Items tagged with Bay Trail
When Microsoft first released Windows 8, the company hoped that hardware manufacturers would get creative with form factors and customers would be enticed by the intriguing new PC designs. One of the clear leaders to emerge since Windows 8's launch is the Lenovo Yoga series of laptops, which fold in half to mimic tablets or can be used in tent and stand modes. A similar approach that has also seen some success are 2-in-1s that essentially split in half, so you can use the display as a tablet without dragging around the weight of the keyboard. The Acer Aspire Switch 10 is one of these 2-in-1 detachable systems... Acer Aspire Switch 10 Hybrid Review...
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When Microsoft first released Windows 8, the company hoped that hardware manufacturers would get creative with form factors and customers would be enticed by the intriguing new PC designs. One of the clear leaders to emerge since Windows 8's launch is the Lenovo Yoga series of laptops, which fold in half to mimic tablets or can be used in tent and stand modes. A similar approach that has also seen some success are 2-in-1s that essentially split in half, so you can use the display as a tablet without dragging around the weight of the keyboard. The Acer Aspire Switch 10 is one of these 2-in-1 detachable systems. The selling point for these tiny, $450-and-under types is versatility:...
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Intel doesn't typically slip new products into the retail sector on the down low, but for whatever reason, that's what the Santa Clara chip maker decided to do with its Meegopad Windows HDMI TV stick. Editor's Update, 10/23/14: It turns out this is not an official Intel-branded product but just a manufacturing partner's device. Typically we see ARM hardware inside these USB thumb drive-sized devices, though obviously Intel's implementation sports a x86 foundation inside and is capable of running Windows 8.1. More specifically, the stick wields a Bay Trail-T based Atom Z3735F processor, which is a quad-core part clocked at 1.33GHz (1.83GHz Burst) with 2MB of L2 cache. It also boasts...
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For the past few years, Intel has promised that its various low-power Atom-based processors would usher in a wave of low-cost Android and Windows mobile products that could compete with ARM-based solutions from its major competitors. And for years, we've seen no more than a trickle of hardware, often with limited availability and/or questionable pricing. Now, that's finally beginning to change. Intel's Bay Trail and Merrifield SoCs are starting to show up in attractive, full-featured, sub-$200 devices, and we've got one of them on the test bench today, the Acer Iconia Tab 8, along with a competing tablet from Dell that we've shown you previously, the new for 2014 Dell Venue 8... Android...
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For the past few years, Intel has promised that its various low-power Atom-based processors would usher in a wave of low-cost Android and Windows mobile products that could compete with ARM-based solutions from its major competitors. And for years, we've seen no more than a trickle of hardware, often with limited availability and/or questionable pricing. Now, that's finally beginning to change. Intel's Bay Trail and Merrifield SoCs are starting to show up in attractive, full-featured, sub-$200 devices, and we've got one of them on the test bench today, the Acer Iconia Tab 8, along with a competing tablet from Dell, that we've shown you previously, the new for 2014 Venue 8. Acer Iconia...
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Your options in the mini PC space rapidly expanding. Not only that, but they're becoming more intriguing with each new release. Come October, Minix plans to launch its Neo Z64 mini, a pint-sized system powered by Intel's Bay Trail platform with Android 4.4.4 KitKat pre-installed for a mere $129. Don't care for Android? The Neo 64 can also run Windows 8.1, though you'll need to install it yourself. The Neo 64 is Minix's first 64-bit Android mini PC, and as far as first efforts go, it's not a bad offering. According to the spec sheet, it will sport an Intel Z3735F quad-core processor (64-bit, 2MB cache, up to 1.83GHz), 2GB of DDR3L memory, 32GB of eMMC storage, microSD card reader 802.11n Wi-Fi,...
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For the past few years, as Intel has struggled to gain market share for its Android-x86 project, it's been hampered by software compatibility issues and associated performance degradation. Now, some of that burden is being lifted off the company's products -- the popular and widespread Unity 3D engine has announced that upcoming versions will include native x86 support. That's important for a host of reasons. Currently, Intel has a host of emulation and translation efforts that ensure nearly seamless compatibility with Android applications. The compatibility layer isn't perfect, however, and games are historically some of the hardest content to emulate. Most titles depend on split-second timing...
