Samsung Unveils The Galaxy TabPro S

During Samsung’s CES press conference the company announced a brand new 2-in-1 tablet. While it was initially thought to be an Android tablet to take on the likes of the Pixel C and the iPad Pro, it turns out that the TabPro S is really a full blown Windows 10 convertible tablet. Below are its specs.

Since the TabPro S is larger than the average tablet and runs a full version of Windows, we’re looking at different specifications than one would typically find in an Android device. On top of that, Samsung is able to source components from their different child companies, allowing for features that don’t exist on many other tablets.

Internally, the TabPro S is powered by Intel’s Core m3 CPU, which is a Skylake-Y part. That CPU is paired with 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB or 256GB SSD. Samsung actually advertises it as an SSD, and given its size it’s probably safe to assume that we’re looking at an actual SSD rather than an eMMC solution.

The TabPro S uses a 12″ 2160×1440 AMOLED display. The prospect of a Samsung tablet with an AMOLED display running Windows interests me greatly, because it opens up the possibility of manual calibration and different gamma targets like BT. 1886 which would greatly improve the movie watching experience.

Like many of the productivity focused tablets that have launched recently, the TabPro S includes support for a keyboard and a digital pen. The keyboard connects to the tablet directly using pogo pins, while the pen works over Bluetooth. In addition to those accessories, there will also be an adapter that allows for the connection of USB Type A, Type C, and HDMI devices.

The Galaxy TabPro S will be launching this February in both white and blue. The keyboard cover and Bluetooth pen will be available separately. Pricing for the TabPro S and accessories is currently unknown.

Huawei Announces The MediaPad M2 10

Today at CES Huawei made a number of announcements. One of them is a new tablet called the Huawei MediaPad M2 10. It’s a new tablet coming to the United States, with specs that sit somewhere in the mid range part of the tablet market. You can check out all of its specs in the chart below.

The MediaPad M2 10 is actually one of the first Huawei tablets that I’ve seen coming to the North American market. On paper, it appears to be a tablet targeting the mid range segment of the market. Starting with the SoC, you get HiSilicon’s Kirin 930, which consists of two quad core Cortex A53 clusters with peak frequencies of 2GHz and 1.5GHz respectively. It’s paired with an ARM Mali-T628 GPU, and either 2GB or 3GB of LPDDR3 memory depending on whether you buy the silver or gold model.

Moving on to the display, the 1920×1200 IPS panel definitely isn’t as high resolution as the panels shipping on high end tablets, but it’s a lot better than the 1280×800 panels that used to ship on all the mid range tablets out there. Huawei has been a bit inconsistent with their calibration across their product lines, so I’m interested to see how the panel compares to the competition in that regard. Beyond the display, you get either 16GB or 64GB of storage, and a pair of 13MP and 5MP cameras.

As for the design of the MediaPad M2, it doesn’t end up cutting any corners. It ships with a full aluminum unibody, and the industrial design is very similar to that of the Mate S. It isn’t the thinnest or lightest tablet out there, with a thickness of 7.35mm or 500g, but for a mid range tablet the fact that it’s made of aluminum already gives it an edge over other tablets.

The Huawei MediaPad M2 10 will be available in silver and gold. The color choices also serve as a way to segment the devices, as the silver model comes with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of NAND, while the gold model comes with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of NAND. Both models will be available in the United States in the first quarter of this year, starting at $349 for the 2GB + 16GB WiFi model, and $419 for the 3GB + 64GB model which also includes the active stylus. Both models can have LTE support added on for $50.

Toshiba’s DynaPad Tablet to Hit Stores in Late January

Toshiba showcased its ultra-thin dynaPad tablet in September, 2015, at IFA in Berlin, Germany, and then formally introduced it in mid-October. At the International CES 2016, the company finally revealed that the dynaPad will hit the U.S. market later this month. Toshiba says that its new 12-inch tablet is among the thinnest Windows 10-based devices of such kind.

The Toshiba dynaPad tablet features a 12-inch display with 1920×1280 resolution, which is covered with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 as well as with a special anti-fingerprint coating. The device is equipped with Toshiba’s active electrostatics (ES) stylus with Wacom Feel technology that supports 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. The digitizer pen can last for more than 1000 hours on one charge and can be used for note taking, sketching and drawing. In addition, Toshiba offers a special keyboard dock for its dynaPad, which can be used to convert the slate into a laptop.

The dynaPad tablet from Toshiba uses Microsoft Windows 10 operating system and is based on the Intel Atom x5 Z8300 system-on-chip (four cores, 2MB cache, 1.44 GHz – 1.84 GHz clock-rate, built-in Intel HD Graphics core with 12 execution units, 2 W thermal design power, 14 nm process technology). The SoC of the dynaPad is similar to that used by Microsoft’s Surface 3, but it runs at a lower frequency and thus has lower performance.

Toshiba’s dynaPad also comes with up to 4 GB of DDR3L RAM, up to 64 GB of NAND flash storage, Wi-Fi (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technologies, a 2 MP front-facing and an 8 MP back-facing cameras, various sensors and so on. The dynaPad sports two micro USB 2.0 ports, a microSD card slot and a micro HDMI port for connecting to external displays. Toshiba yet has to reveal precise specifications and configurations of its dynaPad.

The new tablet from Toshiba weighs 580 grams (1.28 pounds) and measures about 6.9 mm (0.27 inch) thin. When the keyboard is attached, the weight increases to around 1000 grams (2.2 pounds). Toshiba has not released precise details about battery life of its new tablet.

Toshiba plans to start selling its dynaPad online and at Microsoft Stores in late January. The most affordable version will cost $569.99.

The Toshiba dynaPad looks like a relatively powerful solution for various tasks usually performed on tablets. It has a fine 12-inch display and comes with a digitizer pen. By contrast, Microsoft’s Surface 3 sports a 10.1-inch screen and does not come with a stylus (it has to be bought separately). Moreover, Toshiba’s tablet is also thinner and lighter than Microsoft’s Surface 3. In fact, thickness is the dynaPad is similar to that of Apple’s iPad Pro, which also has a 12-inch display, but the latter weighs considerably more (713 grams, 1.572 pounds).

Even though Toshiba has been trying to refocus its PC business and concentrate on business and enterprise customers, it continues to release consumer devices that look very interesting, at least, on paper. The dynaBook with its rather low weight, relatively low price, advanced stylus and decent capabilities looks like a viable rival not only for Microsoft’s Surface 3, but also for Apple’s iPad Air and iPad Pro.

Gallery: Toshiba’s DynaPad Tablet to Hit Stores in Late January