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[HIGHLY RECOMMENDED]Asus Zenbook UX31A Touch

For christmas, I got an asus zenbook touch. Best ultrabook I've ever owned. For 1100 dollars, you get an i5, 128gb ssd, touch screen, and intel 4000 graphics. It is a little steep for those specs but the build quality and touch screen completely make up for it in my opinion. It actually comes with a bunch of accessories too, a folio case, VGA adapter, micro usb cable, and an ethernet adapter. I can write up a full review if anyone wants.
I can answer any questions about it, too
Available here

I was eyeing that exact model at my local Best Buy earlier this week. I'm really torn between this Zenbook and Lenovo's Yoga.
Couple of questions:
How's the Battery Life with casual use?
Wifi issues?
SSD speeds? Did you get the Adata SSD or Sandisk SSD (should say on the box)?
Light bleeding in the screen? This was a major issue with the previous non-touch UX31As.
Is the paint chipping off by any chance?
My main worry with this Asus is that it only has 4GB of RAM and it cannot be upgraded. I'm just not sure if it'll be enough, how does it perform with this amount of RAM? Any hiccups when multiple web pages are up?
I believe that's about it for my questions lol. Thanks if you reply, I haven't logged into XDA for like a year and luckily I happened to find this thread. I really am digging this ultrabook, I need something durable, quick, and light for school that'll last me a good 3 years minimum while retaining its functionality as it was on day 1. Damn you Lenovo and your upgradable RAM, this would've been an easier decision if the Yoga didn't have upgrade options lol.

atticusmas said:
For christmas, I got an asus zenbook touch. Best ultrabook I've ever owned. For 1100 dollars, you get an i5, 128gb ssd, touch screen, and intel 4000 graphics. It is a little steep for those specs but the build quality and touch screen completely make up for it in my opinion. It actually comes with a bunch of accessories too, a folio case, VGA adapter, micro usb cable, and an ethernet adapter. I can write up a full review if anyone wants.
I can answer any questions about it, too
Available here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm enjoying my Toshiba T925u. It has about the same specs, but an 11.5 inch screen (not as high in resolution). It has a slide out keyboard for typing, or can be used as a tablet. A bit more expensive at around 1100. Toshiba is expecting them in stock in mid January; they seem to be out of stock everywhere.
Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using xda premium

stellar said:
I was eyeing that exact model at my local Best Buy earlier this week. I'm really torn between this Zenbook and Lenovo's Yoga.
Couple of questions:
How's the Battery Life with casual use?
Wifi issues?
SSD speeds? Did you get the Adata SSD or Sandisk SSD (should say on the box)?
Light bleeding in the screen? This was a major issue with the previous non-touch UX31As.
Is the paint chipping off by any chance?
My main worry with this Asus is that it only has 4GB of RAM and it cannot be upgraded. I'm just not sure if it'll be enough, how does it perform with this amount of RAM? Any hiccups when multiple web pages are up?
I believe that's about it for my questions lol. Thanks if you reply, I haven't logged into XDA for like a year and luckily I happened to find this thread. I really am digging this ultrabook, I need something durable, quick, and light for school that'll last me a good 3 years minimum while retaining its functionality as it was on day 1. Damn you Lenovo and your upgradable RAM, this would've been an easier decision if the Yoga didn't have upgrade options lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get the yoga, there's a plethora of problems with it. Light bleed is present but not a big deal for me at all. SSD speed is lightning fast, boot time is like 3 seconds. 3 seconds for a cold boot. No paint chipping. Battery life is around 6 hours with causal use. I actually have no idea what ssd it is.

atticusmas said:
Don't get the yoga, there's a plethora of problems with it. Light bleed is present but not a big deal for me at all. SSD speed is lightning fast, boot time is like 3 seconds. 3 seconds for a cold boot. No paint chipping. Battery life is around 6 hours with causal use. I actually have no idea what ssd it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Toshiba also boots in about 3 sec.
Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using xda premium

If only US Bestbuy shipped internationally
Does anyone else know of any vendors for this besides ExcaliberPC (it's on backorder/preorder - confusing status)

Hey buddy will you able to put some pictures up for it?
Reason I ask is because I am an international buyer and wanted to see how the all black really looks over the weekend press shots, thanks
atticusmas said:
For christmas, I got an asus zenbook touch. Best ultrabook I've ever owned. For 1100 dollars, you get an i5, 128gb ssd, touch screen, and intel 4000 graphics. It is a little steep for those specs but the build quality and touch screen completely make up for it in my opinion. It actually comes with a bunch of accessories too, a folio case, VGA adapter, micro usb cable, and an ethernet adapter. I can write up a full review if anyone wants.
I can answer any questions about it, too
Available here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Vishs87 said:
Reason I ask is because I am an international buyer and wanted to see how the all black really looks over the weekend press shots, thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure I will soon enough

Thanks, if you get time would be nice if you could email me one or two as I'm looking to order it from my friend who is out on holiday in the states right now and back to the UK on the 12th, my email is [email protected] thanks a lot
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

i'll post them here in 10
Edit: Attachments.

atticusmas said:
Don't get the yoga, there's a plethora of problems with it. Light bleed is present but not a big deal for me at all. SSD speed is lightning fast, boot time is like 3 seconds. 3 seconds for a cold boot. No paint chipping. Battery life is around 6 hours with causal use. I actually have no idea what ssd it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My sister and I just picked up two Yoga 13's last week. We both love them. The only issue we had was the wacky SSD partition scheme they had on them, but there was a fix available, and easily found, on the product support page. I'm loving mine. It replaced a 2 year old HP DM3 laptop.

I am looking into this model. Very much like the design and specs.
Wanna ask you whether the Windows 8 installation files are located in the SSD? If so... Can I remove them and save the installation files in a USB stick to install the OS later? From what I gather.... The ultra book does not come with installation files...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app

guntherfurlong said:
I am looking into this model. Very much like the design and specs.
Wanna ask you whether the Windows 8 installation files are located in the SSD? If so... Can I remove them and save the installation files in a USB stick to install the OS later? From what I gather.... The ultra book does not come with installation files...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you can, just press "windows key + R" and type recoverydrive.exe, the window will guide you through the rest!
I've got the australian model (silver) but it does seem to come with torx screws on the bottom, dont feel like unscrewing them but is everyone sure you cant upgrade the ram on the touch model? I thought the porblem with the prime models was that you couldnt detach the bottom at all..? (but you seem to be able to with this model... 10GB ram would be nice )

10gb of ram would also be a bad idea in general.
In a laptop you only get 2 slots. Usually each slot will have a max capacity of either 4 or 8gb. To get 10gb across both slots, well, they don't make 5gb sticks so you would have to go with an 8gb and a 2gb. However you get access issues with unmatched sticks, its computer building 101, wherever possible use matched sticks (capacity, access speed, timings, everything, for all intents and purposes just use 2 of the same model). You could do 8gb or 16gb easily enough.
I personally live fine on 4gb. I seriously don't see why the majority of people need more. Although a few of my games have occasionally pushed me past 4gb used so I am considering upgrading to 8.

