"I measured 14 x 11mm compared to 16mm2 on Apple's chiclet keyboard." Do you spot the mistake? In this scenario, the Apple keyboard has keys which are 4mm x 4mm = 16mm², whereas the Asus has 14mm x 11mm = 154mm². You probably meant to write (16mm)² or somesuch. :D
"the tablet form factor combined with a responsive touch UI simply means you can do these things in a more relaxed position." All you people seem to have quite uncomfortable desks! :D The only place that is more relaxing and comfortable in my house than my desk and desk chair is in bed, snuggling with my wife. ^^
The Transformer with Dock is 2.9 lbs. This slider is 2.1 lbs. Yes it is cheaper than Transformer + dock but I have seen combo sales all the time, and considering the holiday season coming up, I wouldn't be surprised to see Transformer + Dock selling for $399 with a case for good measure.
To me, thickness isn't really an issue with something like a tablet. It's 10 millimeters thicker (barely 0.4 inches), but you get: 1) An extra USB port 2) A full SD card slot 3) A trackpad, giving a much more PC feel 4) Pretty much the equivalent of "lugging" a light netbook around 5) Ridiculously high battery life (that in itself is worth the extra $70. 15 hours vs 7 hours is a no brainer)
So in short, I would recommend the Transformer + dock when there is a sale. Newegg had a combo sale for those two for $399 (not anymore) so that gives me high hopes for this holiday season for other retailers to mimic it.
I'm glad the Transformer serves you well, but I've already got a laptop that weighs just 3 lbs. The idea of a 2.9 lb (or even 2.1 lb) tablet with keyboard is not appealing. It's basically laptop weight, but not as useful for real work due to the limitations of Android/IOS productivity software.
My ideal tablet would be less than 1 lb and have a much smaller form factor. Imagine how small the 7" galaxy tab would be if it had hardly any bezel. It would be about 4" x 6" and about 12 ounces. The size would be perfect for rapid thumb typing. And I could fit it into a coat pocket. Perfection.
It's pretty much only a matter of time until Chrome OS gets folded into Android as the "docked" experience for tablets. Not only that but I can see ICS letting you run ICS apps in "smartphone" mode docked on the side so you really start multi-tasking.
And because of all of this stuff, you'll start to see Chrome OS become a viable third platform to compete with the Mac and PC. Maybe it's 5-10 years down the road, but it's definitely the future.
Yep, as I stated, but possibly less clearly. These devices promise productivity, but the software ecosystem just isn't there yet. I also agree that it will be a while, but I hope we are more like 1-2 years away, rather than 5-10 yrs...
"Obviously you can do the same on a notebook or desktop, the tablet form factor combined with a responsive touch UI simply means you can do these things in a more relaxed position."
I think that's fairly subjective. I can use my laptop in a very relaxed position.
I'd prefer an ultralight like the Latitude E4200 or E4300 over a tablet. A 12" display that is bright and easy to read, a full-size keyboard, an option for a WWAN card, and a 64 or 128GB SSD that when coupled with a low-voltage Core 2, makes it a plenty fast system. I also get the choice of Windows or Linux and all of the apps available for both, easy connectivity to local or networked printers, etc. and it's easy to use laying back, and easy to carry around.
I'm not saying tablets aren't interesting, but aside from e-book reader and casual surfer, still haven't found a great use. My smartphone can do all the small things I'd do with a tablet, my notebook can do anything I'd use the larger display for.
I seriously hope something akin to the Samsung Galaxy Note comes to Verizon. Sure it would be huge phone (with a 5.3" screen), but it would still be pocketable and have a high-enough resolution to make the large screen useful (1280x800). Plus, I wouldn't have to pay for two data plans if I wanted internet access everywhere.
If it were cheaper, I'd consider the note as well. But wtf, 800 euro....Guess I'll be waiting for Archos to finally replace the A5IT, and pay 300 euro for pretty much the same performance, but better video.
I think it's only a matter of time until your tablet and your laptop are literally the same thing like the transformer, and then you'll have a dock at home so you can work in a desktop setting. SoC performance needs to improve by a few generations, but it'll be here soon enough. When it does come, the "one OS to rule them all" mindset Microsoft has for Windows 8 will pay off in spades then.
Just a pity that the Slider came so late in the cycle. If it was packing Kal-El, I'd snap one up in a heartbeat.
On the topic of your video review/commentary, I will say that while you are actively talking about the Slider (or whatever future gadget,) it could pay to be a bit more hands-on with it. Making a criticism and then vaguely gesturing at the device in question doesn't do anything to convey the significance of the issue to the viewer. And no matter how sexy you are, the video *is* about the device, after all. :D
Other than that you can across as very knowledgeable and more importantly, genuine. Something very few video reviewers seem to be able to manage these days.
good concept. But two issues :tiny key size, and I see a lot of dead space in the keyboard section. A seemingly huge section under the area when the panel is in the 'up' position. They probably could have put an extra battery pack in there or -something-
Very odd that there's no alt+tab functionality, since that's something that the Transformer has... Alt+tab on the TF works like WinXP, you just get icons, I wish it cycled thru Android's own recent app menu with previews but at least the basic functionality is there.
