5 Windows 8.1 Tablets Compared (Video)

Posted on 11 February 2014, Last updated on 13 February 2014 by

I ran a last-minute Google Hangout this evening which worked out well because not only was I able to present 5 Windows 8.1 tablets, I was also able to answer questions from the viewers. During the session I recorded a higher quality video for YouTube and both videos are embedded in this article.

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You’ll see (from top left) the Dell Venue 8 Pro, the Toshiba Encore WT8, ASUS Vivotab Note 8, ASUS Transformer Book T100 and the Lenovo Miix 2 10. In the video I also talk about some differences between the 8 and 10-inch devices and why you might choose one of these great ultra-mobile PCs over another. They all have their place.

If you missed it on the YouTube channel yesterday I also published a video showing the digitizer on the ASUS Vivotab Note 8 – a unique feature. The video is here.

I’m working hard on my YouTube channel right now so be sure to subscribe and register for email notifications.  If you’re on Google Plus, follow me and you’ll get notifications of Hangouts when they’re planned.

Here are the two videos from the live session. One is the raw hangout video which includes viewer questions and some additional thoughts from me and the other is the shorter high-quality ‘made for YouTube’ comparison video.

 

 

14 Comments For This Post

  1. Terrine says:

    I like your comments about the 10″ formfactor tablets. Have you by any chance used an iPad Air? In terms of hardware it is absolutely stunning, a big screened device in a 1lbs form factor. It makes the older iPads & current Windows tablets look terrible by comparison.

    1lbs is the new standard, the 1.5lbs-ish range is just no longer acceptable.

    I would be thrilled to use a full featured touch friendly-ish OS like Windows 8 with iPad Air hardware design. I’m just hoping Android/Windows manufactures will be able to emulate it soon.

  2. Mark says:

    I have an iPad Air and feels pretty cheap too me. It’s also more prone to scuffs and scratches especially the edges. It also has memory issues. Apple failed by going with a 64-bit CPU and only 1 GB of RAM. Sometimes apps crash. The worst thing for me is the browser. Background tabs get killed off and when you go back to them, they’re forced to reload wasting data and losing any form input I’ve typed. Here’s a thread about it: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5532206

    I plan on getting the ASUS Vivotab Note 8 and ditching the iPad as soon as possible.

  3. Terrine says:

    Not talking about software, just hardware. Name a device with a better form factor/weight/screen size/aspect ratio combo?

  4. Matt says:

    “Better form factor/weight/screen size/aspect ratio” are all subjective.

  5. Practir says:

    Thx Captain Obvious Matt, did you know that water is wet too? Stating that hardware is subjective is like putting “IMO” before an opinion piece. So name a piece of Android/Windows hardware that is better designed than the Air?

  6. Orodnez says:

    @Practir
    Anything not the iPad Air.

  7. Orodnez says:

    @Practir
    1 GB RAM and 64-bit CPU is stupid. Nothing subjective about that. I have an iPad Air and can definitely tell you it needs more RAM.

    As for subjective things. The iPad Air feels cheap in hand. Holding it in one hand causes me to put enough pressure on the screen to cause screen discoloration (ie. like pressing on a PC monitor without a glass layer on top). The buttons feels all plasticy and cheap. I don’t have any of these subjective issues on my other Android tablet before getting the iPad Air.

  8. Pateres says:

    The iPad 4 is better designed than the Air, haha. I had to type this twice becuase my Air killed this tab when I opened a different page in a new tab. I went back to this tab and the browser forced a refresh and I lost all the stuff I typed.

    That Qualcomm exec saying Apple’s 64-bit devices are gimmicks was definitely wrong. It’s not a gimmick, it’s an enigeering failure.

  9. M says:

    It’s not really comparable when one is a big feature phone (only 1GB RAM? ouch), the others are full blown x86 PCs. But despite this, the T100 is not that much heavier (and if weight is so important, how come people never complained about the weights of ipads before, e.g., the ipad 4 which is significantly heavier than the T100?) If you really want portability, the 2013 Nexus 7 blows the ipad “air” away (yes, it’s smaller, but that’s a good thing if you want a hand-held light tablet; 10″ devices are too big for hand-held tablets, and end up being rested on a lap or desk anyway).

  10. Tacie says:

    At this point it’s clear that many of you are the same poster with different names & don’t actually own the iPad Air.

    Hating on the software is fine but I only WISH there was a Windows/Android device with that hardware.

  11. matius says:

    What ever happened to the Surface Mini? Of course, I was actually hoping it’ll be coupled with a Surface Mini Pro with a Bay Trail chip and Windows 8.

  12. Ram says:

    Hi Chippy, nice comparison.

    Just wanted to ask about the screens (didn’t have time for the Q&A, so apologies if this was covered). Obviously touchscreen glass is a detriment to outdoor use, even with high screen brightness. Can any of these (in particular 8 inch devices) be reasonably used outdoors in the shade?

    Thanks!

  13. babios says:

    I bought a Toshiba Encore and I choose it from the competition for its HDMI port. The problem that arises is that once you connect to a TV with hdmi cable or an external monitor with a VGA converter the WiFi becomes nonfunctional (from 65mbit to 5mbit) and after a while some times stops working completely and the AP is 1m away. Of course the tests were done in many different places and with different routers .

    Reading in English Forum Toshiba this also follows several users worldwide . http://forums.toshiba.com/t5/Encore-Tablets/Wifi-stops-working-when-microHDMI-is-plugged-in/td-p/520541

    It is necessary to understand that someone who buys a tablet running desktop OS ( by selecting one with hdmi) is necessary to be able to connect an external display and Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to use it as a desktop and this is the only point that excels Encore from competition which obviously does not work when WiFi has these issues.

    Another major issue is the function of gps that is no longer compatible with existing applications.

    Also is very annoying the non-resolution of the issue with the camera application that is not working – displaying a black screen should have been repaired already – and forces users to download a third party app to be able to do the obvious, to take photos.

    I would add as another issue the lack of simultaneous charging and use of USB devices (with specific adapter) that is obvious for such a product .

    I cannot deny that I am disappointed with Toshiba and it will affect my future personal purchases (and my work environment) on products of the brand if no one will respond with a real solutions soon. This product seems that it was not mature to go on sales.

    I will ask friends that bought dell and Lenovo to see if they have also problems (to investigate if this is general on all first tries of windows tablets).

    If I put on the side the problems I described above this machine is FANTASTIC. You can run anything on it and it is super fast. Installed various apps from 3d rendering to what ever you can imagine. It is i3 performance packed in a small brick…. Its super to have all your apps together all time and have a monitor with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard and use it as desktop both on home and work.
    I can’t wait to see until the end of 2014 what super tablets will come on market

  14. Chippy says:

    Thank you, thank you babios for highlighting this. I will test this myself. I have a lot of tests in the queue and MWC starts on Sunday so i’m flying out to Barcelona for that so it might take some time to get to it.

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