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Review Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102 Tablet

Big promises. Toshiba’s Encore WT8-A-102 is an exciting new Windows tablet with enough mobility and high-quality hardware to potentially threaten the current market leaders. But is it a success? We put the tablet through an extensive series of tests to find out.

For the original German review, see here.

Since the release of Windows 8.1 and Intel's Bay Trail Atom generation, tablets based on the Windows operating system are growing in popularity. The 8-inch Lenovo Miix 2 8 tablet did not quite win us over in our tests, but it impressed us here and there with a vision of where we are headed: Windows tablets can now be light, compact, relatively high-performance and offer a long battery life too. Combined with the almost unlimited possibilities the Windows operating system offers, this new generation could be exactly the right answer to the Android and iOS competition. Our Toshiba Encore WT8 is equipped with an Intel Atom Z3740-CPUIntel HD Graphics, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB storage, an IPS display, Windows 8.1 and a full version of Microsoft Office Home & Students. Both the recommended retail price and the street price are currently hovering around a low 300 Euros (~$405).

Case

Toshiba calls the Encore WT8’s coloring "sand-metallic", though most price comparison websites list it as "champagne". The backside of the case has a textured aluminum look that makes the device easier to grip. The gaps where the separate parts of the case come together could be more uniform in a few places. Nevertheless, consider the tablet's price, overall its manufacturing quality is good and slightly superior to that of the Lenovo Miix 2 8. Competitors like the iPad Mini or the Microsoft Surface 2 still belong to a completely different class and give the impression of being substantially more valuable. At a weight of about 450 grams (~1 lb), compared to its competitors the Toshiba Encore WT8 is relatively heavy. At about 300 grams (~0.66 lbs), Google’s Nexus 7 is much lighter, and even the Apple iPad Mini puts over 100 grams (~0.22 lbs) less on the scale.

Toshiba Encore WT8 (left) and the iPad Mini (right) compared
Toshiba Encore WT8 (left) and the iPad Mini (right) compared
Toshiba Encore WT8 (above) and the iPad Mini (below) compared
Toshiba Encore WT8 (above) and the iPad Mini (below) compared

Connectivity

Cardreader & USB compared
Cardreader & USB compared

The Encore WT8's connectivity options are almost as meager as they were on the Lenovo Miix 2 8. However, there is one important difference between the two devices here: With the Micro HDMI output on the Toshiba Encore WT8, the user can connect an external monitor or television. This broadens the tablet's range of uses immensely and is a huge benefit. On the other hand, like on the Lenovo Miix 2 8, the Micro USB 2.0 port serves as the connection for both data transfer and charging the battery. Toshiba's choice to go without a separate power input leaves the user unable to charge the device and transfer files at the same time. We measured a maximum data transfer rate of 39.1 MB/s over the USB 2.0 port. It is not possible to connect the tablet directly to a PC as a flash drive (slave).

The SDXC card reader recognized a Transcend 64 GB SDXC memory card without a problem. However, the tablet limits the read and write speeds of faster cards; the internal card reader only reached 18.4 MB/s while reading our test card. Where the Lenovo Miix 2 8 has a cover for its card slot, the Encore WT8's slot remains open to the elements.

Right: Volume rocker, On/off button
Right: Volume rocker, On/off button
Top: Audio in/out, Micro HDMI, Micro USB 2.0
Top: Audio in/out, Micro HDMI, Micro USB 2.0
Left: Micro SDXC slot
Left: Micro SDXC slot
Bottom: Speaker holes
Bottom: Speaker holes

Communication

Like Lenovo, Toshiba also professes to have built an 8-megapixel camera into the backside of their 8-inch device. But the test images we took are all 3264x1836 pixels, which corresponds to a resolution of 6 MP. We found no way to change the resolution. Both Lenovo and Toshiba seem not to be particularly exact with their camera resolutions. Still, the Toshiba Encore's 6 MP is substantially closer to the promised 8 MP than the Lenovo Miix 2 8's 3.7 MP. For comparison, the photos taken with the Apple iPad Mini below are at Apple's promised resolution of 2592x1936 pixels (equivalent to 5 MP).

