Encore 8

[John Wiskowski]

Although I prefer the size and shape of the Lenovo Miix 2, I am having too many issues with it freezing up. For some reason, the Dell isn't that appealing to me, and I missed all the bargains.

I ordered a Toshiba Encore 8 and look forward to testing it out this week. Surprised there isn't much discussion about this device in the forums, so I thought I would get it started.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I hope the Encore 8 works well for you. Please let us know what you think of it when it arrives.

 

[Milan Bassi]

Hey, I got the encore 8 after looking around trust me mate you wont regret it the camera isn't all bad and it is super fast and can keep up with my Dell XPS 12. Although on thing is I cant seem to play Halo Spartan assault on it but then again this can be fixed but apart from that it is something you wont regret.

 

[John Wiskowski]

Loving it so far. Feels faster than the Lenovo Miix 2 and definitely has a higher build quality. I've had multiple issues with various Windows 8.1 tablets, usually related to firmware, drivers, etc. I haven't experienced one issue yet. It is a tad weight and dense feeling. Basically the weight of an iPad Air in an iPad Mini body. I can see it become harder to hold for longer periods than some of the competition. However, the high build quality, micro HDMI port, and solid screen paired with stereo mics and speakers makes up for it.

I am using the Case Logic SureFit 7-8" case. It fits like a glove.

 

[AndyCalling]

It seems really great, just got mine. Thing is, Logitech's Setpoint software seems not to work on this tablet so far so not a good OOB experience (see my other post). If I can solve this sticky issue then it could be a really ace device.

Also, ruddy hard to buy a case or cover for this or any 8 inch tablet on the high street. Not easy online either, even Amazon have very few to choose from and I can't find a good one yet.

 

[John Wiskowski]

Using the newest version of Setpoint?

Support + Downloads: SetPoint - Logitech

 

[AndyCalling]

Yep, new tablet, new download of latest Setpoint from Logitech. Basically, the Encore is not compatible with the Logitech driver software OOB. The question is how can I make it so. Asking here and on the Logitech forums in the hope of a solution before the year is out.

 

[IntoTheSun]

I got the Toshiba Encore to have a fully capable PC when I'm away and to enjoy silent computing at home when I'm not playing serious games. I connect the tablet to a 24" 1920?1080 display with a micro HDMI cable.
To make the USB port available for charging I bought Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Keyboard and the Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Mouse - both Bluetooth devices. Unfortunately they don't function properly; the mouse cursor is a bit jumpy (cursor doesn't move smoothly), the keyboard randomly skips registering key presses and once I had a case of stuck key. It often lags too. I typed this with another wireless MS keyboard that uses a USB receiver - no problems with this one except, of course, I can't charge the tablet. I discovered it's the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network that interferes with the 2.4GHz Bluetooth radio. The BT peripherals function ok if I switch off the Wi-Fi. So now I'm supposed to replace the otherwise brand new wireless router just because it doesn't use the 5GHz band. Of course, I can't be 100% sure the 5GHz Wi-Fi won't mess with the keyboard and mouse.

Sometimes, apparently depending on the Allow the screen to auto-rotate setting in Control Panel and the position the tablet is in, connecting the HDMI cable results in a weird black screen crash and restart after which everything is ok. I use the option to only show desktop on the big screen, the tablet display goes blank but is still touch sensitive so it draws power.
I disabled the auto brightness but I can still see a slight flicker when the brightness is set to minimum.
I would like to have the scaling options set to a higher value when the 24" display is not plugged but the option affects both displays and I don't want to change it every time I switch.

I got a 32GB Sony card UHS-I class 10, rated 40MB/s reading speed but is rather slow:

This is how the internal storage performs:

Overall I find the tablet performance to be satisfying; IE desktop version has a slow startup but that might be caused by an add-on like LastPass.
I uninstalled the included McAfee antivirus because when it starts to scan, things become really slow. The first Office installation failed because of it.
I don't like the fact that Internet connectivity stops for desktop apps if I turn off the tablet screen.

 

[Farfle]

John, first off love you guys on your Surface Geeks webcasts, really great forum there for discussing where all this is heading.

Regarding this tablet, it has nearly everything I'd want in an 8inch form factor, except Retina-quality screen and a more thinner and lighter specs. But those can be overlooked for a first-gen device.

Specifically though, I'm interested in its different processor (Z3740) vs that which is in the Venue 8 Pro and Miix 2 (Z3740D). Theoretically, the Toshiba having the Z3740 means it can support dual-channel RAM where the other two cannot. But this is only helpful if there are two sticks of RAM installed. I can't seem to find anywhere that states this is actually the case for this device. He'll, I don't even know if it physically has two memory slots on its motherboard!

