Amazon accidentally leaks world's first small-screen Windows 8 tablet

[frahse]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Raspberry Pi is growing by leaps and bounds.

I have been watching that segment of technology trying to think of an excuse to get one.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

The Japanese Electronic manufacturers do seem to be having difficulty, while the Automakers are doing well, except for a slight glitch with the RAV4 on a new front end crash test recently. I am sure the Auto people will figure it out just like Mercedes did a couple of years back.

The Electronics side is more problematic. I would say at least 50% of them will be back. Or maybe that should be there is a 50% chance that they will be back.

The Mercedes problem wasn't that long ago.
They just made an adaptation that didn't take the crunching factors for the driver's compartment properly into account. It really embarrassed a lot of German engineers.

Not sure what happened with the RAV4 except it was a new test.
Toyota then make some adjustments and failed again.
Personally I like the new RAV4 and considered one some years back that was a lot more Spartan, but I needed something larger to be able to haul equipment in occasionally and so got a Sienna. Great car except for the one time I was upset coming out of a hospital parking lot late at night and drove over a crazy median and broke an internal rack that held the power steering equipment, etc.
Took awhile to get every thing shipshape.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by frahse

Personally I like the new RAV4 and considered one some years back that was a lot more Spartan, but I needed something larger to be able to haul equipment in occasionally and so got a Sienna.

Does it really make economic sense to buy a big car if you only have an occasional need for the extra space? Would it not be more economical to buy a small car, and rent a large car for the occasional day that you need it?

[pl001]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Does it really make economic sense to buy a big car if you only have an occasional need for the extra space? Would it not be more economical to buy a small car, and rent a large car for the occasional day that you need it?

A minivan makes more economic sense than any CUV like the RAV4. You get a lot more for your money (like over double the space) with an only minor penalty in economy. Smart choice, I say. Substance over style.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Does it really make economic sense to buy a big car if you only have an occasional need for the extra space? Would it not be more economical to buy a small car, and rent a large car for the occasional day that you need it?

I have dealt with those same thoughts for years.

To make it clearer, sometimes the extra space is for company technical equipment at a start up or a problem somewhere. Sometimes it is for personal equipment and a friend or two for a personal "trek" in North America.

I have gone from minimal to maximal and back.
A company commercial van.
A trailer.
A mini-van.
A large (very large) SUV.
A sports car.
A car top carrier.
A U-Haul or Ryder rental truck.

You can argue the economics up and down. The gas, the cost, the insurance, etc., but the one thing I have found that can not be argued is the "convenience" of a multipurpose minivan ready to go in the company parking lot, in the garage, or in the parking lot of a restaurant.

I have two standard kits in the minivan. One for the outdoors and the other for technical work. Actually I have used both on the same trip.

Of course what can throw a monkey wrench into the whole mix is the necessity of a plane because of distance or a time factor.

Sometimes I have shipped equipment if there was time, other times, I have paid for a lot of baggage.

[mgmueller]

Just saw it in German Media Markt.
The form factor and size are surprisingly compelling.
At € 329 it's a steal.
I wouldn't use PowerPoint or something like that, given the low resolution.
But it's definitely a nice gadget.
Given the extremely negative reviews, I'd expected an even worse display.
Personally, I wouldn't buy it. But for this price, I think it's okay.
Not fine, but acceptable. But is "acceptable" good enough nowadays?

Having seen the possibilities, I'm really hoping now for a Microsoft tablet of that size.

[forsooth]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Just saw it in German Media Markt.
The form factor and size are surprisingly compelling.
At € 329 it's a steal.
I wouldn't use PowerPoint or something like that, given the low resolution.
But it's definitely a nice gadget.
Given the extremely negative reviews, I'd expected an even worse display.
Personally, I wouldn't buy it. But for this price, I think it's okay.
Not fine, but acceptable. But is "acceptable" good enough nowadays?

Having seen the possibilities, I'm really hoping now for a Microsoft tablet of that size.

for me:

"acceptable" means "not yet" "wait awhile"

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Just saw it in German Media Markt.
The form factor and size are surprisingly compelling.
At € 329 it's a steal.
I wouldn't use PowerPoint or something like that, given the low resolution.
But it's definitely a nice gadget.
Given the extremely negative reviews, I'd expected an even worse display.
Personally, I wouldn't buy it. But for this price, I think it's okay.
Not fine, but acceptable. But is "acceptable" good enough nowadays?

Having seen the possibilities, I'm really hoping now for a Microsoft tablet of that size.

That is $100 more than the new Nexus 7, so the question then becomes what apps are worth spending that money for? Did you try to run Office? Somehow I just imagine, since I haven't been able to see the device for myself, that the screen is simply too small to run something like that.

[BrainDead]

Had a play with one of these in the local store yesterday - it just came in that day. The very first obvious problem is the very poor screen - far to soft and grainy for reading confortably for any length of time. Its also frustratingly unresponsive. I guess the Atom is just not powerfull enough to run a full Windows 8 installation. This one was 64gb which for a full Windows install these days would be the minimum I would go for. A 32gb tablet would fill up in no time - and that's just with Windows OS updates etc.

