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Asus VivoBook Flip TP301 Review, Great Enough To Be Your Next Ultra Portable Machine!

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Microsoft and a slew of OEMs took a crack out of the hybrid market, but we can perhaps attribute it to Asus for heralding in the new trend to the mass market. It was the Transformer series, specifically the T100, that brought the emerging market to world domination. Now that Asus is gearing up in the consumer market to bring it to heights that its thriving ROG division has reached, the company has brought upon a new series it pegs to take over the world by storm. Enter the VivoBook - a new lineup that delivers the versatility that came in with the Transformer series, coupled in with the power befitting of an ultrabook.
Asus VivoBook Flip TP301 Review!
Asus VivoBook Flip TP301 review!

Currently, most OEMs are focusing on form factors as the whole world watches for slimmer devices and smaller footprints. For the Asus VivoBook Flip TP301UJ, it's a bit of both. From the outside, the device features quite a classy metallic aluminum body. Its 19 mm thin and 1.5kg light, making it one of the best options if you travel a lot. The point is even proven further all thanks to its versatility - it can go into different modes such as Tent, Tablet, Laptop, and Flat. Alas, it's not exactly scratch-proof. There's no IP rating here, so you have to be extra careful as always.

For our review part 1: Asus VivoBook Flip TP301 Unboxing And First Impressions! Your Next Ultra Portable Machine?

Display Quality

There's not a lot of pixels to push here, though. The TP301UJ is only equipped with an FWXGA resolution (1366 x 768), and there's nothing going on beyond that. We did expect Asus to ship one with a Full HD panel, but that isn't happening. What's more, since the TP301UJ features a touchscreen panel, viewing angles are somewhat muddled down.
TP301's display
TP301's display

Don't get us wrong. It's pretty sharp, and you can also fine-tune how the colors appear. Movie experience and gaming felt really sweet, and you won't be complaining with the added functionality touchscreen brings. However, at this and age, we're just expecting something that could tote more pixels, especially considering its price.

Battery Life

Asus is betting big on the efficiency of Skylake, and it's a clear sign that it shines through. Under normal circumstances, its 55 WHrs 3 Cell Li Pol Battery delivers at least 8 hours of battery life. And that's me taking advantage of the workhorse with loads of writing and a little bit of Dota 2 sessions every time an opportunity rises.

Performance

PCMARK 8 test
PCMARK 8 test

We're expecting a lot of things from Skylake, and even more so from Asus' latest offering. It's not an ROG laptop by a longshot, but it's still packing in some serious hardware for its size. We're talking about a 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5-6200U processor and an NVIDIA GeForce 920M along with 4GB of RAM. Still some pretty solid hardware we're talking about here.
Cinebench scores
Cinebench scores

We've been using the TP301UJ, and it was mostly tested on gaming to see how it actually fares when you go full throttle. The experience? It's well-rounded enough to go on a day, and you can actually go miles with it.
Metal Gear Solid 5
Metal Gear Solid 5

We're averaging 42 FPS on Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain, and topping it at 47 FPS with minimum going at 38 FPS. That's everything cranked into high settings, too. Feel free to adjust them accordingly if you need more frames.
Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil 6, another graphic intensive title, clocks in with 31 FPS minimum, 62 FPS maximum, and 42 FPS average. Again, all settings are kicked into high gear, so you shouldn't really have problems running games prior this year and beyond.
Dota 2
Dota 2

With Dota 2, minimum FPS goes at 29, while maximum is at 57 FPS. It goes at an average of 53FPS, which is still smooth and savvy for your gaming experience.

On the software side, we found that the TP301UJ is riddled with bloatware that you may want to install from the get-go. McAffee, WPS Office, and TripAdvisor, WildTangent Games, FoxIT Phantom PDF, as well as some that you're not really going to use are clear suspects, but that shouldn't riddle your experience with it.

To Asus' side, the TP301UJ can be used as a tablet, and the company had to equip it with custom features to deliver on its versatility. However, it doesn't exactly fire accurately. Most times, the screen won't rotate to a proper orientation when it's flipped.

Verdict

When all is said and done, it actually boils down to the price. The higher end version, which we've taken for a spin, costs 40,995 Pesos. Is it too much of an asking price? Well, not really. You're future-proofed here for a couple of years. Intel's sixth-gen processors can surely deliver, and Asus including several features such as the USB Type-C could spell for more along the road. As we've said, it's a well-rounded laptop that you can rely on for documentation, entertainment, and even games.

GIZ Rating: 4/5 Stars
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