So I wanted to ask you to check something for me. Can you download and run CPU-Z on it and tell me how many sticks of RAM it has? I'm guessing 1, but could you verify this? A screenshot would be great!

Also, another big issue is utilizing a USB on-the-go cable with a pigtail charging cord attached to try and charge the device whilst connected to a USB device, such as mouse or hub. The cable I'm referring to is something like this:



If you had such a cable laying around, could you test that out too?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[IntoTheSun]

Apparently, CPU-Z doesn't properly detect the configuration.

 

[Farfle]

Well that sucks. I don't know how else to tell if the system is using dual channel or not. There's probably a way to get into the UEFI bios, but I don't know what that entails, nor do I think it'll tell you much. The lpddr memory is probably soldered to the board, so upgrading wouldn't be feasible. If it isn't Dual channel, then there's no benefit to this CPU vs the Z3740D, found in the Venue. In fact it's actually a bit slower

 

[Roderick Aspiras]

hi! did you return your Lenovo miix2? I have read that once you uninstalled Mcafee and updates everything is fine? I'm leaning towards the Acer Iconia W4 coz it does not have the capacitive buttons. Has GPS and micro-hdmi with a decent price.

 

[John Wiskowski]

Thanks for the kind words. It has one stick of RAM. That processor difference is meaningless in this class of devices. Maybe in 2014 well see more RAm and faster IO performance, but not today. The Encore 8 scores the same as the others in 3D Mark.

I don't have one of those cables and would be too afraid to use it I am getting multiple days of battery, so I would just charge it when not in use. (overnight?)

 

[John Wiskowski]

What do you mean by capacitive buttons? Every 8" does except the Dell. (Toshiba and Lenovo, for example.) My Mixx 2 (I had two actually) got progressively worse with Windows updates and driver updates. It would freeze up multiple times a day. Usually when plugging in USB drives or the power adapter. But other times just while sitting idle. I just couldn't put up with that.

The Toshiba Encore seems to be using more stable drivers (there are older from the summer) but has been rock solid. Not one software or hardware issue so far. I LOVE IT! This is the best Windows 8 experience I have ever had (after trying the Surface, Surface 2, Samsung Ativ Tab, Asus Vivo Tab, Lumia 2520, Dell VP8 and Lenovo Miix 2).

 

[IntoTheSun]

I just noticed that Task Manager says there are 2 memory slots and both are used.

 

[IntoTheSun]

In order to fix the WiFi - Bluetooth interference issue, I got a dual band router (Asus RT-N56U) and yes, it's fixed! When I connect to the 5GHz network, the BT keyboard and mouse function as they should. The 5GHz band doesn't cover the entire apartment so it looks I'll sometimes have to use the 2.4 band which indeed has a much better coverage. Normally, I don't need the BT where I have to use the 2.4GHz.

 

[Roderick Aspiras]

The Acer iconia W3/W4 does not have the capacitive buttons- its the windows 8 logo that vibrates when you touch and it functions as a home button. In Iconia its not capacitive but actual buttons so you won't accidentally press it.

What do you mean by capacitive buttons? Every 8" does except the Dell. (Toshiba and Lenovo, for example.) My Mixx 2 (I had two actually) got progressively worse with Windows updates and driver updates. It would freeze up multiple times a day. Usually when plugging in USB drives or the power adapter. But other times just while sitting idle. I just couldn't put up with that.

The Toshiba Encore seems to be using more stable drivers (there are older from the summer) but has been rock solid. Not one software or hardware issue so far. I LOVE IT! This is the best Windows 8 experience I have ever had (after trying the Surface, Surface 2, Samsung Ativ Tab, Asus Vivo Tab, Lumia 2520, Dell VP8 and Lenovo Miix 2).

 

[AndyCalling]

Actually, Toshiba has been very clever with the capacitive Windows button. It is almost impossible to press by mistake. It has a very slightly delayed action. The Toshiba solution is ideal and much better than an edge button like the Dell. The Toshiba is basically perfect, except it is not compatible with Setpoint.

 

[kbz1960]

I should have one on Monday, supposed to anyway.

 

[gblinckmann]

I was finding absolutely abysmal WiFi performance on the Encore. I'm glad I read your post!. I was contemplating returning the Encore.

I switched to using the 5GHz WiFi connection in my house, and the problem cleared up. So then I turned off the Bluetooth and tried 2.4GHz, and that worked fine, too.

Would you think that this is a problem with the antenna placement, the drivers, or the Broadcom chipset that's used? It would be good to have 2.4 WiFi and Bluetooth working at the same time.