here