If you’re a fan of Windows 8, there’s no better place to be than Berlin — IFA 2012 is awash with the new breed of touch-friendly tablets. Now, Toshiba’s taken advantage of its IFA presence to add another one to the list: the Satellite U920T.
Every Windows 8 slate we’ve seen so far — Dell’s XPS Duo 12 and Sony’s VAIO Duo 11 being just two — has brought its own design expertise to bear on the convertible tablet conundrum. Dell opted for a nifty flip-top screen, and Sony went to town on its Surf Slider design, but Toshiba’s 1.45kg Ultrabook-class tablet has its very own convertible vision.
The first time our contact at Toshiba showed off the Satellite U920T’s hinge action, we were duly impressed. Ratchets stretch up and down the panel’s rear, with a central puck keeping the action light and smooth, and the screen flips up and back with a fluid action.
The nifty mechanism means that, unlike Sony’s VAIO Duo 11, the screen slides much further back, leaving more room for a full-sized keyboard and, importantly, a wide buttonless touchpad. That makes it just that bit comfier to type on than Sony’s device, and the decent-sized touchpad is a boon, too — even if it isn’t as spacious as Dell’s almost full-sized keyboard/mouse combination.
Start prodding away and the Toshiba’s 12.5in panel responds crisply to every poke of the finger. The glossy finish is actually Gorilla Glass, so it’ll fend off knocks and scrapes while out and about, and the touchscreen supports up to 5-point multitouch. As for image quality, the IPS panel looks well up to par, and Toshiba claims the backlight will manage a maximum brightness of 300cd/m2. If there’s a disappointment, it’s the resolution — a mere 1,366 x 768 — which is some way short of Dell and Sony’s Full HD rivals.
In terms of specifications, the Toshiba comes firing on all cylinders. Models will be available with Core i5 and i7 processors, up to 8GB RAM and up to a 256GB SSD. Two USB 3 ports handle high-speed file transfers, while dual-band 802.11n and Bluetooth 4 take charge of the airwaves. There’s an HDMI output and an SD card reader tucked away, too, as well as a front-facing 1mp camera and a 3mp sensor at the rear.
With availability promised for sometime in Q4, we’ll be keeping a close eye on Toshiba’s Satellite U920T. If you fancy doing the same, then direct your eyeballs downwards to the gallery of pictures below.
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