SixSixSevenSeven said:
10gb of ram would also be a bad idea in general.
In a laptop you only get 2 slots. Usually each slot will have a max capacity of either 4 or 8gb. To get 10gb across both slots, well, they don't make 5gb sticks so you would have to go with an 8gb and a 2gb. However you get access issues with unmatched sticks, its computer building 101, wherever possible use matched sticks (capacity, access speed, timings, everything, for all intents and purposes just use 2 of the same model). You could do 8gb or 16gb easily enough.
I personally live fine on 4gb. I seriously don't see why the majority of people need more. Although a few of my games have occasionally pushed me past 4gb used so I am considering upgrading to 8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, but with as with the UX32VD I assume that if the ram would be replacable (which it probably still isn't) it would be only one slot, the other dimm is soldered on. So unmatched sticks (2 + 4 or 2 + 8) would be the only way to go. Just googled a little bit and it seems that the normal UX31A was also openable (i thought it wasnt) but only the battery and the SSD is exposed then, so probably no luck for the touch model after all.

cuberob said:
I know, but with as with the UX32VD I assume that if the ram would be replacable (which it probably still isn't) it would be only one slot, the other dimm is soldered on. So unmatched sticks (2 + 4 or 2 + 8) would be the only way to go. Just googled a little bit and it seems that the normal UX31A was also openable (i thought it wasnt) but only the battery and the SSD is exposed then, so probably no luck for the touch model after all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't really speak for the UX, but on my Yoga, there is only ONE dimm, and there is not another one soldered on it. It's either single channel 4GB or single channel 8GB (8GB is the max for the motherboard and dimm).

Finally got the ultrabook. Enjoying it.
Just wondering whether is there any reason I should keep the ASUS apps that came with the ultrabook? Are they considered bloatware?
Any major consequences if I uninstall them?

Just an update.
I'm running Mint Linux on this ultrabook now.
Quite like it.
There's no need for Windows.

Thinking of investing in one of these..

I'm in the market for a new 10 inch tablet. Its either between this or a Nexus 10. I'm a little weary on getting the TF300 for some of the issues I've read about. Just would like to hear if anyone has any problems with it or not, and if so, are they bearable or fixable?
Might also want to add that I'm generally very lenient when it comes to bugs..but, having a N7, I've kind of spoiled myself lol
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Ive had mine since June 2012 and I've read about people with many issues but none of that for me. I unlocked it and I am running cm10.1 and I just love it.

malamalaful said:
Ive had mine since June 2012 and I've read about people with many issues but none of that for me. I unlocked it and I am running cm10.1 and I just love it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a little obsessed with buying new gadgets after around six months, so I'd really like this to last a while. Obviously it can hold against the test of time pretty well if its lasted almost a year for you lol
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

On the stock rom the tf300t is almost ubearable. I hardly ever used the tablet.
I recently bit the bullet unlocked installed twrp recovery and cleanrom. It runs amazingly fast and smooth now. I was shocked when I first used cleanrom, I wasn't expecting such a vast improvement. Now I use it more than my pc.
I have the keyboard dock and would recommend it to everyone even if it's just for the additional battery life. The keyboard is easy to use and works well with a wireless mouse.
White tf300t and dock, 32gb tablet, 64 gb micro sd and 1tb white portable HD & white USB card reader / usb hub.
Only issue I have had with cleanrom is my EA Games Real Racing 2 and NFSMW won't install from the market, other than that everything else is perfect.
Word of warning if you unlock and install twrp (or cmw ... twrp is recommended) NEVER do a full wipe from the Asus recovery or you'll likely end up with a brick. To avoid this I always do a reboot into recovery rather than entering recovery when the tablet is booting (Just in case I accidentally stuff up).
Keyboard dock is great for typing, not as good as a dedicated desktop keyboard but plenty good for lecture notes etc. I tend to use a wireless mouse rather than the trackpad.
The stock Asus software is actually quite useful. I keep applocker mynet and a few others when I install a custom rom...
I have a cheap $7 10 inch tablet sleeve I bought from Kmart a cheap set of screen protectors.. I am careful with the tablet but not obsesively so. No issues with it hardware wise (I keep mine overclocked to 1.6 all day everyday).

o0o.paw said:
On the stock rom the tf300t is almost ubearable. I hardly ever used the tablet.
I recently bit the bullet unlocked installed twrp recovery and cleanrom. It runs amazingly fast and smooth now. I was shocked when I first used cleanrom, I wasn't expecting such a vast improvement. Now I use it more than my pc.
I have the keyboard dock and would recommend it to everyone even if it's just for the additional battery life. The keyboard is easy to use and works well with a wireless mouse.
White tf300t and dock, 32gb tablet, 64 gb micro sd and 1tb white portable HD & white USB card reader / usb hub.
Only issue I have had with cleanrom is my EA Games Real Racing 2 and NFSMW won't install from the market, other than that everything else is perfect.
Word of warning if you unlock and install twrp (or cmw ... twrp is recommended) NEVER do a full wipe from the Asus recovery or you'll likely end up with a brick. To avoid this I always do a reboot into recovery rather than entering recovery when the tablet is booting (Just in case I accidentally stuff up).
Keyboard dock is great for typing, not as good as a dedicated desktop keyboard but plenty good for lecture notes etc. I tend to use a wireless mouse rather than the trackpad.
The stock Asus software is actually quite useful. I keep applocker mynet and a few others when I install a custom rom...
I have a cheap $7 10 inch tablet sleeve I bought from Kmart a cheap set of screen protectors.. I am careful with the tablet but not obsesively so. No issues with it hardware wise (I keep mine overclocked to 1.6 all day everyday).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If we're being honest, it would be unlocked and ROM'd by the end of the night were I to get it lol. So it handles external hard drives well?
I wasn't even aware the keyboard dock had a track pad on it. How well is the sound on it while docked/in landscape?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

As far as handling external hard drives, I have had no problems transferring backups of my DVDs through the USB dongle from a 2TB NTFS HD to the tablet.

I bought a 1TB laptop drive from my local PC shop and a cheap HD enclosure from eBay .. I simply searched for a white one to match my Tablet. Yeh it handles the hard drives really well.
I have a 8 TB hard drive enclosure that has 4 x 2 TB drives ... it uses USB through 1 USB port and allows the drives to show as 1x 8 gb drive or 4 x 2 gb drives... works great on windows 7 I have it set up as 4 seperate drives. It only showed as 1 x 2TB drive on the tablet (well it was worth a shot)...only picked up the first drive in the enclosure.
I use FX Explorer with the additional add ons (I coughed up the $ for these as the app is that good) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nextapp.fx&hl=en .. I access my drives on the PC via wifi using this app (looks great on the tablet).
Sound from the speakers sound great... movies can be a bit soft, depends on how you encode them.
My son is using the tablet each day for taking notes for his programming course. He touch types and thinks the keyboard is great. The additional battery life is an added bonus

This is the first Android device that I have NOT rooted.
With the ability to DISABLE apps a standard feature in Jelly Bean, I just didn't feel like messing aroun d with it since the tab runs REALLY WELL IMO with the Stock Rom on it.
I love this thing. It's plenty fast enough, runs everything I throw at it.
Also agree the Keyboard is nice even thought I RARELY ever use mine. I keep thinking about selling it while I could still get a few bucks for it, but... I just can't quite part with it.
I have a 16GB Pad, with a 16GB card in it. In the dock I have a 32GB card. I take my SD Card from my camera and put it in the dock, and bam, there are my pics.
Not to mention when the tab gets low on battery, I will just put it on the dock for 20 minutes. It sucks the juice out of the dock and is charged again. Very nice feature.

