HANDS-ON: Toshiba WT310 tablet brings Windows 8 Pro to on-the-go business users and tech-savvy classrooms
Windows 8 as a desktop OS hasn’t quite had the impact in the enterprise or education markets that Microsoft had hoped for, with new stats revealed today showing the operating system has only had 0.53% penetration in the enterprise sector. But we’re living in the post-PC age, right? It’s all about the tablet for the future of Windows, right? Right? Toshiba certainly believe so, showing off today their new WT310 Windows 8 Pro tablet. We had a brief play with it a little earlier.
A 11.6-inch tablet with a full HD touch screen, it’s a highly configurable tablet aimed at both the education and business sectors, which can be equipped with either an Atom chip or the latest Core i5 Haswell processors.
SSD storage in every imaginable capacity (within reason) is available, as well as the same DigitizerPen for text input and handwriting recognition that we saw earlier in the Android-based Toshiba Excite Write tablet.
Though it’s not the most exciting design, the WT310 did offer a wide variety of useful ports in a chassis that looked as though it could withstand the rigours of both business trips and the classroom. Measuring 229mm x 189mm x 12.4mm and weighing 825g, it has a single USB 3.0 port, a microHDMI output, an SD card slot and internal support for LTE mobile data connections and Intel WiDi screen sharing. Silver-coloured plastic edging also houses a docking port. But though the majority of the tablet seemed sturdy, the home button however can be described as flimsy at best, and looked worryingly loose on the demo model at today’s event.
An optional docking cradle is also available for the WT310, folding down for maximum portability. It houses an additional USB 3.0 port, as well as an SD card slot and Ethernet port. It’s pricing has not yet been disclosed, but looks like a sensible add-on for those intending to use the tablet as a laptop or desktop replacement.
Pricing will vary wildly depending on the specifics of the configuration, maxing out at around the £700-£800 mark according to the Toshiba rep on hand today. Expect to see these up for sale before the summer is out.
