List Price: $1,499.00
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I've owned many tablets over the past 3-4 years (including an iPad 32GB wifi and an iPad 2 16GB wifi, a Lenovo X61, and a Lenovo X200, amongst others) and this Asus is by far my favorite.
A lot of reviewers will compare this device to an iPad, but it really shouldn't be. An iPad is a content consumption device it's for watching videos, browsing the web, casually reading and replying to basic emails, playing casual games, etc. The Asus B121 is a device that's designed to do everything that a full-blown laptop computer will do in a keyboardless, tablet form factor.
The tablet runs a "real" mobile CPU (Intel's Core i5), has a usable amount of RAM (4GB), and most important of all, it runs a real, fully-featured OS (Windows 7 Pro). This means people who like to create as well as consume content are ready to go. The Wacom digitizer is nice, though you must install the Wacom drivers from Asus' site to get pressure sensitivity in apps like Photoshop, but they're free and install is painless. I run Photoshop CS 5.5 on this device, as well as Office 2010 (including Visio and OneNote), and I have yet to feel hampered by the amount of CPU horsepower or RAM.
Another thing I liked is that Asus included an actual restore DVD in the box. They don't expect you to dig up a pile of DVD-Rs to create your own and fill up (read: waste) hard drive space holding a bunch of restore disk images out of the box. Granted, the device doesn't have a built-in DVD-ROM drive, but it does have two USB 2.0 ports so you can connect an external USB 2.0 DVD drive as needed. For anyone who complains that there's no DVD drive (as I've seen happen with a LOT of reviews on modern devices) it's your responsibility to read and understand the specs before purchasing a device. This device doesn't list a DVD drive as standard kit, so be prepared to purchase an external USB DVD drive if you think you'll need one.
One thing that really surprised me is that bloatware out of the box was non-existent. As is the case with many Windows devices today, cheap devices are subsidized by a bunch of included bloatware/nagware that typically makes a device run at half speed out of the box. Got a good deal on a $300 laptop that should have cost $900? That's because advertisers paid the manufacturer a bunch of money to throw their malware/adware/bloatware on it so the manufacturer could offset the cost and give it to you cheap. That's not the case here. Typically when I buy a new Windows machine, before I even boot it up, I'll format the drive and install a fresh copy of Windows. I didn't need to do that with the B121. Aside from a paint app, a couple of Asus app (which were non-intrusive), and an Asus Cloud Drive app, the B121 comes with a fairly stock installation of Windows. I was really happy to see this and I'm still using the device on the OEM install without any issues.
The included leather folio case is awesome. Not only does this do an awesome job of protecting the tablet, it looks great and even has a place to store the stylus outside of the stylus holder in the tablet itself for quick access. The included re-branded Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard works well too, and despite being curved, it doesn't feel at all like an ergonomic gimmick like those split keyboards that were popular for a while. It's easy to use, easy to pair, and no-frills. As it should be.
My complaints with the tablet are few and far between. I would like to see a larger resolution on the LCD panel, especially for the price. A lot of companies are packing in 1280x800 panels now just so they can call them "HD" panels (sine 1280x800 is greater than the typical 720P resolution). 800 horizontal lines of resolution is a bit low, however. This product would be great if the panel was 1680x1050 (WSXGA+).
Another minor complaint is the width of the tablet. It is wider than I expected after watching videos and reading reviews online. After having removed the back panel from the device, which is made of plastic, it's apparent that they could have re-designed this panel to make the device noticeably thinner. No extra engineering would have had to happen it's just a piece of plastic with a bunch of extra space between itself and the "guts" of the device.
If I had to make a third complaint it would be with the onboard HDMI port. It's not a standard HDMI port, rather a mini HDMI port. This means that in order to output HDMI to a TV, you're either going to have to use a mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter (which is what I recommend) in conjunction with a standard HDMI cable, or a cable that is mini-HDMI to HDMI. This isn't a HUGE deal, since the mini-HDMI to HDMI adapters can be found online for only a few bucks. If you're shopping for one in a brick and mortar store, be prepared to get hammered. The mini-HDMI to HDMI option is the easiest just throw it in your bag with the device and keep it for those "just in case" moments. Asus also offers a first-party mini-HDMI to VGA adapter specifically for the B121 for about $45. I purchased this to attach an external monitor at work it work quite well, but is probably a bit more pricey than it should be.
Overall the tablet is great. I have yet to have any issues with it. The build quality is sturdy, power is adequate for what you would expect out of a device with a Core i5 CPU with 4GB of RAM running Windows 7, and when the time comes to upgrade, the hard drive is a standard mSATA solid state disk so the option to upgrade yourself does exist (unlike almost all other tablets in this form factor). So far I've been very satisfied with the device, and wouldn't hesitate to purchase from Asus again.
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