6 ms·

Slate sticker shock: Asus Windows 7 tablet priced at $999

37 points by abennett 16y ago

Charuru 16y ago
It's talking about this right? http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/asus-eee-slate-ep121-officially-unveiled-ips-display-core-i5-a/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/asus-eee-slate-ep121-offi... IT HAS A BUILT IN WACOM!!! TEN times the RAM of an ipad. It runs on an i5core. This is not remotely in the same league. The audience is not your mom and pop who only has to use Facebook and skype, this is like a thinkpad for creative professionals. This commentator is very ignorant.
- eli 16y ago
  FYI, Lenovo has had Thinkpad tablets with built-in Wacom digitzers for years.
  - Charuru 16y ago
    They do indeed, and it's 1300 dollars.
- lukeschlather 16y ago
  >IT HAS A BUILT IN WACOM!!! Suddenly this tablet sounds very reasonable. A fully functional Photoshop on a tablet would be nice. (And there's no way you'll see that on an iPad unless they have a similar price markup.)
  - Lazlo_Nibble 16y ago
    Photoshop on a tablet without pressure-sensitive input isn't much of a step up from Photoshop with a mouse. And in the press so far I see a lot of mentions of pressure-sensitive input on the MeMo, but nothing about it on the Slate.
- JoeBracken 16y ago
  Yes the only category that is shared between the iPad and the Asus ep121 is the tablet form factor. Its like comparing a desktop replacement laptop and a feather weight netbook. Both share the form factor but they are for different uses. The features of the ep121 put it in that "desktop replacement" arena where power and flexibility are more important than light weight, instant on, etc. I am excited about picking one of these up and doing more than playing angry birds. I'll keep the iPad (for the record I own and carry an iPad daily) for play time, convenience and for looking cool. I'll use a powerful windows 7 tablet for getting hard core work done in a small package.
wvenable 16y ago
I wonder if Apple released the 16GB iPad just so that every article would compare every competing tablet device to that $499 price. iPads range from $499 to $829.
endtime 16y ago
The article's a bit silly. The author may be right that this product will fail, but in general Windows 7 is far more powerful than iOS or Android. The range of apps/games/tools/etc. accessible on a desktop OS dwarfs even that of the App Store. I don't know if people want that power on a tablet, but it is obviously greater power.
- ryanpetrich 16y ago
  If the apps are available but difficult or impossible to use because they require a keyboard and mouse, what good are they?
- cryptoz 16y ago
  > but in general Windows 7 is far more powerful than iOS or Android. Not in this context it's not. How's the built-in support for multitouch gestures for things like maps, image editing, zooming, etc? How is the support for app discovery? How do users find new trusted apps that are designed for the device? What about built-in support for accelerometers and compasses? And does Windows have a GPS application to show your location on a map? Maybe it does have all of those things and I've just never heard about it. But I doubt it. Regular old Windows 7 seems like a poor choice for a tablet OS.
  - endtime 16y ago
    I think it has support for some of those. Here's an article on multitouch support in Windows 7: http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/archive/b/windowsvista/archive/2008/05/27/microsoft-demonstrates-multi-touch.aspx http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/archive/b/windowsvista/ar... I haven't used it (or even read the article) so I have no idea if it's any good. App discovery is the same as it is on a regular Windows desktop, presumably - that is, less hand holding but more freedom. I'm sure the tablet manufacturers will include drivers for whichever sensors they embed in their tablets. Perhaps there will be some standardization so that apps can rely on them, I don't know, that sounds like it would be in everyone's interest. I don't really understand why you're asking these questions, honestly...it's like you've forgotten how a full OS works. I guess it's a question of whether you want a big smartphone or a tablet-shaped computer. I lean towards the latter, and I don't dispute that in general a Windows 7 tablet is going after a different market than the iPad.
wccrawford 16y ago
The only real problem that I see is the interface. I have a Windows tablet. XP was pretty bad, 7 is a little better... Neither are anywhere close to the usability of IOS or Android. But I'll be honest... I got a combo laptop/tablet with touch-sensitive pen and figure support both for $1200. Base price was $900. Why would I pay more for just a tablet?
