Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi 2-in-1 Ultrabook Review

Asus unveiled its latest addition to the Transformer series at CES in January, the Transformer Book Chi. Available in three sizes, the new Transformer Book Chi Series features a 2-in-1 detachable laptop design. Their flagship Transformer Book T300 Chi offers a 12.5-inch screen, an Intel Core M processor, and a fanless cooling solution. The more compact T100 Chi is a 10.1-inch model that promises all-day battery life. Prices for the Transformer Book Chi Series range from $399 to $899. Today, we’re going to take a hands-on look at the T300 Chi which is offered in two models starting at $699. We have...

Lenovo YOGA Tablet 2 10-inch Review

by Jennifer Johnson - Wed, Mar 11, 2015

Earlier this year, we took a look at Lenovo’s innovative YOGA Tablet 2 Pro that features a built-in projector. If that tablet caught your eye, but its size was just too big for your tastes or it's price was too high for your budget, the Lenovo YOGA Tablet 2 may be a better option. This smaller tablet features a 10.1-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1920x1200 and a price tag under $250. As you might expect, there are quite a few similarities between the YOGA Tablet 2 Pro and the YOGA Tablet 2. A quick look at the specifications of both models reveals the same 4th generation Intel Atom processor...

Dell Venue 8 7000 Tablet (Review): Getting A RealSense

by Marco Chiappetta, Paul Lilly - Tue, Feb 03, 2015

Take everything you know and expect from an Android tablet, crumple it into a ball, and throw it away. Done? Good -- none of what you just purged from your brain will do you any good when looking at the Venue 8 7000 from Dell. It's not heavily modified and tied to an online shopping experience like Amazon's Fire tablets, nor does it take a barebones approach like the defunct Nexus 7 from Google. The Venue 8 7000 doesn't even flex an ARM processor. So now that you know what Dell's latest Android tablet doesn't have, let's spend a few moments talking about exactly what it is. For one, it's the...

On Test The Track With Dell's Venue 8 7000 And Intel's Moorefield

by Dave Altavilla and Marco Chiappetta - Tue, Jan 20, 2015

Dell has been strategically setting-up their new Venue 8 7000 tablet for cameo appearances over the past few months, starting back at Intel Developer's Forum in September of last year, then again at Dell World in November, and of course at CES 2015. At each event we got some hands-on time with Dell's interesting new tablet and the Intel Moorefield Atom platform that powers it, along with Intel's RealSense camera setup, but until this week we haven't gotten much more than a few spare minutes kicking the tires. However, upon our return from CES in Las Vegas last week, Dell had a couple of packages...

Lenovo YOGA Tablet 2 Pro With Built-In Projector Review

by Jennifer Johnson - Fri, Jan 02, 2015

Google created Android as an open platform with the intent that software developers and hardware manufacturers would create new, useful, and innovative things for the platform. Since Android was introduced, we’ve seen a number of interesting devices from cameras to HDMI dongles that utilize the OS. But tablets and smartphones remain the key focus for most manufacturers. Most Android tablets are cookie-cutter slates. The major differences from one model to the next are generally a combination of software features and variations in key hardware specifications such as the...

Amazon Fire HDX 8.9 (2014) Tablet Review

by Paul Lilly - Thu, Dec 11, 2014

We're willing to concede that size matters, but too often in tech manufacturers take advantage of that notion by offering multiple size options of the same product without upping the ante in any other way. Without shaming specific manufacturers by pointing out some examples, let's just say that we've seen both knock-off and name-brand laptop and tablet makers offer bigger size versions of the same product without even bumping up the resolution, let alone upgrading the hardware inside. Bah, humbug!That's not a concern with Amazon has refreshed Fire HDX 8.9 tablet. It's not simply a bigger version...

Holiday Gift Guide 2014: Tablets, Smartphones, Laptops

by Ray Willington - Tue, Nov 25, 2014

It feels like only yesterday that we were whipping up last year’s holiday gift guide, but somehow a full year has passed and we’re staring yet another winter in the face. Don’t fret, though — just because you haven’t prepared for this season doesn’t mean that you’re hung out to dry. As the technology behind smartphones, tablets, and laptops has evolved over the past twelve months, we’ve collected the best and brightest in order to shape your gift buying. Regardless of whether you’re shopping for yourself or a loved one (or both), it’s a great time to be in the market. From budget products...

Acer Aspire Switch 10 Hybrid Review

by Joshua Gulick - Thu, Nov 13, 2014

When Microsoft first released Windows 8, the company hoped that hardware manufacturers would get creative with form factors and customers would be enticed by the intriguing new PC designs. One of the clear leaders to emerge since Windows 8's launch is the Lenovo Yoga series of laptops, which fold in half to mimic tablets or can be used in tent and stand modes. A similar approach that has also seen some success are 2-in-1s that essentially split in half, so you can use the display as a tablet without dragging around the weight of the keyboard. The Acer Aspire Switch 10 is one of these...

NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet Gets Android Lollipop Update, New Game Bundle, And GRID Game Streaming Service

by Marco Chiappetta - Thu, Nov 13, 2014

The SHIELD Tablet is only a few months old, but NVIDIA is already updating the device with a freshly minted OS, a refreshed SHIELD Hub (and other NVIDIA apps), and access to the company’s newly upgraded GRID Game Streaming service. A number of new Tegra K1 optimized games are arriving as well, as well as a new game bundle which includes one of the best reviewed PC games of all time. We’ve already mentioned that NVIDIA had an Android Lollipop update on the way for the SHIELD Tablet, but we have a few more details to share today. The SHIELD Tablet Android Lollipop update will...

Amazon Fire HD 7 Tablet (2014) Review

by Paul Lilly - Mon, Nov 10, 2014

As it does every so often, Amazon recently updated and revamped its line of Fire tablets to include upgraded models and a somewhat simplified naming scheme. The new models abandon the "Kindle" branding and are now simply known as Fire HDX 8.9, Fire HD 7, and Fire HD 6. To flesh out the lineup, Amazon still sells a Fire HDX and a Fire HD Kids Edition, which is really a Fire HD 7 or 6 with a protective case, accidental damage protection, and a collection of pre-loaded apps targeted at a younger audience. It's admittedly a bit confusing at first, but assuming Amazon sticks with its new branding,...

Hands-On: Dell Launches Venue 8 3000, Venue 8 7000, Venue 11 7000 With Core M, Tablets At Dell World

by Marco Chiappetta - Wed, Nov 05, 2014

Dell just launched a trio of new tablets at its Dell World conference, currently taking place in Austin, Texas. One of the tablets, the sleek and ultra-thin Venue 8 7000, we’ve already shown you, because it was first unveiled by Michael Dell at IDF a couple of months back. But the other two are brand-new products that target completely different market segments. The Dell Venue 8 3000 First up is the new Dell Venue 8 3000. As its name suggests, the Venue 8 3000 is an 8” slate. It features an IPS display with a native resolution of 1280x800 and is powered by an Intel Bay Trail-based...

Apple iPad Air 2 Review: Should You Upgrade?

by Paul Lilly - Mon, Nov 03, 2014

Most are in agreement that Apple's iPad Air 2 is one of the finest tablets ever produced, if not the best out there, period. Certainly, it's not difficult to make that case -- after all, the latest 9.7-inch iPad is thinner than its predecessor at just 6.1mm thick, wicked fast with its custom A8X System-on-Chip (SoC), and incredibly light at just under a pound. Toss in a gorgeous display and a set of ancillary features that have been upgraded for this latest release, and even the most stringent critics can't help but pile on the praise. That's the easy part. What's a bit more difficult to address...

Android On Intel x86 Tablet Performance Explored

by Joel Hruska - Thu, Oct 16, 2014

For the past few years, Intel has promised that its various low-power Atom-based processors would usher in a wave of low-cost Android and Windows mobile products that could compete with ARM-based solutions from its major competitors. And for years, we've seen no more than a trickle of hardware, often with limited availability and/or questionable pricing. Now, that's finally beginning to change. Intel's Bay Trail and Merrifield SoCs are starting to show up in attractive, full-featured, sub-$200 devices, and we've got one of them on the test bench today, the Acer Iconia Tab 8, along with...

Dell Venue 8 (2014) Review

by Ray Willington - Sun, Sep 28, 2014

Dell has become a very different company since going private about a year ago. It’s quieter, more nimble, and it has dramatically focused its product lines. A company once known for its ability to ship just about anything you could ask for on a custom PC is reinventing itself in a world smitten by handheld devices with tighter profit margins. While the company never found footing in the cutthroat smartphone arena, Dell is still keeping its toe dipped in the tablet waters. Around six months after shipping its initial Venue 8, Dell’s latest edition, the Venue 8 3840, is a vast improvement....

Dell Inspiron 11 3000: A 2-in-1 For The Masses

by Joshua Gulick - Mon, Sep 22, 2014

As much as we obsess about the latest and hottest hardware, we sometimes like to take a look at a value system to see what kind of bang you can get for your buck on a tight budget. And with the school year just getting underway, the Dell Inspiron 11 3147 caught our eye as a possible candidate for a highly mobile classmate or conference room colleague. It’s a light, tiny laptop with a screen that folds completely back so you can use the device as a tablet whenever it suits your needs. To a budget-minded student who wants a versatile laptop that won’t feel like brick in his or her backpack,...

NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet: The Fastest Tablet Available

by Marco Chiappetta - Thu, Jul 31, 2014

Last week, NVIDIA officially announced the SHIELD tablet (powered by the Tegra K1 SoC) and its companion SHIELD wireless controller. Just in case you missed the initial announcement, we’ve got it posted for you all right here, along with some early hands-on video, the device’s full specifications, and a handful of pictures and additional info. To quickly recap, the SHIELD tablet’s specifications include NVIDIA Tegra K1 SoC (clocked at up to 2.2GHz), paired to 2GB of RAM and an 8”, full-HD IPS display, with a native resolution of 1920x1200. There are also a pair of 5MP...

Samsung Galaxy Tab S Review, Top Shelf Android

by Jennifer Johnson - Mon, Jul 28, 2014

In June, Samsung announced a new flagship line of tablets known as the Galaxy Tab S. Available in 8.4- and 10.5-inch versions, the Galaxy Tab S is geared towards media consumption, with hardware specifications that are designed to deliver an outstanding media experience. Not only does the Galaxy Tab S have killer hardware, but Samsung also managed to pack these features into the company’s thinnest and lightest tablet design yet. To deliver the best possible visual experience, the high-resolution Super AMOLED display found in the Galaxy Tab S supports a resolution of 2560x1600 and boasts of...

NVIDIA Debuts SHIELD Tablet and Wireless Controller

by Marco Chiappetta - Tue, Jul 22, 2014

NVIDIA just officially announced the SHIELD tablet (powered by their Tegra K1 SoC) and SHIELD wireless controller. As the SHIELD branding implies, the new SHIELD tablet and wireless controller builds upon the previously-released, Android-based SHIELD portable to bring a true gaming-oriented tablet to consumers. In some ways, the SHIELD tablet and wireless controller are somewhat of mashup of the SHIELD portable and the Tegra Note 7, but featuring newer, updated technology and better materials. You could think of the SHIELD tablet and wireless controller as an upgraded SHIELD portable device,...

ASUS MeMO Pad 7 Review: Intel Bay Trail Inside

by Joshua Gulick - Fri, Jul 11, 2014

ASUS recently refreshed its 7-inch MeMO Pad 7 tablet with Intel’s new Atom Z3745 Bay Trail-based processor. Having overcome its rocky start, the latest generation of Atom processors is building a reputation for power efficiency and computational chops. Despite its early days in ill-fated netbooks, today's Atom looks to be a good fit for tablets and smartphones and sports new-found graphics horsepower that is up to the task for these types of devices. We checked out the ASUS MeMO Pad 7 ME176C, which comes in at a relatively affordable $149.99, in light of competing tablets in this category....

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 Review

by Jennifer Johnson - Thu, Jul 03, 2014

One of Samsung's goals with its latest Galaxy Tab 4 tablets was to create a family of products that offered good value and versatility to a wide range of potential consumers. The new Galaxy Tab 4 family is available in three sizes: 7-, 8-, and 10.1-inches and the tablets feature lightweight materials, thin bezels, and HD displays. In March, we took a look at Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1. If the flagship Pro series is too much for you in terms of features or price, the Galaxy Tab 4 series may be a better option. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at the Galaxy...

Lenovo ThinkPad 10 Windows 8.1 Bay Trail Tablet

by Paul Lilly - Fri, Jun 27, 2014

As a follow-up to its ThinkPad 8 tablet (see our review), Lenovo has now incorporated Intel's Bay Trail platform into its larger size ThinkPad 10, a business-ready slate the company claims can offer users a full PC experience. Stopping there would be selling this tablet a bit short, however, as it's really a multi-mode device that can serve a number of purposes, both during and after business hours. Ideally, this would negate the need to purchase separate systems for work and play. Lenovo ThinkPad 10 tablet. What Lenovo's really doing here is tapping into the potential of Microsoft's Windows 8.1...

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review

by Marco Chiappetta - Thu, May 29, 2014

Early last week, Microsoft unveiled the third iteration of its Surface Pro tablet, the aptly named Surface Pro 3. Unlike previous revisions to the product, the new Surface Pro 3 can be considered a major overhaul. Not only does the new device feature more powerful internal components and offer a handful of new features, but its form factor is a complete departure from the previous version, thanks to its screen’s 3:2 aspect ratio. The Surface Pro 3 does leverage many of the same industrial design queues as its older siblings, so there’s no mistaking it for anything but a Microsoft...