Asus integrates Android smartphone into 2-in-1 laptop with Windows 8

Asus has announced a new tablet/laptop hybrid in its Transformer line at the Computex 2014 trade show in Taiwan that can accommodate an Android phone. The system can therefore serve as three devices with Windows or Android.

The Transformer Book V is a laptop with a detachable 12.5″ touchscreen with IPS panel that can serve as a tablet and has a cutout for a 5″ smartphone. The combination therefore resembles the Padfone concept on Android that Asus has been experimenting with for years, supplemented with a keyboard.

The laptop-cum-tablet part of the Transformer, however, runs Windows 8.1 and also has an Intel Core processor, 4GB and its own emmc flash memory with a capacity of 128GB, in addition to a HDD in the keyboard part with storage capacity of 1TB. The smartphone that can be inserted into the screen has a screen diagonal of 5 inches and runs Android 4.4. The housing of that device contains 2GB and a 64bit quadcore from Intel’s Atom line with built-in LTE support. The smartphone also has a 2-megapixel camera on the front and an 8-megapixel variant on the back.

The combination ensures that Windows 8.1 can be used in laptop mode and in tablet mode, but Android could run within that OS. In addition, the tablet with built-in smartphone can be used as an Android tablet and the smartphone can be used separately as a normal Android phone. According to Asus, you can instantly switch from one OS to another. When the Transformer Book V should come on the market and what it will cost is not known.