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ASUS' latest low-cost Windows tablet ditches the pen
If you've wanted an affordable 8-inch Windows tablet from ASUS, your only recent option has been the VivoTab Note 8. While that's no doubt a fine machine, you might not want to pay extra for pen input if you don't need it. Thankfully, you don't have to any more; ASUS has quietly launched the VivoTab 8, a close cousin to the Note 8 that drops the stylus and digitizer. In many ways, it's now a MeMO Pad 8 running Microsoft's software instead of Google's. You'll still find a 1.33GHz Atom processor, a 1,280 x 800 display and a 2-megapixel front camera, but a few things have switched up to accommodate Windows while keeping the price in check. The newer slate has a larger 32GB of expandable storage and ships with 2GB of RAM in some regions instead of the MeMO Pad's 1GB, but it drops back to a 2-megapixel rear cam -- sorry, you won't be capturing any photographic masterpieces here. ASUS hasn't revealed any launch plans yet. However, it's safe to presume that the VivoTab 8 will save you at least some cash versus the Note 8's original $330 sticker.
Lenovo ThinkPad 10 review: a good Windows tab hurt by poor battery life
There isn't a very large middle ground in the Windows tablet world right now. You frequently have to choose between a budget-oriented, low-spec model and an expensive portable powerhouse. And that's a shame, really. There are no doubt people who want high-resolution screens or lots of options, but don't want to pay for fast processors that may go to waste. That's what makes Lenovo's ThinkPad 10 so appealing at first glance -- it's a well-equipped 10-inch Windows slate that won't hit your wallet too hard. The question is whether or not it strikes that price-to-performance balance as well as it should. It does in some ways, but there are some big sacrifices involved. Read on to see if they'll be worth your while.
Seven years later, ASUS attempts to launch a $199 laptop again
Almost seven years ago, ASUS tried to launch the $199 Eee PC Linux laptop that ended up costing above $300, and since then the Eee brand shifted its focus to the more premium market before quietly fading away. That's why we're slightly surprised to see ASUS launching the EeeBook X205 -- not to be confused with ASUS' dual-screen concept device -- at IFA today. It's an 11.6-inch Windows 8.1 laptop that'll cost just $199 (or €199; both including tax). If all goes well, this will be another very affordable option alongside the leaked HP Stream 14 of the same price and operating system, and it'll even be cheaper than ASUS' own Chromebooks.
ASUS Transformer Pad TF103C review: a speedy budget tablet with a few sacrifices
When it comes to ASUS, buying a full-size Android tablet has usually meant venturing past the $300 mark; even the Transformer Book T100 set you back $349 when it first came out, and that was considered a steal. That's no longer a problem in 2014. ASUS' new Transformer Pad TF103C costs $299 with the company's signature keyboard dock included, or as much as some smaller mid-range slates. While that's potentially a hefty bargain, it begs a few questions: Just what are you giving up to get that price? And is it worth the trade-off when you could likely snag a smaller, but more powerful tablet for less? As I've learned, you're making quite a few sacrifices in the name of a better deal. This is still quality hardware, but you have to know what you're in for.
ASUS Transformer Pad refreshed with front speakers, lighter keyboard
It's been a while since we last heard about ASUS' Transformer Pad series, so today's announcement of two new 10.1-inch models was a nice surprise. Starting from the higher end, we have the TF303CL, which not only features Intel's 64-bit, 1.86GHz quad-core Atom chip (Z3745), but also supports LTE for Europe and Asia-Pacific. Otherwise, the plastic tablet packs the usual set of goodies for a decent Android tablet: a 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display, 2GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of storage with microSD expansion, 5MP/1.2MP cameras (a downgrade from the old 8MP main imager) and a 25Wh battery. The TF303CL is also enhanced with stereo front-facing speakers, as opposed to the old single-channel speaker (but with two drivers) on the back.
AMD wages benchmark war on Intel's tablet chips
For all the success AMD has been having in the console and PC graphics spheres, none of it has really translated into the world of Windows-based tablets and ultraportables. The chip maker insists that's going to change in 2014, however, and it has released a number benchmarks showing that its latest processors have a lead not only over AMD's previous generation, but also over the Intel chips that currently reign supreme in these form factors. We won't bore you with a gabble of numbers when you can check out charts for yourself in the gallery below, but the main curiosity here is probably the 4.5-watt tablet platform, known as "Mullins." This replaces last year's Temash processor, which had impressive gaming skills but failed to catch on in the market. AMD's in-house scores suggest Mullins offers much better performance per watt, with the new A4 Micro-6400T achieving a 15 percent lead over Intel's Bay Trail T (the Atom Z3370) in PCMark 8 -- a lead that could potentially be significant enough to bring the chip into more slim-line (and passively cooled) Windows 8 machines. What AMD doesn't reveal, however, is whether devices equipped with this A4 chip will have comparable battery life to Bay Trail, so it's all academic until actual, commercial devices come around.
