In the battle of numerous tablets available in the market, Toshiba has unveiled its contender which is currently priced at $120 and is most likely to hit the market at $99. It has come up with Encore Mini, which is a Windows tablet to deliver you a synthesis of fast computing along with better graphics. It is supposed to be an upgraded version of the “Excite Go” tablet, which is an Android tablet. Since its launch, this machine has been giving a stiff competition to its rivals including Dell Venue 7 and Hisense Sero 7 Pro. But, it needs a little bit of tweaking to stay ahead of other devices of similar segment. Looking to know, how this smart device compares to other similar tablets? Let’s take a deep dive into its hardware, software and design configuration to know more about it.

Toshiba-Encore-Mini

Image Source:http://toshiba.laptop.product.info

Design

The Encore Mini seems to be a little bulky and weighs around 354.30 grams. One can easily say that it has a wide screen display to help you experience a remarkable picture quality. Though this device does not come with a protective cover for its microSD card, but the SD card can be placed without going through any difficulty. Its back panel is crafted with high quality plastic, which helps you have a comfortable handling experience. The power button is present on its right side, and the USB port, microSD slot, headphone jack can be found on top, which is quite convenient.

Performance and Apps

The Encore Mini is developed to run on the Windows 8.1 operating system, which is acknowledged as the latest version of tile-based OS, developed by Microsoft. Thus, you can use any Windows based software on this device, which means you don’t have to rely only on some specific apps. And, it is equipped with a 1 GB RAM as well as an Intel Atom quad-core processor of 1.33GHz – Z3735G for the enhanced processing. Its 7 inches display is coupled with a screen resolution of 1024 x 600, which is best in its class. In some of the video formats, the picture is observed to be distorted, which certainly needs some improvement. When it was tested on a high quality game – Asphalt, it did not completely perform according to the expectations. Encore Mini is compatible with most of the audio files including FLAC and OGG, but you may find echo in some of the songs. File Manager, Adobe Reader and Toshiba Help Manual are some of its pre-installed applications, which are non-removable. It is bundled with a one-year subscription of Office 365 Personal, which can certainly work as its strength.

Camera

The quality of camera is one of the vital factors to evaluate the performance of any tablet. But, if you are fond of high quality pictures or videos, then its 2 MP rear and front VGA camera won’t be able to serve your purpose. In order to capture and process the images, it takes at least a second. And, unless it processes the picture completely, you can’t move the phone; otherwise, the pictures will be blurred. Similarly, its front camera comes with same issues of low frame rate, which may trouble you with low quality images at times.

Battery Life and Connectivity

This device can help you experience an uninterrupted internet browsing with the help of its 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter. Its Bluetooth 4.0 lets you share files with other devices, and also facilitates you to connect it with an external keyboard. Moreover, you can view a decent range of microUSB ports on its side, which are easy to connect. The battery life of Encore Mini doesn’t seem to be best in its category, as it lasted only for 5 hours and 10 minutes in its video playback test. Today’s world is based on mobility; hence, there is a scope of improvement in its battery life, which should be seriously considered by Toshiba.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, users may come across issues pertaining to multi-tasking with Windows 8.1, as the product has has only 1GB of memory. But, buying a Toshiba tablet at this price tag for basic needs would not be a bad deal at all.