Computex is going on right now, and as was to be expected, we’re seeing a whole boatload ot Windows 8 tablets… But also a few crazy contraptions that have ‘want’ written all over them. My personal favourite? The Asus Taichi: a laptop with two screens (both on the inside and the outside of the lid) so you have a laptop as well as a tablet. I love crazy experimentation like this – sure, it may not always work or pan out, but this is how mankind progresses. What I’ll most likely be buying later this this year: this thing (although I prefer a smaller version). I love my ZenBook, so a relatively conventional Asus Windows 8 tablet is perfect for me.
I have found that 12″ is quite bad size for a tablet (I have exopc, and it sucks for finger use)
JOOC, what size screen do you think works best, based on your experience?
I own, and have only tried 7″, 10″ and 12″. 7″ is best for thumb typing, 10″ for pdf/desktop website reading. 12″ is a disaster overall.
If you are in market for 5″ monster phone, 7″ doesn’t make much sense, but otherwise it’s a good ergonomic choice; especially since you’ll probably get it cheaper than a 10″ one anyway.
Windows 8’s soft keyboard has a split option that divides the keyboard into two parts, and moves them close to either side (in landscape mode). Allows you to do thumb-typing on larger form factors. Check it out.
http://cdn.nirmaltv.com/images/Keypad.png
Edited 2012-06-04 19:09 UTC
I have tried it on 12″ (I have the release preview on my exopc), it still sucks (you have to turn the focus of your vision from left to right all the time).
It might work better with 10″, have to try it out someday.
3 YEARS late to the tablet party! WELCOME Microsoft! You are just in time to view your own devolution into irrelevance!
Thanks for bringing such a lackluster product to the table…sure it sucks for doing real work on, but hey, at least you can’t run real desktop apps on it either!
I am sure that people will rush right out to buy your sad excuse for a desktop OS to complement their sad excuse for a tablet as well. Oh, and maybe a soon-to-be-obsolete Windows Phone 7.5 handset to go with it? SUUUUURE!
Why so emotional for something that doesn’t concern you? (Assuming you won’t buy one)
Because you criticize the thing you’re afraid of…
They were also, what, 5 or 7 years late with proper desktop GUI? (which, BTW, ~”sucks for doing real work, and DOS applications – in which you do real work – don’t quite fit” – or at least, that’s what many said) 10 years late with office suite? 20 years late with console?
And look how “irrelevant” they are in those fields…
You’re in for quite a ride.
But I am still waiting for sub-300$ WoA Tegra tablets. And these are too big. Small than 10″ is perfect.
Acer seems not willing to go the Arm way.
That, or WoA is not yet ready for prime time?
Acer previously mentionned that they didn’t like the MS enforced specs for WoA tablets. Too bad for them. I want longer battery life.
http://blogs.nvidia.com/2012/06/asus-nvidia-unveil-worlds-first-win…
I want this one.
I have started building my own tablet. My core components is an 8″ multi-touchscreen a Via Pico board and raspberry PI arm board. (just thought it to be fun to have both x86 and ARM in the same device.) I think it will be lots of fun, i will be running Debian+AmiWM with my own modifications, and both mortherboards will be “on” at the same time so i can swap between them in KVM style. It will not be for sale, just my hobby project. If anyone is interested i will post a build journal when i recieve the boards (ordered today)
Interested!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaeA–rMRyA
Go read about it on my anglefire page
http://www.angelfire.com/nt/andyt/qbe_reviews.HTM
(not actually mine)
Almost makes one wish apple had went with this guy instead of jobs back in the 90s.
Before some schmuck yells out it’s crap, first consider it lacks 12 years of evolution, and consider that it predates the invention of the tablet in 2010 (need I note sarcasm?)
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_History
Yes, the first Thinkpad was a “pure” tablet.
Or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRiDPad
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/6565/GRidPad-1910/
an x86 tablet, hw manufactured by Samsung BTW.
And before you yell out its crap, first consider they lack 2+ decades of evolution.
But both actually brought to the market and kinda used – not some dotcom bubble rider (and I seriously doubt handing over Apple to him would end up good…), whose tablet isn’t even much different (certainly isn’t thinner…) than laptop-tablet convertibles that were around that time. And which ~failed.
Edited 2012-06-12 00:08 UTC
is what it looks like to have the collective of PC OEMs fire back at Apple. This time, with a true solution, not some half baked Android OS.