Lenovo teases a new 10-inch ThinkPad tablet in Australia
Online stores have been hinting that Lenovo was working on a 10-inch counterpart to its ThinkPad 8 tablet, and now there's no doubt: the company's Australian branch has listed a ThinkPad 10 ahead of an official announcement. While a full-fledged product page was only briefly available, it was enough to show that the new Windows slate shares much in common with its smaller sibling. You'll find a slightly faster 1.6GHz quad-core Atom processor and up to 4GB of RAM, but there's still a 1,920 x 1,200 screen, up to 128GB of storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front shooter. Not that we're griping about the similarity between models, since this ThinkPad 10 should still be leaps and bounds more powerful than the aging ThinkPad Tablet 2.
Toshiba Encore review: an 8-inch Windows tablet that struggles to stand out
Toshiba is no stranger to Windows tablets, but what we've seen to date has typically been targeted at businesses or has otherwise been... limited. In that sense, the Encore is something special. It's not just the company's first 8-inch Windows tablet -- it's the first aimed at a truly broad audience. That said, it faces stiff odds. Acer, Dell, Lenovo and others have comparable slates on the market, in many cases with similar features. Toshiba would have to do something truly out of the ordinary to stand out. And frankly, it doesn't. While the Encore is a worthy device, you'll have to be particularly enamored with its design to ignore its rivals. Read on to see what we mean.
Acer Iconia W4 review: a big upgrade to a small Windows tablet
Acer's Iconia W3 wasn't quite the best introduction to 8-inch Windows tablets; we liked it, but its subpar display and modest performance kept it from being stellar. Give credit to the company for quickly learning from its mistakes, though. Less than a year later, the company has released the Iconia W4, and it fixes those earlier gripes even as the price has dropped below $300 as of this writing. In theory, it's a home run. However, Acer is no longer the only game in town -- the W4 has to compete against a crowd of small Windows slates that promise similar bang for your buck. We think the W4 still fares well in this pack, although it won't always be a dream machine. Read on and you'll understand why.
Lenovo's 10-inch Miix 2 convertible tablet goes on sale early, starting at $699
You won't have to wait until March to get your hands on Lenovo's 10-inch Miix 2; much to our surprise, the budget-friendly convertible tablet is already on sale. Just be prepared to pay extra for early access. The company is offering only higher-end versions of the Windows 8.1 slate, which currently starts at $699 for a WiFi model with 128GB of storage. The promised $499 variant isn't listed on Lenovo's site as of this writing. While it's hard to complain too much about the higher price given the unexpectedly quick launch, those who want the cheapest edition of this mid-size Miix 2 will have to be patient. [Thanks, Augustus]
ASUS VivoTab Note 8 leak hints at a cheap, pen-toting Windows 8.1 tablet
Dell's Venue 8 Pro may soon get some fresh competition. Mobile Geeks has discovered some imagery (albeit of the heavily pixelated variety) and full specs for ASUS' VivoTab Note 8, an entry-level Windows 8.1 slate with pen input and a worryingly Samsung-esque name. It looks like the VivoTab should closely match Dell's hardware, with an 8-inch 1,280 x 800 IPS display, a 1.33GHz Bay Trail-based Atom chip, 2GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of expandable flash storage. ASUS may also reuse a few parts from the MeMO Pad HD 7, including the 5-megapixel rear camera, 1.2-megapixel front camera and a 3,950mAh battery. Take the launch details with a grain of salt, however. The image leak has the VivoTab Note 8 arriving during the holidays for $299, but time is running out and a release may not happen until the new year.
ASUS Transformer Book T100 review: a Windows tablet with netbook roots
We generally don't have time to review lower-end products, but sometimes we see something at such an aggressive price we just have to take it for a spin. That pretty much describes our feelings about the ASUS Transformer Book T100, a 10-inch Windows tablet that comes with a keyboard dock in the box -- all for just $349. Incidentally, too, this is the first product we're testing with Intel's new quad-core Bay Trail-series Atom processor, which can run full Windows while at the same time keep pace with low-power chips like the ones in the Surface 2 and Nokia Lumia 2520. So, is all of that enough to make it a good deal? And can you forgive ASUS for all the ways it cut corners? We think you might.
