Vizio Announces Windows 8 Tablet

JAcheson · 01-07-2013, 03:30 PM

Vizio Windows 8 Tablet PC Hands-On (Engadget)

It has a 1080P screen, and uses a dual-core 1GHz AMD Z60 APU.

It appears to be a full Windows 8 tablet, not Windows 8 RT.

So far, I am not seeing any mention of a new Android tablet from Vizio. It appears this has taken its place. I find that disappointing.

teh603 · 01-07-2013, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAcheson

So far, I am not seeing any mention of a new Android tablet from Vizio. It appears this has taken its place. I find that disappointing.

They probably don't think Android is capable of doing serious business.

JAcheson · 01-07-2013, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teh603

They probably don't think Android is capable of doing serious business.

It's quite possible they didn't make the kind of money they wanted to on their 8" Android tablet. Windows 8 isn't setting the world on fire either, though.

teh603 · 01-07-2013, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAcheson

It's quite possible they didn't make the kind of money they wanted to on their 8" Android tablet. Windows 8 isn't setting the world on fire either, though.

Well, that's true too. There's a ton of Android tablet makers out there, and very few truly unique ones. Asus has one with its dockable keyboard, but that's one of the few.

JAcheson · 01-07-2013, 06:21 PM

Looks like Vizio announced a 10" Android tablet as well. The Verge has the story:

Vizio's 10-inch tablet combines Tegra 4, stock Android, and an ultra-light body (hands-on)

SeaKing · 01-07-2013, 09:02 PM

Nobody is crazy enough to bet everything on one system.

xendula · 01-08-2013, 01:10 AM

Nice screen resolution!

HarryT · 01-08-2013, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAcheson

It's quite possible they didn't make the kind of money they wanted to on their 8" Android tablet. Windows 8 isn't setting the world on fire either, though.

Windows 8 Pro devices have only been shipping for a few weeks - it's a bit early to judge their success. Friend of mine's just bought a Win8 desktop from Dell and loves it.

kennyc · 01-08-2013, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAcheson

It's quite possible they didn't make the kind of money they wanted to on their 8" Android tablet. Windows 8 isn't setting the world on fire either, though.

I was very tempted to buy their original release as I have a Vizio TV but did not. I don't think their android tablet sold very well, but I'm just guessing.

I'm interested in this move by them, but am not very interested in Win 8.... Meh.

din155 · 01-08-2013, 09:26 AM

Strangely, I was very interested in windows 8 tablets before they were released. I wanted to replace my old laptop with a tablet. But the reviews have given me enough indication that it is not the time yet

. I am going to use the laptop until it dies on me.

GeoffC · 01-08-2013, 09:56 AM

Does anyone like Windows 8 ?

I downloaded a copy onto my Laptop for a while - and I found it horrendous; mind that was one of the betas and they may have taken commentary on-board. The 'front-end' remains a horror, I would have thought, for company use - seems too much tailored for tablets/phones than PCs ....

JAcheson · 01-08-2013, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Does anyone like Windows 8 ?

I downloaded a copy onto my Laptop for a while - and I found it horrendous; mind that was one of the betas and they may have taken commentary on-board. The 'front-end' remains a horror, I would have thought, for company use - seems too much tailored for tablets/phones than PCs ....

I had a similar experience: went into it optimistically thanks to the good advance word of mouth, but absolutely loathed the "Metro" interface.

The good news is, you can pretty much ignore Metro, and get your business done in the desktop mode, but on the other hand, you can also stay with Windows 7 and get the same result.

wodin · 01-08-2013, 12:35 PM

I've had my Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T for about a month now. It’s an 11.6” Windows 8 (x86) tablet with a dual core Intel Atom CPU, 2 GB RAM and 64 GB SSD; and I’ve added a 64 GB micro SD card. The resolution is not as high as the purported Visio, but otherwise the specs are very similar.

After a month of use, my experience is very favorable. It’s a bit on the large size, but if it were any smaller my ancient eyeballs would have difficulty reading the screen, especially in the desktop (as opposed to the new (Metro) style UI). But then I have large hands, so it’s not much of a burden.

I find myself running it mostly in desktop mode, as most of my software is legacy windows rather than the newer RT apps. And even when both RT and x86 versions are available; for instance Internet Explorer, and Outlook vs. Mail/Calendar/Contacts etc. the x86 version is very much more capable. I believe I would not be satisfied with a ARM powered Windows RT tablet.

The Tablet does not have 3G/4G connectivity, but I have an old EVO 4G smartphone on Sprint with an unlimited data plan, so I loaded up FoxFi on the EVO and tether the ATIV with Bluetooth. It works well with a minimum of hassle.

I bought it from Best Buy, the day after Amazon dropped the price to $599. Best Buy price matched Amazon, so I got it for $100 off their regular price; I was quite happy about that.