7eregrine said:
This is the first Android device that I have NOT rooted.
With the ability to DISABLE apps a standard feature in Jelly Bean, I just didn't feel like messing aroun d with it since the tab runs REALLY WELL IMO with the Stock Rom on it.
I love this thing. It's plenty fast enough, runs everything I throw at it.
Also agree the Keyboard is nice even thought I RARELY ever use mine. I keep thinking about selling it while I could still get a few bucks for it, but... I just can't quite part with it.
I have a 16GB Pad, with a 16GB card in it. In the dock I have a 32GB card. I take my SD Card from my camera and put it in the dock, and bam, there are my pics.
Not to mention when the tab gets low on battery, I will just put it on the dock for 20 minutes. It sucks the juice out of the dock and is charged again. Very nice feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you get yours running "really well"? I'm on stock as well - rather because I don't wanna unlock it before knowing, if ASUS will make nvflash possible or not - and with everyday using it the urge to flash a custom rom gets bigger.
I expect a 1,3ghz quadcore tegra to run a bit smoother and faster - but on stock rom it just doesn't really run smooth and fast...
For example: I use a app to record my bloodpressure over the day - doesn't really run that smooth on my tf300. Frankly, it runs a lot smoother on my desire hd. And I don't think a 1ghz cpu can beat a 1,3ghz quadcore
Also, the biggest disadvantage of stock rom: the microsd card is just a removable storage...if you have a lot of apps on a 16gb tf300 you'll experience insufficient storage here and there, especially when you're having games on it that require around a gb of space for their data.
As soon as I know whether the petition was successful or not I'll get rid of this lame stock rom and try clean rom

7eregrine said:
This is the first Android device that I have NOT rooted.
With the ability to DISABLE apps a standard feature in Jelly Bean, I just didn't feel like messing aroun d with it since the tab runs REALLY WELL IMO with the Stock Rom on it.
I love this thing. It's plenty fast enough, runs everything I throw at it.
Also agree the Keyboard is nice even thought I RARELY ever use mine. I keep thinking about selling it while I could still get a few bucks for it, but... I just can't quite part with it.
I have a 16GB Pad, with a 16GB card in it. In the dock I have a 32GB card. I take my SD Card from my camera and put it in the dock, and bam, there are my pics.
Not to mention when the tab gets low on battery, I will just put it on the dock for 20 minutes. It sucks the juice out of the dock and is charged again. Very nice feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree with you. I have not had any issues at all with my tf300. I changed a few settings in developer options and disabled a few apps (stock browser for one), but other than that, I have found it runs really well on stock everything.
If possible, could someone post before and after actual usage videos of stock and then a custom rom? Or point me in that direction? I've done searches and all I get are benchmarks, which are decent to show raw performance, but I would like to see real world performance differences (such as web browsing, or games loading and running on stock and then custom) before I take the plunge of unlocking, rooting and voiding.

monsterduc1000 said:
I totally agree with you. I have not had any issues at all with my tf300. I changed a few settings in developer options and disabled a few apps (stock browser for one), but other than that, I have found it runs really well on stock everything.
If possible, could someone post before and after actual usage videos of stock and then a custom rom? Or point me in that direction? I've done searches and all I get are benchmarks, which are decent to show raw performance, but I would like to see real world performance differences (such as web browsing, or games loading and running on stock and then custom) before I take the plunge of unlocking, rooting and voiding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't find any comparison videos, but there's plenty custom ROM and stock videos on YouTube..maybe can try to judge from there?
Also, on my front, I found a really cheap one on amazon and am having a hard time keeping myself away from it. I reckon if there are problems with it, there's nothing the XDA community can't solve, right?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Acer Iconia W3 Tablet

Has anyone had the chance to use\test this tablet? On a scale from 0 to 10 what would you rate it? What are the pros and cons? Any feed back would be appriciated. Thanks.
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http://www.microcenter.com/product/414898/Iconia_W3_Tablet_PC_(W3-810-1600)_-_Silver

sinister1 said:
Has anyone had the chance to use\test this tablet? On a scale from 0 to 10 what would you rate it? What are the pros and cons? Any feed back would be appriciated. Thanks.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/414898/Iconia_W3_Tablet_PC_(W3-810-1600)_-_Silver
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm very pleased with my one week old one. 9 out of 10. It fulfils my needs for full windows on a tablet and makes similar sized android tablets look a bit silly, at least in respect of what you can do. But if your need is just for multimedia (and gaming I suspect) look elsewhere.
Pros:
Low price for a full Win 8 machine, and you get Office Home (for small screens) thrown in.
Very quick, hardly any lag or waiting whatever you're doing.
Battery life like the best android tabs (this was the biggest surprise). 8 to 9 hours light use. Only uses about 5% battery overnight on standby and wakes immediately.
Nicely put together hardware; feels solid (within the limitations of a cheap product). All sockets work nicely and should last.
Full USB2 host, although you have to use a (provided) adapter cable. Even seems to power a portable hard drive. YMMV.
Cons:
Screen not stunning. It's only TFT and optimised for portrait use, so in landscape, as you would tend to use Windows, left-right viewing angles are pretty poor. For work it's fine, for multimedia less so, difficult for 2 people to watch at once. Which is a shame, as the hardware acceleration seems to cope with any movie you throw at it, and smoothly. Brightness and contrast are OK though, as is resolution. I wouldn't want to use it for photo viewing.
Wifi is a bit erratic, mainly because the antenna is somewhere under where yout left hand sits when using landscape mode. In portrait mode it would be fine.
Automatic light sensor in the wrong place for landscape use - you tend to cover it with your left hand. Best to disable it.
The 32GB model only has about 10GB available to the user. It does support 32GB microSD though.
Finally, for anyone wanting to actually carry it around out and about, quite possible as it's small and light enough, there are issues. Even when it's powered right off, a short (rather than long) press on the power button turns it back on. And, when it's put on standby, even though there's a swipe operated standby screen, the timeout of this screen seems to be the same as the standard timeout. So if you've set 10mins before standby, this lock screen also takes 10mins to turn off. Doh!
Don't hesitate to ask anything I might be able to answer