Dell's Venue 11 Pro tablet now available in the US, starts at $500 with Bay Trail inside
After some mystery surrounding an American release date, Dell's Venue 11 Pro is now available in the US. The 10.8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet starts at $500 with a modest, Bay Trail-based 1.5GHz Atom chip as well as 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Those who need more processing grunt can step up to models with Y-series Core i3 and i5 chips that respectively cost $800 and $850; both of them also carry much roomier 128GB flash drives. Only WiFi slates are on sale, although a tipster tells us that there will be LTE-equipped versions. Just be prepared to wait if you want a Venue 11 Pro to call your own -- orders placed on launch day won't ship until December 5th at the earliest. [Thanks, anonymous]
Weekly Roundup: Apple iMac review, BlackBerry Z30 review, Samsung's Galaxy Round and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Apple iMac review, HP Chromebook 11 hands-on, Nest's Protect smoke detector and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Intel Bay Trail benchmarks show big boost for Windows 8.1 and Android tablets
Things are changing at Intel. In the desktop world, the company is used to staggering its efforts with a "tick-tock" product cycle. First it manufactures an existing chip design at a smaller size of transistor ("tick") and then, usually a year later, it improves the architecture while sticking to the same transistor size ("tock"). Bay Trail, by contrast, is a mobile class chip that represents both a tick and a tock. It makes major changes on previous Clover Trail design, while also shifting from 32nm to 22nm transistors. A jump like that holds major promise, so we were keen to benchmark Bay Trail at the earliest opportunity. Intel allowed us into a hotel room in central London to do just that, using the highest-spec quad-core Z3770 chip inside a reference tablet, and the results look impressive. Read on for the stats and a quick assessment of what they mean.
Acer Iconia W4 tablet spotted at event with Bay Trail chip, IPS display (video)
There have been persistent rumors of an upgraded Acer Iconia W3 tablet with an IPS display and, quite possibly, a faster Bay Trail-based processor. Those rumors are now reality, as Bouweenpc.nl has just tried an unannounced Iconia W4 at an Intel event. True to expectations, the 8-inch device was carrying both the new 1.33GHz Atom Z3740 processor and a much improved "wide view angle" (read: IPS) screen. Not much else may change, however -- the pre-release slate still carried the W3's 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Given that the W4 is running Windows 8.1, we wouldn't be surprised if it reaches the market sometime around the Windows update's launch in October. Check out Bouweenpc.nl's hands-on video after the break.
Intel details Z3000 Bay Trail chips for tablets and hybrids, claims up to 2x CPU and 3x GPU performance
Intel barely existed on the mobile scene two years ago, and yet the company's Clover Trail chips for low-power tablets and hybrids have already had a huge impact on the Windows PC market -- not least by rendering Windows for ARM (aka Windows RT) largely redundant. But Clover Trail's performance in devices like the Acer Iconia W3 or Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx is far from perfect, especially with Windows 8 desktop applications and anything that involves 3D graphics, and that's why we're more than ready for its successor: Bay Trail, which is based on the next-generation 22nm Silvermont architecture. Intel has today detailed three families of Bay Trail chips, the most interesting of which is undoubtedly the Z3000-series for tablet form factors, and you can catch up on these new SoCs right after the break.
Intel targets Bay Trail '2 in 1' tablet / laptops for the holidays starting at $399
Intel is in the middle of its Computex 2013 presentation, and it's already putting a target price for some of those tablet / laptops we're expecting around the holidays: $399. While more premium experiences will be powered by Intel's fourth generation Core "Haswell" CPU, the quad-core Atom "Bay Trail" are going in cheaper ultrathin and light notebooks with touchscreens with 2 in 1 editions swinging the keyboard out of the way for use as tablets. That puts them slightly above the $200 floor predicted by Intel execs for basic touchscreen laptops, we'll see if any of the numerous OEMs on stage can bring out convertible devices worth the extra cash this holiday season.
Intel's first LTE chip announced for Bay Trail-powered tablets capable of global roaming
At last, Intel finally has its very own LTE modem chip! Intel's Computex 2013 press conference is going on right now, and a company press release states we'll see a 4G LTE multimode solution paired with its 22nm quad-core Atom SoC for tablets. The XMM 7160 will bring Bay Trail tablets (demonstrated on stage running graphically intense games and streaming 4K video over the integrated LTE) with global roaming capability "towards the end of the back to school season." While it's not clear when consumers can get their hands on this technology, hopefully we'll see something pop up on our end before the end of the year. The talk is still ongoing and we should have more details shortly, check out the press release after the break for now. Richard Lawler contributed to this report.
