The Apps Bundled With The ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi

Unfortunately, ASUS simply doesn't keep their devices crapware clean. The T300 Chi comes with the following software preinstalled:

• ASUS LiveUpdate - an application that you can use to manage operating system updates. We already have Windows Update so we don't really need it.

  

• ASUS Splendid Utility - an application that you can use to switch between color presets for the display.
• ASUS WebStorage - ASUS' cloud storage solution that gives you 16 GB of free cloud storage space.
• ASUS PhotoDirector - a photo editing application. You can try it and keep it only if you get any value out of it.
• ASUS PowerDirector - a video editing application. Just as the previous app, only keep it if you find it useful.
• Twitter - the official Windows 8.1 app for this social network.
• Fresh Paint - a painting app for Windows 8.1.
• Music Maker Jam - a music app for Windows 8.1 that allows you to mix different loops and sound effects.
• Tripadvisor - the famous travel app. You can use it to find hotel reviews and plan your vacations. Useful if you travel a lot.
• Line - a chat application that you may want to experiment with before deciding on whether to keep it or not.
• Flipboard - the Windows 8.1 app for the social network aggregation service.
• iHeartRadio - a radio streaming app that suggests radio stations based on your favorite music genres.
• Netflix - depending on where you live, you'll either love this app or dislike ASUS for bundling it. In the US and a couple of other countries where Netflix is available, you will want to use this app to stream movies and TV shows to your device. In countries where this service is unavailable, this app will not provide any value to you.
• Zinio - a magazine reader app for Windows 8.1.
• WildTangent Games - a portal where you can purchase and download various PC games.
• McAfee LiveSafe - Internet Security - a full security suite from McAfee. Unfortunately, our last experience with their products was quite the disaster, so we advise you to get a better security solution.

  

As always, we advise testing the apps that are bundled by ASUS and see if you like them. If they bring no value to you, just remove them.

Performance in Benchmarks

Let's leave aside the subjective experience we had and talk numbers:

We used Bootracer to measure how fast Windows 8.1 starts on this device. The ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi booted, on average in about 40 seconds. A bit faster than the T100 and the T200, which booted in average in 43 seconds and 45, respectively.

Then used the 3DMark app to see how well this device performs when running casual games aimed at tablet users. The Ice Storm Unlimited score reached 15178 points. This places the T300 Chi right below the T100, which reached 15499 points, while the T200 reached 16095.

To simulate a home usage scenario, we ran the PCMark 8 benchmark. The T300 Chi got 1935 points and exhausted the battery after 3 hours and 22 minutes.

The SSD is not blazing fast, but it's fast enough to help you copy things at a decent speed. Here are the results that we measured using CrystalDiskMark:

The Core M CPU idled between 50 and 60 degrees Celsius. This is to be expected, since we're talking about a fanless processor. However, when we used the tablet in some light games, it got quite hot and uncomfortable to hold.

The PowerMark battery benchmark exhausted the battery after 3 hours and a half. This is a very low autonomy for this type of device.

We were quite disappointed by the low battery power offered by the T300 Chi. Since this is a device made for mobility, we expected at least 5-6 hours of battery time.

Verdict

The ASUS Transformer T300 Chi is a beautiful mobile device that's great for light office work. However, its shortcomings, such as the poor battery life, make it ideal only for less advanced users who have a power outlet at hand, since the less than 4 hour battery power is not impressive at all. On the positive side, you get a rather elegant device with a Bluetooth keyboard that you can use with other Bluetooth devices, not just the tablet it comes with. The performance is very reasonable for a fanless dual-core processor, but don't expect to run very demanding software on it. If you're on the lookout for a Windows 8.1 tablet that you can use as a laptop, too, then the T300 Chi is a good candidate to consider.