ASUS EP121 Eee Slate Windows 7 Tablet PC - Part 2 - Hardware Review

[liwaroman]

Is the stylus pen included on the ASUS Prime and can you do a comparison of the two?

Please and thank you

[oztabletpc]

@liwaroman No, Wacom Active Digitizer pens only appear on Windows tablets currently. Whilst I have an Android phone, I'm not particularly interested in iPads and Tabs etc as these tend to be more entertainment devices rather than productivity tools at this stage.

[liwaroman]

@oztabletpc So the ASUS prime can not run windows 7? If I buy the Wacom Active Digitizer pen will it work on the ASUS Prime or is the software strictly for Windows tablets? And if that is not not possible which tablet would you recommend that is a little smaller about 10 inches but still works with a Wacom Active Digitizer pen.

Thank You

[oztabletpc]

@liwaroman ASUS Prime is an Android Tablet. It cannot run Windows. The Wacom Active Digitizer is both a pen and a digitizer panel that must be built into the device, so it cannot be used on just any tablet. It's not a software issue, however many Windows Tablet PCs like the ASUS EP121 do have the Wacom Active Digitizer built in.

As you can see in the video, Windows has lots of other software goodies for tablets with Active Digitizers too like handwriting recognition.

[oztabletpc]

@liwaroman The Samsung Series 7 Slate is an 11" tablet with the Wacom pen. If you're after something smaller, that would be where i'd go...

[Ykhavari]

is there an external battery for more battery life that you can buy?

[oztabletpc]

@Ykhavari Not on this one. If you need a longer battery life check out some alternatives like the Samsung Series 7 Slate (Home / Executive use - 4.5 - 5 hours) or the Motion Computing J3500 and F5v (Rugged field use, hot swappable batteries).

Functionally these tablets are all identical. The difference is in the form factor.

[liwaroman]

@oztabletpc

1.Is there a way to run android technology and windows 7?

2. Is there a program to transform the handwriting into computer text/

3 Which keyboard do you recommend?

[mmd667]

I just got one, what Microsoft software you used in this video?. Thanks

[oztabletpc]

@mmd667 Office 2010 and OneNote...

[Ferzurio]

Do you know a smiliar tablet but where you can stack the tablet-window onto the keyboard dock?

[oztabletpc]

@Ferzurio Try the newer Samsung Series 7 Slate which has a docking station.

[kinmanyuen]

I bought it, installed windows 8 developers preview with USB and went the installation completely in touch, everything is supported except bluetooth (install driver seperately).

I notice in windows8, there is improvement in the 3d acceleration.

The virtual keyboard is the best i've ever typed on. It's so responsive and has a nice muffle tapping sound. I can type very fast because of the new layout.

[webluke]

I just got one of these after watching this video and it is a great system. The handwriting is great. A full laptop in a tablet with the Wacom is vary cool. I let an art teacher try drawing and she went to town drawing with the included art program.

[oztabletpc]

@webluke Artrage is great isn't it... It has inspired me to learn to draw better. There's a lot of stuff on youtube that has helped me. Drawing on this tablet feels really good.

[MegaMadboyz]

NERD GAZM I WANT IT!

[B3TILLO]

Does it give you the ability tu use ink tools in pdf files as well? Using adobe or other software?

[oztabletpc]

@B3TILLO Bluebeam PDF Revu or PDF Annotator. Bluebeam FTW.

[DRRMTBS]

can you plug a camera or ipod in with a usb cable

also would it be able to edit videos on it

[oztabletpc]

@DRRMTBS Yes, it is a PC. It has USB ports and you can plug anything into it that you would plug into a PC and it will work...

[DRRMTBS]

@oztabletpc thanks man

[Conicon]

Using mine right now! :)

Personally I use it to sketch roughs for work in PS CS4 so I kinda feel like the side market for this tablet, the artist. It even runs zBrush very well but it's no desktop or Cintiq just a pretty powerful slate computer.

Just want to point out you really need to turn down the win 7 features and power save modes and screen brightness if you want to last past the 3 hr mark on the battery.

[oztabletpc]

@Conicon Good call on the battery life. Power saver mode does have a major impact on battery life.

[SoBayClothing]

How true it is that without Microsoft, Apple wouldn't even be around today! Furthermore, Apple WAS NOT the inventor of the icon & mouse graphical user interface that is in existence now; in fact it was Xerox that developed that technology!!!

Don't get me wrong -i do understand that Apple does make truly amazing looking products. However, I am a devout PC user and know that if it can be done with Apple, then it can be done with a PC also -THEY ARE BOTH COMPUTERS!!!

[aslamkmns91]

is this asus tranformer.?

[oztabletpc]

@aslamkmns91 No, this is the EP121 Eee Slate. The transformer is an Android tablet.

[5876mg]

I am watching it on mine right now! XD

[oxxadamxxo]

I have it, I use it and I love it! Let the iDiots say what they want, but for someone who wants to do some serious work this IS the answer.

[2xuq773pps]

i have a hp pavillion g6...

[studiop31]

thanks for the video!! do you have any idea if this will be upgradeable to windows 8 or is asus will release another tablet at that point?

[oztabletpc]

@studiop31 Yes, it will be for sure. In fact this hardware is very similar to the Samsung tablet given to developers at the Microsoft Build conference this week.

[luckyducky224]

Brilliant! I want one!

[menithings]

The Windows Tablet PC is dead. Even Microsoft has abandoned it and has shifted to copying the iPad like everybody else. The iPad has proven that the tablet form factor requires a completely new, industry changing OS. Let it go. It's DOA.

[oztabletpc]

@menithings Oh, there you are again! Are you trying to convince me or you that windows is dead? Oh yes, that's the iOs with the paradigm shifting keyboard and revolutionary touch input! Yawn.

As a tablet PC reseller I can tell you that the Windows Tablet PC has never been hotter than now, many thanks to the iPad. But that of course is not an Apple sanctioned NLP marketing slogan, so you probably wouldn't believe me! Haha.

[fatty2060]

@menithings Might i just add, all you "apple fans" dont actually realise is that almost all apple products are just copies from others. They copy every other design and function and just change it around and re name it to try their best to make it "original" and "theirs".

dont get me wrong i love apple products, but if it wasnt for windows and other companies, apple wouldnt be around.

[c0ndyw]

can adobe illustrator and after effects be used on this ?????

[waqiyuddin12]

if u continue watching movie how long will the battery last? can u suggest me between Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 and EP121 or some other tablet that run window os...im a guy that love to watch movie on computer so i need a window tablet (this is my 1st time buy tablet) and i always travel out so i nid a long lasting tablet or something like that ...

[mambonova]

How hot does it get? I own a TabletKiosk tablet PC and that thing became unusable (in-hand) because it got so hot. After buying an iPad, I'm considering returning to tablet PC for all the reasons you state, but they are useless if they burn your hands after 1 hour of use.

[oztabletpc]

@mambonova It has a very wide cooling vent area on the back at the top. Cools pretty well from my experience, but you should probably check tablet PC forums for the word from regular users.

[KuangSteak]

I own this tablet and it is amazing! Very fast, pretty light and great at multi tasking. Be aware of the battery life and the sd card reader can tend to break.

[gytis156]

i hope things like this going to be cheaper in future, because now i rather buy laptop than tablet with laptop hardware

[oztabletpc]

@gytis156 If you need a tablet, then you should consider the price, but buy the one that meets your needs.

Cheap is relative to the value of something. If you don't really need it much (ie. like an iPad) then it has to be cheap for you to buy it. I'm not suggesting that this tablet is for you (from your comment I would suggest that you probably have no need for it), but just pointing out that price is not as important as you might think...

[jarvis1781]

I am so glad I found this product review on here. I hope they give you some reward because I went out and bought one last night The slate fits my need for lecture presentations perfectly. I went with a usb to vga out and it works as intended. Thank you for this very helpful review!

[jarvis1781]

Can anyone tell me where to find an HDMI to VGA converter for this? I want to use it in my classroom that has only VGA input on the projector. Thanks!

[oztabletpc]

@jarvis1781 eBay is your best bet!

[Chipperowski]

This is a beautiful looking device. Windows 7/8 tablet+photoshop/illustrator=a­wesomeness. I would definitely consider a device like this to replace my laptop. If they can squeeze in a 3d gpu, and I'm sure they will soon, then this would be an even more amazing product.

[smoshrules459]

Should I get this or wait for Windows 8? I need a PC for school and prefer a tablet for portability.

[oztabletpc]

@smoshrules459 It will run Windows 8.

[Gabetheoptimist]

Have you tried running steam on it? you should be able to play the 2d games on it, so that would make it great for games.

[northpoint43m]

After spending an hour grilling the sales kid, and using it myself,..i'm definately recommending this one...it's awesome,..and tho it's 'only 1.3 MGZ, it's really faster than that, and faster than most any tablet i've tried out there. Finally, a tablet with tru windows,...and u also get microsoft office with it!...yippee!!

[chog8]

I am looking for a digital writing pad that (1) can write in different colors and characters (using Windows Journal or something similar) (2) Can connect to a computer so that (a) I can project what is on the writing pad onto a screen and (b) I can store what has been written on the pad in the computer and I can e-mail the notes to others. I don't need any other programs/capability on the writing pad and I don't want to spend a fortune on a Motion tablet.

[oztabletpc]

@chog8 (1) OneNote is perfect. (2) is a computer, (a) HDMI out (b) OneNote is perfect. Look at this ASUS, Fujitsu Q550 or Motion CL900. Don't want to spend a fortune, or don't want to save / make a fortune? You choose!

[60spaure]

I agree with the guy from the video. GREAT TABLET!!! Just got it a couple of days ago and I wasn't sure it was going to be worth it. It really is an awesome tablet :D

[wajoman12]

I'm a freshman college student for the up coming fall, and I am looking for a tablet pc such as this one so I can easily take notes, write papers, and do research on the internet, along with everyday stuff. I love this machine but I have a budget and it is a little out of it... I love the way it takes notes as you show and that its durable. Do you know of anything similar to this but might be in my price range, I'm looking at $200-$850.

[oztabletpc]

@wajoman12 Sorry, I don't think you'll find much in your budget. You could try the Fujitsu Q550 or the Motion Computing CL900, but you will want the higher specs, not the entry level specs that are in your budget range.

[RCjam0]

woooooow !!!!

:)

[MrVercettti]

I would love it

[magrpe]

Where can I go in Melbourne that has these (and other tablets) to have a look at first hand?

[guitarrockseverybody]

@oztabletpc Okay, Im just keeping my (very bad) 17" Fujitsu Siemens pc, and use it as a sort of hard drive as well. I'm probably going to buy an external hard drive and an addidional battery to keep it running when its out of power and no powerplug is near.

By the way, the tab comes with the stylus and the keyboard. (I am nearly sure it is, just checking). And please post a vid on some applications (photoshop, games(StarCraft2?)) running on it.

And is the 12" a big turndown? Or is it okay?

[oztabletpc]

@guitarrockseverybody 12" is great, but makes it a bit heavier and power hungry than it could be. Yes it does come with Active Digitiser Pen and keyboard. Sorry, but can't do Photoshop or gaming video as I don't do either.

[suhaybhafiz]

Best tablet reviews around. Could you please elaborate as to whether there is input lag during inking?

[oztabletpc]

@suhaybhafiz Not for 99% of applications. If you use a heavy duty complicated brush in photoshop you might find some lag. Applications that are well written do not lag at all.

[guitarrockseverybody]

Thank you so much for this video. But what I'd really like to see is how long the battery will actually last, what starting up is like, how it can handle gaming (I know there are some vids about that, but I miss professionals in them).You know, the things you'd want to know when you're actually thinking of buying one of these. Also I would like to see you put some hardware in it ('foreign' Keyboards, mouses etc) and see how it handles that. And would you actually have me buy it instead of an pc?

[oztabletpc]

@guitarrockseverybody Yes, you could buy it instead of a PC, although personally I would prefer it to have a docking station for that purpose.

Really battery use time is about 3 - 3.5 hours (they claim up to 4.5 which is possible, but not realistic) and boot up time for a clean PC is quick enough to be not worth worrying about since you should only need to do it once every few weeks (use standby or hibernate).

[rabs003]

Further to my previous question, I know I can disable hand gesture and writing through control panel. But that is bit time consuming as I need to enable and disable every time.

All I want is to write with Stylus with out my palm scrabbling rubbish on the screen and at the same time be able to use fingers to make gesture commands.

[rabs003]

Very informative video. I finally got my Asus EP121. I noticed that in your video, you used stylus pen to write and your fingers for windows gestures (like scrolling the doc up and down). But on my EP121, when I write using stylus (say on OneNote) my hand/palm also writes on the screen. This is interfering my writing with stylus. And I cannot use my fingers to scroll like you showed. How can I disable writing with hand/finger/palm while I am writing with stylus?

[oztabletpc]

@rabs003 check for an option in the Wacom "touch settings" tool (search for touch in the windows 7 start menu). You may have a touch / pen abritation option... I do on my Motion J3500 (Wacom Touch / Pen) and it allows a double tap mode where touch is off until I double tap with my finger. I don't have an EP121 to verify if that is an option in their driver implementation. Let me know... BTW, touch is off when the pen is in proximimity with the screen, but yes it can still be problematic.

[rabs003]

Thanks for your reply. I could not find that option in EP121. But as you said touch is off when the pen is in proximity, I hadn't realized that before. I just have to be careful to bring pen first to the screen.

I have a new problem now. EP121 comes with mini-hdmi output, but the projectors we have here have only vga input. Now my problem is how to connect mini-hdmi tablet to the projector with only vga. I ignorantly bought a cable from ebay from hdmi to vga but it doesnt work. any solution?

[oztabletpc]

@rabs003 I'm not sure how all that HDMI conversion stuff works... I do have DVI to HDMI conversion working well on my HTPC, but I have not tried it the other way around. Let us know if you find a solution.

[wingzofsteel]

Great job as usual.

[ecjuanmanuel]

great Review!

[thesivraj]

Awesome (asides from battery life)