ASUS VivoTab RT Review
by Vivek Gowri on October 23, 2012 3:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Asus
- Mobile
- Tablets
- Windows RT
- Vivo Tab
Tegra 3 is a pretty known quantity at this point, we’ve seen quite a few tablets and smartphones based on this chip and it’s been quite solid in all of them. Nvidia has done a good job executing with their mobile SoCs, and Microsoft choice of T30 to be the heart of their launch platform is a pretty significant hardware win for Nvidia.
So with that said, how does the Tegra 3-Windows RT combination hold up versus the who’s who of the tablet world today? Well, that’s a bit complicated. As far as Windows RT benchmarks, we’ve got relatively few, so we’ll stick to some of our cross-platform JavaScript benchmarks, all of which happen to be browser-based.
This is important to note, because in Windows 8 and Windows RT, there are of course two browsers. Both run the same IE10 engine, so performance is actually essentially the same - I had some margin of error level differences (~2%) that aren’t really worth reporting in the graphs. Compared to the third generation iPad, performance is a bit low due to to IE10’s JavaScript performance, and the A6X-based fourth generation iPad should only extend that lead (significantly) based on the performance of the A6-based iPhone 5. But trying to make cross-platform performance comparisons are kind of a waste here.
Tegra 3 is fast enough to run Windows RT, but until we get some other comparison points and better ways to benchmark it, there’s not too much else to say here. Tegra 3 is adequate, but anything less and I could see parts of the UI (particularly in the desktop) becoming a drag. But given how well RT runs on quad-core Cortex A9, I’m just eager to see shipping devices with faster SoCs - Krait and Clover Trail in the coming weeks, A15 in the not-too distant future.
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AahzNotOz - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
One thing I haven't seen discussed about RT is will it play the Windows extracted Digital Copy movies you sometimes get with Blu-Ray? I know Win 8 Pro slates should be able to play them fine, but how about Win RT?KineticHummus - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
Hopefully this thing can play back high profile H264 like what most people use for MKV's! I'd love to be able to take some 720p anime on the bus with me. None of the 10 inch android tablets are too interesting to me, and the nexus 7 is too small. The iPad is out of the question, it cant play my files.Urizane - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
High profile H.264 in an MP4 container on an iPad...sure. I'm guessing you're just not thrilled about burning in subtitles. As far as Windows RT goes...I'm guessing MKV support is going to have to come by way of a "Modern UI" (Metro) app playing MKVs back in software (slow) rather than through the hardware accelerator. I only say that, because messing with the core components (e.g. adding a DirectShow filter) is probably not allowed out of the box, and any .AX file would have to be compiled for Windows on an ARM CPU anyway. In such a case, you're still better off with H.264 in an MP4 container, because that's guaranteed to work. The same tricks used on Windows 7 for hardware playback of MKV streams should still work in Windows 8 Pro. You might need to lean in that direction if you have a complete aversion to demuxing your MKVs and muxing them into MP4s.frozentundra123456 - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
Sorry, but I guess I am not that familiar with Win RT. What can you really do on Win RT? I mean if it doesnt run x86 apps, does it run android apps, or just apps from the microsoft store?It seems like kind of in limbo to me. TBH, I really hate Android. Hundred, thousands, whatever of apps, but I have yet to find any that are useful and work well. The few useful apps that I have tried tend to have some fatal flaw such as being frustratingly slow, locking up. crashing, etc.
So if you cant run x86 apps, how is this an improvement?
Roland00Address - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
When Windows RT launches there is going to be about 3000 apps in the Microsoft store.This will change with time, remember if an app is developed for the Microsoft store it will work on windows rt or windows 8 regardless of the processor in use.
Windows 7 phones launched with about 2,000 apps, it had 20,000 apps 6 months later, 40,000 apps 12 months later, and now has over a 100,000 apps.
You are going to see a similar or faster app development for windows 8 for the fact more people are going to use windows 8 then you are going to see people using windows 7 phone.
horibatech - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
I dont know if it just because I have heard you talk on the podcast, but I love the 'tone' if your review. All the Anandech respectability with some Vivek flair. It's up to you, Anand, and the comments section, but I for one appreciate your candor and actually putting you opinion on the line. Keep up the good work and stay on the podcast!Death666Angel - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
I think I'll wait until 2013 with new ARM and Intel architectures. Just feels like it is "too early" for IVB/CortexA9 Win8/RT. Haswell and A15 should do much to help with performance/battery life.BlueInAtlanta - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
This device is the opposite of sleek. There's just too much machine around the edges and looks outdated. Still, I use it to sketch design ideas for my graphic design firm here in San Francisco. The tablet's nice display and its compatibility with AT&T's 4G LTE make it a very competitive model despite the looks.