W.A.Khan, Lenovo Miix 2 8 The Lenovo Miix 2 is essentially a tablet loaded with the full version of Microsoft's OS (Windows 8.1, to be exact). It comes with its own custom dock that gives it a full keyboard plus some extra ports.The Miix 2 8 is comfortable to hold in the hand for extended periods. While the screen rotates to support all four orientations, the placement of the Windows button and Lenovo logo support the portrait orientation for primary use. The narrow width of the tablet fits perfectly in the hand.Lenovo's Miix 2 is one of the latest slates to put Windows 8.1 in your (jacket) pocket, touting a powerful Bay Trail processor and a bright 1280 x 800 display.Measuring about 8.5 by 5.25 by 0.3 inches (HWD), the Miix 2 8 is quite svelte. The light silver back panel is bridged by a chromed ring, which highlights the edge-to-edge front glass panel protecting the display.The Lenovo Miix 2 8 is equipped with Intel's Atom Z3740 CPU, 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal flash storage and an 8-inch IPS display. The current version of Windows 8.1 32-bit serves as the operating system, and a full version of Microsoft Office Home & Students completes the package.You'll have no issues using the Miix 2 for most of the workday on a single charge, as the Lenovo tablet lasted a strong 8 hours and 26 seconds on the LAPTOP Battery Test (Web surfing over Wi-Fi).The new version cuts the screen size, but also smartly cuts the price. The Miix was $550, whereas the new Miix2 is $299, and includes Intel's latest Bay Trail generation quad-core Atom processors, a 16:10 1,280x800-pixel screen, and 32GB SSD storage (a 64GB version will be $349). The system also comes with a full version of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013, and a very iPad-like cover plus stylus pen is a $20 add-on. VS Dell Venue 8 Pro The tiny Dell Venue 8 Pro has a premium look and feel for such an inexpensive system, offers good stylus support, and runs full Windows 8 in something about the size of an iPad Mini.The Venue Pro’s 8-inch touchscreen has a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels—that’s a far cry from the 1080p resolution of tablets such as the more laptop-like Microsoft Surface Pro 2, and it’s even farther from the iPad mini with a 2048-by-1536-pixel Retina display.The Venue 8 Pro is powered by a quad-core 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z3740D processor with 2GB of RAM, integrated Intel HD graphics and 32GB of internal storage. Supplementing the internal storage is a memory card slot. The microSD card slot sits on the right side, which is also where you will find the volume rocker, power button and microUSB for charging. Looking over the rest of the device and you find a Windows button and headphone jack up top and speaker on the bottom. The left side is clean and clear.Microsoft has made a lot of improvements to support these types of small Windows tablets, and it shows. The Windows 8.1 Start screen includes options to resize Live Tiles for the smaller screen. There’s a new Reading List app to help save favorites and apps between Windows 8 machines, a Reading Mode in Internet Explorer. Most of the built-in apps run much better in portrait mode. That’s exactly how I use the Dell Venue 8 Pro nearly 100 percent of the time — reading in portrait mode — much as I do on the iPad mini.The non-removable battery is rated by Dell at 9.9 hours of life per charge.
But, A misplaced Windows button throws off the usability, and the 32GB of SSD storage won't hold much. A promised keyboard accessory isn't available yet.
The bottom line: The Dell Venue 8 Pro comes close to being a great pocket-size mini-PC, but a misplaced button and missing accessories feel like unnecessary errors.Specifications
Display type8 in
OSMicrosoft Windows 8.1
RAM2 GB - DDR3L
ProcessorIntel Atom
Weight0.87 lbs Price: $299.99 VS Toshiba Encore 8 The Toshiba Encore 8 runs Windows 8.1, boasts zippy performance, and has a microSD storage expansion slot.The Encore packs an 8-inch, 1280 x 800 display. The colorful tiles and white text on the Windows 8.1 Start screen looked crisp on the slate's screen, and websites such as ESPN.com were bright and easy to read.Toshiba's tablet is also using Intel's new Atom Bay Trail processor with 2GB of LPDDR3 memory making for a tablet that's now much more capable of running the full Windows 8.1 desktop experience.Battery is said to be around seven hours but our Toshiba representative declined to give us a solid figure considering that the tablet is not quite finalised.To take care of picture-taking duties, there's a 2-megapixel front-facing Skype-certified camera and an 8-megapixel main camera with 1080p Full HD shooting abilities to play with.
But, The design is bulkier and heavier than most other small tablets. With no keyboard accessory, desktop mode is a headache to navigate.
The bottom line: The Toshiba Encore 8 offers a lot for its price, but the more appealing Dell Venue 8 Pro is a cheaper and sleeker alternative. Specifications
Display type8 in
OSMicrosoft Windows 8.1
RAM2 GB
ProcessorIntel Atom
Wireless connectivityBluetooth 4.0Wi-Fi
But, A misplaced Windows button throws off the usability, and the 32GB of SSD storage won't hold much. A promised keyboard accessory isn't available yet.
The bottom line: The Dell Venue 8 Pro comes close to being a great pocket-size mini-PC, but a misplaced button and missing accessories feel like unnecessary errors.Specifications
Display type8 in
OSMicrosoft Windows 8.1
RAM2 GB - DDR3L
ProcessorIntel Atom
Weight0.87 lbs Price: $299.99 VS Toshiba Encore 8 The Toshiba Encore 8 runs Windows 8.1, boasts zippy performance, and has a microSD storage expansion slot.The Encore packs an 8-inch, 1280 x 800 display. The colorful tiles and white text on the Windows 8.1 Start screen looked crisp on the slate's screen, and websites such as ESPN.com were bright and easy to read.Toshiba's tablet is also using Intel's new Atom Bay Trail processor with 2GB of LPDDR3 memory making for a tablet that's now much more capable of running the full Windows 8.1 desktop experience.Battery is said to be around seven hours but our Toshiba representative declined to give us a solid figure considering that the tablet is not quite finalised.To take care of picture-taking duties, there's a 2-megapixel front-facing Skype-certified camera and an 8-megapixel main camera with 1080p Full HD shooting abilities to play with.
But, The design is bulkier and heavier than most other small tablets. With no keyboard accessory, desktop mode is a headache to navigate.
The bottom line: The Toshiba Encore 8 offers a lot for its price, but the more appealing Dell Venue 8 Pro is a cheaper and sleeker alternative. Specifications
Display type8 in
OSMicrosoft Windows 8.1
RAM2 GB
ProcessorIntel Atom
Wireless connectivityBluetooth 4.0Wi-Fi