Bluetooth 4.0 and WLAN 802.11n serve to connect the tablet to the outside world wirelessly. The Broadcom WLAN module transmits on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, supports Mimo technology and should theoretically reach a speed of up to 300 Mbit/s. In practice, the Encore WT8's signal quality was slightly better than the iPad Mini's, at least subjectively. At a distance of about 12 meters (~39 feet) from the router, with two inside walls between the router and the tablet, the iPad Mini's connection with the 802.11n wireless router was severed various times. The Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102 still showed 1-2 bars signal strength here and maintained stable contact with the router. As far as we know, Toshiba does not currently plan to produce a version of the Encore WT8 with a WWAN module.

Warranty

Along with the 2-year warranty coverage mandated in Germany, Toshiba sells their device with a 1-year warranty across Europe. This warranty includes an on-site pickup service in Germany and Austria, as long as the customer calls Toshiba's service hotline to report the problem. The length and breadth of the warranty can both be extended at additional cost. A 3-year “no matter what happens” warranty costs 74 Euros (~$100), for example.

iPad Mini (5 MP)
iPad Mini (5 MP)
Toshiba Encore WT8 (6 MP)
Toshiba Encore WT8 (6 MP)

Input Devices

Keyboard

The capacitive touchscreen does not have a digitizer function. As is true of the iPad and the Lenovo Miix 2 8 as well, you can only use a universal stylus on this tablet, like the Bamboo Stylus Pen from Wacom for example.

In general, how well the tablet can be operated by finger is highly dependent on whether you are working in desktop or tile mode. This is often true of tablets and convertibles. The icons, scroll bars and other controls displayed within normal Windows windows are often too small to operate comfortably with your finger. In this mode, you either have to concentrate hard on putting your finger in the right place, or else touch the screen several times before it does what you want. A capacitive stylus can help here. However, if you switch to apps modified for touchscreen use, the tablet can be operated just as easily as Android or iOS devices. Unfortunately, many Windows programs do not yet have a corresponding app. Watchever, iTunes, Terratec Home Cinema and Cyberlink MediaEspresso are a few examples of apps that we sometimes use for our tests. All these apps are only available in their normal program version or via the browser.

Otherwise, the touchscreen reacts quickly and accurately to input, scrolling moves fluidly on websites and documents, and even along the edges of the screen we did not discover any areas where the panel functions imprecisely. We did not detect any conspicuous problems with the touchscreen -- unlike on Lenovo's Miix 2 8, where we found that the device sometimes only accepted input with increased pressure.

Like other competitors' keyboards, the Encore WT8's virtual keyboard takes some getting used to, but after a little familiarization it can be operated easily. The keyboard area on an 8-inch tablet is of course smaller than on a 10-inch model; the space in landscape format is more constricted, and the key size in portrait format is even more drastically limited compared to tablets with a 4:3 screen.

Capacitive stylus with rubber tip
Capacitive stylus with rubber tip
Keyboard in portrait format
Portrait format
Keyboard in landscape format
Landscape format

Display

Toshiba designed their device to be used mainly in portrait format.
Toshiba designed their device to be used mainly in portrait format.

The glossy 8-inch IPS panel offers a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, which equates to an aspect ratio of 16:10. The pixel density amounts to 188 dpi, and it is nearly impossible to distinguish individual pixels. The manufacturer intends the device to be used predominantly in portrait format, as you can see from the position of the Windows buttons, webcam and manufacturer logo. In practice, however, except for video calls and in reader mode, we generally used the tablet in landscape format.

306
cd/m²
344
cd/m²
315
cd/m²
310
cd/m²
335
cd/m²
332
cd/m²
313
cd/m²
321
cd/m²
293
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
MS-9003 Malta-0925 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 344 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 318.8 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 85 %
Center on Battery: 333 cd/m²
Contrast: 670:1 (Black: 0.5 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.8 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 3.64 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
43% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
47.25% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
67.4% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
45.73% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.57

The maximum brightness both in AC power and in battery mode amounts to 344 cd/m². At 85% similarity across the screen, the panel's brightness distribution is quite even. Differences in brightness are hardly distinguishable with the naked eye. Light pools just a little around the edges of the display, but not enough to become bothersome during everyday use. The brightness ranges from 12 cd/m² to the 344 cd/m² maximum and can be adjusted using the graphic slide control. We measured a brightness of 154 cd/m² about two-thirds of the way up the scale, which is the setting we used for our battery test.

