ASUS VivoTab RT for $370 @ Amazon

[speedtouch]

Updated subject to reflect price drop from $399 to $370 (when including shipping cost from 3rd-party seller). Wow!

That's the best price I've seen yet for a Windows RT tablet.

Amazon.com: ASUS VivoTab RT TF600T-B1-GR 10.1-Inch 32 GB Tablet (Gray): Computers & Accessories

 

[socialcarpet]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

That's a great price.

ALMOST tempts me to buy one... but until there are a reasonable number of apps for Win RT and they figure out a way not to waste 1/2 the 32 GB on system files I think I'll pass.

I expect the next generation of Win RT tablets with Tegra 4 will be better and address many of the issues with these things. Until then I'll stick with my $249 Nexus 7.

What I really want to see is a Nokia tablet.

 

[inteller]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

oh first it was "Surface is too high, lower it by $100" now comes along an RT tablet at that price point and it is "not enough apps"

It is always an excuse with these types...

 

[socialcarpet]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

oh first it was "Surface is too high, lower it by $100" now comes along an RT tablet at that price point and it is "not enough apps"

It is always an excuse with these types...

I think the fact that there are only a handful of apps for Windows RT right now and that a 32 GB tablet only has 16 GB available for me to use OUT OF THE BOX is a pretty damn good excuse not to buy one. Not to mention the fact that every review I've read says the Win RT tablets are a bit sluggish.

Believe me, I want to root for the home team. I love my Windows Phone and I would love nothing more than to drop kick my Android tablet into space and pick up a sexy Nokia tablet to replace it... but I'm not even considering it until Microsoft gets a little more serious about this and figures out what they are doing with this Win RT thing. I get the sense that they aren't even sure, I see very little enthusiasm in the market and very little development buzz for a product that most people don't quite understand yet.

With my phone it's a bit different, I can sacrifice the availability of some apps and some functionality I might miss out on in order to have the phone I like best with the UI I like best, but I ask a lot more than that out of a tablet.

So yeah, it's a great price, but even if it was $199, a tablet with hardly any apps and half of it's limited memory eaten up by system files out of the box isn't terribly useful at any price.

I am optimistic there is a future for Windows RT once Microsoft pulls its head out of its ass, but we aren't there yet. One sign that has happened I think will be if they drop the stupid name Windows RT. It sounds like an internal code name that they just didn't have time to replace with something more consumer friendly. It's awful and it communicates nothing about what it is to people. What the **** is RT? I mean I know it means Run Time, but does the average consumer know this? It's a stupid name, it needs a name that communicates that this thing runs the tile part of your Windows 8 OS, but not the normal desktop part. Call it Windows Light or something. And for the love of God do a better job of getting apps on it than you have done with Windows Phone.

/rant

 

[speedtouch]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

I hear ya, Socialcarpet. I too look forward to learning about the rumored Nokia tablet. Your observations are spot on. In the mean time, this is still the best price I've seen so far for a Windows RT tablet. I hope the prices come down a lot more. Once Windows RT tablets approach price parity with Android tablets I think we might see them sell a good amount more.

 

[Microsoftjunkie]

I think the fact that there are only a handful of apps for Windows RT right now and that a 32 GB tablet only has 16 GB available for me to use OUT OF THE BOX is a pretty damn good excuse not to buy one. Not to mention the fact that every review I've read says the Win RT tablets are a bit sluggish.

Believe me, I want to root for the home team. I love my Windows Phone and I would love nothing more than to drop kick my Android tablet into space and pick up a sexy Nokia tablet to replace it... but I'm not even considering it until Microsoft gets a little more serious about this and figures out what they are doing with this Win RT thing. I get the sense that they aren't even sure, I see very little enthusiasm in the market and very little development buzz for a product that most people don't quite understand yet.

With my phone it's a bit different, I can sacrifice the availability of some apps and some functionality I might miss out on in order to have the phone I like best with the UI I like best, but I ask a lot more than that out of a tablet.

So yeah, it's a great price, but even if it was $199, a tablet with hardly any apps and half of it's limited memory eaten up by system files out of the box isn't terribly useful at any price.

I am optimistic there is a future for Windows RT once Microsoft pulls its head out of its ass, but we aren't there yet. One sign that has happened I think will be if they drop the stupid name Windows RT. It sounds like an internal code name that they just didn't have time to replace with something more consumer friendly. It's awful and it communicates nothing about what it is to people. What the **** is RT? I mean I know it means Run Time, but does the average consumer know this? It's a stupid name, it needs a name that communicates that this thing runs the tile part of your Windows 8 OS, but not the normal desktop part. Call it Windows Light or something. And for the love of God do a better job of getting apps on it than you have done with Windows Phone.

/rant

Well you said it yourself, every "reviewer" said it was sluggish. So have you not used an RT longer than a store visit?