Pete_S said:
I'm very pleased with my one week old one. 9 out of 10. It fulfils my needs for full windows on a tablet and makes similar sized android tablets look a bit silly, at least in respect of what you can do. But if your need is just for multimedia (and gaming I suspect) look elsewhere.
Pros:
Low price for a full Win 8 machine, and you get Office Home (for small screens) thrown in.
Very quick, hardly any lag or waiting whatever you're doing.
Battery life like the best android tabs (this was the biggest surprise). 8 to 9 hours light use. Only uses about 5% battery overnight on standby and wakes immediately.
Nicely put together hardware; feels solid (within the limitations of a cheap product). All sockets work nicely and should last.
Full USB2 host, although you have to use a (provided) adapter cable. Even seems to power a portable hard drive. YMMV.
Cons:
Screen not stunning. It's only TFT and optimised for portrait use, so in landscape, as you would tend to use Windows, left-right viewing angles are pretty poor. For work it's fine, for multimedia less so, difficult for 2 people to watch at once. Which is a shame, as the hardware acceleration seems to cope with any movie you throw at it, and smoothly. Brightness and contrast are OK though, as is resolution. I wouldn't want to use it for photo viewing.
Wifi is a bit erratic, mainly because the antenna is somewhere under where yout left hand sits when using landscape mode. In portrait mode it would be fine.
Automatic light sensor in the wrong place for landscape use - you tend to cover it with your left hand. Best to disable it.
The 32GB model only has about 10GB available to the user. It does support 32GB microSD though.
Finally, for anyone wanting to actually carry it around out and about, quite possible as it's small and light enough, there are issues. Even when it's powered right off, a short (rather than long) press on the power button turns it back on. And, when it's put on standby, even though there's a swipe operated standby screen, the timeout of this screen seems to be the same as the standard timeout. So if you've set 10mins before standby, this lock screen also takes 10mins to turn off. Doh!
Don't hesitate to ask anything I might be able to answer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WiFi should penetrate through your left hand without issue, I doubt that is the issue. Human flesh is near transparent as far as WiFi is concerned, bone may well be a factor though. But regardless, the antenna in these devices should not be so short that your hand can completely cover it. Only other thing I can think of is polarization, most wifi routers are polarized and as such most wifi devices have antenna with bends and kinks etc etc so that they can pick up multiple polarisations regardless of orientation, I highly doubt polarisation is the issue, I highly doubt the antenna is short enough for your hand to effect it when I can hold my phone with both hands entirely engulfing the device and still stream data from wifi while outside in the garden a fair old distance from the router.
It actually supports the entire SDXC spec supposedly so should take a 64gb card and when they are release 128 (the spec actually accounts for card capacities upto 2tb however we dont have the technology to manufacture 2tb nand flash within an SD package obviously).
That 32gb is partially consumed by the recovery (about half of it). If you follow the many guides online for creating a USB recovery drive, then test the drive to confirm that it both a) works and b) you know how to use it (common problem) then you can safely remove the recovery partition built into the device and free up a huge chunk of space.
What adaptor is required for the USB host? Is it just a standard microUSB male to USB A female as used on many android devices or is it something proprietary?

SixSixSevenSeven said:
WiFi should penetrate through your left hand without issue, I doubt that is the issue. Human flesh is near transparent as far as WiFi is concerned, bone may well be a factor though. But regardless, the antenna in these devices should not be so short that your hand can completely cover it. Only other thing I can think of is polarization, most wifi routers are polarized and as such most wifi devices have antenna with bends and kinks etc etc so that they can pick up multiple polarisations regardless of orientation, I highly doubt polarisation is the issue, I highly doubt the antenna is short enough for your hand to effect it when I can hold my phone with both hands entirely engulfing the device and still stream data from wifi while outside in the garden a fair old distance from the router.
It actually supports the entire SDXC spec supposedly so should take a 64gb card and when they are release 128 (the spec actually accounts for card capacities upto 2tb however we dont have the technology to manufacture 2tb nand flash within an SD package obviously).
That 32gb is partially consumed by the recovery (about half of it). If you follow the many guides online for creating a USB recovery drive, then test the drive to confirm that it both a) works and b) you know how to use it (common problem) then you can safely remove the recovery partition built into the device and free up a huge chunk of space.
What adaptor is required for the USB host? Is it just a standard microUSB male to USB A female as used on many android devices or is it something proprietary?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regardless of the supposed penetrative capability through hands of 2.4ghz signals, I can say for sure that the hand holding the tablet at bottom left when in landscape mode causes a 4-5 bar signal (in a room directly above the wifi location) go down to 2 bars at best, sometimes 1 bar. It's quite repeatable. It might be the reason the W3 gets poor reviews in respect of wifi performance? It's a very poor internal antenna location for, what should be, a landscape device.
My phone, incidentally, prefers to be held at the bottom for best wifi performance, or at the top for best 3G!
It's good to hear higher capacity cards are supported as I didn't see a mention of SDXC, though I guess that's a function of windows rather than the hardware.
As regards drive space, I believe the 32GB model doesn't have a recovery partition, instead getting a recovery DVD, whereas the 64GB model has the recovery partition and no DVD. This is what I've read, anyway. Checking with windows disk management tools shows a couple of extra partitions of 500MB and 100MB at the "start" of the disk which appear to be unused. I don't think you could fit recovery files in that sort of space. I don't know what they're for.
The 18GB or so which you can't use simply seems to be windows, with page and hibernation files, plus the preinstalled stuff. I'm certain you could reclaim some of it. My main use is at home with a network drive, so I'm quite happy with what's left.
The adapter appears to be a standard off-the-shelf item, as you say microUSB to standard USB female.

Disabling hibernate will also free some space (by default, the hiberfile is the same size as your RAM, so it can be pretty significant). While hibernate on a mobile device is usually really nice, on a tablet I don't see the need. Any use case that involves putting it on the shelf unplugged for longer than you'd want to leave it in sleep mode should be fine with powering it off instead.
The main uses I have for hibernate are either:
A) Full-disk encryption (BitLocker) where sleep mode is less secure (because the decryption key can be recovered from the still-active RAM)
B) Emergency power-down for critical battery level (without losing any work).
Although these use cases are significant, for most people A is irrelevant and B isn't vital. Sleep mode at 10% battery remaining would still last you all day.
EDIT: To disable Hibernate, do the following:
Run an elevated CMD prompt (you can do it by right-clicking on the Start button, or selecting Command Prompt in the Start screen and choosing Run as Administrator from the app bar).
Run the following command (without the quotes) in the elevated prompt: "powercfg -H OFF"
You may want to then adjust your power profiles, if they were doing things like entering hibernate when the battery got low, so they do something else instead.

Yeah I got one too. Found it at staples for $269. I also have a Lenovo yoga, and while the Acer is obviously slower, its fine for something so small and cheap. I'm pretty happy with it. I do have one issue, and I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing it. Sometimes when plugged in it gets REALLY hot on the back. When it gets this hot, it seems to stop charging. Anyone else experiencing this?

vinscuzzy said:
Yeah I got one too. Found it at staples for $269. I also have a Lenovo yoga, and while the Acer is obviously slower, its fine for something so small and cheap. I'm pretty happy with it. I do have one issue, and I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing it. Sometimes when plugged in it gets REALLY hot on the back. When it gets this hot, it seems to stop charging. Anyone else experiencing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't own the device so I can't have experienced this is course but I do have a fair bit of electronics knowledge. Most chargers are a higher voltage than the battery. Usually you use a switch mode regulator to drop 5v to 4.5v or so in a phone efficiently, but that's not a clean 4v signal and its still too high, you then use a capacitor to try to clean up electrical noise on the 4.5v signal and then feed it into a low dropout linear regulator to drop it to just over 3.7v for the batter, this will be a clean signal unlike the switchmode regulator however linear regulators do get very warm (can actually harm yourself on them). Often there is a polyfuss thrown into the mix aswell, essentially a self resetting fuse which is triggered with heat. I have seen in some Chinese devices to save cost they just use a linear regulator to go straight from 5v to 3.7ish, way way hotter, sometimes enough to trip the polyfuse effectively disconnecting the charger. It is possible Acer have also used a cheaper circuit or poorly located polyfuse which is tripped under normal charging conditions or your device may genuinely be faulty. A bit of heat when charging is normal though, heat in the charging signal is one if the reasons your supposed to turn your device off when charging, reduces the current draw which then reduces heat produced by any regulators on board the device.
A short could also be causing the problem

vinscuzzy said:
Yeah I got one too. Found it at staples for $269. I also have a Lenovo yoga, and while the Acer is obviously slower, its fine for something so small and cheap. I'm pretty happy with it. I do have one issue, and I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing it. Sometimes when plugged in it gets REALLY hot on the back. When it gets this hot, it seems to stop charging. Anyone else experiencing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It gets warm underneath the rear camera about where the Acer logo is. This happens under normal use or when just charging it, but It gets even warmer in the same location when charging whilst using it. I've not had it actually stop charging yet.
Might be best to not use it whilst charging and also place it screen down to help the heat escape. I often do this with phones and tablets because heat shortens the life of Lithium cells.
I've not witnessed *really* hot, but certainly uncomfortable for my left hand hot.

