[theefman]

So a few days ago I ordered an Asus Vivo Tab running full Windows 8 with an Atom processor and did a quick unboxing video. It was taken with an old camera so its not the best quality but give the general idea of what comes with the tablet. Also included a few pics of the device and accessories - case, stylus, spare stylus tips. Charging the device now and will be testing it out over the next few days so will post impressions and any issues.

Heres the link to my skydrive: http://sdrv.ms/Xc0AeD

[jdevenberg]

Where did you order it from and what was the damage? (sorry if you answered q's in the video, and our MS Forefront threat management software blocks skydrive)

[theefman]

Got it from beach audio for full retail, they now have it priced higher but amazon now has it for the regular price.

Edit: here's the video.http://vimeo.com/54682775

[Mohamed Essam]

I am interested to see the unpacking of Asus Vivo Tab but the video on Vimeo is private.

[theefman]

Let me check it.

Edit: should be ok now. Didnt realise they set the videos to private automatically.

[curtissh]

Dude, the video and pictures are great. First I've seen showing the whole package. I linked to them in the tabletpcreview.com forum here. I hope that's alright.

So, what's with this 36 pin connector? Can those be purchased in the wild?

[theefman]

Dude, the video and pictures are great. First I've seen showing the whole package. I linked to them in the tabletpcreview.com forum here. I hope that's alright.

So, what's with this 36 pin connector? Can those be purchased in the wild?

Thanks, I saw your post on tabletreview, I planned to post it there but other videos posted seemed to cover most of the device so decided not to.

For the connector I found the adapter here: "tf810" | EXcaliberPC.com. Its listed as compabible with the Nexus 7 as well and there are tons of cheap cables for that device on amazon so you should be able to pick up a spare easily.

[curtissh]

Ridiculously useful. Thanks. I was of the impression that the Nexus 7 just used a standard micro-USB. The pictures in the manual make it look like the 810 cable is much wider.

[curtissh]

Actually, given the images on NewEgg, the VivoTab RT uses a different charging cable with a wider head, so I'm pretty sure the excaliburPC listing is incorrect. It looks kind of like the TF101 charger. Even if that's the case, looks like cables will be relatively easy to find. We'll see. Curious what yours has.

[theefman]

Mine looks the same as the RT charger, had one that I returned recently and I think they are the same, they look similar enough. Not sure why that site listed the nexus if it uses a micro USB port to charge. Anyway I added a few pics of my charger connector to the SkyDrive folder.

[theefman]

So after using the vivo tab for about 2 weeks now here are my thoughts.


First off the hardware. The device is constructed very well, the glass screen is glossy but doesn’t display fingerprints too much if your hands aren’t oily. On the rear the lower part of the back is made of metal, prob aluminum and the top quarter is plastic where the antenna are housed for better reception. On my device this area doesn’t fully line up with the metal casing below it but it’s not something that bothers me but it just makes the build quality less than perfect. The volume rocker, power button and headphone jack all seem ok. The micro sd card slot is exposed but I haven’t had any problems with the card ejecting accidentally so far as it’s recessed a bit to make that less likely. The whole device feels solid with no discernible flex though the plastic does creak a tiny bit when pressed. Funny enough that seems to happen less when the device has been in a warm environment for a while. The included case is nice and makes it easy to carry the tablet around.
The keyboard dock works very well for me, I had a faulty one initially but the replacement works just fine, is well built and has a quality finish. The trackpad is a decent size and supports windows 8 gestures fine out of the box. I have had no problems with disconnects when moving the device around at all so far.


Moving to software, I personally like windows 8 and have used it from the consumer preview so have no problems with getting used to the OS. Asus preloaded a few apps from the store, Supernote, Guide and some others which are easily removed. The only desktop additions are the intel graphic drivers and the live update utility. Performance wise the device feels quite snappy and responds well to the tasks I have used it for. I have installed Zune, Office 2013 preview, software for my Brother printer, my Home server connector, Cubby for syncing files (Live mesh replacement) and one or two other programs that load on start and don’t see any performance issues. On the desktop Office opens quickly and running multiple programs doesn’t cause any issues. You can push the system to its limits if you open a lot of Metro IE windows and have other programs running but overall it performs very well and is nothing like past Atom devices. Compared to my Acer W500 everything is just a bit quicker and smoother. Tried a few Windows store games like Hydro Thunder and with reduced graphics the games I tried work fine. NFC worked perfectly with my Lumia 920.


Battery life is outstanding, the tablet alone easily lasts 8 hours browsing, streaming videos, running apps and general usage. Adding the dock makes it a true all day device and if its not in use constantly can go for about 2 1/2 days before needing a charge.


So here are the issues ive encountered. Similar to other Atom W8 devices awaking from sleep sometimes finds the trackpad not responding and requires undocking and redocking the tablet to fix. However a workaround is to disable then renable the touchpad using Fn F9, so far that’s worked for me.


The sound card occasionally crashes stopping all sound output and a reboot is required. The graphics driver also seems flaky, I have issues with playing a particular video in the Xbox video app (plays in Zune) and Adera crashes right after loading. I have also had a complete freeze on occasion but that is not the norm, the tablet works fine 98% of the time.


Overall, I am happy with my purchase. The issues mentioned should be easily fixed with driver updates and while annoying are not enough in the meantime for me to return the device. Hopefully Asus is on the ball quickly and releases updates to fix the issues. I was initially not going to buy it because of the price but looking at the other options and seeing as I wanted an 11.6” device this was the best option for me and so far its working out well. If anyone has any questions, I’d be happy to help if possible as i probably left out some info on the device. Added some new images and uploaded to Flickr: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDbKeKd