The ASUS Vivo Tab, running Windows RT, is now available on Three. The UK carrier has the tablet listed for £30.99 on a 24-month contract with an upfront fee of £199. While the price may seem slightly on the expensive side of the fence, the plan does include 15GB data allowance and makes use of the network's expansive coverage.
So what does the Vivo Tab sport regarding specifications? Should you wish to pick one up, you'll not be disappointed with the 1.3GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra chip, 10.1" IPS display (1366x768), 8MP rear shooter (with 2MP front-facing camera), WiFi, mobile connectivity (unlike the Surface), Bluetooth, 2GB DDR3 RAM and 64GB internal storage.
Three is offering next-day delivery which will surely get the Windows RT tablet to the door by December 28th. If you're not into purchasing the tablet at full price, this is a great deal to get the tablet as well as a secured plan for mobile data. With the 15GB allowance per month, there should be no issue with video playback, heavy web browsing and tonnes of email.
Three previously published a quick video walkthrough of the tablet and the dockable keyboard.
Windows RT is Microsoft's latest desktop operating system that takes advantage of mobile hardware. While it can run all apps presently available on the Windows Store, Windows RT does not sport the ability to run legacy software in the desktop app. Should you wish to run software which was loaded on Windows 7, be sure check out a Windows 8 tablet.
The ASUS Vivo Tab joins the iPad and Nexus 7 tablets running iOS and Android respectively. Pushing Windows, Three is offering hardware from each platform to provide customers with ample choice when finding a personalised solution. The Windows Rt tablet is a perfect purchase for the new year.
Source: Three; thanks, Richard, for the tip!
Reader comments
ASUS Vivo Tab Windows RT tablet available on Three UK
Wow massive rip off. End up spending over £900 over a 2 year contract.
Remember this is for a £500 tablet and a two-year contract.
£500 tablet and £200 per year for internet usage. That's actually a pretty good deal, even though personally I don't see any use for paying a monthly fee when WiFi is available almost everywhere these days. And if I need access to my emails or the web somewhere where there is no WiFi, I will use the cell phone instead.
The 3 site is actually saying £99 up front now instead of £199 so that's a bit better! Also considering they charge £15/month for a 10Gb/month SIM only connection I don't think £30.99/month is too bad for an extra 5Gb allowance and the tablet
I am not a fan of RT Tablets... I think all the ARM Tablets are overpriced. Value wise... hmmm no ARM tablet should cost more than $299.- with 64Gb. Acer is going for $99 Tablets... that is about the right segment for ARM in Tablets.
The reason I believe this, is that I have now a Windows 8 Pro Tablet with a i5 and like always with PC stuff prices fall quickly. The difference in performance between a Intel i5 and a Apple A6 or whatever ARM SOC, is speed... the i5 is way way way faster.
Also I just read a review from www.chip.de today, they said that the Acer W510 (only Atom CPU) with Windows 8 Pro is a better deal than the iPad 4 64Gb and they added that this was the first Windows 8 Pro Tablet they tested. It imediately landed on spot 2 behind the iPad 4. Still, Chip complained that the W510 was a bit pricey... like $100 more than a iPad 4 with 64Gb... only to conclude that it was a good deal.
When you think about this... by mid 2013 you will be able to buy a good Atom or i5 Tablet for less than what a iPad 4 with 64G costs today.
As to 64bit ARM, nothing before 2014 and lets be honest, Intel is the Gorilla when it comes to CPUs... they know there stuff and their new mobile CPUs are more and more power efficient.
It's actually a big chance that Windows on ARM might become useless. It's impressive that they ported Windows to ARM, but Intel will never let it get the upper hand in mobile. One year from now, RT will be proved a mistake. Intel and amd will prove it so.
I hope WP will start running x86 within a couple of years.
Well, that was exactly Microsofts's intention for launching Windows RT. Putting presure on Intel to build energy-efficient processors.
I'm massively impressed with my Surface RT. Learning curve was about 5minutes. Super quick. For legacy apps I always have my desktop. This Asus looks really nice as well. So much more value than an iPad.
As a deal, this isn't bad when you factor in the 15Gb of mobile data...
Three's MiFi on 24month with 15Gb is £19pm so backing out the mobile data allowance, the tablet works out @ just £488 over 24m. Cheapest I could find the 64Gb WiFi only version is £550 from Scan. However for £200 more an Acer Iconia W700 (11.3ins screen, i5, 128Gb, Win8Pro etc) is a much more interesting prospect. But again, this is WiFi only.
Last year the W500 had a 3G version called W501. Don't todays W510 and W700 have their respective versions with included cellular modems?
I have been using iPad since it came out, and bought myself one of these for Christmas.
I have to say I`m impressed.
Definitely much more value than in an iPad. Full Office 2013 suite ( Home&Student edition) multitasking, file explorer, split screen mode... Everything works pretty smooth.
USB port through which you can connect your external HDDs ( MY 1TB WD Passport works perfectly), MicroSD card slot, mobile dock with keyboard, touchpad and an extra battery...
It is a bit expensive. But then again, iPad 64GB with 3G module costs even more. Android tablets (Asus, Samsung) with these specs are a bit cheaper, but they are all somewhere near when it comes to price...
Get a small 560 pound loan and buy one. Paid off in 12 months is 46 pounds a month. The whole thing is yours solely and completely. Absolute joke what annoys me is people are stupid enough to think its a good deal !
Calling other people stupid is annoying IMO.