about the display
Pete_S said:
Screen not stunning. It's only TFT and optimised for portrait use, so in landscape, as you would tend to use Windows, left-right viewing angles are pretty poor. For work it's fine, for multimedia less so, difficult for 2 people to watch at once. Which is a shame, as the hardware acceleration seems to cope with any movie you throw at it, and smoothly. Brightness and contrast are OK though, as is resolution. I wouldn't want to use it for photo viewing.
Don't hesitate to ask anything I might be able to answer
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I have a question about the display. I previously used a surface rt bought from Curry's for £279 I thought the price was very low and I would be able to live without installing win32 apps but that was a huge mistake however I was able to sell my rt for £220 and saw one iconia w3 on eBay for £260 as I want a full windows tablet but also on a tight budget would it be worth buying iconia for £260 because I saw lots of review they all said the display is terrible. Is it that bad?

The display isn't the best but I have no problems reading with the Kindle app, watching movies or playing games. I love using my W3, I even sold my Note 8.0. I have a Surface Pro and this is the perfect companion device. I don't have to make any compromises or find similar programs to use.
I am a Marine and we live in the Windows world and use our ID's (combined access cards) to log into the network and various DOD websites. Using my W3 and a USB cac reader I am able to do my work on the go. The only thing it is missing is the digitizer that my Surface Pro has. If it had that I would be 110% satisfied. Hopefully someone comes out with an 8in Windows 8 device with a digitizer. I would never have to carry pen and paper again.
I have the 64 gig version, first thing I did was disable hibernate and remove the recorvery partition. I also installed a 64 gig SD. I have 18 gig free on the hard drive and 16 free on the SD. I keep media on the SD card and use the hard drive for games and programs. Also being able to just plug things in without rooting it or resorting to other tricks makes it worth it. I can just plug in an external and read it. The Nexus 7 and Note 8.0 could to but I had to download an app and root them to be able to do that.
If you want Windows in an 8 in form factor get the W3. Also it is rumored that Acer will be releasing a refresh to the W3 with a better screen since that seems to be the largest complaint people have against the device. I am unaware of anyone else releasing an 8 in Windows device, there are rumblings that Microsoft could be in the works for a 8 in Surface. Who knows but right now the Acer W3 is the only one out there and it works very well.

big_b0sss said:
I have a question about the display. I previously used a surface rt bought from Curry's for £279 I thought the price was very low and I would be able to live without installing win32 apps but that was a huge mistake however I was able to sell my rt for £220 and saw one iconia w3 on eBay for £260 as I want a full windows tablet but also on a tight budget would it be worth buying iconia for £260 because I saw lots of review they all said the display is terrible. Is it that bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The display isn't terrible. 2-3 years ago it would have been great, it's just that everything nowadays seems to come with a wide viewing angle screen, making the W3's seem old fashioned. In other respects (brightness, contrast) it's a nice screen. The difficulty comes when you're watching a movie side by side. To the left it goes quite dark, to the right it's bright and rather washed out. If you are watching it head on, it's no problem at all. In day to day use you forget any shortcomings. The reviews always pick on something and exaggerate it.
I agree with sactownbwoy; I love my new W3; it does everything and is an absolute bargain for the price. My poor Asus android tabbie spends it's time in the cupboard now

sactownbwoy said:
I have the 64 gig version, first thing I did was disable hibernate and remove the recorvery partition. I also installed a 64 gig SD. I have 18 gig free on the hard drive and 16 free on the SD. I keep media on the SD card and use the hard drive for games and programs. Also being able to just plug things in without rooting it or resorting to other tricks makes it worth it. I can just plug in an external and read it. The Nexus 7 and Note 8.0 could to but I had to download an app and root them to be able to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Thanks for the quick reply. Would you please tell us how did u remove hibernate and recovery partition. I have just ordered a 16gig model from eBay I know it will have about 8gb of free space but its OK I will OK with it. Would be so nice if I can free up another gig
Sent from my GT-I9505G using xda premium

Please search before posting. Disabling hibernate and removing the recovery partition were discussed *ON THIS VERY FORUM* less than a week ago!

sactownbwoy said:
I am a Marine and we live in the Windows world and use our ID's (combined access cards) to log into the network and various DOD websites. Using my W3 and a USB cac reader I am able to do my work on the go. The only thing it is missing is the digitizer that my Surface Pro has. If it had that I would be 110% satisfied. Hopefully someone comes out with an 8in Windows 8 device with a digitizer. I would never have to carry pen and paper again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The smaller Windows 8 devices that have been shown are more in the realm of competing with cheapo Android devices and the poorly specced iPad mini. They're almost throwaway devices. I can only see a decent 7/8" tablet coming from Lenovo, Sony or Samsung, unless MS decides to make a Surface that small, but I doubt they would put a digitiser on it, because again, MS is looking at those devices as being budget tablets.

sinister1 said:
Has anyone had the chance to use\test this tablet? On a scale from 0 to 10 what would you rate it? What are the pros and cons? Any feed back would be appriciated. Thanks.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/414898/Iconia_W3_Tablet_PC_(W3-810-1600)_-_Silver
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So far I have very mixed feelings about the tablet. I have two of them now. On the first one, the lower half of the screen was black and as the unit warmed up, the screen would start flashing then eventually work. I sent it back to Acer (I got it from them at a conference) for repair. They replaced some stuff, shipped it back and the result was a unit with a cracked LCD screen due to poor packaging. I'm expecting the repaired (2x) unit today so we'll see how that unit fairs.
The second unit seems ok so far. I haven't done much with it other than charge it up. The keyboard stand is nice but it would have been better if the keyboard had come with a mouse pad. Still, I ordered a Bluetooth mouse for it and we'll see.
So far I prefer my Surface Pro.

I have the 64gb unit - give it a 7/10 so far.
I'd be keen to know how far people have got dual booting the device, or inded instaling a different operating system such as Android x86 or Linux/Plasma Active..
I've found the boot selector/bios but so far it wont boot from any of my devices. Although I will try a SSD tonight I have laying around.
./P

phazey said:
I have the 64gb unit - give it a 7/10 so far.
I'd be keen to know how far people have got dual booting the device, or inded instaling a different operating system such as Android x86 or Linux/Plasma Active..
I've found the boot selector/bios but so far it wont boot from any of my devices. Although I will try a SSD tonight I have laying around.
./P
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clovertrail processors are locked in their UEFI firmware to windows 8.