My Win 8 experience has been generally positive, as with any Windows version change there is a bit of a learning curve, but I have been able to figure out how to do most things with a bit of hunting a pecking. There is, however a bit of a problem with peripheral drivers. I expect peripheral manufacturers to slowly catch up as happened with Vista, but at this point I have things that just don’t work. Most notably the scanner feature of my MFP, and my Livescribe Smartpen.

kennyc · 01-08-2013, 12:38 PM

Love your sig, so true.

wodin · 01-08-2013, 12:44 PM

Oh, did I mention the battery life? It's basically phenomenal! I can easily get 10 hours out of it, and even with the EVO plugged in to the USB port to keep it charged up it still easily lasts a full work day.

01-07-2013, 03:30 PM	#1
JAcheson Tech Writer Posts: 211 Karma: 1745785 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Philadelphia, PA Device: Palm TX, Nook Color, Nook Simple Touch, Vizio Tablet, Nexus 10	Vizio Announces Windows 8 Tablet Vizio Windows 8 Tablet PC Hands-On (Engadget) It has a 1080P screen, and uses a dual-core 1GHz AMD Z60 APU. It appears to be a full Windows 8 tablet, not Windows 8 RT. So far, I am not seeing any mention of a new Android tablet from Vizio. It appears this has taken its place. I find that disappointing.

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JAcheson Tech Writer Posts: 211 Karma: 1745785 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Philadelphia, PA Device: Palm TX, Nook Color, Nook Simple Touch, Vizio Tablet, Nexus 10	Looks like Vizio announced a 10" Android tablet as well. The Verge has the story: Vizio's 10-inch tablet combines Tegra 4, stock Android, and an ultra-light body (hands-on)

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SeaKing Frequent Flier Posts: 1,282 Karma: 2058993297 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: KB kindle aboard, Galx Tab 7.0 Plus, trying out Droid 1 as mini-tab	Nobody is crazy enough to bet everything on one system.

01-08-2013, 01:10 AM	#7
xendula eBookworm Posts: 2,300 Karma: 4525746 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: East Coast brrrrr Device: Kindle 4B/K ~ Nexus 7 ~ Kindle Paperwhite 1&2 ~ iPad Air	Nice screen resolution!

01-08-2013, 09:26 AM	#10
din155 Guru Posts: 880 Karma: 7556602 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle PW, Win 10 thinkpad 8in	Strangely, I was very interested in windows 8 tablets before they were released. I wanted to replace my old laptop with a tablet. But the reviews have given me enough indication that it is not the time yet . I am going to use the laptop until it dies on me.

01-08-2013, 09:56 AM	#11
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Does anyone like Windows 8 ? I downloaded a copy onto my Laptop for a while - and I found it horrendous; mind that was one of the betas and they may have taken commentary on-board. The 'front-end' remains a horror, I would have thought, for company use - seems too much tailored for tablets/phones than PCs ....

01-08-2013, 12:35 PM	#13
wodin Illiterate Posts: 10,279 Karma: 37848716 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: The Sandwich Isles Device: Samsung Galaxy S10+, Microsoft Surface Pro	I've had my Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T for about a month now. It’s an 11.6” Windows 8 (x86) tablet with a dual core Intel Atom CPU, 2 GB RAM and 64 GB SSD; and I’ve added a 64 GB micro SD card. The resolution is not as high as the purported Visio, but otherwise the specs are very similar. After a month of use, my experience is very favorable. It’s a bit on the large size, but if it were any smaller my ancient eyeballs would have difficulty reading the screen, especially in the desktop (as opposed to the new (Metro) style UI). But then I have large hands, so it’s not much of a burden. I find myself running it mostly in desktop mode, as most of my software is legacy windows rather than the newer RT apps. And even when both RT and x86 versions are available; for instance Internet Explorer, and Outlook vs. Mail/Calendar/Contacts etc. the x86 version is very much more capable. I believe I would not be satisfied with a ARM powered Windows RT tablet. The Tablet does not have 3G/4G connectivity, but I have an old EVO 4G smartphone on Sprint with an unlimited data plan, so I loaded up FoxFi on the EVO and tether the ATIV with Bluetooth. It works well with a minimum of hassle. I bought it from Best Buy, the day after Amazon dropped the price to $599. Best Buy price matched Amazon, so I got it for $100 off their regular price; I was quite happy about that. My Win 8 experience has been generally positive, as with any Windows version change there is a bit of a learning curve, but I have been able to figure out how to do most things with a bit of hunting a pecking. There is, however a bit of a problem with peripheral drivers. I expect peripheral manufacturers to slowly catch up as happened with Vista, but at this point I have things that just don’t work. Most notably the scanner feature of my MFP, and my Livescribe Smartpen.

01-08-2013, 12:38 PM	#14
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Love your sig, so true.

01-08-2013, 12:44 PM	#15
wodin Illiterate Posts: 10,279 Karma: 37848716 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: The Sandwich Isles Device: Samsung Galaxy S10+, Microsoft Surface Pro	Oh, did I mention the battery life? It's basically phenomenal! I can easily get 10 hours out of it, and even with the EVO plugged in to the USB port to keep it charged up it still easily lasts a full work day.