Summary: As Apple apparently prepares to
go small with the iPad Mini, every other tablet maker is going large,
bringing out tablets that dwarf the 9.7-inch iPad. Here are 17
interesting, oversized tablets available today or coming soon.
All of these supersized tablets can render web sites, maps
and business dashboards gorgeously, without taxing the shoulder
strength of the user (well, in most cases). Not only are tablet makers
going big, but they are also bringing back the convertible
tablet-laptop, but under a new name, 'laptablet'. Here's a good example:
the 11.6-inch, Windows 8-based HP Envy x2. The aluminum-encased
keyboard doubles the Envy's "all day" battery life and is removable -
hence, convertible - and gives it a near MacBook Pro-like appearance
(hence, the envy). The Intel Atom Clover Trail processor (dual-core 1.8
GHz), 2 GB RAM, 8 megapixel rear camera, 64 GB SSD are firmly middle of
the range, as is the 1366x768 multi-touch capacitive display. No price
yet.
How do you offer a tablet with 32% more pixels than the iPad 3's
Retina Display? By offering two 1920x1080 screens (total > 4
million+ pixels) like the Asus Taichi
does. Talk about flexible-the Taichi is an ultrabook AND a dual-display
tablet in one, with a 13.3-inch screen and a second 11.6-inch one). Why
two displays? Asus says this could be for two workers, or to better
share slideshows or presentations. The $1,299 price is more than double
an iPad 3, but this is a Windows 8 tablet running the a high-end Intel
Core i7 chip. Expect your company's alpha dog salespeople to clamor for
the Taichi.
Manufacturers of these larger-than-iPad tablets hope that
technical and weightsaving advances in touchscreens, chips and
batteries, along with Windows 8's mobile-oriented overhaul will finally
attract customers - especially enterprises overwhelmed by the iOS-led
BYOD invasion. Take this XPS Duo 12 laptablet from Dell. Having used my
share of Dell laptops, I'm instinctively wary. But this XPS Duo 12
laptablet looks awesome. Gizmodo agrees.
The flip hinge lets your 12.5-inch, 1920-x1080 display rotate 180
degrees to switch between modes. There's Corning Gorilla Glass on the
screen, and aluminum and carbon fiber on the case. Windows 8 and Intel
Core i3/5/7 guts, along with weight that, like the Lenovo X23T, that
will be closer to an actual Ultrabook or laptop. No price yet.
Another Windows 8/Intel Clover Trail convertible with a
11.6-inch, 1366x768 screen, there are a few things that distinguish Vivo
Tab from the rest of the pack: a Wacom active digitizer for drawing
with a stylus, NFC technology and Asus' recent success with making
bigger hybrid tablets (the Transformer line). The price (sans $199 keyboard/battery) may be $799 (a 10-inch Nvidia Tegra 3 counterpart may be $599).
For everyone pining for a larger tablet from Apple, the ModBook Pro is here
- a 13.3-inch (1280x800) tablet running Mac OS X. The mysterious
makers of the ModBook seem to convert MacBook Pros by hand - every order
takes 6-8 weeks, and you can even buy their conversion kits if you feel
like doing it yourself. My colleague Tony Kueh jokes that the ModBook
Pro, which uses a stylus, not touch, for input, should've been "codenamed: Newton." The
specs are powerful - 2.5-2.9 GHz Core i5/i7 processor, up to 16 GB of
RAM and up to 480 GB of SSD storage. You can also get Windows 7
preinstalled. The prices are commensurate, starting at $3,499 and going
up to $4,819. U.S. customers-only starting in mid-November.
If there is a Guinness Book of World Records entry for Largest
Tablet, the Sony VAIO Tap20 would be it. This is basically an all-in-one
Windows 8 PC with a 20-inch, 1600x900 capacitive 10-point multitouch
screen. But...it actually has a built-in battery with an alleged life of
3.5 hours. At its size (140 sq. inches, 11.4 pounds), you'll probably
only lug it around your home or office, setting it up in flat or
reclining mode (with the rear kickstand). Specs are full PC-like, with
your choice of Intel Core i3 to i7 processors, 8 GB RAM and up to 1 TB
hard drive space. Alas, you pay for what you get, with a Japan price of between $1,800 to $2,300.
While we dream of a possible Samsung P10 (2650x1600 resolution)
tablet, there are two pretty worthy options available today: the Series
5 and Series 7 tablets. Both are 11.6-inch tablets. The mid-range
Series 5 has the Intel Atom Clover Trail processor and 9 hour battery
life, while the Series 7 has a Core i5 and 5-6 hour battery life. Both
support pen input, ala the Galaxy Note. Unlike other Windows 8
lap-tablets, the $100 keyboards are strictly optional. The Series 5
starts at $649, while the Series 7 starts at $1,119.
