Hasta La Gadget!

In case you haven’t heard, a lot — and we mean a lot — of Windows devices are going on sale this week. Today it’s ASUS’ turn to give its lineup a formal coming-out party: the company is hosting a press event here in New York City, where it just announced the dockable VivoTab RT will be available on October 26th, starting at $599 for the 32GB model, keyboard included. Alternatively, you can buy the 64GB tablet and docking station for $699. As we previously reported, an LTE version is coming to AT&T. Finally, ASUS says it will also sell the tablet and dock individually, but we haven’t yet learned final pricing for those items. We’ll update this post when we do.

If this is your first introduction to the VivoTab RT, here’s a quick recap: it basically offers everything people loved about ASUS’ Android-based Transformer tablets, except it runs Windows RT instead. Like the Infinity and other recent ASUS tablets, it has a 600-nit Super IPS+ display, offering 178-degree viewing angles and Gorilla Glass protection. Other specs include a quad-core Tegra 3 chip (the new T30, to be exact), 2GB of RAM, NFC and an 8-megapixel rear camera with an auto-focusing f/2.2 lens. Then there’s that keyboard dock, which has a USB 2.0 port and built-in battery rated for seven hours. (The tablet itself is said to last up to nine hours.) Finally, of course, as a Windows RT device it comes loaded with all of the same stock applications you’ll find in full Windows 8 (Mail, IE 10, etc.), along with Office 2013 Home & Student. The main difference: you won’t be able to install legacy Windows programs.

The VivoTab RT arrives the same day as the Surface for Windows RT and indeed, we’ll be eager to compare the two, especially since pricing for the keyboard-tablet bundles is identical. In fact, ASUS sent us one to test, and you can expect a review any day now. Until then, we’ve embedded some press photos below, in case you’re just getting your first look.

Continue reading ASUS VivoTab RT tablet arrives October 26th, starting at $599 for the 32GB model; keyboard dock included (update: eyes-on!)

Filed under: Tablets, ASUS

ASUS VivoTab RT tablet arrives October 26th, starting at $599 for the 32GB model; keyboard dock included (update: eyes-on!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember those hazy days of summer when HP ran an ad during the Olympics, slipped in a a shot of an unannounced tablet and thought we wouldn’t notice? (P’shaw!) Well, you can finally lay your speculation to rest, as HP just formally unveiled the mystery tab, along with a slew of accessories. It’s called the ElitePad 900 and, as rumored, it’s a 10-inch Windows 8 slate meant for business users, with features like pen input, drive encryption and optional 3G / 4G.

Like HP’s high-end EliteBook laptops, the ElitePad has a premium look, marked by a machined aluminum back cover and 400-nit IPS display coated in Gorilla Glass. Also similar to the EliteBooks, it meets the military’s MIL-spec 810G durability requirements, and can withstand three-foot drops, among other accidents. All told, it weighs 1.5 pounds and measures 9.2mm thick. Going by weight, that’s more along the lines of what you’d expect from a larger, 11-inch tablet, but 1.5 pounds is still manageable, especially considering how armored this thing is.

On the inside, it runs an Atom-based Intel Clover Trail processor, buffered by up to 2GB of RAM. Like so many other systems with this kind of chip, it promises about 10 hours of runtime — a clear improvement over similar devices packing Core i5 CPUs. Storage-wise, you’ll have your choice between a 32 or 64GB SSD. The screen has a resolution of 1,280 x 800, making it the one feature likely to disappoint power users. Take a tour around the device and you’ll find an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1080p shooter up front for video chats. Hidden behind a service door on the back are two slots: one for microSD cards, and another for 3G / 4G SIMs.

And how ’bout those accessories? In addition to the tablet, HP will be selling two so-called SmartJackets, cases that do a little more than just shield the device from wear and tear. One of them, for instance, has two USB ports, HDMI output, a full-size memory card slot and room for an optional battery slice. That battery, by the way, has a capacity of about eight hours, so while the case does add some heft it could be worth it if you need a PC that will last through a flight from New York to Tokyo. As for the second case, its defining feature is a built-in keyboard, which plugs directly into the tablet.

Though HP announced the ElitePad 900 today, the tablet won’t go on sale here in the US until January. Hopefully we’ll also get a final price as we get closer to that launch date. Luckily, we’ve already gotten a chance to play with it, so meet us after the break for hands-on photos and a short walk-through video detailing our first impressions.

Continue reading HP announces the ElitePad 900, a business-friendly Windows 8 tablet arriving in January

Filed under: Tablets, HP

HP announces the ElitePad 900, a business-friendly Windows 8 tablet arriving in January originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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