Baytrail-based tablets and 2-in-1s are our focus here for the time being. Baytrail-T products will be available next week and following that we’ll see Baytrail-M products but while that’s happening, Clovertrail-based devices are available at ever-improving prices. Baytrail doesn’t mean that these ‘old’ products suddenly become useless and as prices drop, you can find some really nice bargains out there. Windows 8.1 will improve them, Windows Store will make them more useful over time.
What’s Clovertrail good for?
Modern UI. Anything that runs in the modern UI runs well with Clovertrail. OK there are a few gaming exceptions but the point here is that the Windows 8 Store is improving all the time which means the Clovertrail tablets will become more and more useful over time. Don’t ignore applications like Bing News which provides a really good newspaper experience. Skype, Explorer (it’s great on a tablet), TuneIn, Weather, Kindle, Nextgen Reader, Wordament (I’m going nuts over this game!) Xbox Music, Nokia Music and lots more. Video playback on Modern is easy and efficient if you’re using H.264-based files up to 1080p. Over 100,000 apps are in the Store now.
Desktop usage is more limited because some apps out there simply need too much CPU power or memory. These 32-bit 2GB Clovertrail devices can’t handle many new desktop games, Office gets a bit slow. But there’s a lot that does work and having that desktop ‘backup’ is comforting.
Don’t forget that Clovertrail tablets are truly multi-user. As a family tablet/PC they’re appealing.
Strike Price
Prices have come down a long way and are likely to drop further over the next months. I bough a Samsung ATIV 500T with 64GB storage, 3G for 900 Euro earlier in the year. It has a digitizer layer and a good keyboard and speakers. It’s called the Samsung ATIV Tab 5 now and it’s available for 600 Euros. With Baytrail-based 10-inch 2-in-1’s starting at $350, prices for Clovertrail PCs should come down further. 10-inch 64GB tablets should go to $299 and 2-in-1’s to $399 unless they have special features like digitizers, additional battery or 3G/4G.
Bargains Today
The question is, how long do you wait? There are some good bargains out there already and stock will be limited.
In general I’m not going to recommend anything with a 32GB storage module and that applies to Baytrail devices too unless you’re only going to use Modern UI apps or are not planning to store much data on it. 32GB is a little too tight for most users though. I’m also not recommending the Acer Iconia W3 which was the first 8-inch Windows 8 device. There’s much better coming for much the same price.
In the USA I haven’t seen any stand-out, stock-dumping bargains yet although prices are dropping and there are a few interesting options. These tablets stand out for me with the Lenovo Lynx being the bargain of the bunch.
- Lenovo Ideatab Lynx (11.6-inch) – $349 or $369 from Amazon (Don’t buy the keyboard for this. It’s not good IMO.)
- Vivotab Smart (10-inch) – $449 (With Office Home and Student)
- Lenovo Ideapad Miix 10 – $449
If you’re looking for something with a keyboard then check out these two…
We’ve spotted a great offer in the UK on the same Samsung. The ATIV 500T with WIn 8 Pro and the keyboard for 399 pounds. Update: The price just got hidden. Look at all the offers and you’ll find the 399 offer from Amazon.
In Europe the Lenovo Ideatab Lynx with 64GB for 399 Euro. You can charge this via USB. No digitizer, no keyboard. I don’t recommend the keyboard on this product.
What to watch for
On the 18th October the first of the new Baytrail products will be available. Windows 8.1 goes into the pot too and out comes a wave of publicity. Expect Intel , Microsoft and OEMs to start their advertising which means interest for the old stuff suddenly starts to drop. During the last week of October and the first weeks of November you could see one or two real bargains.
Tip: Watch out for HP Envy X2 prices as the new model feeds-in during November. It’s a great bit of kit with the keyboard dock.
If you spot anything, let us know. Either contact us or drop a note in the comments here. Oh, and let us know what device you’re holding out for and what your ‘strike’ price is.
For Sale…
[Germany/QWERTZ] I’m selling my Samsung ATIV 500T with 64GB storage, 3G for 499 Euro. It’s in perfect condition as I’ve only used it for testing. QWERTZ keyboard. Contact me if you’re interested.
There were some great prices on the Vivotab Smart a couple if weeks ago here in the UK. Tesco had them on clearance at £299 with a £20 voucher bringing it down to £279. Unbeatable at that price in my opinion.
I can’t wait for the Bay Trail tablets to hit. I am torn between the Toshiba and the Dell 8 inchers. The Dell looks a lot nicer but that missing HDMI port really hurts it. I have a Miracast dongle so if it’s got widi I will be ok. I just hope Dell do a decent exchange rate from USD to GBP on their retail price. I would expect £249 for 32gb and £299 for 64gb max. Hopefully slightly lower but I can’t see it happening
The Samsung is still £399 at Amazon UK, from Amazon themselves. You just need to click through for all prices and £399 is at the top, complete with free super saver delivery.
That said, my girlfriend has a top spec Latitude 10 and Clover Trail would not suit my performance needs. Whatever I buy I want it to be capable of running Lightroom with raw files. I’ll be hanging on for the right Bay Trail (or Haswell) tablet/hybrid.
Thanks Tim. I’ve updated the posts (again!)
As good as these deals were I just don’t know why anyone would jump on them when the bay trails are around the corner next week for even cheaper. 299 venue pro and 349 Asus T100 It would just be a regrettable purchase
32GB versions though. Prices for 64GB will be higher ($50 on average.)
Yep, when you can get an Asus T100 with keyboard dock for $349 at 64gb with baytrail power and battey life why would you go for any of the clovertrail crop. I spent $599 for a Envy x2 which was nice, but just didn’t have the power I wanted. I sold it recently for $350, which would buy a T100, or put a good dent into a Venue 11 pro with 1080p.
There are people all over craigslist trying to sell Surface RT tablets for $350+ but I just can’t see them getting that much. They are looking at their depreciation the same as ipads but windows products always drop faster due to competition.
Sigh, I guess I can’t blame oems for ignoring inking when this community – which use to utilize and make great use of inking – can’t even acknowledge it…the reason for buying the Samsung 500T or some of the other clovertrails at bargain prices would be for the active digitiser.
Your 299 venue 8 and $350 Asus do not have that feature. If you don’t need that feature though then that point is irrelevant but its still one of the key and biggest differentiators amongst windows tablets.