For those in need of a complete windows 7 solution for compatibility it is well deserved for praise. Weighing at just under 2 lbs, and a nearly four hour surfing time, it is the near the best for a windows solution without any surfing limitations found on ipad or even fewer found on android or blackberry or software limitations of any kind. Windows 7 is not however optimized for the ultra smooth and silky operation of movement and fluidity as an ipad or android however, nor the lasting battery power or the brighter screen and resolution as the ipad. This all boils down to what your needs are. Business without any software limitations is made for Gigabyte s1080. For fun and games and non demanding web browsing requirements for compatibility issues is made for ipad users. The hardware could be better, such as the resolution and brightness and contrast as well as a longer lasting battery but what it lacks in these hardware limitations, it really shines in fast 5 second bootup from sleep mode while only draining about 12% during sleep mode per day, under 2 pound facility in weight, and a relatively speedy and sufficient processor with some occasional lags.
All functionality works as expected, therefore, this gigabyte with stands and usb keyboard, even without the docking station can work as laptop (or desktop for this matter, because its a bit hard and not convenience to use the stands and keyboard on your lap). I can use my usb mouse easily.
With 320GB storage, it's enough room for any files and applications, and also I attached my 500GB external hard drive (NTFS) without any problem whatsoever.
This Slate PC Tablet touch screen is very responsive (even though still cannot match the responsiveness of androids tablets or ipad, I think this is due to the Windows 7 OS that is not really designed for mobile units), for my purpose, it suit me very well.
The display is satisfactory, very neat design, and connectivities are complete (USB 2.0, USB 3.0, wifi, 3G, monitor connection etc.)
The virtual keyboard is nice although a bit small for me.
The built in mouse function on the right hand side is really awesome (with left click and right click on the lefthand side) for this tablet to use as pure tablet PC, without any keyboard.
I give 5 stars rating due to its price performance.
The less responsive multitouchscreen properties, I think is due to the Windows 7 nature (I am not an expert so I might be wrong), therefore I still think this Gigabyte S1080 is worth to have 5 stars rating.
I probably will update my review after using this tablet several weeks from now.
UPDATE ON 23rd DEC 2011
I played around with this slate PC the whole day and I've found three things that is the cons or minus side of this slate PC, even though it still deserve the 5 stars ratings.
1. Display : display is nice but the viewing angle compare to the ipad or high end android tablets, is not good. But if we compare to laptops or netbooks in general, it can be considered as good. So if the display can match high end android tablets or Ipad 1, it can be awesome.
2. Movies : This tablets plays movies from youtube (up to 1080p) blue ray 720p without any problems, excellent quality, but when I played my HD 1080p movies from my hard drive, it have troubles, I think its due to the CPU and Video chips quality, and from th windows experience index number (when you play windows game), this tablets achieve numbers of 3.0 which means (by microsoft definition) :
A computer with a base score of 3.0 can run Aero and many features of Windows 7 at a basic level. Some of the Windows 7 advanced features might not have all of their functionality available. For example, a computer with a base score of 3.0 can display the Windows 7 theme at a resolution of 1280 × 1024, but might struggle to run the theme on multiple monitors. Or, it can play digital TV content but might struggle to play high-definition television (HDTV) content.
3. Battery : battery back up time is only around 3 to 4 hours or a bit more, depend on the usage.
Buy Gigabyte S1080 10.1-Inch Tablet Computer Now
This is an outstanding piece of innovative engineering that takes advantage of new technologies to produce a complact, powerful, ground breaking product Gigabyte S1080 10.1-Inch Tablet Computer that hopefully will not suffer the fate of what I believe may have been the first true "tablet pc".The first portable pc I ever purchased was around 2003 and produced by Compaq. The Compaq Concerto fell victim to its own foresight in both hardwared and software design. Unfortunately, it was so far ahead of its time using then rare technologies such as pen sensitive touchscreen, handwrighting recognition and inking capabilities as well as a removable keyboard cover that allowed it to be a true self standing pen based tablet. An OS overlay UI system designed by Xerox allowed one to create project based "notebooks" that made the first significant use of "shortcut" icons to create what might be somewwhat akin to what one can do today in software such as MS OneNote.