WT8 vs. AdobeRGB, WT8 vs. sRGB
WT8 vs. AdobeRGB, WT8 vs. sRGB

The highly reflective display surface makes outdoor use difficult. Mirror images of the user or environment sit over the true display content, and even though the panel is actually very bright, it cannot outshine the reflections. As is true of the competition as well, extended periods of use outdoors tax the eyes and require the user to position him or herself carefully.

With a contrast of 670:1, the Encore WT8 is on par with the Lenovo Miix 2 8. The panel covers about 63% of the sRGB color space. Out of the factory, the display is reasonably well calibrated; with average DeltaE 2000 values of 3.46 (grayscale) and 3.8 (mixed colors), the screen deviates far less from the ideal values than many other panels. With a calibration, the results can be further improved in the areas of grayscale and mixed colors. However, due to the missing color space support, the DeltaE 2000 deviations for the basic colors blue, green and magenta range from 5.5 to 11.3. The Google Nexus 7, for instance, does considerably better here -- it displays true colors straight out of the factory.

Grayscale
Grayscale
Color accuracy
Color accuracy
Color saturation
Color saturation
Mixed colors
Mixed colors
Grayscale calibrated
Grayscale calibrated
Color accuracy calibrated
Color accuracy calibrated
Color saturation calibrated
Color saturation calibrated
Mixed colors calibrated
Mixed colors calibrated

Thanks to the panel's IPS technology, overall its viewing angle stability is excellent. The display's glossy surface creates reflections at wide viewing angles and impedes visibility, but at no point did we observe any changes in the screen's colors or brightness level.

Viewing angles: Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102
Viewing angles: Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102

Performance

In terms of the performance components Toshiba offers for their Encore WT8, the range of options is limited. Only the mass storage medium with eMMC flash varies from 32 to 64 GB. A chip from Intel's new Bay Trail Atom generation serves as the CPU. This chip's performance is supposed to be quite good, and its power consumption rates should be relatively low. Intel's HD Graphics (Bay Trail) is responsible for graphics output and partners with its 2 GB of LPDDR3 RAM. As usual, nothing can be upgraded here. Both Windows 8.1 and the full version of Microsoft's Office Home & Students are included in the tablet's list price of 300 Euros (~$410).

HWINFO
DPC Latency Checker
HD Tune
System Information Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102

Processor

The current Bay Trail processor generation has four cores at its command. These cores use Turbo Boost to increase their base clock frequency and meet the tablet's performance demands. Unlike on Clovertrail chips, Hyperthreading is no longer supported, though with four real cores this is no serious loss. Our Intel Atom Z3740 clocks at between 1.3-1.8 GHz, is manufactured at 22 nm and could handle a maximum of 4 GB of working memory. With a Thermal Design Power of less than 4 Watts, this CPU is especially suited for use in thin and flat devices like tablets, as the manufacturer can produce the device without active cooling in good conscience.

The results from the pure CPU benchmarks are on par with other devices we recently reviewed. For instance, in Cinebench R10 32-bit, the Encore WT8 scores 963 points in the single thread test and 3390 points in the multithread test. In practice, the Intel Atom Z3740 CPU is fast enough for many tasks and allows the user to work fluidly under Windows 8.1. That of course is true for customized apps, but also for regular Windows programs. The limiting factor here is more the comparably small number of programs that have been customized for finger operation. This keeps the user from taking advantage of the hardware's full potential. TV software, video on demand and programs that organize MP3 collections could all be much more comfortable to use with bigger operational controls.

We did not observe any drop in performance either in battery mode or during an extended period under full load. The tablet achieved almost identical results in all the tests we repeated at various intervals.

Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
963
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
3390
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
1950
Help

System Performance

Audio conversion
Audio conversion
Video conversion
Video conversion

For a tablet, the Encore WT8's system performance is very good and opens the tablet to a broad range of possible uses. Unlike the Lenovo Miix 2 8, the Toshiba Encore WT8 does have an HDMI connection available. That means you can play a video on a big screen, run a presentation through a projector, or connect a monitor when the tablet is stationary. However, like Lenovo's device, the Toshiba tablet is limited by the fact that there is no separate power connection and the USB 3.0 standard is not supported. All in all, you can accomplish an incredibly wide variety of tasks with the little Windows 8 tablet.

A full version of Microsoft's Office Home & Students is included in the package and barely taxes the system. Full HD videos run fluidly at full resolution on an external display. The remaining 11 GB of storage space on our test device, on the other hand, is very limited and does not leave room for many videos. The performance is also good enough for watching TV via a DVB-T stick. The problem here is more that you have to work with an adapter, which is cumbersome and not particularly practical for mobile use. WLAN-supported systems, like the Elgatos Tivizen DVB-T hotspot, are much more comfortable for this application. These systems contain their own battery and provide several hours of TV even without a power supply. Video chats, Internet and casual games are no problem for the Encore WT8-A-102. If performance is the question, image and video editing are also possible under certain conditions. Here the small amount of storage space is once again a hindrance and limits the user's freedom. Working with big files, the system's resources can run short, but inserting a memory card in the slot will usually solve the problem. If the tablet's hardware does not reach its performance limits executing any less demanding operations, it will certainly reach them during conversion tasks. Audio conversion in iTunes certainly takes time (14.1x speed), and the speed of conversion via Intel Quick Sync Video is highly dependent on video formats and only quick in a few circumstances.

Our test device achieved a score of 4954 points in PC Mark Vantage and 2497 in PC Mark 7. At these numbers, the Toshiba tablet is essentially on par with the 10-inch Asus Transformer Book T100TA, which is equipped with similar hardware.

Geekbench 2 - 32 Bit - Total Score (sort by value)
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102
2594 Points
Lenovo Miix 2 8
2607 Points +1%
Google Nexus 7 2013
2531 Points -2%
Asus Transformer Book T100TA-C1-GR
2586 Points 0%
HP Omni 10 5600eg (F4W59EA)
3106 Points +20%

Legend

 
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102 Intel Atom Z3740, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
Lenovo Miix 2 8 Intel Atom Z3740, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
Google Nexus 7 2013 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064A, Qualcomm Adreno 320, 16 GB SSD
 
Asus Transformer Book T100TA-C1-GR Intel Atom Z3740, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
HP Omni 10 5600eg (F4W59EA) Intel Atom Z3770, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 32 GB eMMC Flash
Sunspider
1.0 Total Score (sort by value)
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102
567 ms *
Lenovo Miix 2 8
394.7 ms * +30%
Apple iPad mini Retina
271.8 ms * +52%
HP Chromebook 11
704 ms * -24%
0.9.1 Total Score (sort by value)
Apple iPad mini Retina
310.7 ms *

Legend

 
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102 Intel Atom Z3740, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
Lenovo Miix 2 8 Intel Atom Z3740, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
Apple iPad mini Retina Apple A7, PowerVR G6430, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
HP Chromebook 11 Samsung Exynos 5250 Dual, ARM Mali-T604 MP4, 16 GB SSD

* ... smaller is better

Browsermark - --- (sort by value)
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102
2141 points
Lenovo Miix 2 8
2476 points +16%
Google Nexus 7 2013
2380 points +11%
Apple iPad Air 1 2013
3603 points +68%

Legend

 
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102 Intel Atom Z3740, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
Lenovo Miix 2 8 Intel Atom Z3740, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
Google Nexus 7 2013 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064A, Qualcomm Adreno 320, 16 GB SSD
 
Apple iPad Air 1 2013 Apple A7, PowerVR G6430, 16 GB eMMC Flash
PCMark Vantage Result
4954 points
PCMark 7 Score
2497 points
Help

