Asus launches Windows 8 lineup: Vivo Tab RT keyboard bundle from $599, Taichi from $1,299

Asus has announced its plans for this week's Windows 8 launch, with a huge variety of touch-enabled models on offer. The Taiwanese hardware maker announced a lot of products back at Computex in June, and so it's no surprise that it has perhaps the most wide-ranging lineup of devices for Microsoft's latest OS. With a lot to get through, here's the most important information.

• The Vivo Tab RT, which we just reviewed, is available now from $599 for the 32GB model. That price actually includes the keyboard dock, which we were previously led to believe would be a $200 extra. $699 will get you a model with 64GB of storage.
• The unusual dual-screened Taichi will be out in November. All base models have twin 11.6-inch 1080p displays with 4GB, and your choice of an i5 or i7 processor along with 128GB or 256GB of SSD storage will price the device from $1,299 to $1,599. This is for the Taichi 21 model — a Taichi 31, which we expect to carry a larger screen, will be coming at some unspecified future date.
• The touch-enabled version of the Zenbook UX31A will ship in November alongside a broad lineup of new Asus laptops in a variety of categories. We don't have pricing specifics yet, but the Zenbooks will range from $699 to $1999.
• The 11.6- and 14-inch VivoBook touch-enabled laptops come with 1366 x 768 screens, integrated graphics, and a choice of Intel Core, Pentium, or Celeron processors. These are positioned as Asus' entry-level Windows 8 models — the 11.6-inch VivoBook starts at $499, and the 14-inch model starts for $100 more. While touchscreen clamshell laptops once seemed like a niche product category, Asus is covering all bases between its new Zenbooks and VivoBooks.
• Finally, it's not the dual-booting Windows 8 and Android 4.0 all-in-one that detached into the world's largest tablet, but Asus does have a more conventional machine ready for your desktop. The ET2300 has a 23-inch 1080p touchscreen and options that go up to a Core i7 processor, Nvidia GT 630M graphics, 8GB RAM, and Thunderbolt.