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Ever since NVIDIA unveiled its 64-bit Project Denver CPU at CES last year, there's been discussion over what the core might be and what kind of performance it would offer. Visibly, the chip is huge -- more than 2x the size of the Cortex-A15 that powers the 32-bit version of Tegra K1. Now we know a bit more about the core, and it's like nothing we expected. It is, however, somewhat similar to the designs we've seen in the past from the vanished CPU manufacturer Transmeta. Project Denver, Transmeta, and 64-bit ARM Project Denver's 64-bit flavor. When it designed Project Denver, NVIDIA chose to step away from the out-of-order execution engine that typifies all modern high-end ARM and x86 processors....
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ASUS recently refreshed its 7-inch MeMO Pad 7 tablet with Intel’s new Atom Z3745 Bay Trail-based processor. Having overcome its rocky start, the latest generation of Atom processors is building a reputation for power efficiency and computational chops. Despite its early days in ill-fated netbooks, today's Atom looks to be a good fit for tablets and smartphones and sports new-found graphics horsepower that is up to the task for these types of devices. We checked out the ASUS MeMO Pad 7 ME176C, which comes in at a relatively affordable $149.99, in light of competing tablets in this category... ASUS MeMO Pad 7 Review: Intel Bay Trail Inside...
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ASUS recently refreshed its 7-inch MeMO Pad 7 tablet with Intel’s new Atom Z3745 Bay Trail-based processor. Having overcome its rocky start, the latest generation of Atom processors is building a reputation for power efficiency and computational chops. Despite its early days in ill-fated netbooks, today's Atom looks to be a good fit for tablets and smartphones and sports new-found graphics horsepower that is up to the task for these types of devices. We checked out the ASUS MeMO Pad 7 ME176C, which comes in at a relatively affordable $149.99, in light of competing tablets in this category. ASUS MeMO Pad 7 ME176C Specifications & Features OS: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) Processor:...
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As a followup to its ThinkPad 8 tablet, Lenovo has now incorporated Intel's Bay Trail platform into its larger ThinkPad 10, a business-ready slate the company claims can offer users a full PC experience. Stopping there would be selling this tablet a bit short, however, as it's really a multi-mode device that can serve a number of purposes, both during and after business hours. Ideally, this would negate the need to purchase separate systems for work and play. What Lenovo's really doing here is tapping into the potential of Microsoft's Windows 8.1 ecosystem. From the beginning, Microsoft envisioned Windows 8/8.1 as a universal operating system built for work, play, and everything in between, but...
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As a follow-up to its ThinkPad 8 tablet (see our review), Lenovo has now incorporated Intel's Bay Trail platform into its larger size ThinkPad 10, a business-ready slate the company claims can offer users a full PC experience. Stopping there would be selling this tablet a bit short, however, as it's really a multi-mode device that can serve a number of purposes, both during and after business hours. Ideally, this would negate the need to purchase separate systems for work and play. Lenovo ThinkPad 10 tablet. What Lenovo's really doing here is tapping into the potential of Microsoft's Windows 8.1 ecosystem. From the beginning, Microsoft envisioned Windows 8/8.1 as a universal operating system...
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Last year, at IDF, Intel announced that it would soon make a concerted push into both the Windows and the Android tablet markets, with an aggressive contra-revenue strategy (meaning, they'd ship devices at a loss) and a huge set of marketing campaigns. On the Windows side we've seen the fruits of that push; many companies now offer Bay Trail devices in the 8-10 inch market. On the Android side of the market, however, things have been almost entirely silent -- Intel has demonstrated a few systems and made a little noise, but it hasn't done much to actually field designs in the US market. Today, that may finally be changing. Dell, Asus, and Acer all announced various Android systems based on Intel's...
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Earlier this week we covered a deal between Intel and Rockchip that will combine Intel's Atom with Rockchip's graphics IP and considerable share of the Chinese market. I'm returning to the topic because there are some interesting big-picture facets to this move that we didn't cover with the initial announcement. Over the long term, this partnership could transform Intel's entire mobile division -- or cause it no end of headaches in the future. First, in order to partner with Rockchip, Intel must have definitionally granted the company some form of x86 license. This wouldn't necessarily be a license to design its own x86 processors (in fact, it almost certainly isn't), but the only way for Rockchip...
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A sleeping giant has awoken in the mobile space, that giant being Intel, which slept through the initial transition in the mainstream market place. Not anymore. We're seeing Intel's Atom parts find their way into more and more mobile devices, and if leaked information turns out to be true, the forthcoming ASUS MeMO Pad 7 ME176C will also cross Bay Trail T. Press photos of the unreleased tablet appeared on a German blog site, and according to the information provided over there, the MeMO Pad 7 ME176 will feature an Intel Atom Z3745 System-on-Chip (SoC) rocking four cores clocked at 1.33GHz. It will also have a 7-inch In-Plane Switching (IPS) touchscreen display with a 1280x800 resolution, 1GB...