Sadly the Concerto died on the vine due to inadequate processing power to fully power its visionary features. It is Unfortunate few remember and even fewer ever note its early implementation of the concept of a device bridging notebook and tablet (then commonly known as pen computer) into a single hybrid that provided the utility of pen (I find today's capacitive touch screens inferior for productivity devices compared to resistive pen based implementations as fingers are great for painting but are not designed for writing and onscreen keyboards are temperermental while taking up precious screen space. Even styluses novw available for multtitouch screens seeem to require broad rubbery tips that do not perform much better.)
This bit of history and personal viewpoint are important in understanding why, despite some significant changes I would make in the Gigabyte S1080 and its comming descendents) I rate it as highly as possible and pray that enough distrivbutors can overcome the current focus on iMania and Androidism to realize the great value many would place on a device with most of the features and functionality of iOS and Android based devices and based on the compatibility of a Windows 7+ based platform that provides features that are severe limitations on those devices except the most casual users of such devices in the context of entertainment and social computing phenomena.
If enought visionary distributors in this country see the enormous vacuum that exists for a product that bridges productivity notebooks and tablets in the iOS and Android families. These non-windows devices do not fill thtis enormous void but gain growing market shareand attention because people are not aware of the visionaary line of Slate products that Gigabye (known widely as one of the top suppliers of quality MB's, you most likely used in a past desktop or notebooks based on Gigabyte components!)
I had to explain the context of my rating for those not familiar with the S1080 prouct. It is potentially a SMASH hit if it can get enough attention and Gigabyte gets good feedback on minor things that range from annoyance to missed opporunities to make a game chnger out of an already revolutionary product.
MY PROS: Touchscreen (capacitive) capability that is fully capable of taking advantage of the alreade provided extensive tablet and pen support capabilities already built into Windows 7, including extensive option dialogs for pen, tablet, handwriting, and navigational controls.
Setting this apart is its tightly engineered, well designed case for that screen that is secured by 4 easily removable Torx screws that reveal a packed but functional design that requires but a single screw to secure the 2-1/2", 320GB hard drive in place. A single DDR3 S0-DIMM slot holds the max of 2GB memory supported. One can easily see the internal mini-PCI-E slot containing a Realtek Family Combo NIC supporting both Wi Fi (802.11b,g,n), Bluetooth 3.0, and wired 10/100/1000 Gigabit ethernet networking. In addition the internal antennae for the Wi Fi are supplemented with those that support an empty externally accessible 3G broadband slot for a SIM card! There is also a second, empty mini PCI-e slot already supplied with a waiting power connector wired and taped down.
I/O connectors is what sets the 10.1" screen miracle apart: SD card slot, USB 2.0 connector, headphone and mic jacks, gigabit wired RJ-45 Jack occupy the left side of the case in normal landscape mode. On the right side you can find additional ventilation slots that are fan driven to cool the dual core, N710, hyperthreaded Intel Atom processor that provides 4 effective virtual processors. Also are the external power connector, 3G SIM slot waitng to be filled, and fully functional USB 3.0 connector. Yes, you heard right. Not a typ0. This comes with USB 3.0 connectivity. And lest I forget, throw in a VGA connector for an external monitor as well.
Moving to the top edge are integrate stereo speakers, microphone array and 1.3 megapixel webcam built in.
Bottonm edge sports two small connectors and various holes that let you know accessories are available that include a 2700mAh accessory battery supposed to provide 3 additional hours of working time in addition to that provided by the internal 4000 mAh battery that I have used with no power saving feautures and power hungry external USB 3 hard drive for nearly 3 hours. Both are Lithium Polymer technology.
Aside from all this, external controls supplement the touch screen. Volume contol buttons, a strange round device that acts as a mouse cursor control and pressed acts as an enter key on the right face. Oppoisite are two buttons that act as left and right mouse buttons. (All buttons and various combinations act during boot and use as other crucial buttons;e.g., both mice buttons return [Esc] and when combined with the [Enter] button simultaneously, issue a [Ctl]+[Alt]+[Del] sequence. The vol button during boot takes you into setup.)