12 years ago the Psion 7 netbook was launched. The ASUS Slider pays homage to that design. What a shame the slider isnt x86. I would love to run window on that!
Anand, it is great that you are doing these videos. It's a nice communication format. But please work on getting the videos and the presentations shorter and more punchy. You are in grave danger of having lost all respect for pace and timing, and risk being as dull and as boring as that new Apple CEO whatshisnameis.
Set yourself a deadline of a 3 minute or 6 minute format and work to that deadline. A 21:41 video is unacceptable no matter how good the content might be! You killed the audience...
"I understand the appeal of tablets. Regardless of OS, they all provide a far more intimate experience when browsing the web and reading emails."
"I'm actually very happy there is a reset button the tablet. As these devices become even more PC-like expect them to encounter the same sort of stability issues any hardware running complex software has to deal with."
With respect, I don't think you do fully understand the appeal of tablets - at least in the post-PC sense of the current iPad-driven tablet explosion. I disagree strongly with your contention in other tablet reviews that tablets will have to grow more PC-like, and the second quote is a perfect example of why.
While the ergonomics you describe in the first quote are a strong factor, I think a big reason the iPad has been the main success of this tablet wave is that *a lot of people are willing to trade functionality and flexibility for simplicity and stability.* Tablets that "encounter the same sort of stability issues" simply won't succeed in the market the iPad's defined, in my view. They may capture the attention of small groups of tech enthusiasts, but they won't have mass-market impact. Tech enthusiasts may be happy to put up with stability issues - and actually love complexity, in the sense of putting together an intricate system that works just the way they want - but most users aren't like that.
(I'm dubious about Win8's prospects in the tablet realm for the same reason - while Metro seems like a nice touch UI, it looks like it still carries the legacy baggage of Windows underneath the surface.)
The key here, I maintain, is that most users don't actually expect "post-PC" tablets to be everything and do everything. They're happy to have a large subset of common computing functions, done with a minimum of the kind of configuration, maintenance and stability hassles that you refer to above.
1. Very nice video review. 2. Just noticed how fast the battery life indicator /animated wallpaper water thingy goes down on the slider only 20 minutes of doing nothing. (Compare its position at the beginning of the video and at the end)
Umm, I don't think Windows is actually going to be the game changer you think it will be.
They have stated that on ARM architecture's the only game is Metro apps. Metro apps are full screen, and ape the functionality you lament of other Tablet OS's. Showing the desktop is a bit disengenous since I'm not even certain they've indicated that it will be available as an app on non-x86 architectures.
If Atom hardware comes out that is competing head to head with ARM tablets, then obviously that changes things. But as things stand this second, if you were to somehow get Windows 8 onto a Slider, I don't think you'd have the multi-tasking dreamland your looking forward to.
The ARM demo Microsoft showed had an ARM tablet running the Windows desktop. That being said, an ARM processor cannot run x86 applications. We also don't really know what Microsoft will end up doing with Windows 8, they might really dump the desktop in the final version (ARM).
About the mutitasking: Metro does support the same split-screen mode that is shown in the screenshots. Presumably, you could have a metro chat app and a metro browser running side by side.
Personally, I'm hoping for low power x86 hardware in future tablets.
So, do you think 16:10 is making a comeback? Any chance that laptops will start carrying 16:10 panels again? Since apparently there's a market for 16:10 hi-res panels again, maybe we can move back? I've always hated the forced move to 16:9 in laptops & desktops.
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secretmanofagent - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
"The keys are hardly full sized, I measured x mm compared to mm on Apple's chiclet keyboard."Should there be numbers there?
Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
Yes there should, fixed :)Take care,
Anand
Death666Angel - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
"I measured 14 x 11mm compared to 16mm2 on Apple's chiclet keyboard."Do you spot the mistake? In this scenario, the Apple keyboard has keys which are 4mm x 4mm = 16mm², whereas the Asus has 14mm x 11mm = 154mm². You probably meant to write (16mm)² or somesuch. :D
Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
err you're very right, fixed again :)Take care,
Anand
Zink - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
So in depth. Are you using a teleprompter?tsnorquist - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
Of course not, he's not the president =)mythun.chandra - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
Good job on the video/review! :)Hope to see more of them moving forward.
Death666Angel - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
"the tablet form factor combined with a responsive touch UI simply means you can do these things in a more relaxed position."All you people seem to have quite uncomfortable desks! :D The only place that is more relaxing and comfortable in my house than my desk and desk chair is in bed, snuggling with my wife. ^^
quiksilvr - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
The Transformer with Dock is 2.9 lbs. This slider is 2.1 lbs. Yes it is cheaper than Transformer + dock but I have seen combo sales all the time, and considering the holiday season coming up, I wouldn't be surprised to see Transformer + Dock selling for $399 with a case for good measure.To me, thickness isn't really an issue with something like a tablet. It's 10 millimeters thicker (barely 0.4 inches), but you get:
1) An extra USB port
2) A full SD card slot
3) A trackpad, giving a much more PC feel
4) Pretty much the equivalent of "lugging" a light netbook around
5) Ridiculously high battery life (that in itself is worth the extra $70. 15 hours vs 7 hours is a no brainer)
So in short, I would recommend the Transformer + dock when there is a sale. Newegg had a combo sale for those two for $399 (not anymore) so that gives me high hopes for this holiday season for other retailers to mimic it.
TrackSmart - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
I'm glad the Transformer serves you well, but I've already got a laptop that weighs just 3 lbs.The idea of a 2.9 lb (or even 2.1 lb) tablet with keyboard is not appealing. It's basically laptop weight, but not as useful for real work due to the limitations of Android/IOS productivity software.
My ideal tablet would be less than 1 lb and have a much smaller form factor. Imagine how small the 7" galaxy tab would be if it had hardly any bezel. It would be about 4" x 6" and about 12 ounces. The size would be perfect for rapid thumb typing. And I could fit it into a coat pocket. Perfection.
dagamer34 - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
It's pretty much only a matter of time until Chrome OS gets folded into Android as the "docked" experience for tablets. Not only that but I can see ICS letting you run ICS apps in "smartphone" mode docked on the side so you really start multi-tasking.And because of all of this stuff, you'll start to see Chrome OS become a viable third platform to compete with the Mac and PC. Maybe it's 5-10 years down the road, but it's definitely the future.
TrackSmart - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Yep, as I stated, but possibly less clearly. These devices promise productivity, but the software ecosystem just isn't there yet. I also agree that it will be a while, but I hope we are more like 1-2 years away, rather than 5-10 yrs...LoneWolf15 - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
"Obviously you can do the same on a notebook or desktop, the tablet form factor combined with a responsive touch UI simply means you can do these things in a more relaxed position."I think that's fairly subjective. I can use my laptop in a very relaxed position.
I'd prefer an ultralight like the Latitude E4200 or E4300 over a tablet. A 12" display that is bright and easy to read, a full-size keyboard, an option for a WWAN card, and a 64 or 128GB SSD that when coupled with a low-voltage Core 2, makes it a plenty fast system. I also get the choice of Windows or Linux and all of the apps available for both, easy connectivity to local or networked printers, etc. and it's easy to use laying back, and easy to carry around.
I'm not saying tablets aren't interesting, but aside from e-book reader and casual surfer, still haven't found a great use. My smartphone can do all the small things I'd do with a tablet, my notebook can do anything I'd use the larger display for.
TrackSmart - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
Agreed. I'm in the same boat.I seriously hope something akin to the Samsung Galaxy Note comes to Verizon. Sure it would be huge phone (with a 5.3" screen), but it would still be pocketable and have a high-enough resolution to make the large screen useful (1280x800). Plus, I wouldn't have to pay for two data plans if I wanted internet access everywhere.
Here's what I'm talking about: http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote
Rick83 - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
If it were cheaper, I'd consider the note as well.But wtf, 800 euro....Guess I'll be waiting for Archos to finally replace the A5IT, and pay 300 euro for pretty much the same performance, but better video.
dagamer34 - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
I think it's only a matter of time until your tablet and your laptop are literally the same thing like the transformer, and then you'll have a dock at home so you can work in a desktop setting. SoC performance needs to improve by a few generations, but it'll be here soon enough. When it does come, the "one OS to rule them all" mindset Microsoft has for Windows 8 will pay off in spades then.sjael - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
Just a pity that the Slider came so late in the cycle. If it was packing Kal-El, I'd snap one up in a heartbeat.On the topic of your video review/commentary, I will say that while you are actively talking about the Slider (or whatever future gadget,) it could pay to be a bit more hands-on with it. Making a criticism and then vaguely gesturing at the device in question doesn't do anything to convey the significance of the issue to the viewer. And no matter how sexy you are, the video *is* about the device, after all. :D
Other than that you can across as very knowledgeable and more importantly, genuine. Something very few video reviewers seem to be able to manage these days.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
Thanks for the feedback, I'll do my best to incorporate some of it in the next video :)Take care,
Anand
IlllI - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
good concept. But two issues :tiny key size, and I see a lot of dead space in the keyboard section. A seemingly huge section under the area when the panel is in the 'up' position. They probably could have put an extra battery pack in there or -something-knickerbocker - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
a little off topic, my apologies. the bit about next-gen android tablets sporting 1920x1200 screens - when / where was that announced, if i might ask?Impulses - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Very odd that there's no alt+tab functionality, since that's something that the Transformer has... Alt+tab on the TF works like WinXP, you just get icons, I wish it cycled thru Android's own recent app menu with previews but at least the basic functionality is there.lemonadesoda - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
12 years ago the Psion 7 netbook was launched. The ASUS Slider pays homage to that design. What a shame the slider isnt x86. I would love to run window on that!bhima - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Nice video review. I'm impressed with your presentation style and content.lemonadesoda - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Anand, it is great that you are doing these videos. It's a nice communication format. But please work on getting the videos and the presentations shorter and more punchy. You are in grave danger of having lost all respect for pace and timing, and risk being as dull and as boring as that new Apple CEO whatshisnameis.Set yourself a deadline of a 3 minute or 6 minute format and work to that deadline. A 21:41 video is unacceptable no matter how good the content might be! You killed the audience...
tech6 - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Anand: I must say that I love the new video reviews - they are polished and informative and you deliver them perfectly. More please.tbutler - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
"I understand the appeal of tablets. Regardless of OS, they all provide a far more intimate experience when browsing the web and reading emails.""I'm actually very happy there is a reset button the tablet. As these devices become even more PC-like expect them to encounter the same sort of stability issues any hardware running complex software has to deal with."
With respect, I don't think you do fully understand the appeal of tablets - at least in the post-PC sense of the current iPad-driven tablet explosion. I disagree strongly with your contention in other tablet reviews that tablets will have to grow more PC-like, and the second quote is a perfect example of why.
While the ergonomics you describe in the first quote are a strong factor, I think a big reason the iPad has been the main success of this tablet wave is that *a lot of people are willing to trade functionality and flexibility for simplicity and stability.* Tablets that "encounter the same sort of stability issues" simply won't succeed in the market the iPad's defined, in my view. They may capture the attention of small groups of tech enthusiasts, but they won't have mass-market impact. Tech enthusiasts may be happy to put up with stability issues - and actually love complexity, in the sense of putting together an intricate system that works just the way they want - but most users aren't like that.
(I'm dubious about Win8's prospects in the tablet realm for the same reason - while Metro seems like a nice touch UI, it looks like it still carries the legacy baggage of Windows underneath the surface.)
The key here, I maintain, is that most users don't actually expect "post-PC" tablets to be everything and do everything. They're happy to have a large subset of common computing functions, done with a minimum of the kind of configuration, maintenance and stability hassles that you refer to above.
ed_ed - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
1. Very nice video review.2. Just noticed how fast the battery life indicator /animated wallpaper water thingy goes down on the slider only 20 minutes of doing nothing.
(Compare its position at the beginning of the video and at the end)
mlabrow - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Umm, I don't think Windows is actually going to be the game changer you think it will be.They have stated that on ARM architecture's the only game is Metro apps. Metro apps are full screen, and ape the functionality you lament of other Tablet OS's. Showing the desktop is a bit disengenous since I'm not even certain they've indicated that it will be available as an app on non-x86 architectures.
If Atom hardware comes out that is competing head to head with ARM tablets, then obviously that changes things. But as things stand this second, if you were to somehow get Windows 8 onto a Slider, I don't think you'd have the multi-tasking dreamland your looking forward to.
Nihility - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
The ARM demo Microsoft showed had an ARM tablet running the Windows desktop. That being said, an ARM processor cannot run x86 applications. We also don't really know what Microsoft will end up doing with Windows 8, they might really dump the desktop in the final version (ARM).About the mutitasking: Metro does support the same split-screen mode that is shown in the screenshots. Presumably, you could have a metro chat app and a metro browser running side by side.
Personally, I'm hoping for low power x86 hardware in future tablets.
Drizzt321 - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
So, do you think 16:10 is making a comeback? Any chance that laptops will start carrying 16:10 panels again? Since apparently there's a market for 16:10 hi-res panels again, maybe we can move back? I've always hated the forced move to 16:9 in laptops & desktops.OBLAMA2009 - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
nice video. i watched it on a really slow wifi and it didnt stutter at all. anand did a great job, his delivery is really excellentkether888 - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
Very classy - keep 'em coming!jamawass - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
Multitasking in a single window is currently done on only webOS with the Glimpse app.Zebo - Sunday, October 9, 2011 - link
that the thinkpad x has filled for years with actually good keyboards and IPS view from any angle screens but whatever.bpgd - Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - link
Anand,We need a video review on a weekly basis. Please do it for new gadgets.