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The TAICHI has an inventive dual-screen design with fast performance, wide viewing angles and decent audio. But we'd rather wait for a second-gen model with better battery life.

More of a clever proof-of-concept than a practical product, the Asus Taichi still delivers on its basic promise, combining two displays for a unique take on the laptop/tablet/hybrid genre.

Ultimately, the Asus Taichi 21 (Taichi 21-DH71) is a decent ultrabook, with an innovative design that may not have broad appeal. That's a shame because the glass-backed lid looks great, and the Zenbook-like design of the laptop echoes Asus's best systems.

It's a bit heavier than other laptops of its ilk, and that it's a flyweight when it comes to battery life. These compromises, for some, are going to outweigh its good features—its generally good build quality, its excellent keyboard, and its unique ... screen configuration.

ASUS' Taichi 21 offers an innovative dual-screen design in a lightweight chassis along with impressive sound. --- Unfortunately, its short battery life makes the $1,599 price tough to justify.

We couldn't help but enjoy every minute we spent using the Asus Taichi, and can recommend it as a rewarding purchase for anyone looking for the latest must-have device.

It makes it a real difficulty to recommend the Taichi – except for one thing: at the lower price it’s a good value machine. And Asus has a great track record of rapidly improving products, meaning this model is likely to get even cheaper.

You may not get the niche bonus of two displays, such as giving ad-hoc presentations, but at least you'll always have a touchscreen to hand. In this respect the Taichi feels like a compromise and at this price it's simply not good enough.

Performance is excellent, the trackpad works well, dual band Intel WiFi with WiDi behaves well and port selection is adequate. But the lack of an inner touchscreen can be maddening and we'd just as soon go with a single full HD touchscreen machine...

You haven’t seen a Windows 8 hybrid like this. The ASUS Taichi makes it ridiculously easy to go from laptop to tablet mode. Just close the lid on this 11.6-inch Ultrabook and you’ll find a second full HD screen with touch sitting right on the outside. It’s definitely wild.

The ASUS Taichi is an innovative device that can be used either as a laptop or as a tablet. It has two screens, both of which are Full HD and based on IPS technology, and it will be available in Intel Core i5 or Core i7 configurations.