You might have already been considering the Toshiba Excite 13
tablet - it was released earlier this summer. It's a 13.3-inch
(1600x900) Android 4.0 ICS tablet with an Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset that
tips the scales at 2.2 pounds. The $650 price for the 32 GB version looked high compared to the similar-but-smaller $199 Google Nexus. Reviews were thus mixed. But I think the Excite 13 looks very reasonable today to anyone who doesn't need Windows 8 or a keyboard.
The practical little brother of the Tap 20, the VAIO Duo 11 is a
11.6-inch, 1920x1080 Windows 8 tablet with a slide-out keyboard (and
stylus) that weighs a very Ultrabook-like 2.6 pounds. The Duo packs a
punch - Intel Core i3 5 or 7 chips, up to 256 GB SSD, and HDMI and USB
3.0 ports. And like most VAIOs, it's a handsome piece of kit. However,
expect to pay just as handsomely. One report has the DUO's European price starting at 1199 Euros ($1,550) for the entry-level i3 version.
The Toshiba U920T is another larger-than-iPad laptablet running Windows 8. So why does one magazine call it the "best laptablet yet"?
Well, there's the 12.5 inch screen, bigger than many of its immediate,
business-oriented competitors (though the resolution remains just 1366 x
768, or one-third the iPad 3). More impressive are the Core i3/i5
chips, 4 GB RAM and 128 GB SSD round out the U920T. Expect a
$1,000-something price.
For years, Lenovo was the lonely standardbearer for the
convertible tablet/notebook category, its ThinkPad X-series selling well
enough for the company to keep making them. How is Lenovo reacting to
the sudden rush of competitors? Without panic, if the X230T is any
judge. The X230T looks like its predecessors. It is a comparatively
chunky (4 pounds, 1.2-inches thick) but, encased in magnesium alloy,
screams durability - a plus for enterprise IT. The 12.5-inch, 1366x768
screen is reportedly outdoor-readable. There are ports aplenty and, for
about $1,300, a Intel Core i5 processor. If you trust experience over
flash, the X230T may be the way to go.
Not a tablet itself, the MMT Monitor2Go is
a multi-touch, 15.6 LED display that you can carry around as a second
screen to your tablet. The company calls the 3-lb Monitor2Go perfect for
business presentations, and I can see that. Both are connected via HDMI
or USB, and have a slot to insert an iPad 2 or 3. The $299 model has
1366x768 resolution. I'd pay $30 more for the 1600x900 version.
Maybe Japanese engineers have gotten tired with miniaturizing
gadgets, because here is the 2nd tablet-like device greater than
20-inches coming from the island. The maker is Frontier, and the product
is the 21.5-inch, 11 lb. Frontier FT103.
The FT103 runs Android 4.0 ICS, and the resolution is 1920x1080. But
the rest of the specs are lackluster - 1 GHz dual-core ARM chip, 8 GB
flash storage. And unlike the Sony VAIO Tap 20, there doesn't seem to be
a battery. Hmm, maybe it is, as the makers call it, just a
"SmartDisplay." The Frontier costs just US$440, which is good, since
you'll need that money to pay for your flight to Japan to buy it, and
all of the chiropractic work afterwards.
Another high-end Windows 8 tab-laptop, the Iconia Tab W700 has a
11.6-inch screen with a 1920x1080 display, Intel Core i5 1.7 GHz chip,
128 GB SSD, 8 hours of battery life, Dolby Home Theater sound and Micro
HDMI and USB 3.0 ports. That configuration will cost $999. A Core
i3-based version will be $200 less.
Archos is the French answer to low-cost consumer electronics makers like Coby, focusing on media players and tablets. The coming FamilyPad
is a 13.3-inch (1280 x 800) Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet with a
single-core 1 GHz Cortex-A8 chip, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB of storage and front
and rear 2 megapixel cameras. Weak specs in this day and age, but expect
a sub-$200 price to entice customers at the Walmart.
Koegler Electronics is
a small, Taiwan-based company with the big dream of creating the first
wearable tablet. Imagine a 1920x1080 20-inch LCD tablet that rests on
a...oh heck, just look at the picture.
Not the slickest-looking device, but it does make the user of Koegler
potentially hands-free. This could definitely have some enterprise
applications. So if you've got $5 million or so to spare, why not Kickstart this venture?
Fujitsu is the Lenovo of Europe - a firm enterprise vendor who never stopped making convertible tablet/laptops. Their Stylistic Q702
is their entry in the high-end Windows 8 category - 11.6-inch
(1920x1080) screen and a Core i3/i5 chip in a 1.88 lb. package. Like the
Lenovo X230T, the Stylistic comes with a bunch of enterprise management
and security features, and its touchscreen supports 10-point multitouch
as well as a stylus. Expect enterprise-type prices.
