It was last August that I wrote about the Kupa X11 tablet. I highlighted the battery capacity as the key feature because it’s not often you see such a high capacity battery in an X86-based device under 1KG. What I didn’t know then was that Windows 8 would require 1366×768 to run the full range of Metro apps and features so the Kupa is now one of only a handful of tablets you can buy today that are Windows 8 ready. At the top-end you have the Samsung XE700 based on Core i5 technology. Fighting it out in the lower-end are the ExoPC (and variants) and the Kupa X11. There’s the Motion Computing CL900 to consider too. What’s interesting about the Kupa though is that it runs Oaktrail, which is going to give it a a very long runtime, coupled with a fast SSD, 2GB of RAM and 3G, this could be just what some people have been looking for.
Thanks to Kupa I now have the Kupa X11 Pro here for testing. Full Kupa X11 specifications, gallery and links are available on our information page. Here’s a selection of the important specs.
- 10.1 inch 1366×768 hi-resolution screen
- 2GB RAM
- Dual-layer touch (finger / digitizer pen)
- 2GB RAM
- 64GB SSD
- 3G (HSDPA including telephony)
- 52Wh battery (equivalent to a 6-cell netbook battery)
- Fingerprint Reader
- Dual cameras (2.0 / 3.0MP)
- Mini HDMI
- Windows 7 Pro
The Kupa X11 was available in Q4 2011 so there may be some of you out there that own it already but as Windows 8 gets nearer, it’s an imprtant device to be testing. Expect an unboxing and first impressions video very soon.
Full details of the Kupa X11 in our database.
Them be quite some numbers. Seems Microsoft can finally deliver on the UMPC claims from 2001…
Yup. Finally.
Let’s see though. If that SSD isn’t top-notch, it could be a problem. Single-Core Atom could be a bottle-neck too. Still waiting to unbox the X11 as I want to do it on front of a camera.
Chippy.
Keeping an eye out for the live session notice ;)
I’m looking at next Friday for a live session. Stay tuned.
While having a tablet now that can be upgraded to Windows 8 later may be appealing but by the time Windows 8 comes out Intel will have Clover Trail starting to replace Oak Trail to provide the advantages of reducing to 32nm FAB, possibly integrating the chipset into a full SoC, and going dual core…
Along with maybe some of the power optimization and performance burst mode they’ve shown is possible already with Medfield, the usual lower cost of OEM Windows install versus getting a retail copy, and possibly better drivers for the PowerVR based GPU.
All making for a pretty good argument to just wait before getting a tablet for eventual Windows 8 usage. Unless of course banking on the possibility of not liking Windows 8, or preferring the option to more likely find drivers compatible with linux for the GMA 600 used by Oak Trail than the newer GMA (assuming of course Clover Trail is using the same GMA as Cedar Trail), or just needing a PC tablet now rather than later.
Though we may have to wait till next year and the 22nm Silvermont update before we see really interesting Intel ATOM based solutions come out that will start making us think twice about the upcoming next gen ARM tablets.
I’m using the Lenovo S10-3t with Windows 8 currently and it works great. To workaround resolution I use downscale display registry setting so that’s one way to get devices still to work.
Probably none of these are UMPC’s. I still have the Viliv S5 mainly as GPS device but I just bought WP Nokia 710 and that will replace the S5 for me probably. Doesn’t do everything but faster to use in general.