dpcan 16y ago
It's $300 more than an iPad. Sticker shock? Really? It has USB ports. It runs Windows 7. For guys like me who are all Windows, this doesn't seem high priced at all. Sure, it would be nice if it were $699, but it has Windows. For me, it's like having a tablet with all the comforts of home. All my programs (apps), all my browsers, all the control! (yay) It requires a stylus too - which some of us big fingered dudes really miss. EDIT: I've never touched the thing or seen it live, just checked out the tech specs. Maybe there's better / cheaper stuff out there.
- ghshephard 16y ago
  For those who are scratching their heads -please read the ParentPost in the manner that it was meant - carefully crafted and worded satire. Only on HN will it get the audience it deserves. Upvoted. "It requires a stylus too which some of us big fingered dudes really miss" :-)
  - randallsquared 16y ago
    Er, the stylus thing is not entirely off the mark. My N900 has a stylus, and there are programs I cannot use without it (notably, the web browser is nigh useless without it, since text that's perfectly comfortable for reading means links that are way too small to hit reliably with a finger). So, a stylus actually can be a point in its favor.
    - roc 16y ago
      Another way to look at that state of affairs is: the required stylus is a point against the n900's browser. Styluses, particularly for navigation, have been rejected by the market. So relying upon them is simply a bad idea if you dare to dream of outperforming anything in the graveyard of Windows-Tablets-Past.
      - jsnell 16y ago
        I've got small hands, and really hated using the browser on an iPhone due to how easy it was to click the wrong link by mistake on any sites that don't have an separate version optimized for mobiles. Switching to a Nexus 1 from an iPhone 3G was worth it just for the trackball. Unfortunately the Nexus S removed the trackball, making it a downgrade over the N1 as a whole :-( It's a sad world when solving the problem counts as a black mark, while putting your hands over the ears and singing la-la-la-there is no problem counts as good user experience and paying attention to detail.
cryptoz 16y ago
Wow, Microsoft still doesn't get it. Most people don't want stock Windows on a tablet! This is the reason MS has failed in tablets for a decade already; they refuse to change the OS to fit the tablet form factor. Sure, there are a few devs and nerds who'd like Windows on a tablet, but the casual user definitely does not. That's why iPad won so early: nobody would have bought one if it ran stock OS X. The buttons would be too small and the whole thing would feel clunky. The price of this thing doesn't matter, really. It'll fail as a mass-market device, while it'll probably sell a few to businesses and nerds.
- skymt 16y ago
  Microsoft has changed Windows to fit tablets. Many of the UI changes in Windows 7 are touch-centric: * The big buttons and slide-to-expand of the new Taskbar * Multi-touch gestures in Explorer, IE and more * Aero Snap and Shake to make window management less fiddly * A redesigned on-screen keyboard It's not a total redesign, so obviously it will never be as smooth as iOS or Android, but I'd say they did a decent job without breaking compatibility.
  - glhaynes 16y ago
    Is there still a mouse pointer?
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - eli 16y ago
      It's optional. Instead you get this funky water droplet effect when you tap the screen, I guess to let you know that a click registered.
  - regularfry 16y ago
    Indeed, the slogan I was hearing before launch was "Touch me, I'm 7!"
    - deleted 16y ago
trotsky 16y ago
Eee slate: 12.1" 1280×800, 2GB ram, Core i5, 32G SSD, Windows 7 home premium: $999 Eee pad MeMO: 7.1" 600×1024, 512MB RAM, dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm ARM, 4GB Flash (?), Android 3.0 Honeycomb $499 Looks about right to me. What about Sony Vaio Z sticker shock - costs 4x as much as Vaio M netbook?
- tptacek 16y ago
  Isn't the point that Apple would never be dumb enough to sell a Macbook without the keyboard?
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - lukeschlather 16y ago
    The article omits that the tablet's screen is Wacom, which is easily worth the markup in price. Actually, I'm surprised Apple doesn't have a Macbook without the keyboard aimed at graphics people. Graphic design is supposed to be Apple's core competency, and it seems like they're rapidly losing ground to Microsoft. Of course, Apple's new market seems to be earning them plenty of money.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
aresant 16y ago
