Paddy Wood, AAP Technology Reporter
SYDNEY, Jan 17 AAP - Toshiba's Encore is, at $399, a budget tablet - and budget tablets always involve compromises.
At 189 pixels-per-inch, you don't get a sharp display. Nor do you get a svelte or particularly lightweight design.
But you do get the full-blown version of Windows - the one you'll find on Microsoft notebooks and PCs.
This is a formidable attribute. The 8-inch Encore will run the same desktop applications as a notebook or PC in addition to regular made-for-mobile apps.
It's possible thanks to Intel's new Bay Trail Atom chips which help bring the full Windows experience to tablets without sacrificing too much battery or power.
As a productivity device, the Encore is decent.
A HDMI port will let you connect it to a high-definition monitor, while a USB port lets you plug it into any number of peripherals, from hard-disks to printers.
The idea is that you can use it as a tablet on-the-go and then connect it up to a monitor when you're at home.
On board storage starts at 32GB, with a 64GB model costing $469. This can be expanded via a micro SD card slot that adds up to 32GB of memory.
It comes with a full version of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 pre-installed, providing Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, and will run for about seven hours of heavy use before needing a recharge.
Being a tablet, however, it can't quite match the power of a laptop, and will slow down if you try to run too many applications at the same time.
Moreover, the screen is a little too small for serious productivity. If you hold it in landscape mode and work on a Word document, for example, the keyboard takes up more than half the screen.
Some on-screen buttons are also quite small and you can find yourself tapping a few times before you finally hit your target.
As a productivity device, it works better with add-ons like a wireless keyboard and mouse, which will add to the price and detract from its portability.
The decision to get one will depend on your needs. If you want a tablet mainly for entertainment, Google's impressive Nexus 7 tablet, which runs Android, costs about $60 less and is lighter with a higher-resolution screen.
If you're happy to sacrifice a little of the entertainment specs for some extra productivity, the Encore is a good deal.
A sub-$400 tablet offering a full Windows experience is impressive and should make competitors sit up and take notice.
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