I would definitely recommend seeing one in person before buying, I bought and took it back within an hour, the screen is terrible and Wi-Fi only worked with in about 10 ft of my router
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I have the 64 gig model and I'm very happy with it. Even though it doesn't have an active digitizer for working with Wacom pens, the screen is the best I've ever used with a capacitive stylus. Could the display be sharper? Yes, but it's no worse than my 17" laptop. I've been impressed with the development of the Atom processor. I think Intel needs to rename them because the mere mention of an Atom processor might turn away some buyers. If you're serious about picking up one of these tablets, wipe any reviews you've read and interact with it first. Some of the posts here look as if someone read the spec sheet and dismissed it as a "throwaway" tablet without even touching it. Be your own reviewer.

Looneytoon98 said:
I have the 64 gig model and I'm very happy with it. Even though it doesn't have an active digitizer for working with Wacom pens, the screen is the best I've ever used with a capacitive stylus. Could the display be sharper? Yes, but it's no worse than my 17" laptop. I've been impressed with the development of the Atom processor. I think Intel needs to rename them because the mere mention of an Atom processor might turn away some buyers. If you're serious about picking up one of these tablets, wipe any reviews you've read and interact with it first. Some of the posts here look as if someone read the spec sheet and dismissed it as a "throwaway" tablet without even touching it. Be your own reviewer.
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Click to collapse
I do agree with you on the atoms they perform very well including the one in this tablet if not for the problems I mentioned above I would have kept it but I picked up a 10 inch w510 for now and I'm going to buy the 8 inch Toshiba windows tablet when it launches in a couple months. The display is hard to explain it almost looked like it was wet the entire time I was trying to use it.
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Would you like the option to buy a $149 Nexus Player with 64gb, 2gb ram, & Ethernet?

Would you like the option to buy a $149 Nexus Player with 64gb, 2gb ram, & Ethernet?
Hell throw in some full size USB 3.0 ports and an sd card slot and I would gladly pay $199 for the device.
I don't understand why Google didn't unveil two versions of the Nexus Player, one with more storage for $50 more. They have always released a more expensive bigger capacity version of all their Nexus devices, phones and tablets in the past.

I suspect that price and those specs would be a fantasy. I would suspect that for $149, you'd get 32GB internal and 2GB RAM, or 16GB internal, 2GB RAM, and ethernet.

If they were to release another device with better specs, I might get it, but only as something to run Ubuntu on.
My thinking is: this is designed as a streaming device. You don't need insane specs to stream a video or some music. It is also designed to handle games, but generally arcade-style games; light on the graphics and more targeted as a family/party gaming device. This also has plenty of power for emulators.
The point of high specs on a phone or tablet is so that you can play games when you're away from home. If you're going to plan on playing graphics-intensive console games in your living room, there are already devices for that. It's going to be quite a few more years before the big game franchises are running commercials that say "Coming this November to Xbox, PlayStation, and Android."
Again, with storage, if you've already got some big library of movies and music, it's going to be on your computer, and you can always stream it over your network.
The only major hardware failing, in my mind, is that they really missed the opportunity to upsell with a $15 Nexus-Player-branded OTG Ethernet dongle.

Plus when you start geting in the $150-$250 price range, you open up a lot better options in home streaming that leave android based systems behind. Non-android HTPC's start at that price point and nothing in the android line can compete because everything including speed, audio, and video out performs android. The android market is a $100 plug and play unit, something simple to set up and cheap.

I don't see the need for 64gb, unless you plan on installing 30 games.
Ethernet would be useful, but not necessary as long as you have a good WiFi router and you're not trying to use the router from your cable provider.
I don't see the need for USB 3.0 either. Most peripherals work fine on 2.0, even interface devices don't need more than USB 1.0. The only advantage I see 3.0 having is when connected to a storage device, and even then you wouldn't really have an advantage over 2.0. Then again, connecting storage defeats the purpose of a streaming device.

jaykresge said:
I suspect that price and those specs would be a fantasy. I would suspect that for $149, you'd get 32GB internal and 2GB RAM, or 16GB internal, 2GB RAM, and ethernet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That should be awsome 1GB ram i think is a bit to low

OP pics u still rockin that TILT or i dnt believe u

The fire TV has more RAM and it's the same price.

I would.
Some may suggest I stream everything from my PC, but what if I want to bring my collection with me? 8gb HD, so really 7gb usable. A couple big games, a little bit of music, and 2 HD movies, and that's full. Doing TV, you could fit MAYBE a full season of a 1-hour show on there, and you'd need to uninstall your games.
Am I the only one who brings my blu-ray player and a binder of movies with me when I travel?

I want 64gb of storage because it would be an amazing gaming and emulator machine with that. It has an amazing cpu and gpu, way better than even the firetv. If only it had some more storage, it would be perfect.

I think storage is the main issue with the device. Yes, it is made for streaming video but it is also designed as a gaming device (hence the official gamepad accessory). 8GB of storage is just not enough. 16GB would be adequate but 32GB is really ideal. with 8GB of storage you'd only end up with about 5.5GB of usable space, and there are games that take up over 1GB on their own.

I don't think I would. $99 is kind of the sweet-spot for a standalone TV "puck", IMO. Any higher than that just feels like a half measure to me. If you're going $150, then you might as well just go to $200-$300 and run an atom or i3-based PC.
Also, the ethernet thing is way overblow. Get an AC router and sleep well at night.

I would certainly jump on some of that price tag. Would also like to have more information on the soc it use, I do not see much information on it around!

Jon Stewart said:
Hell throw in some full size USB 3.0 ports and an sd card slot and I would gladly pay $199 for the device.
I don't understand why Google didn't unveil two versions of the Nexus Player, one with more storage for $50 more. They have always released a more expensive bigger capacity version of all their Nexus devices, phones and tablets in the past.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, but I'd like a $99 version with 4GB RAM and replaceable SSD.
TBH I cant ever see the player being the "right" value point, as it stands might as well go buy a lowend NUC(or like) device and have pretty much the freedom to load it up with whatever amt of ram/storage and then IF you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to install x86 android, but personally I'd just slap a lightweight linux distro, xbmc, plex, and steam on it... maybe dual boot a tiny android setup, but linux would be the default...
I did finally pick up a chromebook though, but the highend C720 i3/4GB that got SSD upgrade and croutonized for now. CrOS was less useless than I expected it to be, but running CrOS alone only the cheapest models are of any value purely as 2ndary or tertiary notebooks. I;m actually using Cros quite a bit for web browsing, probably never touch another tablet again unless I need an ereader in a pinch if I forget to charge the kindle(and it;s not a bright sunny day/location so lets hope batt only croaks at night).
So how does this add in? I found tablets only slightly useful for web browsing and occasional PDFs. Entry of anything relatively complex was a PITA -> overgrown phone -> Crbook (conceptually my tablet replacement , small, light, has keyboard and trackpad and as a bonus can be semi-useful linux notebook). TV, well I currently have a Roku 3 which is OK, but since AppleTV, GoogleTV, chromecast, amazon stuck in amazonland stick, generic Android/ARM sticks weren't enough to supplant the Roku3, HOWEVER I am(/have been) considering what I wrote above with a NUC or like as a tiny HTPC running linux and that sums up how I feel about most of these devices. So many looking for a problem to solve or partially solving a problem that superior devices already do so at similar(with better specs) or MUCH lower prices.
I'm not going to talk about the "smart" watches other than the above also applies in an even worse case to them(no problem to solve at all) and that they're not actually smart at all(mostly and the ones that are kinda smart are just idiot savants in a useless field).
Glass OTOH could potentially be very useful with a capability of recognizing and overlaying schematics/etc but not $1.5k useful.
So long and short player is already too expensively useless, why make it more so?