Apple's vertical integration advantage further reinforced. Forbes called in in 2008: http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/04/24/mitra-apple-pasemi-tech-enter-cx_sm_0425mitra.html http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/04/24/mitra-apple-pase... John Gruber summed it up a few weeks back: "Today’s Apple has turned the pricing story on its head. Used to be thfe knock against Apple was their kit was overpriced. Now, even putting quality aside, competitors can’t match Apple’s prices." Tablet marketplace shows most clear cut difference.
- watty 16y ago
  Comparing this to an iOS or Android device is silly. This is running a full OS and is not limited to an App Store. It's extremely portable being a tablet but the difference is you can pull out a keyboard and it becomes more than a large phone. Edit: I think iOS and Android are great when on the run but when I'm stationary (most of the time), I want a keyboard/mouse and full OS. If this device could be booted into Android I'd be all over it. If iPad's could boot into OSX when docked, I'd be all over it.
  - glhaynes 16y ago
    Seems to me that when I'm doing the kinds of things that are better on a "full OS" (whatever that means), I'm usually going to want a real keyboard, too.
ugh 16y ago
What’s tragic about this (at least from Microsoft’s perspective) is that Microsoft can make a pretty good mobile OS. I have no doubt that Windows Phone 7 would have been extremely competitive if it had been released a year earlier. They are just too damn slow and seem to lack focus. It’s not yet sure whether Windows Phone 7 will succeed now in any way, will it be good enough to be similarly late to tablets? They certainly must have already started developing some sort of Windows 7 specifically for tablets (as unlike Windows 7 as Windows Phone 7 is unlike Windows 7), everything else would seem extremely stupid.
- contextfree 16y ago
  They are developing some sort of Windows 7 specifically for tablets. It's called Windows 8.
  - ugh 16y ago
    The important question is: What will they change, add or subtract? It’s obviously not in principle wrong to take a desktop OS and turn it into a tablet OS (Apple took OS X and turned it into iOS). I will, however, not have high hopes if Windows 8 on the desktop looks and behaves very similar to Windows 8 on a tablet.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
gacba 16y ago
I just posted an article about this whole issue today: http://www.lessonsoffailure.com/companies/2011-year-ipad/ http://www.lessonsoffailure.com/companies/2011-year-ipad/, although I missed this tidbit in the article and it would have been nice to mention. 2011 will be the year Apple basically takes the entire (tablet) market for itself since everyone else is clueless or incompetent to date...And woe be to those arriving late to the party.
- cryptoz 16y ago
  > 2011 will be the year Apple basically takes the entire (tablet) market for itself I don't know about that. I think 2010 was the year Apple did that, and 2011 is going to be the year that Android and iOS compete in the tablet market. With Gingerbread tablets coming out some time in the next few months at competitive prices, I think Apple will see some healthy competition. (Microsoft, of course, will not be a part of that healthy competition.)
  - gacba 16y ago
    I think by year's end, there might be some competition, but as I argued in the blog post, that competition isn't there today and doesn't look to be coming for at least 6-9 months. That's why I claim 2011 is the year Apple dominates. 2010 they clearly did, too.
    - bryanlarsen 16y ago
      Release date for the Motorola Droid Xoom is currently scheduled for Valentine's Day. Sure, it may slip, but I'd certainly take a bet that said less than 3 months.
runjake 16y ago
Apple is _SO_ overprice.... err wait, what? Seriously though. ASUS thinks they're going to sell an iPad competitor with an OS with lackluster touch technology for twice the cost, and less than half the battery life?
samratjp 16y ago
Great, Microsoft built the Lexus LFA [1] of Tablets. Pseudo-sleek, super expensive and no one knows or gives a damn about it. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LFA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LFA
frooxie 16y ago
If the Wacom stylus is high precision, then this is a much cheaper and better alternative to Wacoms Cintiq line. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
GrandMasterBirt 16y ago
Target: Businesses. Your executives can get a tablet. It will run windows so IT can lock it down. It will run ms outlook. It will piss people off after 2 days of using it. Thats the strategy (xept for the last part). I can't think of any other rationale that will keep my sanity.