Mass Storage

Toshiba outfits their Encore WT8 with 32 GB of eMMC flash storage. This can be expanded using a Micro SDXC card. The manufacturer also offers a version with 64 GB of storage space (Toshiba Encore WT8-A-103) for 50 Euros more (~$70). We measured an average transfer rate of 111 MB/s with HD Tune, which is slightly faster than the Lenovo Miix 2 8's storage medium. In practice, there is no noticeable difference in performance between the two tablets here. Thanks to the short access time of 0.3 ms, the interface reacts quickly and fluidly. Once again, the card reader's performance is disappointing, as it limited our fast SDXC card's read speed to 19 MB/s.

32 GB eMMC Flash
Transfer Rate Minimum: 84.5 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 134 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 111.2 MB/s
Access Time: 0.3 ms
Burst Rate: 55.2 MB/s
CPU Usage: 85 %

Graphics Card

The Intel HD Graphics chip integrated into the Bay Trail processor has enough performance power to accomplish everyday tasks. Games that have been optimized for tablets as apps run without a problem, Full HD videos play fluidly, and Intel's Quick Sync Video even makes file conversion possible. Full HD displays can be connected via HDMI, and there is no noticeable loss in performance during web surfing or office-related tasks.

3DMark 06 Standard Score
1869 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
12171 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
1180 points
Help

Gaming Performance

The Toshiba Encore WT8's limited 3D performance already very much restricts the number of regular Windows games that are playable on the device. Titles like World of Warcraft or Torchlight II do run at low settings, but on the little display these games are not much fun. Additionally, the whole business only functions if you connect an external keyboard and mouse. On the other hand, as previously mentioned, the casual games offered in the Windows store run without a problem.

low med. high ultra
World of Warcraft (2005) 47 26

Emissions

The tablet reaches a maximum of just under 40 degrees Celsius (104 °F) under full load. That means the device never reaches disconcerting temperatures, which is a testimony to the merits of Intel's passively cooled Bay Trail generation.

Max. Load
 36.5 °C
98 F
30.1 °C
86 F
27.2 °C
81 F
 
 37.1 °C
99 F
27.5 °C
82 F
28.9 °C
84 F
 
 35.4 °C
96 F
28.4 °C
83 F
27.5 °C
82 F
 
Maximum: 37.1 °C = 99 F
Average: 31 °C = 88 F
27.2 °C
81 F
31.3 °C
88 F
39.8 °C
104 F
27.7 °C
82 F
31.9 °C
89 F
39.9 °C
104 F
27.3 °C
81 F
32.3 °C
90 F
37.6 °C
100 F
Maximum: 39.9 °C = 104 F
Average: 32.8 °C = 91 F
Power Supply (max.)  43.3 °C = 110 F | Room Temperature 20 °C = 68 F | Fennel Firt 550
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 31 °C / 88 F, compared to the average of 30 °C / 86 F for the devices in the class Tablet.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 37.1 °C / 99 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F, ranging from 20.7 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 39.9 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 33.3 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.7 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 30 °C / 86 F.

Speakers

The two speakers generate a sound that is heavy on high tones and lacking in mid-tones and bass. If you hold the tablet in landscape format, your hands generally cover the speakers and reduce their volume a little. External speakers or headphones can be easily connected over the 3.5 mm jack or Bluetooth. It is also possible to use USB or HDMI (with adapters) for this purpose. The 3.5 mm jack is a combined microphone/headphone connection, so headsets must either have one combined connection or else an adapter must be used to join the two.

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102's power consumption rate ranges from 1.3 Watts to up to 11.4 Watts on the mains side. The maximum wattage is just a peak value that we measured every once in a while. The power supply, which is specified at 10 Watts, could be a limiting factor here, especially while the tablet is simultaneously in use and charging. We could not find exact information regarding the lithium-polymer battery's capacity. Battery Eater and AIDA showed a capacity of 19.5 Wh, but these programs are not always reliable, so this number should be considered no more than an estimate.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0.1 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 1.3 / 2.8 / 3.1 Watt
Load midlight 8.8 / 11.4 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Voltcraft VC 940
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Battery Life

Toshiba's claims regarding their Encore WT8's battery life are believable: 7:20 hours of video playback, 50 hours of audio playback and 14:30 hours for a mixed usage scenario with 65% web surfing, 10% video playback and 25% standby.

