CES 2014: ASUS Unveils Multi-Mode Transformer Book Duet TD300 With “Instant Switch”

The big brouhaha this year with Android tablets was that manufacturers we going to start showcasing models that played nicely with Android and Windows. Leading up to CES, it was reported that neither Google or Microsoft were necessarily on board. They are after all two of the fiercest (and many times, childish) rivals, severely curtailing access to their own apps and services to users of the other platform. But high school drama be damned, ASUS isn’t letting it get in their way.

Today at CES ASUS unveiled their new Transformer Book Duet TD300 which the company is marketing as a “quad-mode”, dual OS device. The dual OS is of course Android and Windows. The quad comes from the fact it can run as either a traditional laptop or tablet in either mode. The list of specs given to us by ASUS today include an Intel i7 processor and 4 GB of RAM as well as a 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 display. There’s a 128 GB SSD and SD card slot (up to 64 GB) in the screen portion and an additional 1 TB hard drive in the keyboard dock. Also built into the dock are USB 2.0/3.0 ports, Bluetooth 4.0, a LAN port, HDMI 1.4 and WiFi 802.11ac. The most intriguing feature, however, is the “Instant Switch” feature. Pressing said button kicks the user back and forth between Android and Windows instantly – no waiting for boot-up. ASUS says the environments aren’t virtualized at any point so full hardware access is given to each OS.

Pricing and specific release dates are still MIA at the moment.