37 points by abennett 16y ago

It's talking about this right? http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/asus-eee-slate-ep121-officially-unveiled-ips-display-core-i5-a/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/asus-eee-slate-ep121-offi... IT HAS A BUILT IN WACOM!!! TEN times the RAM of an ipad. It runs on an i5core. This is not remotely in the same league. The audience is not your mom and pop who only has to use Facebook and skype, this is like a thinkpad for creative professionals. This commentator is very ignorant.

eli 16y ago
FYI, Lenovo has had Thinkpad tablets with built-in Wacom digitzers for years.
- Charuru 16y ago
  They do indeed, and it's 1300 dollars.
lukeschlather 16y ago
>IT HAS A BUILT IN WACOM!!! Suddenly this tablet sounds very reasonable. A fully functional Photoshop on a tablet would be nice. (And there's no way you'll see that on an iPad unless they have a similar price markup.)
- Lazlo_Nibble 16y ago
  Photoshop on a tablet without pressure-sensitive input isn't much of a step up from Photoshop with a mouse. And in the press so far I see a lot of mentions of pressure-sensitive input on the MeMo, but nothing about it on the Slate.
JoeBracken 16y ago
Yes the only category that is shared between the iPad and the Asus ep121 is the tablet form factor. Its like comparing a desktop replacement laptop and a feather weight netbook. Both share the form factor but they are for different uses. The features of the ep121 put it in that "desktop replacement" arena where power and flexibility are more important than light weight, instant on, etc. I am excited about picking one of these up and doing more than playing angry birds. I'll keep the iPad (for the record I own and carry an iPad daily) for play time, convenience and for looking cool. I'll use a powerful windows 7 tablet for getting hard core work done in a small package.

wvenable 16y ago

I wonder if Apple released the 16GB iPad just so that every article would compare every competing tablet device to that $499 price. iPads range from $499 to $829.

endtime 16y ago

The article's a bit silly. The author may be right that this product will fail, but in general Windows 7 is far more powerful than iOS or Android. The range of apps/games/tools/etc. accessible on a desktop OS dwarfs even that of the App Store. I don't know if people want that power on a tablet, but it is obviously greater power.

ryanpetrich 16y ago
If the apps are available but difficult or impossible to use because they require a keyboard and mouse, what good are they?
cryptoz 16y ago
> but in general Windows 7 is far more powerful than iOS or Android. Not in this context it's not. How's the built-in support for multitouch gestures for things like maps, image editing, zooming, etc? How is the support for app discovery? How do users find new trusted apps that are designed for the device? What about built-in support for accelerometers and compasses? And does Windows have a GPS application to show your location on a map? Maybe it does have all of those things and I've just never heard about it. But I doubt it. Regular old Windows 7 seems like a poor choice for a tablet OS.
- endtime 16y ago
  I think it has support for some of those. Here's an article on multitouch support in Windows 7: http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/archive/b/windowsvista/archive/2008/05/27/microsoft-demonstrates-multi-touch.aspx http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/archive/b/windowsvista/ar... I haven't used it (or even read the article) so I have no idea if it's any good. App discovery is the same as it is on a regular Windows desktop, presumably - that is, less hand holding but more freedom. I'm sure the tablet manufacturers will include drivers for whichever sensors they embed in their tablets. Perhaps there will be some standardization so that apps can rely on them, I don't know, that sounds like it would be in everyone's interest. I don't really understand why you're asking these questions, honestly...it's like you've forgotten how a full OS works. I guess it's a question of whether you want a big smartphone or a tablet-shaped computer. I lean towards the latter, and I don't dispute that in general a Windows 7 tablet is going after a different market than the iPad.

wccrawford 16y ago

The only real problem that I see is the interface. I have a Windows tablet. XP was pretty bad, 7 is a little better... Neither are anywhere close to the usability of IOS or Android. But I'll be honest... I got a combo laptop/tablet with touch-sensitive pen and figure support both for $1200. Base price was $900. Why would I pay more for just a tablet?