Due to time constraints, we could only run two of our battery tests on the Toshiba Encore WT8, so we opted for the WLAN and video tests. At 7:10 hours surfing over WLAN (display brightness 154 cd/m² (about ⅔ of the way up the sliding scale)) and 7:42 hours during video playback (display brightness 154 cd/m², wireless modules deactivated), the battery run times prove to be a bit shorter than the Lenovo Miix 2 8's. Considering the energy consumption rates we measured on the mains side, we certainly anticipate the device has a little more potential.

Battery Runtime
WiFi Surfing
7h 10min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
7h 42min

Verdict

Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102

Toshiba's Encore WT8-A-102 Windows 8 tablet is an all-around success. Its manufacturing quality is good, it offers a respectable range of connectivity options, and the included Microsoft Office Home & Students package gives it a great price-performance ratio.

The tablet gains even more positive points for its combination of a frugal Intel Bay Trail CPU, IPS display with good viewing angle stability, and good mobility. In short, the overall package is very attractive. Not to forget, the device's unlimited compatibility with the Windows world should be very interesting for many potential buyers.

Despite its many positive attributes, the Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102 tablet still is not perfect. Mobile Internet is not integrated, the card reader runs slowly, USB 3.0 is missing, and a separate power connection for charging the device would have eliminated some unnecessary limitations.

The fact that our test device's available storage space is fairly meager (11 GB) is no anomaly for a Windows device, and if you opt for the 64 GB version (the Toshiba Encore WT8-A-103) instead, this frustration can be avoided.

All in all, at a current price of 300 Euros (~$410), the Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102 is a solid overall package and is certainly one of the most attractive Windows 8 tablets on the market today.

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In Review: Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102. Test device courtesy of Toshiba Deutschland.
In Review: Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102. Test device courtesy of Toshiba Deutschland.

Specifications

Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102 (Encore Series)
Processor
Intel Atom Z3740 4 x 1.3 - 1.9 GHz, Bay Trail-T
Graphics adapter
Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Core: 667 MHz, Shared memory, 10.18.10.3309
Memory
2048 MB 
, 2 GB LPDDR3, 1066 MHz, not upgradeable
Display
8.00 inch 16:10, 1280 x 800 pixel, Capacitive touchscreen, MS-9003 Malta-0925, IPS LED, glossy: yes
Storage
32 GB eMMC Flash, 32 GB 
, 11.1 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: Combined headphone/microphone jack, Card Reader: SDHC/ SDXC (with UHS-I support), Sensors: GPS, Brightness sensor, Position sensor
Networking
Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.0 + LE
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 11 x 213 x 136 ( = 0.43 x 8.39 x 5.35 in)
Battery
20 Wh Lithium-Polymer, Battery runtime (according to manufacturer): 14.5 h
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8 32 Bit
Camera
Webcam: Rear: 8 MP, Front: 2 MP
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo, Microsoft Office Home & Students (full version), 12 Months Warranty
Weight
450 g ( = 15.87 oz / 0.99 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
300 Euro

 

Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102
Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102
An 8-inch tablet with Windows 8.1 and a good set of features.
An 8-inch tablet with Windows 8.1 and a good set of features.
Toshiba designed the tablet to be used predominantly in portrait format.
Toshiba designed the tablet to be used predominantly in portrait format.
In landscape format, the Windows button and webcam are inconveniently located.
In landscape format, the Windows button and webcam are inconveniently located.
The webcam's quality is satisfactory for video chats in well-lit rooms.
The webcam's quality is satisfactory for video chats in well-lit rooms.
The Windows button remains.
The Windows button remains.
The back camera's resolution is only 6 MP, not 8 MP.
The back camera's resolution is only 6 MP, not 8 MP.
The card reader recognizes SDXC cards with a capacity of up to 64 GB, but it runs rather slowly.
The card reader recognizes SDXC cards with a capacity of up to 64 GB, but it runs rather slowly.
The back side is lightly textured and lends the device good grippiness.
The back side is lightly textured and lends the device good grippiness.
Toshiba put together an attractive overall package.
Toshiba put together an attractive overall package.
A microphone and headphones have to share a 3.5 mm jack.
A microphone and headphones have to share a 3.5 mm jack.
USB 2.0 and HDMI are integrated in their micro forms.
USB 2.0 and HDMI are integrated in their micro forms.
The sound system has two speaker holes.
The sound system has two speaker holes.
The volume rocker and on/off button are well positioned.
The volume rocker and on/off button are well positioned.
There is no separate power connection.
There is no separate power connection.
One USB port takes care of both data transfer and charging the battery.
One USB port takes care of both data transfer and charging the battery.
Because the cable is bent, it can run close to the side of the tablet rather than jutting out away from it.
Because the cable is bent, it can run close to the side of the tablet rather than jutting out away from it.
The power supply has a power rating of 10 Watts.
The power supply has a power rating of 10 Watts.
Using an adapter (not included in the packaging) you can connect products that use a normal USB.
Using an adapter (not included in the packaging) you can connect products that use a normal USB.
Mobile hard drives worked perfectly in our tests.
Mobile hard drives worked perfectly in our tests.
Full HD videos pose no problem for the system's hardware.
Full HD videos pose no problem for the system's hardware.
The display content looks good even from wide angles.
The display content looks good even from wide angles.
Depending on your intended use for the device, you may need a number of accessories.
Depending on your intended use for the device, you may need a number of accessories.
In terms of manufacturing quality, the iPad Mini certainly overshadows the Toshiba Encore WT8.
In terms of manufacturing quality, the iPad Mini certainly overshadows the Toshiba Encore WT8.
Outdoors, the user will have to work around the limitations of a reflective screen, as per usual with glossy displays.
Outdoors, the user will have to work around the limitations of a reflective screen, as per usual with glossy displays.

Similar Devices

Similar devices from a different Manufacturer

Review Lenovo Miix 2 8 Tablet
HD Graphics (Bay Trail)

Devices from a different Manufacturer and/or with a different CPU

HP Pro Tablet 408 G1 Tablet Review
HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Atom Z3736F
Lenovo Miix 3 8 Tablet Review
HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Atom Z3735F
Asus VivoTab 8 M81C Tablet Review
HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Atom Z3745

Links

Price Comparison

Pros

+Battery life
+Memory card slot
+Full version of Microsoft Office Home & Students included
+System performance
+Price
+Display
+HDMI
 

Cons

-Limited storage space (32 GB version)
-Slow card reader
-Back camera's resolution is lower than specified by Toshiba
-No separate power connection
-Short USB charging cable

Shortcut

What we like

A compact version of the Windows world to carry along on the go. The features and performance make it possible to accomplish many different tasks with this little tablet. The overall package has an attractive price.

What we'd like to see

USB 3.0, a separate power connection and a version with a WWAN module.

What surprises us

That manufacturers of Windows 8 tablets, of all things, seem not to have a problem being dishonest when it comes to camera resolution.

The competition

Looking at the whole market, it is extremely diverse. Here is a small sampling of the possible competition:

Lenovo Mix 2 8

Dell Venue 8 Pro

Nexus 7 (2013)

iPad Mini

iPad Mini Retina

Rating

Toshiba Encore WT8-A-102 - 03/24/2014 v4(old)
Tobias Winkler

Chassis
73%
Keyboard
58 / 80 → 73%
Pointing Device
83%
Connectivity
43 / 65 → 66%
Weight
84 / 40-88 → 92%
Battery
90%
Display
83%
Games Performance
42 / 68 → 62%
Application Performance
54 / 76 → 71%
Temperature
87%
Noise
100%
Audio
30 / 91 → 33%
Camera
58 / 85 → 68%
Average
68%
80%
Tablet - Weighted Average
Tobias Winkler, 2014-01-15 (Update: 2018-05-15)