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Toshiba's inexpensive Windows tablets now have a pen option
We've seen plenty of super-cheap Windows tablets, but until now, companies have invariably had to cut corners to get the prices so low. That's why Toshiba's new "Encore 2 Write" slates are interesting: Though they are indeed inexpensive, they allow for pressure-sensitive pen input, something you'll rarely see on a device in this price class. The two tablets come in 8- and 10-inch sizes, and will sell for $350 and $400 when they go on sale next week. For the money, you get a Wacom-made pen, with 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity. To put that in perspective, Microsoft's own Surface 2 costs $449 and doesn't have a pen option. If we're going by the price and spec sheet alone, then, Toshiba's new tablets are a good deal.
Toshiba's new tablets are aggressively priced, especially its $110 Android slate
The last time Toshiba unveiled a bunch of tablets, it paid lip service to cutting-edge specs -- things like screen resolution and processing power. This year, it wanted to push the price down low enough that you'd actually buy one. The company has just announced two Windows tablets, the 8- and 10-inch Encore 2, along with the Excite Go, a 7-inch Android tablet. And while none of them might be memorable in their own right, they're all worth a second look, if only because they're so aggressively inexpensive. The Encore tablets, for instance, start at $200 for the 8-inch and $270 for the 10-inch. And mind you, they basically have the same specs (quad-core Intel Atom processor, 1,280 x 800 screens) as the original 8-inch Encore, which was originally priced at $330. (The 8-incher has been slimmed down, but that's almost beside the point -- it's all about the price cut.)
Toshiba Encore is the company's first 8-inch Windows tablet; coming November for $330 (hands-on)
Acer may have beaten everybody to market with the first 8-inch Windows tablet, but we knew it wouldn't be long before the other guys started catching up. Toshiba just entered the fray with the Encore, an 8-inch tablet that manages to be even cheaper than Acer's W3. Like the W3, it runs on an Atom processor, but because Toshiba waited longer it got to use one of Intel's new quad-core Bay Trail chips. What's interesting, too, is that Toshiba apparently worked closely with Microsoft on this, not just in optimizing the tablet for Windows 8.1, but in making sure the tablet's dual mics and 2MP front camera will be Skype-certified by the time it ships. The Encore arrives in early November - i.e., not long after Windows 8.1 ships. As for that price we alluded to, it'll cost $330 with a category-standard 1,280 x 800 display and 32GB of built-in storage (expandable via microSD). Not bad considering the W3 hit the market at $380, and is still going for about $350 in most places. That leaves just one teensy question: what's it like to use? Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