dpcan 16y ago

It's $300 more than an iPad. Sticker shock? Really? It has USB ports. It runs Windows 7. For guys like me who are all Windows, this doesn't seem high priced at all. Sure, it would be nice if it were $699, but it has Windows. For me, it's like having a tablet with all the comforts of home. All my programs (apps), all my browsers, all the control! (yay) It requires a stylus too - which some of us big fingered dudes really miss. EDIT: I've never touched the thing or seen it live, just checked out the tech specs. Maybe there's better / cheaper stuff out there.

ghshephard 16y ago
For those who are scratching their heads -please read the ParentPost in the manner that it was meant - carefully crafted and worded satire. Only on HN will it get the audience it deserves. Upvoted. "It requires a stylus too which some of us big fingered dudes really miss" :-)
- randallsquared 16y ago
  Er, the stylus thing is not entirely off the mark. My N900 has a stylus, and there are programs I cannot use without it (notably, the web browser is nigh useless without it, since text that's perfectly comfortable for reading means links that are way too small to hit reliably with a finger). So, a stylus actually can be a point in its favor.
  - roc 16y ago
    Another way to look at that state of affairs is: the required stylus is a point against the n900's browser. Styluses, particularly for navigation, have been rejected by the market. So relying upon them is simply a bad idea if you dare to dream of outperforming anything in the graveyard of Windows-Tablets-Past.
    - jsnell 16y ago
      I've got small hands, and really hated using the browser on an iPhone due to how easy it was to click the wrong link by mistake on any sites that don't have an separate version optimized for mobiles. Switching to a Nexus 1 from an iPhone 3G was worth it just for the trackball. Unfortunately the Nexus S removed the trackball, making it a downgrade over the N1 as a whole :-( It's a sad world when solving the problem counts as a black mark, while putting your hands over the ears and singing la-la-la-there is no problem counts as good user experience and paying attention to detail.

cryptoz 16y ago

Wow, Microsoft still doesn't get it. Most people don't want stock Windows on a tablet! This is the reason MS has failed in tablets for a decade already; they refuse to change the OS to fit the tablet form factor. Sure, there are a few devs and nerds who'd like Windows on a tablet, but the casual user definitely does not. That's why iPad won so early: nobody would have bought one if it ran stock OS X. The buttons would be too small and the whole thing would feel clunky. The price of this thing doesn't matter, really. It'll fail as a mass-market device, while it'll probably sell a few to businesses and nerds.

skymt 16y ago
Microsoft has changed Windows to fit tablets. Many of the UI changes in Windows 7 are touch-centric: * The big buttons and slide-to-expand of the new Taskbar * Multi-touch gestures in Explorer, IE and more * Aero Snap and Shake to make window management less fiddly * A redesigned on-screen keyboard It's not a total redesign, so obviously it will never be as smooth as iOS or Android, but I'd say they did a decent job without breaking compatibility.
- glhaynes 16y ago
  Is there still a mouse pointer?
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - eli 16y ago
    It's optional. Instead you get this funky water droplet effect when you tap the screen, I guess to let you know that a click registered.
- regularfry 16y ago
  Indeed, the slogan I was hearing before launch was "Touch me, I'm 7!"
  - deleted 16y ago

trotsky 16y ago

Eee slate: 12.1" 1280×800, 2GB ram, Core i5, 32G SSD, Windows 7 home premium: $999 Eee pad MeMO: 7.1" 600×1024, 512MB RAM, dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm ARM, 4GB Flash (?), Android 3.0 Honeycomb $499 Looks about right to me. What about Sony Vaio Z sticker shock - costs 4x as much as Vaio M netbook?

tptacek 16y ago
Isn't the point that Apple would never be dumb enough to sell a Macbook without the keyboard?
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- lukeschlather 16y ago
  The article omits that the tablet's screen is Wacom, which is easily worth the markup in price. Actually, I'm surprised Apple doesn't have a Macbook without the keyboard aimed at graphics people. Graphic design is supposed to be Apple's core competency, and it seems like they're rapidly losing ground to Microsoft. Of course, Apple's new market seems to be earning them plenty of money.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

aresant 16y ago

Apple's vertical integration advantage further reinforced. Forbes called in in 2008: http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/04/24/mitra-apple-pasemi-tech-enter-cx_sm_0425mitra.html http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/04/24/mitra-apple-pase... John Gruber summed it up a few weeks back: "Today’s Apple has turned the pricing story on its head. Used to be thfe knock against Apple was their kit was overpriced. Now, even putting quality aside, competitors can’t match Apple’s prices." Tablet marketplace shows most clear cut difference.

