Asus is expected to launch an 8 inch Windows 8.1 tablet with support for digital pen input soon. Details about the upcoming VivoTab Note 8 tablet leaked in December, and now the folks at Laptoping have discovered a user manual for the tablet on the Asus website.

Asus VivoTab Note 8

While the manual doesn’t tell us much that we didn’t already know, it does confirm the tablet’s name and support for stylus input. There are also a few drawings which look a lot like the leaked images we’ve already seen.

Unfortunately the user manual also makes it clear that this tablet won’t have an HDMI port. In fact, like the Dell Venue 8 Pro, the Asus VivoTab Note 8 seems to have only one port — a micro USB 2.0 port which you can use to charge the tablet or connect peripherals.

The user manual also shows that the tablet has front and rear cameras, an ambient light sensor, and stereo speakers on the back. There’s a slot in the case of the tablet where you can store the stylus when it’s not in use.

Rumors suggest that the tablet will feature an 8 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, 2GB of RAM, up to 64GB of storage, and a 15Whr battery. That would make this new tablet a lot like similar models from Dell, Toshiba, Acer, and Lenovo — but it would be one of the few to include a stylus. While Dell’s tablet can work with a digital pen, you have to buy that accessory separately.

asus vivotab note 8

 

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9 replies on “Asus VivoTab Note 8 user manual confirms pen-friendly Windows tablet”

  1. As DayHay says, all the 8 inch tablets I’ve seen are based on an Intel reference design. The differences seem to be in the available ports and in the stylus digitizer (if any). Right now, the only tablets that support a stylus are this Asus, the Dell Venue 8 Pro, and the rumored Lenovo Thinkpad 8 (but not the Lenovo Ideapads).

    For me, the proof is in the stylus. For desktop apps, menus are much easier to navigate using a stylus, especially if it can dock into the case. Apparently the Venue 8 Pro stylus has had problems. The n-Trig stylus I had on my HP Slate 500 was not great. But the stylus in the picture looks like my Thinkpad Tablet 2 stylus which was a Wacom stylus. For those coming to Windows tablets for the first time, Wacom is the gold standard.

    From the looks of the stylus, the Asus might be Wacom as well. And looking at the grey switch at the top, could it be an eraser or a middle click or, be still my beating heart, a rocker allowing both?.

    1. Personally, I’d rather have some optical/touch sensitive bezel mouse than a stylus. Nothing to lose and allows for better double handed grip on the device. You’ll probably be forced to a specific orientation though.

    2. The ThinkPad 8 does not work with a stylus other than a capacitive one. I’ll be glad if I’m wrong on that though.

      1. Unfortunately you’re right. I am very disappointed in Lenovo that it’s not even an extra cost option.

  2. Please comment on these 8 inch 8.1 tablets more. They are all the exact same reference design aren’t they? I have the Dell Venue 8 pro, only one micro usb, there is Lenovo, Asus, essentially all indentical?

    1. They all have about the same Intel CPU, but some may have slightly different CPUs. I believe it’s either the Atom z3740 (most of them), z3740d (Dell) or z3770 (ThinkPad 8).

      While the base is very similar each may have something the others do not. The Dell Venue Pro 8 has a Syntaptics stylus. The ASUS has a stylus (not sure if it’s Wacom or not) and a place to put it. The Toshiba Encore 8 and ThinkPad 8 have HDMI out while the others don’t. The ThinkPad 8 has a 8.3″ screen vs the usual 8″ screen. The ThinkPad also has a higher resolution and USB 3. Some advertise the Miracast feature while others do not. Some have 5 point multi-touch and some have 10 point multi-touch.

      I feel that if the ThinkPad 8 had included a Wacom stylus it would be the one to beat even if it is the most pricey option.

  3. Nice that these 8″ UMPCs are getting better and better. I’ll be buying whatever’s the “best” around Spring. Hopefully they start adding USB 3.0 (full or micro with OTG) and 64-bit UEFI and driver support are available.

    1. hoping for that too I really hope that some time in the near future that Lenovo updates the Thinkpad tablet 2 or Asus releases a pro model of the T100 with the higher end baytrail processor and the wacom digitizer. I agree on 64-bit UEFI… windows is great for some things but the interface does not lend itself to being a mobile OS I prefer a small android install for simple things like reading or playing a mobile game where you can just dial back the processor to save battery life. Seeing the Asus T100 in stores really had me tempted but I’ll just wait

  4. I guess “fitness trackers” and “pen input” are the latest things that marketers think we want.
    Don’t skimp on the pen input side though.

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