cutterjohn said:
No, but I'd like a $99 version with 4GB RAM and replaceable SSD.
TBH I cant ever see the player being the "right" value point, as it stands might as well go buy a lowend NUC(or like) device and have pretty much the freedom to load it up with whatever amt of ram/storage and then IF you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to install x86 android, but personally I'd just slap a lightweight linux distro, xbmc, plex, and steam on it... maybe dual boot a tiny android setup, but linux would be the default...
I did finally pick up a chromebook though, but the highend C720 i3/4GB that got SSD upgrade and croutonized for now. CrOS was less useless than I expected it to be, but running CrOS alone only the cheapest models are of any value purely as 2ndary or tertiary notebooks. I;m actually using Cros quite a bit for web browsing, probably never touch another tablet again unless I need an ereader in a pinch if I forget to charge the kindle(and it;s not a bright sunny day/location so lets hope batt only croaks at night).
So how does this add in? I found tablets only slightly useful for web browsing and occasional PDFs. Entry of anything relatively complex was a PITA -> overgrown phone -> Crbook (conceptually my tablet replacement , small, light, has keyboard and trackpad and as a bonus can be semi-useful linux notebook). TV, well I currently have a Roku 3 which is OK, but since AppleTV, GoogleTV, chromecast, amazon stuck in amazonland stick, generic Android/ARM sticks weren't enough to supplant the Roku3, HOWEVER I am(/have been) considering what I wrote above with a NUC or like as a tiny HTPC running linux and that sums up how I feel about most of these devices. So many looking for a problem to solve or partially solving a problem that superior devices already do so at similar(with better specs) or MUCH lower prices.
I'm not going to talk about the "smart" watches other than the above also applies in an even worse case to them(no problem to solve at all) and that they're not actually smart at all(mostly and the ones that are kinda smart are just idiot savants in a useless field).
Glass OTOH could potentially be very useful with a capability of recognizing and overlaying schematics/etc but not $1.5k useful.
So long and short player is already too expensively useless, why make it more so?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I'm glad you stopped by a forum dedicated to a device you clearly have neither the desire nor need to use. And thank you also for providing us with you opinion on a bunch of things that have nothing to do with it.

razor is making a android tv box but they haven't released specs, im assuming it will have much of what people want since its centered around gaming

jhumps said:
razor is making a android tv box but they haven't released specs, im assuming it will have much of what people want since its centered around gaming
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Generally though their products are a little... overpriced. However, if the specs are better and still able to be used as easily as a streaming player, I might get one.

jhumps said:
razor is making a android tv box but they haven't released specs, im assuming it will have much of what people want since its centered around gaming
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Razer's product is vaporware, at the moment. Lollipop is out, the Nexus Player is out, and not a peep from Razer. They have a bad habit of hyping up products just to see them delayed, never released, released in limited quality, and/or cancelled altogether. Never did see their Razer Edge in stores (was supposed to hit MS stores upon release). They were delayed, quietly released in limited quantities, and are now VERY difficult to find. Razer also doesn't have a very good brick and mortar distribution channel for their higher end products outside of mice/keyboards.
I wouldn't get my hopes up on this product. If it actually gets released, I'm expecting it to have the best specs of any late 2014 ATV player, but to be released in limited quantities before Christmas 2015, and at a higher price point as well.

Tab 3: 4GB Intel Pro vs. 3GB Snapdragon Plus

As mentioned in another thread, Lenovo quietly refreshed the Tab 3 Pro with 4GB RAM, a newer Intel m5 processor, and 64GB storage, FWIW. Stacking it up against the Tab 3 Plus (3GB RAM, Snapdragon 8-core, 32GB), so far a lot is speculation or anecdata.
My main questions, to put the TL;DR at the top:
How does the Plus perform out of the box, before doing any XDA magic on it? Have the audio sync issues been fixed? A Lenovo rep has been quoted saying they have been fixed.
How do these two CPUs compare? I've seen speculation that Android and/or certain apps may not be as well optimized for Intel chips, even if the m5 is otherwise more capable.
I'm strongly considering one of these two, probably the Pro. Most people, just shopping for a good tablet, will probably go with the Plus. It's currently $200 cheaper (40%), and that price point for the display and speaker quality, along with dat battery, is unquestionably a good deal. The Plus has some OOBE issues: A/V sync (possibly fixed), encryption lag, some questionable display "enhancements." But, it also has at least one dev here at XDA who has fixed all of the above and provided root, at least for the WiFi only model available in the US.
I've only had credible feedback from two different people regarding the new Pro, but word is performance is solid. Both people had the old 2GB Pro long enough to try out, and found it barely usable due to encryption lag and low RAM, and both say the new Pro is not the fastest tablet they've ever used, but has no real issues. It's probably underperforming for its hardware, but the hardware is strong enough you won't notice. Which is good, because it may never have dev support here, or not until the price drops significantly (though who knows, XDA has surprised me before).
What it probably comes down to is whether you want that projector. The projector isn't all you get for $200 - there are also small spec bumps across the board, and double the onboard storage - but if you don't have a realistic use for the projector, it would be hard to justify the extra cost. The real world performance difference between the Pro and Plus is probably not large, and may even fall in the Plus's favor if some apps have trouble with the Intel CPU (not at all verified). For me, the projector looks like it will make a serviceable bedroom TV, and probably a more comfortable solution than any of my options for getting a flatscreen in my room. The 480p will probably be inadequate for throwing comic books up on the wall (and certainly not on par with that 2HD screen), but I would give it a try.
For me, the bedroom TV prospect is one of the things pushing me over that "Do I really need a new tablet..." line. My Nook HD+ used to get a lot of use, but has been collecting dust for 2-3 years in favor of a good desktop and smartphone, and a Kindle Paperwhite taking over book duty. Now, is it not getting used because it's old and slow, or is it not getting used because I don't have much use for it?
Feedback on the new Pro is sparse, so if you have one in your hands, please let us know about it.

Taosaur said:
A Lenovo rep has been quoted saying they have been fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you see this?

kayakyakr said:
Where did you see this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the aforementioned thread:
Klvn88 said:
Was talking to a Lenovo Sales Rep on their online chat system about the audio sync issue and she was saying they have "received information that all issues have been fixed." I asked her to be specific about the audio sync issue and she confirmed they were told the audio sync issue has been fixed. Any idea if this is true or was she just saying what she thought I wanted to hear?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also in the comments of a recent Amazon review, someone stating he was not having these issues on a newly purchased Plus, though I don't know if the problem was universal. Again, nothing solid, and I would love to hear from others with a stock Plus.

