Windows 7 Tablets: Wheat and the Chaff

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Past few weeks have been a typical bloggers delight. Dissecting iPad’s sales and usage scenarios, exploring alternate tablet operating systems, and quoting mythical folks from Microsoft and hardware manufacturers like HP and Asus. Oh yes, the weekly shift from announcing Asus’s ‘final’ decision to use Android. No, Windows. No, Android. You get the drift.

In this post, I’ll keep it simple. And definite. Let’s see which Windows 7 tablets are in the shelves already, the devices which have been announced, and a couple of rumored ones (Okay, yes. I’ll have my share of that overdrive too). The rumored devices have been showed as prototypes, and even shared with the gadget bloggers for reviews. However, these have been early stage reviews, and the final product may or may not be close to anything that has been showed or shared. A ‘Coming Soon’ device has definite specifications, with only the wait for the retail launch.

RETAIL: Archos 9 PC Tablet

Archos9PCTablet thumb Windows 7 Tablets: Wheat and the Chaff

Archos has been in a way pioneer in tablet devices in unique form factor. Priced at $399, the Archos 9 PC Tablet is a Windows 7 Starter Edition tablet device with an 8.9-inch LED-backlit resistive touchscreen display. The device is powered by a 1.2 Ghz Intel Atom Z515 processor with a 1 GB installed RAM. The specifications are pretty basic with a 60 GB HDD, 1.3 MP webcam, built-in stereo speakers. A port-replicator allows Ethernet port, two additional USB ports, VGA video output microphone input, and an additional audio output.

The Archos 9 features a two-position leg-stand to optimize its use. The upper position is best for viewing videos on the go, surfing the web, or reading while the lower position is ideal when you need to type more. Although at 800 grams, the device is a good handheld, the 5 hours of battery life via removable Lithium Polymer battery is a bummer, specially since netbooks available at the same price point are getting more powerful with extended battery life..

COMING SOON TO RETAIL: ExoPC Slate

ExoPC thumb1 Windows 7 Tablets: Wheat and the Chaff

The ExoPC Slate is a powerful Windows tablet device with a multi-touch interface with a touch-friendly ExoPC UI Layer over the Windows 7 Home Premium Edition under the hood and weighing a little under a kilogram. A 11.6 capacitive dual-touch, pressure sensitive screen gives a great 1366 x 768 pixels resolution. Under the shiny display, the specs are at premium with Intel Atom Pineview-M N450 processor and 2 GB installed RAM. Interestingly, ExoPC has opted for SSD for storage, and therefore would be limited to 32GB or 64GB.

Again, ExoPC Slate keeps up with basic features – A 1.3 MP webcam, two USB ports, and in-built speakers and microphone – but also adds a mini-HDMI port, SD/SDHC card reader, and accelerometer. The battery life matches Archos 9 with a max 5 hours.

Expected launch: September 2010.

COMING SOON: MSI WindPad 100.

MSIWindPad thumb Windows 7 Tablets: Wheat and the Chaff

MSI showed WindPad 100 at Computex, and although there have been little details after it (except few design photos, there sure is a tablet in coming.  The prototype device featured a 1.66GHz Atom Z530 CPU, 32GB SSD, and 2GB installed RAM. MSI would also put a Wind Touch UI overlay over Windows to make it more touch-friendly. The bonus ofcourse is an HDMI port. There haven’t been any details on the display technology/resolution and the battery life though.

RUMOR: Asus Eee Pad EP121

AsusEeePad thumb Windows 7 Tablets: Wheat and the Chaff

This one I put in the rumored category. Asus disclosed to the press in January 2010 that Eee Pad is coming and at Computex, Asus showed prototypes of the 12-inch EP121 (and the 10 inch EP101) which sports Intel’s Core 2 Duo CULV processors, Windows 7, and a claimed 10-hour battery life. However, since then the details have been hazy, and uncertain. There have been rumors of Eee Pad running on Android operating system and even Windows Embedded Compact 7. The expected price range has been assumed to be a $399 to $499.

RUMOR: Pegatron Slate

Pegatron Corp. is the manufacturing arm of Asus. Pegatron Slate is similar to ExoPC in discussed features, although it includes WDI – a wireless display technology that streams 720p video to any similarly equipped TV. With a 11.6-inch touchscreen and an Intel Atom CPU, it runs runs Windows 7 Home Premium edition.

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About AbhishekBaxi@TWC

Abhishek Baxi writes on the Windows ecosystem and hosts an online show - Microsoft Talk (MSTalk.in) and owns the Windows Phone portal - I Love Windows Phone (ilovewindowsphone.in). He lives at www.baxiabhishek.info and talks incessantly on Twitter.

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  • http://www.greggdeselms.com Gregg DesElms

    I wish everyone would stop calling iPad-like computers “tablets.”

    The iPad (and all computers like it) are “slate” computers.

    A “tablet” PC is basically just a notebook, but with a screen lid which will, when opened, swivel 180 degrees so that the screen lid can be closed back down over the keyboard with the screen (a touch screen, obviously) facing out so that it all becomes “slate-like”… albeit thicker than a slate because, after all, it’s actually a notebook, just with its screen turned “inside-out,” so to speak.

    Of course, all that said, the English language — particularly with respect to fast-moving technology — is constantly evolving; and so what describes a specific thing today can become a category tomorrow, and vice versa.

    If so, though, then perhaps “tablet” should become the category, and then “slate” is a type of tablet (in other words, “slate” sits within the “tablet” categor); and a notebook with swivel screen lid can become yet another type of tablet.

    Who knows. All I *DO* know is that under the current set of generally-accepted definitions for the terms, iPad-like devices are “slate” computers, not “tablet” computers. And wishing won’t change that.

    _________________________________________
    Gregg L. DesElms
    Napa, California USA
    gregg at greggdeselms dot com

  • CyberWolf

    totally agree with you gregg.

  • http://www.thewindowsclub.com/about-twc-contributor-abhishek-baxi AbhishekBaxi@TWC

    @Gregg
    There is a reason that ‘slate’ isn’t widely used for devices with a certain form-factor. This is since ‘Slate’ is also the product name of devices from several manufacturers – HP, ExoPC, etc. and hence loses the generalisation.

    Although tablets started as the devices you mention, specially with pen computing interface, the term has evolved to be a generic term of handhelds with natural interface.

    Of course, the technology jargon is evolving :)

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