What is the Asus Transformer Book V?

Serial innovator, Asus, is at it again in Computex. The company unveiled its Asus Transformer Book V product, which is a 12.5in laptop that is actually much more than a laptop.

ASUS calls it a "five-mode, three-in-one converged laptop", mainly because it's said to be three devices in one (a laptop, a tablet, and an Android phone), and all of those parts can make it run in five modes (as a Windows laptop, a Windows tablet, an Android tablet, an Android laptop, and even as an Android phone).

What we should mention right off the bat is that the laptop isn't actually a phone itself. The phone is a separate, dockable device with a 5in screen that can be attached to the laptop. The laptop's screen, which is a 12.5in IPS panel, is also detachable, and that's what makes the product turn into a Windows tablet. Android and Windows can both be run when the product is in laptop mode, but in tablet mode, Android can only be run when the phone is docked to the screen.

The hardware inside the device is Intel based, both for Windows and for Android. An Intel Core CPU runs the Windows 8.1 tablet, along with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid state drive. Meanwhile, the Android phone is based on an Intel Atom, quad-core CPU (Moorefield), with 2GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and it's 4G/LTE.

It's the type of product that's sure to appeal to lovers of technology and innovation, but we're not sure how practical it all is. The laptop and tablet parts are understandable, but the addition of the phone tends to muddle things a little. We'll reserve our final judgement until we see the product in person, but previous Asus products with Windows and Android capabilities have felt more like a novelty than necessity.

Let us know in the comments if you're keen on this type of product and whether it would benefit your workflow. At the moment, there is no word on Australian availability or pricing.