When I first spotted the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer tablet in our offices many moons ago, I was very impressed with it. Here was an Android tablet that was not only responsive and built well, but it also came with an optional keyboard dock to turn the tablet into a kind of versatile netbook. Since then, very few manufacturers have been able to replicate this kind of tablet-cum-keyboard-dock formula successfully, and so ASUS have taken it upon themselves to show us all how it’s done, this time with the ASUS VivoTab running Windows 8.

Build quality & design

The VivoTab is a smart move by ASUS, owing to the number of other manufacturers who are already scrambling to get their Windows 8-powered laptops and tablets onto the market. But the VivoTab aims to celebrate the best of both worlds by once again including a keyboard dock that turns the tablet into a full-functional netbook.