It seems tempting at first, but the compromises that were made to acheive the price point appear to make it unsuitable for any serious use and it certainly won't replace that ageing laptop...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

That is $100 more than the new Nexus 7, so the question then becomes what apps are worth spending that money for? Did you try to run Office? Somehow I just imagine, since I haven't been able to see the device for myself, that the screen is simply too small to run something like that.

Office wasn't preinstalled.
There was a sticker "Office included for free, just download".
Not very clever, marketing-wise, I guess. It should be pre-installed on showroom devices!

What's the student version of Office 2013 worth? € 139?
That leaves a meager € 190 for the tablet itself!
The resolution is 1200 x 800, if I remember correctly. It should be possible, to run all legacy software. I wouldn't make much use of Office on such a small display, though.
I don't like the Asus- and Acer-typical plastic housing. Feels and looks cheap.
But still: € 190 for a Windows 8 tablet!
My Windows 7 tablet HP Slate 2 still costs about € 500 and the display certainly isn't better.
Like I said: Definitely not for me. But still interesting, what low price levels can be achieved nowadays.

I've briefly tested Internet Explorer. Text was perfectly readable, but in a critical range. I wouldn't surf endless hours on it.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by BrainDead

...I guess the Atom is just not powerfull enough to run a full Windows 8 installation. This one was 64gb which for a full Windows install these days would be the minimum I would go for.

My Dell Latitude 10 and the Asus VivoTab Smart (sold it) come with an Atom processor as well, so do some Asus and Samsung tablets.
Of course you recognise the difference to the i5 on Microsoft Surface Pro.
But the Atom processors perform surprisingly well. And they don't need a fan and have longer battery durations.
If this one "stutters" (didn't check it out intensively enough, to experience this myself), it's not the Atom processor per-se.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Office wasn't preinstalled.
There was a sticker "Office included for free, just download".
Not very clever, marketing-wise, I guess. It should be pre-installed on showroom devices!

What's the student version of Office 2013 worth? € 139?
That leaves a meager € 190 for the tablet itself!
The resolution is 1200 x 800, if I remember correctly. It should be possible, to run all legacy software. I wouldn't make much use of Office on such a small display, though.
I don't like the Asus- and Acer-typical plastic housing. Feels and looks cheap.
But still: € 190 for a Windows 8 tablet!
My Windows 7 tablet HP Slate 2 still costs about € 500 and the display certainly isn't better.
Like I said: Definitely not for me. But still interesting, what low price levels can be achieved nowadays.

I've briefly tested Internet Explorer. Text was perfectly readable, but in a critical range. I wouldn't surf endless hours on it.

That is kind off my point, even if Office is included and you can't really run it due to the limited screen size, it would have been smarter to leave Office off the device and lower it's price so it is below a Nexus 7. That device is pretty much the standard for a 7" device. Me thinks they need to differentiate themselves more from standard devices.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

That is $100 more than the new Nexus 7...

Hmmm....
What Nexus Model would this be then?
I guess, the 16GB model?
For a direct comparison (Acer W3 = 64GB), we'd have to add about € 100.
So actually the prices would be roughly the same for the same SSD.

Meaning:
You get full blown Windows 8 and Office 2013 Student version for about the same price as the new Nexus 7.

If we leave aside the display, there's no question for me about the more compelling offer.
I'm really a fan of Google. But for now, personally I don't see much use for Android. I did favor it over iOS, because of the file system and such. But Windows 8 of course can offer way more in that department.
(I still will buy the Nexus 7, but not out of necessity, just for kind of "nostalgic" reasons).
Still: I'm not a fan of the "bargain buys" from Acer or Asus (and to some extent from Samsung). I hope for the rumored Microsoft Surface Pro 8" or 9". But if someone is focusing on costs-benefit ratio, I think Acer W3 is only half bad (even more so, when Acer changes displays and sticks to about the same price)...

[robko]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

That is kind off my point, even if Office is included and you can't really run it due to the limited screen size, it would have been smarter to leave Office off the device and lower it's price so it is below a Nexus 7. That device is pretty much the standard for a 7" device. Me thinks they need to differentiate themselves more from standard devices.

But you're assuming that you CAN'T run Office on an 8" screen. No doubt it will depend what you are trying to do and different people will have different requirements, but for me it works great. Not sure I'd want to spend 8 hours trying to use it, but it works for me based on carrying size and instant on factor. Also since it's running FULL Windows 8 (actually I put 8.1 on it) you have "full" functionality including macros ("full" in this case means all the functions I use. I assume it would run everything, but haven't tested all functions). Little things like being able to use data filtering, drop down selection boxes etc make it so much easier than fighting with any of the Android versions I tried that couldn't do it all. A Win 8 tablet is great too because now you don't have to scrounge around to find a app that does what you have a Windows program for.
Having said that, I would be seriously tempted to upgrade the W3 if they come out with a decent screen in Sept as rumoured because the current screen isn't great (marginally acceptable might describe it). Battery life is remarkable though.

[Kumabjorn]

Congratulations, you must have much better vision than I do. I just kept squinting at it and got tired with a headache. I think the idea is great, but execution is lacking.