A mediocre softwre launching app is combined with a fantastic control program that can be found on the left edge of the screen on an "Action Bar". The Smartmanager software brings up a screen dialog allowing you to turn on or off or adjust most critical system features:vol, mute, brightness (on and off power), power plan, webcam, which forms of networking are active, adjust or disable the Smart Power Charging Utility for high draw devices during sleep mode, turn off usb3 to save power (stil acts as usb 2 mode), multiscreen mode, activate/deactivae auto sensing of tablet rotation, turn on or off soft keys located on left face of screen border that activate onscreen keyboard, scroll up, scroll down and issue a back instruction;and finally even turn off the capacitive screen multitouch sensivity.
MY CONS: Not many or much space left tot enumerate them. Mostly they fall into the provide more memory support (at least for larger capacity SO-DIMMS if not a second slot). More convrnfient placemenyt of various things. Replicate hand controls in landscape mode on top and bottom borders of screen to facilitate true tablet functionality in portrait mode where tablets really shine, and finally, for now, better attachment for the accessory battery and make the 1024x600 max screen size support at least 1024 x 768 to avoid certain software incompatibilities due to the non-standard screen resolution.
MY BOTTOM LINE AND ADVICE: GO GRAB ONE, PREFERABLY TWO OF THESE BABIES BEFORE THE SHORT SIGHTED TALKING COMPUTER HEADS HIGH ON SOCIAL NETWORKING, iOS, ANDROID AND TOUCHSCREEN DEVICES TOO BIG TO BE A GREAT PHONE AND TOO SMALL TO BE A GREAT COMPUTER/BROWSER KNOCK ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T FIT THE SOCIAL NETWORKING/TEXTING MENTALITY OFF THE SHELF! IF WE ARE LUCKY THEN GIGABYTE WILL MOVE QUICKLY TO GET FEEDBACK, FIX MINOR SHORTCOMMINGS, ADD IMPROVEMENTS AND (GOTTA VISIT THEIR TAIWAN SITES TO REALLY SEE WHAT THEY HAVE LINED UP) GET AS MANY OF THESE INTO AS MANY HANDS AS QUICKLY AND CHEAPLY AS POSSIBLE TO DEMONSTRATE A TABLET DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A TOY BUT CAN PROVIDE A POWERFUL COMPUTING PLATFORM (YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH POWER AND RESPONSIVENESS THIS THING HAS AND WHAT MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF SOFTWARE AND DATA I HAVE PILED ONTO IT.)
IT IS THE ONLY NOTEBOOK I HAVE EVER OWNED THAT ACTUALLY CAN RUN HIGH PERFORMANCE FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR OR SO. BATTERY LIFE IS GREAT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE ACCESSORY BATTERTY.
Read Best Reviews of Gigabyte S1080 10.1-Inch Tablet Computer Here
I've had my tablet for about a month now. It works very well. It's exactly like my laptop but in tablet form. I chose this tablet for business because everybody uses Microsoft products plus I needed the 2 USB ports. The screen responsiveness: 7 out of 10. Not the best but works pretty good. Ease of use: 9 of 10. If you're familiar with Windows 7, you won't have any issues. Operating system( Windows 7): 5 out of 10. Windows 7 is NOT made for tablets. Hopefully I can upgrade to Windows 8 when that comes out. I have no problems hooking up to wifi. It's very compatible with hotel internet. It comes with a protective case but DEFINITELY get the case with the keyboard. I am slowly replacing my laptop with this tablet. I used an external CD drive to download Office 2010, Streets & Trips and Adobe Acrobat X. Before I downloaded all the software and all my files, the tablet would start up in 5 seconds from sleep mode. Now it starts up in about 10 seconds or so. This is not a fancy looking tablet like the iPad or Samsung. It is very functional looking.Want Gigabyte S1080 10.1-Inch Tablet Computer Discount?
arrived on time and very well protected packaging.worked right out of the box with slip cover included.
intalled windows 8 with only one video registry change.
windows 8 worked great..
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