Source: Hanvon
There's been a lot written in the tech press these last six months about Apple's iPad, the world's first tablet computing device. A lot has been written about how revolutionary this device is, and how it is set to re-define the entire future of computers. The fact that the iPad is essentially a super-sized iPod Touch doesn't seem to resonate all that well with the iCabal, however, nor does the fact that the iPad isn't actually the world's first tablet computing device. The concept of the Tablet PC goes back at least a decade, in particular with Microsoft's attempts (driven essentially by Bill Gates, himself a big supporter of the Tablet PC) to release a tablet device. Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now more recently Windows 7 all attempted to slowly include more and more Tablet PC functionality, with the aim of bringing true touchscreen input devices to market.
So while the iPad might be the most high profile of these, and while the Windows-powered Tablet PC hasn't exactly taken the world by storm, in the wake of the iPad's release there have been a slew of attempts at releasing not just Windows 7-powered tablets, but also Android tablets (as recently as Samsung's own Galaxy Tab). I've never been terribly interested in owning a Tablet PC, since I couldn't see what a Tablet PC could do that a more traditional laptop, and more recently a netbook, could do better.
That was until I walked into my local Officeworks last month and saw the Hanvon B10, a Windows 7-powered Tablet PC with a full multi-touch 10" powered by an Intel Celeron ULV processor. It was essentially a netbook without half the form factor, and at an extremely competitive price, I decided that since I was in the market for a new netbook (my 2 year old ASUS Eee PC was really starting to show its age - those things are clearly not made for durability!), I might as well give this a go. So what are my impressions?
Well, first up I must say that the unit itself is absolutely gorgeous. The thing is incredibly thin and light, particularly so when placed alongside a modern 2010 era netbook. OK, so stick it next to the ridiculously thin iPad and the Hanvon B10 looks extremely fat, but whereas the iPad sacrifices functionality over form (it basically has zero ports on it, which would be impossible given it's too thin to support even a single USB port) the B10 comes with HDMI output, 2 x USB ports, along with headphone and microphone sockets. There's simply no real way you could make the B10 thinner without removing some of these ports, since the unit is barely a mm or two thicker than the actual ports themselves. It even comes with a 320gb hard drive, which is vastly superior to the flash memory included in the iPad. In fact, on storage costs alone, the B10 is financially competitive, given you get more GB's for your buck here compared to any model of iPad. It even comes with a front-facing webcam, making it perfect for video chatting in Windows Live Messenger or Skype.
The only downer there is that because it is a traditional hard drive, I find myself feeling incredibly worried about moving the device around too much, lest I wreck the drive. Still, this isn't a primary machine, so the data on it is replicated from my primary desktop PC, so I am never going to lose anything specific to this device even if the drive did fail. And I am sure it won't anytime soon, since I guess this is just an irrational fear on my part.
The processor itself, a Celeron ULV 1.3ghz unit, is pretty snappy, certainly snappier than the Intel Atom N280 I was coming from on my old Eee PC. Sure, it ain't about to run rings around my new Dell Desktop PC, but hey - it's not bad for what it does. It even comes with 2gb of DDR3 RAM, which ain't bad at all. Windows 7 certainly powers along nicely, and while you certainly wouldn't want to multi-task more than 2-3 apps at a time on this thing, it's more than powerful enough for running Windows Live Essentials, or the Zune media player.
While we are talking about software, I should discuss the touch interface of Windows 7. It's fair to say Windows 7 cops a fair bit of flack from the tech press for not being as perfectly suited to a Tablet PC as, say, iOS, but in all honesty, Windows 7 does a pretty good job of adapting itself to finger input. OK, so it can occasionally be a bit fiddly, and yes, the response time isn't as smooth as iOS. But hey, I am running a full desktop OS here on this device, not some jumped up phone OS! Windows 7 comes into its own when you want to plug in an external device, such as a digital camera or printer, and it is here that iOS can only ever dream of having this level of interactivity. The fact is, you get all the benefits of Windows 7 on a full PC, but with the added benefit of a full touch interface. I honestly feel it's a decent trade-off.
Speaking of input, my personal bug-bear of touchscreen-only devices remains here - and that is, the virtual keyboard. OK, so the keyboard on Windows 7 is super nice to use, and is very big and pretty responsive. But I do hate having to manually turn it on every single time I want to enter data into a text field somewhere. If the thing can auto turn off, why can't it auto turn on? Still, for long typing spells at least I can use a USB keyboard, something the iPad cannot do.
Hanvon have sensibly kept the usual forms of bloatware off this thing, and it ships with as vanilla a Windows 7 installation as you can get these days. It does ship with last year's Windows Live Essentials suite, so it's worthwhile updating that straight away, as well as installing Microsoft Security Essentials. But what the B10 does come with, and this is easily the killer feature of the device, is the full Microsoft Surface suite of applications. These are the programs you will want to use when showing off the device to your iPad-loving iCabal friends.
The Surface suite is a set of apps and games that were developed off of Microsoft's "big arse table" concept device, the Surface. Designed for a fullscreen multitouch interface, the Surface apps include a Globe app (essentially a multitouch version of Bing Maps 3D), photo collage app (in which you are able to move photos around on the tablet device as if they were real photos sitting on a table), a nice fish screen saver (including interactive water effects etc), along with some pretty basic but cool physics and touch-based games. You can find out more about the various apps by clicking here, but sufficed to say, these are the first demos I offer to people when they ask about my B10, and so far they have failed to wow people.
Even if I get asked "Is that an iPad?". Sheesh.
Anyway, I have to be honest - the Hanvon B10 has been one of my better purchases in recent years. It is an awesome netbook replacement, and is a pretty comparable iPad-like device, where you trade off some response times and native touch interface for the power of Windows 7, and the abilities that come with such an OS, such as HDMI output and USB input support. So is there a killer negative feature that needs to be discussed?
Yep - and it's a definite big one, for I am talking about battery life. Sufficed to say, the battery life on this thing stinks. The iPad can comfortably go an entire working day without needing a recharge, whereas the B10 can barely last 3 hours without needing a recharge. Sure, this time could be increased by reducing the screen brightness, or turning off wifi - but honestly, battery tech in 2010 should be able to provide a longer life than this! Luckily, this is a consumption device for me, not a creation device. So while it is an annoyance on the battery life, it's not really a massive deal breaker for me, although I am sure it would be for some.
Overall, I am very happy with my Hanvon B10, and if you are looking for an eye-catching netbook-level device that can easily go head-to-head with the iPad (in all areas except battery life, natch), then visit your local Officeworks and check out the B10. You won't regret it. Now to finish off, since I am not the only man happy with my B10, here's a video review I found on YouTube, courtesy of Engadget. Enjoy!