Gigabyte's 320GB Windows 7 Tablet Hits Taiwan

By Jane McEntegart
published

Who needs Honeycomb or iOS when you can have a full-blown copy of Windows 7 on a tablet?

It might not be the sexiest, slimmest tablet out there but Gigabyte’s S1080 isn’t your average tablet. It’s not supposed to be a casual device for reading books and surfing the web. No, this is a 10.1-inch tablet PC with a dual-core Intel Atom N570 processor, a 320GB HDD, a full copy of Windows 7 Home Premium, support for USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and an external monitor, a mic, Gigabyte-Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and SD and 3G wireless card slots.

Gigabyte first showed off the S1080 at CES in Las Vegas this past January. However, the company remained quiet on a specific launch and price. Network World reports that this week the motherboard maker launched the tablet in the Taiwanese market, all but matching the price of the iPad -- the S1080 is NT$22,900 (US$787), while the iPad costs just a smidge less at NT$22,800 ($783).

According to NW, Gigabyte will launch the tablet in other markets next month. Elsewhere it’s reported that Gigabyte is also planning several more tablets, including a dual-boot Windows/Android device. This is due in October, while Android-only devices (a 7-inch Froyo and a 10-inch Honeycomb) will hit in July. PC World cites Senior Vice President Richard Ma as saying both of these upcoming tabs will cost less than $400 and be based on Intel Atom CPUs. Gigabyte is also planning a Windows 8 tablet for 2012.

Source: Network World, PC World

Jane McEntegart
35 Comments Comment from the forums
  • iam2thecrowe
    this looks like it was designed to replace netbooks. Will be interesting to see how the useability pans out, but all the features are there.
    Reply
  • Marco925
    I do wanna see that. looks kinda cool.

    I don't think it plays crisis...just a hunch ;)
    Reply
  • pirateboy
    that's great for watching my midget pr0n on airplane trips
    Reply
  • joytech22
    I wish they didn't put ATOM in everything and started using AMD's Fusion in stuff, It's faster than atom (fast enough to actually notice it) and it would overall provide a better experience.
    Reply
  • ProDigit10
    Just wait until the pad craze goes away, and people actually notice they can't do without a dedicated input device like a keyboard.
    Reply
  • plznote
    Yeah, Fusion is tons better than Atom.
    Reply
  • shreeharsha
    "Gigabyte-Ethernet" means 8 Gigabit Ethernet.
    Reply
  • enforcer22
    shreeharsha"Gigabyte-Ethernet" means 8 Gigabit Ethernet.
    that doesn't make any sense. Either #1 gigabyte made the network controller or #2 they meant to say gigabite which neither means 8 gigabite. The speed in Bytes is 134.21MB bites its 1.048Gb. Unless there is a new network speed standard I'm unaware of however. Of course I'm sure they do the rounding down cheat had drive makers use.

    But yeah the atom thing is why i still stay away from windows pads. which honestly always look better to me anyways then the other pads. that and i want the windows OS but i don't want atom. Rather have fusion or tegra.
    Reply
  • bachok83
    Who needs Honeycomb or iOS when you can have a full-blown copy of Windows 7 on a tablet?

    Hmm.. sometimes people keep forgetting.

    First, Windows 7 is designed to work with pointy-sharp-edged thing more commonly known as a mouse-cursor.

    Second, there are some damn good reasons why iPad1/2 and Android tabs works. Simplification!

    Don't forget, Microsoft tried once with XP tablet and all that whooplah. Didn't work did it?
    Reply
  • i have a gigabyte m912 convertible tablet that i got for the equivalent price of $450 and I'm really happy with it. The only complaints I have is it runs too hot and has a small battery/short battery life, so I was looking forward to them releasing an AMD Fusion version with bigger batteries. That they stuck with Atom is kinda disappointing.
    Reply