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Lenovo is targeting its ThinkPad 8 at business users, which makes sense. Everyone values portability and power, but it’s the business user who’s most likely to say “I need my tablet to be capable of doing everything that my main PC can do.” With a full 32-bit version of Windows 8.1 and a 1920 x 1200 display, the Lenovo ThinkPad 8 very nearly can... Intel’s Bay Trail Atom CPU powers the Lenovo ThinkPad 8. The Intel Z3770 quad-core Atom chip in the ThinkPad 8 runs at up to 2.39GHz, thanks to Intel Turbo Boost. That’s a bit faster than the chip running Dell's Venue 8 Pro (a rival 8-inch, Windows 8.1 tablet) we recently reviewed, but it’s not the processor...
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“You can never have too little screen real estate” is a tagline for no one, but big players like Dell, Toshiba, and now Lenovo are rushing to squeeze Windows 8.1 onto 8-inch tablets all the same. Lenovo is targeting its ThinkPad 8 at business users, which makes sense. Everyone values portability and power, but it’s the business user who’s most likely to say “I need my tablet to be capable of doing everything that my main PC can do.” With a full 32-bit version of Windows 8.1 and a 1920 x 1200 display, the Lenovo ThinkPad 8 very nearly can. Lenovo ThinkPad 8 tablet. Before we dig into the specs, it’s worth noting that you can choose between Windows 8.1...
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Bigger may be better, but small is most certainly en vogue. The Raspberry Pi jumpstarted the modern day small PC craze, and the Intel-based MinnowBoard family is growing as well. The MinnowBoard MAX is the latest member -- a single-board PC with Bay Trail. It's based on an open hardware design that enables plenty of customization options and integration potential. Presently, the board you see here is a prototype, and while specifications can always change before hitting the masses, here's what is being estimated: $99 for a single-core 1.46GHz E3815 or $129 for a dual-core 1.33GHz E3825. That's Bay Trail performance for under $100, and it also includes Intel's integrated HD graphics, 1GB or 2GB...
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It's not easy competing in the increasingly crowded 7-inch Android tablet category, even for Google, which arguably offers the best solution with its Nexus 7 (see our review). Google entered the market at a time when there weren't many viable, low-cost alternatives, and with the situation having now changed, there's talk that Google might switch its focus to the 8-inch category. Citing sources hanging out in the upstream supply chain, news and rumor site Digitimes says an 8-inch Nexus tablet could hit retail by the middle of the year. In addition to stretching out the size, sources say Google may go with Intel's Bay Trail-T platform rather than an ARM-based foundation. If that ends up being the...
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Intel made a few major announcements during various events at CES, including its RealSense technology and the uber-tiny Quark Edison we covered here. In a posh suite at the Palazzo Hotel, however, Intel also setup an assortment of interesting demos showcasing a number of their existing technologies. Along with a monstrous 24-core Xeon-powered beast, Intel had low-power Avoton and Quark servers on display, in addition to numerous Bay Trail and Haswell-based mobile devices. Dell and Lenovo Bay Trail-Based Tablets Of all of the Bay Trail-based tablets on hand, Dell’s Venue 8 and Lenovo’s Think Pad 8 made the best first impressions (review of the Dell tablet is...
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The PC market has tumbled throughout the past 18 months, but Intel believes the worst of the decline is over -- and that the tablet market is poised to boom. At its Analyst Day today, the company forecast stable PC sales through 2014, with gains in the market driven by an estimated 4x increase in tablet sales. And make no mistake -- Intel wants to be in those devices. What a difference a few years makes The Asus Transformer Book T100 has transformed my view of how useful x86 devices can be in the $400 market. True, it has some flaws -- the power adapter is extremely slow to charge the device -- but on the whole, it's absolutely functional for basic traveling and work. Convertibles like this blur...
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A few weeks back we gave you a first-hand look at the performance of Intel's new low power Bay Trail Atom System-On-A-Chip for tablets and hybrid devices. Bay Trail, the follow-on to Intel's Clover Trail Atom design, comes in both dual and quad-core variants and offers better overall performance-per-watt than the previous generation and a significantly most robust graphics engine. At the time, we only got our hands on a few prototype devices and Intel was still tuning drivers getting the solution ready for prime time. This week, however, the Windows 8.1 and Intel Bay Trail onslaught begins as both Microsoft, with its Surface line-up, and various OEMs release their products to market comfortably...
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