In a few days from now, Microsoft is
scheduled to release the very much awaited update on its operating system –
Windows 8. Based on the consumer preview that Microsoft has made public a few
months ago, this new operating system promises a fully revamped architecture
and user interface design that works well both on laptops and desktops but as
well in tablets.
Although Microsoft is also set to release
their own surface-branded tablet, we are already seeing a lot of devices from
other manufacturers slowly making an appearance to coincide with the launch of
the new OS. In this edition of Tech Tuesdays at TFL, let’s breeze through some
of those devices.
Samsung
Ativ Tab
Samsung was one of the first manufacturers
to announce a Windows 8 powered tablet. Their Ativ Tab measures 6.61” tall,
10.46” wide and 0.35” thick and weighs around 1.2 pounds. The device also has a
10.1-inch HD LCD display.
It also has USB and Micro-HDMI ports, a
microSD card slot, NFC, and Wi-Fi & Bluetooh 4.0 capabilities. In terms of
performance the Ativa tab will be powered by a 1.5GHz dual core processor on a
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip, and 64GB of internal storage. It will also feature
a 5MP rear camera with LED flash while the front will have a 1.9MP camera.
The Ativ Tab will come with a trial version
of Microsoft Office 2013 plus a few extras from Samsung such as ChatOn, and
Samsung’s music portal and photo editor.
Asus
Vivo Tab
Asus’s Vivo Tab looks pretty much like the
Asus Transformer Android tablets. The Vivo Tab will come with an 11.6-inch
Super IPS+ panel with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels and will have support for
10-finger multi-touch. The device will be powered by the next
generation Intel Atom processor (possibly from the Clover Trail Family) and
will have 2GB or RAM plus 64GB of on-board storage. In terms of connectivity,
the Vivo tab will have support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0.
Moreover, it will feature a G-sensor, a
gyroscope, a light sensor and e-compass as well as an 8MP autofocus camera with
LED flash at the back, a 2MP front facing camera for video calls and
conferencing and a 1024-level Wacom digitizer stylus.
Acer
Iconia W700
The Acer Iconia W700 will come in three
versions on October 26: Two models will have 64GB of storage and will run on an
Intel Core i3 Ivy bridge processor while the third model will have an Intel
Core i5 processor with 128GB worth of storage.
The Acer Iconia W700 will feature an
11.6-inch screen with support of up to 10 touch points. It will have an IPS
display with a resolution of 1920X1080 pixels, a USB port and a micro-HDMI
output. The W700 can be used with a wireless Bluetooth keyboard together with a
tilt-able cradle dock which will provide an additional 3 USB ports when used
with the tablet.
The W700 will also have an Intel HD
Graphics 4000 chipset with 4GB of memory plus a Dolby Home Theatre v4
audio-enhancing technology. At the back of the device is a 5MP camera capable
of recording 1080p HD video while a 1MP camera can be found at the front of the
device.
Sony
Vaio Duo 11
Another big name to announce a W8 tablet
last week was Sony with its Vaio Duo 11. Unlike other tablets in our list, the
Vaio Duo 11 features a full slide-out keyboard. The Duo 11 also has a HDMI and
USB ports and surprisingly a full-sized VGA port.
The Vaio can come with an optional battery
extension that doubles operating time but puts additional girth into its
already chunky profile. The built-in keyboard is slightly more compact than
most notebooks and features a trackpoint-style navigation nub in the middle.
As for computing power, the Duo 11 will
have an Intel Core i7-3517U processor with 4-8GB of Ram and up to 256GB of SSD
storage. The 11.6-inch display of the Vaio will have a resolution of 1080p and
according to reports provide incredibly bright and crispy images.
HP
ElitePad 900
HP on the other hand announced its business
oriented W8 tablet – the ElitePad 900. The ElitePad 900 is a 10-inch tablet that
runs on an Atom-based Intel Clover trail processor with up to 2GB of RAM. It
has a Core i5 processor and comes with either a 32GB or 64GB eMMC drive.
The screen is 400-nit IPS display with
Gorilla Glass and has a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. It also has an 8MP rear
camera and a 1080p front facing camera. As with other tablets these days, it
will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. However, the ElitePad is lacking a USB
port, and instead only has a micro-SD card slot and a USB adapter.
But HP is offering a host of extras for the
ElitePad 900. For starters, users can get a dock for the tablet that offers a
lock slot, an additional 4 USB ports, HDMI and VGA connectors, a line-out jack
and Gigabit Ethernet. HP will also be selling those so-called “Smart Jackets”
which are tablet cases that have additional features such as USB ports, HDMI
output and optional battery slice.
Lenovo
ThinkPad Tablet 2
And last but definitely not the least is
the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2. The ThinkPad Tablet 2 is the Windows 8 version of
the first ThinkPad tablet was released last year and ran on Android 3.1
Honeycomb. The ThinkPad Tablet 2 now runs on Windows 8 with a 1.86GHz Intel
Atom processor from the Clover trail family.
The screen is around 10.1 inches with a
resolution of 1366x768 pixels. There will also be an optional dock that comes with
an Ethernet port, 3 USB ports and an HDMI output. There’s a fat chance that the
ThinkPad Tablet 2 will come with the full version of Office 2013 and will cost
around $799 with the keyboard.
