VivoTabSmart
Latest
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: summer 2013 edition
Tablets are virtually tailor-made for our summer vacations, whether we're checking email at the hotel or watching movies during an airport layover. The manufacturers must know this, as there's a surge of new slates set to arrive while the weather's still scorching. Our 2013 summer tablet buyer's guide will help you decide which of these models is worth space in your travel bag. There are also several veteran tablets we recommend, although some of them could be obsolete soon -- we'll let you know when newer devices loom ahead. Whether or not you want the latest hardware, though, our guide should have the tablet you need.
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: spring 2013 edition
Much like bears, tablet designers are coming out of hibernation: there have been a handful of noteworthy models reaching the wild after a few months of silence. Most of these are the Windows 8- and RT-based tablets that didn't quite make the cut for the holidays, and we're launching our 2013 spring tablet buyer's guide with a dedicated Windows section to accommodate a distinct and rapidly filling category. Just be careful before you commit to a purchase, wherever your allegiances lie: Mobile World Congress brought us tablets that haven't quite shipped yet, like the FonePad and Galaxy Note 8.0. (We've included a heads-up in those situations where waiting a few weeks, or months, may be wisest.) As chaotic as spring can be, our guide might just provide some kind of stability if you're shopping for your next slate.
ASUS VivoTab Smart review: a good, inexpensive Windows 8 tablet
More Info ASUS outs VivoTab Smart with Type Cover-esque keyboard cover ASUS VivoTab Smart hands-on (video) ASUS Vivo Tab Smart comes to the UK as the ME400, priced at £399 We've been rather busy cranking out reviews lately, and we've got all the usual PC makers to thank. Similar to how we spent 2011 reviewing various Android tablets, we're now facing an onslaught of laptop / tablet hybrids, most of them running full Windows 8 and chugging along on low-powered Clover Trail processors promising epic battery life. So far, we've tested models from Acer, HP, Lenovo and Samsung. But our review cycle wouldn't be complete without ASUS -- after all, the company was selling its Transformer tablets before keyboard docks were even a thing. Today we're taking a look at the VivoTab Smart, a $499 tablet offered with an optional Bluetooth keyboard and a thin, magnetically attached cover that doubles as a stand. (Yes, with four different color options, it looks kind of like that Smart Cover.) But that's only part of the story: this is also shaping up to be a fantastic bargain for people who want a relatively inexpensive device running full Windows 8. Think about it: for $499 you get a device with 64GB of built-in storage (not 32, but 64), an IPS display, 9.7mm-thick design and an 8-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p video. Not bad at all for a device at that price. So is it as nice in person as it is on paper? Mostly.
ASUS Vivo Tab Smart comes to the UK as the ME400, priced at £399 (update)
ASUS may have confused some of us with its similar-sounding Windows hardware range and it's showing no signs of stopping. It just announced that the Vivo Tab Smart (now the Vivo Tab ME400 to UK readers) will arrive in the British Isles on January 31st, priced at £399. The 10-inch tablet will be running the full Windows 8 experience on a dual-core 1.8GHz Atom processor, with the rest of the specs also tallying with the US-bound iteration we got to play with earlier this month. It'll be available from both Argos and Carphone Warehouse and although there's no word yet on pricing for the optional (and slightly familiar) cover-stand yet, we'll update you when we hear more. Update: ASUS has been in touch, pricing up the cover at £39.99, while the cover with keyboard will ring in at £89.99.
ASUS VivoTab Smart hands-on (video)
You know how ASUS started with one Transformer tablet and then quickly grew that line to, like, half a dozen models? Yeah, well, the company's about to do the same thing for Windows 8 slates. The outfit already announced the VivoTab and VivoTab RT, and now it's about to start selling the VivoTab Smart, which comes with an optional cover. Yes, very similar to that smart cover. The difference, though, is that the "TransSleeve" here doesn't just protect the screen; it also doubles as a stand. Just fold it up, origami-style and you can rest the tablet against it without worrying about it toppling over. As it happens, we stumbled across it at a CES-related event here in Las Vegas, so naturally, we gave it the hands-on treatment. Follow past the break for the full spill. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
ASUS outs VivoTab Smart with Type Cover-esque keyboard cover
The ASUS line of Vivo devices is growing today with another Windows 8 tablet, the ASUS VivoTab Smart tablet. The Smart packs an Intel Atom Z2760 dual-core processor, powering the same 10.1-inch, 1366 x 768 resolution IPS display found in its brethren. And that 10.1-inch screen can handle five of your fingers tapping all over it all at once, should you need to. Protecting that screen is a brand new "TransSleeve" keyboard, which does triple duty as a cover, keyboard and stand, "all rolled into one." It's quite like the Microsoft Surface Type Cover, albeit with full-on physical keys and a touchpad for mousing around. An 8-megapixel camera sits out back while a 2-megapixel faces the user, and there's NFC functionality built in as well. ASUS isn't giving out a price or release window for the VivoTab Smart just yet, but we'll be sure to keep an eye out for the newest Vivo entry on the show floor as CES 2013 kicks off this week. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