watty 16y ago
Comparing this to an iOS or Android device is silly. This is running a full OS and is not limited to an App Store. It's extremely portable being a tablet but the difference is you can pull out a keyboard and it becomes more than a large phone. Edit: I think iOS and Android are great when on the run but when I'm stationary (most of the time), I want a keyboard/mouse and full OS. If this device could be booted into Android I'd be all over it. If iPad's could boot into OSX when docked, I'd be all over it.
- glhaynes 16y ago
  Seems to me that when I'm doing the kinds of things that are better on a "full OS" (whatever that means), I'm usually going to want a real keyboard, too.

ugh 16y ago

What’s tragic about this (at least from Microsoft’s perspective) is that Microsoft can make a pretty good mobile OS. I have no doubt that Windows Phone 7 would have been extremely competitive if it had been released a year earlier. They are just too damn slow and seem to lack focus. It’s not yet sure whether Windows Phone 7 will succeed now in any way, will it be good enough to be similarly late to tablets? They certainly must have already started developing some sort of Windows 7 specifically for tablets (as unlike Windows 7 as Windows Phone 7 is unlike Windows 7), everything else would seem extremely stupid.

contextfree 16y ago
They are developing some sort of Windows 7 specifically for tablets. It's called Windows 8.
- ugh 16y ago
  The important question is: What will they change, add or subtract? It’s obviously not in principle wrong to take a desktop OS and turn it into a tablet OS (Apple took OS X and turned it into iOS). I will, however, not have high hopes if Windows 8 on the desktop looks and behaves very similar to Windows 8 on a tablet.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

gacba 16y ago

I just posted an article about this whole issue today: http://www.lessonsoffailure.com/companies/2011-year-ipad/ http://www.lessonsoffailure.com/companies/2011-year-ipad/, although I missed this tidbit in the article and it would have been nice to mention. 2011 will be the year Apple basically takes the entire (tablet) market for itself since everyone else is clueless or incompetent to date...And woe be to those arriving late to the party.

cryptoz 16y ago
> 2011 will be the year Apple basically takes the entire (tablet) market for itself I don't know about that. I think 2010 was the year Apple did that, and 2011 is going to be the year that Android and iOS compete in the tablet market. With Gingerbread tablets coming out some time in the next few months at competitive prices, I think Apple will see some healthy competition. (Microsoft, of course, will not be a part of that healthy competition.)
- gacba 16y ago
  I think by year's end, there might be some competition, but as I argued in the blog post, that competition isn't there today and doesn't look to be coming for at least 6-9 months. That's why I claim 2011 is the year Apple dominates. 2010 they clearly did, too.
  - bryanlarsen 16y ago
    Release date for the Motorola Droid Xoom is currently scheduled for Valentine's Day. Sure, it may slip, but I'd certainly take a bet that said less than 3 months.

runjake 16y ago

Apple is _SO_ overprice.... err wait, what? Seriously though. ASUS thinks they're going to sell an iPad competitor with an OS with lackluster touch technology for twice the cost, and less than half the battery life?

samratjp 16y ago

Great, Microsoft built the Lexus LFA [1] of Tablets. Pseudo-sleek, super expensive and no one knows or gives a damn about it. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LFA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LFA

frooxie 16y ago

If the Wacom stylus is high precision, then this is a much cheaper and better alternative to Wacoms Cintiq line. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

GrandMasterBirt 16y ago

Target: Businesses. Your executives can get a tablet. It will run windows so IT can lock it down. It will run ms outlook. It will piss people off after 2 days of using it. Thats the strategy (xept for the last part). I can't think of any other rationale that will keep my sanity.