Both Windows 8 and Windows RT were designed to look like identical twins but their differences are very significant if you’re trying to treat the RT device like a full-powered laptop. ![]() Windows 8 RT, we are not impressedĪs mentioned, this tablet uses Window RT, which is designed to be more of a lightweight operating system for mobile devices like the XPS 10. A miniHDMI to full-sized HDMI port plugs into to an HDTV so you can watch movies stored on your tablet and a microUSB to full-sized USB cord lets you hook up your tablet to anything from a printer to a mouse. However, we appreciate having a keyboard for the moments when our fingers were too big to navigate the interface – especially in “Desktop” mode where it looks like Microsoft just shrunk Windows 7 into a 10-inch display.ĭell was nice enough to toss in a few dongles to make it easy to connect to other devices. Sometimes, the on-screen cursor would completely disappear and there would be no way to bring it back unless we touched the display with our finger. ![]() We suggest you keep one hand on the tablet in case it falls.Īlthough Microsoft claims you use Windows 8 with traditional trackpads (instead of touchscreens), we found that wasn’t always true when using this dock. Separating the tablet from the dock is just as easy: simply slide the button on the keyboard to the left to undock. Just align the tablet with the silver hinge and see that the button at the top of the keyboard slides to the right. We found the keys to be lacking in depth, making them feel stiff when we tried typing emails with the dock.ĭocking the tablet is easy. If you’re familiar with Dell laptops, you’ll recognize the XPS 10’s keyboard right away: its keys have really rounded corners. Keep in mind that the Zenbook has full Windows, a full keyboard, and a larger screen versus the XPS 10’s limited version of Windows and chiclet-style keyboard with keys that are on the smaller side. ![]() Together, the dock and tablet weigh a relatively hefty 2.87 pounds, almost matching the 13-inch Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD Ultrabook, which has a weight of 2.86 pounds. While the XPS 10 tablet is nice and light, docking it with its keyboard made the whole setup almost too heavy for a mobile device. We didn’t feel any side was any heavier than the other (and therefore more prone to tipping over) when propping the device on one arm and poking at the screen with the other hand. We didn’t notice any creaking noises or feel like the screen was being pressed in when tapping on the display. The bottom edge is where the slate attaches to the keyboard, so you’ll find the proprietary power connector and single microUSB port there.Īt 9.2mm thick and weighing 1.3 pounds, the XPS 10 is just a touch thinner and lighter than the iPad with Retina display, and is solidly built. Its volume rocker and audio jack are on the left side, with just one physical Windows home button under the 10.1-inch HD display. Like any other Windows tablet, the XPS 10’s buttons assume you’ll be using the machine in landscape mode, so its power button and door to its microSD (and optional microSIM) slot are along the top edge. ![]() The Dell XPS 10 Tablet gets its good looks from the company’s line of Inspiron Ultrabooks: a coat of black soft-touch paint covers its lid and keyboard dock, which makes the device very comfortable to handle without being a fingerprint magnet. We should also mention that we initially had some problems with the device (including the camera and trackpad), but a February 19 Windows update seemed to have cured them, so this review now reflects the up-to-date system. The review unit we received from Dell came with a dock so we used both the slate on its own and in its docked state. The laptop-tablet form factor combines the best of both mobile and computing worlds: you have the touch-friendly control that Windows 8 needs and the portability of a tablet, as well as the productivity of a laptop with a dock that adds a physical keyboard, an extra battery, and extra ports.ĭell’s answer to the tablet-laptop hybrid is the new XPS 10 Tablet – a 10.1-inch Windows RT slate that you can either buy on its own ($500), or bundled with the keyboard dock for an extra $180. Asus was the first to create Android tablets with dedicated keyboard docks for its popular line of Transformer devices (we reviewed the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity last year). With the introduction of Windows 8, it seems almost every computer manufacturer is making its own laptop-tablet hybrid, which, in most cases, is just a tablet with a snap-on keyboard.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |