windows 8 tablet initial impressions

[fredridge]

I was shopping for an ipad for work when i came across the Asus Vivotab Smart on the Bestbuy website for $499.

I read it several times to be sure, but this is a windows 8 model, not the RT.

sounded like a great deal so I ordered one. I also bought the new iPad.

I had the ipad for a week and got the tab today.

unboxing the two is virtually the same. Tablet with charger, cable and paperwork.

the Vivotab took just a little longer to setup, but not much.

had office installed, just had to activate it with the code I had. so now I have a full version of office.

I just bought windows 8 phone, so far a love/hate relationship with the phone. Mostly a really crappy battery.

back to the Vivotab.
The OS takes a ton of room, about 33 gigs. which makes me happy it had 64 and sad i don't get to use it all.

learning windows 8, pretty easy, but going to take time to understand the way the desktop vs. start screen works.

onscreen keyboard is nice and works well, but autocorrect like ios is sorely needed.

I like that I can add some space with a microsd card, but the micro usb and hdmi are going to require some extra adapters.

so far I like it and is what I have been waiting for, full os with nice portability .

now I need to get the transleeve case and keyboard

[armygunsmith]

Wow, 33GB used by the OS... If you hit Windows Key + X it should show you the desktop. What kind of battery life are you getting out of it, and how warm does it get?

[fredridge]

warmth has been almost no issue, I will let you know about battery life. It states 9.5 hours, don't think I would get anywhere near that in use, but we shall see.

I have a desktop tile, so getting there is no problem.....I actually did not get the case/keyboard so just using on screen at this point.

I do not like the built in e-mail feature, like my phone it's abilities are really limited, especially when I have 4-5 e-mails coming into one gmail account, all response come from my gmail account, which I don't want. So I use the browser much more.

Of interest, none of the website on my browser go to mobile mode, which for some might be helpful, but screen is big enough to use in desktop mode and I have Chrome set to default at 150% view

[Rouge Recon]

I didn't know Asus released a full Windows edition tablet. I'm in the market for a Windows 8 tablet. I'm curious to hear what you have to say about overall performance and battery life.

Check out the Lenovo Yoga 11s. That's one that I was looking at picking up.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Yoga-11s-hands-on_id38642

[fredridge]

I was waiting to spend more time with it before I responded.

so far the battery seems excellent. uncharged for about 30 hours with some light use and still good life.

based on what you posted these would be two very different machines

the vivotab is much more of a tablet with a full OS. no full size USB makes it less functional for laptop style use. also mini hdmi will require adapters to plug in.

plugged in hard drive to micro usb and it wont power it. connected to desktop and charged it, but would not show as another drive.

I am going to need a microsd card to transfer files or do it through the cloud, but will take too long.

the apps designed for tablet work great on screen. traditional desktop a little harder with touchscreen, but definitely useable.

once i get my files on I will just use skydrive to keep them sync'd and my desktop will do all the heavy lifting.

overall this is perfect for me, but probably not if you need more of a laptop than a tablet .

now I have one program I need to fet on here, but I a, sure it will be fine

[yellowsulphur]

I am going to need a microsd card to transfer files or do it through the cloud, but will take too long.

Can't you transfer files locally and utilize the full speed of your wireless network?

[fredridge]

probably, just haven't tried, didn't think of it...mostly need to do it on work computer and haven't been able to figure how to logon to it.

I can do the homegroup thing at my house and looks like I should be able to transfer quickly...I'll try it and see how it works.

as I play with it and watch videos I am figuring it out more. Windows 8 seems ok so far.

Can't you transfer files locally and utilize the full speed of your wireless network?

just tried it. transferred 95megs very quickly. I should be able to get that hooked up at work.