Taosaur said:
In the aforementioned thread:
Also in the comments of a recent Amazon review, someone stating he was not having these issues on a newly purchased Plus, though I don't know if the problem was universal. Again, nothing solid, and I would love to hear from others with a stock Plus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't trust either of those sources until we start to see OTA updates coming out from Lenovo fixing the issues. The Amazon user is not a power user while the different arms of Lenovo don't seem to know what the other is doing.

kayakyakr said:
I wouldn't trust either of those sources until we start to see OTA updates coming out from Lenovo fixing the issues. The Amazon user is not a power user while the different arms of Lenovo don't seem to know what the other is doing.
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Click to collapse
Yep, that's why I'm asking. All the info on Amazon (regarding these two devices) is pretty useless.

Is it normal for there to be such limited reviews/information for Lenovo Tablets?! Really want to buy it, but just want to know more! haha.

There are a decent number of YouTube reviews of the previous Pro, and a couple non-English ones for this model, but Lenovo made zero publicity about the new model and didn't even give it a new name. Here's some info I got from someone on YouTube, for what it's worth:
Taosaur: I'm hoping the spec bump on the new model gets around some of the performance issues.
YouTuber: can confirm. I actually bought the new version to test it out! Loved it so much that that I sold my iPad lmao. No lag at all really
Reply
Taosaur: Thanks for the feedback! It doesn't seem like Lenovo's much interested in people knowing the new model exists. Do you ever pull out the projector? I've been surprised how positive the feedback has been on a pretty dim 480p projector.
YouTuber: Yes I do! It's very great to seeing movies on it rather than the screen because of the size. Especially because I have a big white wall in my bedroom. The one issue I've come across with this tablet is that every battery capacity app states I have 4300 MAH battery. Less than half of 10200... however I recently learned I'm not the only one experiencing this and the battery capacity thing seems to only be a glitch. I get around 8-9 hours of screen on time with about an hour of projector use included in that so it's still pretty good
Taosaur: I don't suppose you've tried the projector with comic books? I'm guessing the resolution wouldn't make it a great experience, and the 2HD screen would be better regardless, but I'm sure I'll try it if I end up pulling the trigger. Any idea if the Hoopla Digital app works on this tablet? It's a an app for borrowing digital comics and other media with a library card. It's not compatible with my current tablet running CyanogenMod Nougat.
YouTuber: I just tested a comic and it seems to work fine. I'm sure the projector would be fine with comic books in the pitch black for sure. I just tested that app for ya and it opens just fine. I don't have a hoopla account though so I didn't get past the login screen.
I gotta say he projector is really nice for movie watching. One thing I gotta mention is... The blacks in the display aren't that good... The blacks have a blueish tone to it. I wish it was an amoled display. Still the colors are quite vibrant. Also the screen gets REALLY bright and also gets REALLY dim. Great for daytime use and night use. I tried the pixel c and it wasn't dim enough so it hurt my eyes at night
But that makes the projector all the nicer to use. After using the projector to watch the walking dead, it's hard to go back to the screen for movie watching haha. Seems so small in comparison. It's really amazing having it in such a small package. Especially as the projector is totally fanless and never needs replacement bulbs.
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And I did pull the trigger a couple days ago, so I should have the Pro sometime tomorrow :fingers-crossed: I'll let you know what I think.

Taosaur said:
There are a decent number of YouTube reviews of the previous Pro, and a couple non-English ones for this model, but Lenovo made zero publicity about the new model and didn't even give it a new name. Here's some info I got from someone on YouTube, for what it's worth:
And I did pull the trigger a couple days ago, so I should have the Pro sometime tomorrow :fingers-crossed: I'll let you know what I think.
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Awesome, thanks for posting that convo between you and the YouTuber. Would definitely like to hear you own experience with it.. I likely would just get the Plus version, as I don't see myself using the projector enough to justify the significantly higher price tag here in Canada. Hoping the 3gb ram is good enough for me to just use it as a media tablet, won't be a whole lot of multi-tasking. :fingers-crossed:

I have the 4gb pro and its really good. I had the 2gb pro and it was terrible due to the RAM issue. The 4gb has no such issues. I am still considering returning and getting the 3gb 10.1 inch plus version though. It's $200 less, I dont need the projector, 3gb of ram should be enough to solve the issues of the 2gb pro and 4gb is probably overkill on the new pro. A few things are holding me back from making the change.
The audio sync issue is obviously a huge concern since I use the tablet for media consumption exclusively. Also, there is not a lot of info on how much different the 2 majorly different cpu's are intel vs snapdragon. While the intel cpu is better on paper as its been mentioned the snapdragon has much better overall android optimization due to being so ubiquitous. Also can anyone confirm if the 3gb snapdragon has quick charge? The intel version does and its fanstastic.

My Pro showed up Monday, and I do like the projector. It may end up my most-used feature, though the screen is also gorgeous. I hang the thing over my bed and project on the opposite wall, which gives at least a 55" image, less sharp but easier on the eyes at night than a backlit LCD. Zen Pinball is my go-to game on a tablet, and it plays great - the stand comes in handy. I wouldn't try to play any detailed games with the projector, but old-school emulators would probably be great, and again, the 2HD display is excellent.
There have been bugs:
I had a one-off sound glitch with the pinball game, getting really distorted sound, but going into Dolby Atmos and switching to game mode fixed it.
"Request failed" toasts kept popping up last night while I was watching Hulu. No clue what they were, but they didn't interrupt playback.
So far I've had no luck pairing the tablet with my phone over bluetooth. They see each other, but give "wrong pin" errors, despite showing the same pin. Both connect fine to my headphones and speaker.

FYI, there are more credible reports showing up on Amazon that a software update has corrected the Plus' A/V sync and "flickering" issues.

mike240se said:
I have the 4gb pro and its really good. I had the 2gb pro and it was terrible due to the RAM issue. The 4gb has no such issues. I am still considering returning and getting the 3gb 10.1 inch plus version though. It's $200 less, I dont need the projector, 3gb of ram should be enough to solve the issues of the 2gb pro and 4gb is probably overkill on the new pro. A few things are holding me back from making the change.
The audio sync issue is obviously a huge concern since I use the tablet for media consumption exclusively. Also, there is not a lot of info on how much different the 2 majorly different cpu's are intel vs snapdragon. While the intel cpu is better on paper as its been mentioned the snapdragon has much better overall android optimization due to being so ubiquitous. Also can anyone confirm if the 3gb snapdragon has quick charge? The intel version does and its fanstastic.
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Have you had any issues with random apps not working? I recently purchased it and cannot get snapchat to work on it for the life of me.

I just bought the plus, I haven't had any audio sync issues thus far and am pretty happy with the overall build quality and performance thus far.

xerogabe106 said:
Have you had any issues with random apps not working? I recently purchased it and cannot get snapchat to work on it for the life of me.
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Everything I've tried on it has worked well. I still get that "request failed" pop up at random times. I can only confirm that Snapchat installs and opens - I'm not about to make an account.

Taosaur said:
Everything I've tried on it has worked well. I still get that "request failed" pop up at random times. I can only confirm that Snapchat installs and opens - I'm not about to make an account.
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It opens after a fresh install, I can get to the login/create account screen. But after login it just crashes and crashes when I startup as well.