 

[inteller]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

when your tablet comes with a real OS, it is going to take up room. The Surface comes with Windows 8 compiled for ARM. That provides you with an enormous amount of functionality, if you don't need that much functionality, and want to have a brag list of 400k apps (that have never been downloaded), get an iPad.

 

[socialcarpet]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

when your tablet comes with a real OS, it is going to take up room. The Surface comes with Windows 8 compiled for ARM. That provides you with an enormous amount of functionality, if you don't need that much functionality, and want to have a brag list of 400k apps (that have never been downloaded), get an iPad.

Tell me, what does a Surface with Win RT do that an Android tablet doesn't, aside from run Microsoft Office?

 

[socialcarpet]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

Well you said it yourself, every "reviewer" said it was sluggish. So have you not used an RT longer than a store visit?

Nope, I haven't and until there's a good selection of apps and the rest of the items I noted are sorted out there is really no point in me test driving a Win RT tablet.

 

[Microsoftjunkie]

Nope, I haven't and until there's a good selection of apps and the rest of the items I noted are sorted out there is really no point in me test driving a Win RT tablet.

I do know what you experienced isn't the end result after updates. It runs really good, there is considerably less lag, imo, almost to the point its lagless. You should at least understand that Microsoft works out kinks.

 

[Ridemyscooter86]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

You know, I wouldn't buy it, if you read enough of my posts you will know that I'm not crazy about WinRT. But that is not why I wouldn't recommend it, the battery life is fine, the keyboard dock is fine, the overall product seems fine, but at my work, (where I sell computers) we put 2 out and both of them are broken. While yes, I do realize that customers abuse the crap out of our products when they are displayed on the floor, both of them don't work because the touch panel on the screen is messed up, it won't recognize touch inputs and both of them have the same issue. Also customers have been returning it because of that issue. I think its a problematic model, its rare when companies put them out, but it does happen. I would suggest if you want one for the same price, around black Friday we were selling the 32gb version of the Acer icons w510 for 399$ so you may be able to find that one instead. I'll put it in reference, the iPad, Acer iconia w510 and w700, hp envy x2, and nearly every other touchscreen android tablets including ASUS ones don't seem to have this many issues. Unless ASUS has stated that they have fixed this problem I would avid this model. There are 2 I would recommend in its place:
acer iconia w510 as stated earlier and Asus vivotab smart 64gb model running Intel atom for 499$. Yes you might spend 100$ more but they don't seem to be problematic. Also the Microsoft surface as well.

 

[inteller]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

these just sold out in a Daily Deal on ebay for $349 WITH the keyboard dock....gone in about 5 minutes.

 

[speedtouch]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

these just sold out in a Daily Deal on ebay for $349 WITH the keyboard dock....gone in about 5 minutes.

Holy moly! That's a superb deal.

 

[socialcarpet]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

I do know what you experienced isn't the end result after updates. It runs really good, there is considerably less lag, imo, almost to the point its lagless. You should at least understand that Microsoft works out kinks.

I believe it, and I do think the Win RT tablets will turn out to be great, I'm just not ready to be an early adopter just yet. I am very excited to see what the future holds though. I'm not a big Android fan so the sooner Microsoft and hopefully Nokia, give me a viable alternative for this Nexus 7 tablet, I will be 100% on board. I think its going to be at least a year or two though. :/

 

[dogfish54]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

I have been waiting for these to clear out ... $399 is still too high, but I think it's mainly because I have a nice touch ultrabook and don't really want/need a tablet. I think this is a better tablet than the Surface RT, but Windows RT still has its limitations. It's not that these are overpriced, it's more that they are just not that desirable in my book. I had a touchpad and it was fine at $99, but a tablet with a crappy app store and crappy browser is a paperweight.

 

[speedtouch]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

I have been waiting for these to clear out ... $399 is still too high, but I think it's mainly because I have a nice touch ultrabook and don't really want/need a tablet. I think this is a better tablet than the Surface RT, but Windows RT still has its limitations. It's not that these are overpriced, it's more that they are just not that desirable in my book. I had a touchpad and it was fine at $99, but a tablet with a crappy app store and crappy browser is a paperweight.

What items on the VivoTab RT make it better than the Surface RT to you?

 

[mstrblueskys]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

You can find it for 450 with the keyboard on tigerdirect!

 

[speedtouch]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

You can find it for 450 with the keyboard on tigerdirect!

Nice! Thanks for the note.

 

[inteller]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

Holy moly! That's a superb deal.

i should have got one for the 'rents. some people bought 5...**** at that price why not? Windows 8 apps are not going away.

 

[drjekel_mrhyde]

Re: ASUS VivoTab RT for $399 @ Amazon

If you live near a Micro center they have the tab for $399 and they give you the docking station for free in-store pick-up