KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
Wireless Connectivity
Featuring a Broadcom 802.11bgn Wireless SDIO Adapter, the Asus VivoTab supports WiFi b, g and n technologies on the 2.4GHz frequency band. The device is not compatible with 5GHz network signals.
Wireless connection performance was a strength for the VivoTab Smart. Using our 802.11n Tenda N60 wireless router, the Asus tablet was able to maintain a stable connection both at close range and over a 40 foot, interference-ridden path.
Unfortunately, the VivoTab Smart's wireless network throughput performance wasn't particularly impressive – we didn't manage to get anything greater than a 65 Mbps connection speed to our 300 Mbps-capable router, even at a distance of less than a metre.
Real world network performance gave us a maximum consistent speed of around 4 MB/s (around 32 Mbps) when copying files across a network, which is a disappointing result for a device that is designed to be capable of carrying out a substantial amount of streaming tasks to and from network attached storage.
Bluetooth worked fine for transferring files to and from the VivoTab Smart. Bluetooth compatible wireless keyboards and mice can also be connected to Asus' tablet, allowing it to function more like a ‘true' laptop.
Testing in combination with our Nexus 4, we can confirm that NFC worked without issues. GPS was also fully functional – it tracked our location accurately.
Web Browsing Experience
Internet Explorer works without performance or compatibility hiccups in both the tablet and desktop mode. Due to the VivoTab Smart's x86 hardware, browsers load desktop web pages by default. This can be a very slight issue when trying to read content because the tablet's High-Definition resolution coupled with the small (by laptop standards) – 10.1″ – screen will make pinch and zoom an infrequent – but sometimes required – process.
We tested KitGuru, BBC, ITV, YouTube, Hotmail and many other web pages; most of them were perfectly readable using the default viewing mode, but they were all sitting near the borderline of a comfortable text size. Setting the zoom to 125% did help, but it also decreased the page's viewable area.
We liked the cut-back style of the ‘mobile' version of Internet Explorer that was launched in tablet mode. It featured the same tile scheme that streamlines it with the rest of the tablet mode's interface. In desktop mode, Internet Explorer was the standard desktop affair.
We quickly stopped using Chrome in tablet mode as we ran into a number of stability issues regarding the keyboard input with web-based text boxes, the ability to manoeuvre through tabs and poor video playback. It seems to be poorly adapted for touch screen Windows 8 devices, at least in our case.
Fantastic review Luke, how do you feel it shapes up against the Windows Surface? have you managed to get a hands on with it yet yourself? (as they are both Windows 8 im curious).
This looks great, I had been looking at an android tablet for months, and still cant decide as I liked the Surface in a local store.
Dont know what to get now 🙁
It is not ASUS fault, but Windows 8 APP store is very weak, its put me off moving over from my iPAD, but I dont like Apple or their practices using slave labour in china etc.
Its so hard to get a do it all tablet, but this is a good attempt by ASUS.
I need to get a hands on with this, as I will never pay for the Surface PRO to get access to X86 apps. this is a great move by ASUS considering the ATOM is probably a bit slow. very interested, but need to see one in the flesh. time to hunt this weekend in my local etailers. is it out now?
If I select “View All Pages” I get to a news item titled “All of humanity to own an Android phone one day”.
No apps? I’m running everything from Wireshark (try that on your iPad) to my PLC programs and games such as Age Of Titans. Quit thinking of it as being a Win8 tab and try thinking of it as a Windows PC. After you share your devices from your own PC tower, you’ll also have access to all of them as well so mine sits with my Canon Imagerunner, Pioneer DVDRW and 3TB Seagate External all available. For media I use Plex for video and Itunes for my music.
These true Windows 8 tabs are only hamstrung by their users… PERIOD. I’ve yet to see a reviewer do half of what I do as an actual daily driver of the Vivotab Smart. When compared to either my daughter’s 3rd gen iPad or my own Galaxy tab to my Vivotab Smart, the former are truly little more than really large phones and the latter a fantastically thin PC.
Had one and sent it back.
Its well made a relatively light, the display is really good.
Its slow to boot from cold and the wireless is weak. In desktop mode you need the bluetooth keyboard, i found the onscreen keyboard got in the way of many things when trying to use in desktop mode.
After i installed Windows updates and Firefox the wirelss was lost and nothing i tried could restore it. I rest the tablet to factory default which meant going through the setup process again and once it was all done it refused to accept the new account.
Personally i dont think its worth £400 especially if you wish to add the keyboard, your then looking at a nigh on £500 device and its simply not good enough for that money. At £400 with the keybaord it would be good value.
I had one too and sent it back, it was too slow and very frustrating. Those ATOM processors can barely handle basic tasks. This is a good buy if you must have a full windows 8. I cant believe the guy above said the app store is good and that he can run games on this? I could barely get solitaire to run smoothy.