Best 8 inch windows tablet for now?

[mase123987]

It seems that all small tablets are dropping the HDMI physical connector as they add MHL wireless. Lenovo and new Kindle HDX have the same situation.

Makes sense to keep the tablet as thin as possible, esp. on the edges. That said, I would prefer to have it since it is full Windows.

 

[closeloop]

This week Apple highlighted that both its new iPad Air and new iPad Mini With Retina display will have dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 2x2 MIMO WiFi. Dell Venue 8 Pro is now the only 8" Windows 8.1 tablet that has dual band 2x2 MIMO WiFi.

The other three 8" Windows 8.1 tablets announced so far, Toshiba Encore uses dual band 1x1 11n WiFi; Lenovo Miix2 use single band (2.4GHz only) 1x1 11n WiFi; Acer Iconia W4 has not disclosed its WiFi spec, but it is likely to be single or dual band 1x1 11n WiFi as well.

2x2 MIMO WiFi achieves twice the communication speed of 1x1 WiFi, while at the same time provides a much longer range and signal reliability. Also for the new Miracast feature (wireless display) introduced in Windows 8.1, 2x2 MIMO WiFi provides a much better Miracast video quality than 1x1 WiFi because of the speed and signal reliability. As for the communication frequency band, 2.4GHz band is a very "crowded". 5GHz band gives you a lot more selection of channels and is free from a lot of the interferences.

Since WiFi is the only communication medium in most of the tablets, a good WiFi really enhances the user experience whether you are at home, at work, at the airport, or at the Starbucks.

 

[electricbopeep]

Here's a good article comparing the 8" tablets - also read the comments below, which discuss the Toshiba. Looks like the w4 and Toshiba are edging out the venue and Lenovo for me, based on hdmi and other factors.

http://techland.time.com/2013/10/17/small-windows-8-tablets-can-you-spot-the-differences/
Sent from my Windows 8 device using Board Express

 

[g808]

Surprisingly positive first look from Tech Crunch. The more I read about this device the more interested I get.

 

[mase123987]

Surprisingly positive first look from Tech Crunch. The more I read about this device the more interested I get.

Dell Venue 8 Pro Tablet | First Look - YouTube

The device he was using had the same watermark issue I did!

 

[g808]

How is the Windows 8.1 experience on an 8 inch device (both desktop and metro)?

 

[mase123987]

Too early to tell. I have been trying to fix that issue I mentioned for the majority of the time I have had it. If I have the time, I will try to write a full review.

 

[bitek]

desktop mode is fine because i enlarged all buttons in settings. it is much easier to click on it now