iPad Mini-Style Specs, On the Cheap, In Android-Based ASUS ZenPad S 8.0

Posted by timothy on Thursday September 17, 2015 @12:57AM from the depends-what-you-want dept.

MojoKid writes: The ASUS ZenPad S 8.0 is a well-designed Android tablet based on an Intel X86 platform that boasts better specs than the iPad mini 3 in many areas and is also less expensive. As configured, the ZenPad S 8.0 Z580CA has an MSRP of $299, which is $99 less than the 16GB iPad mini 3, and $199 less than 64GB model. However, it's based on a quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, and modern amenities like 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a USB Type-C port and a 2048X1536 IPS display. A 2GB RAM and 32GB variant can be found for $199 as well. In the benchmarks, the ZenPad S 8.0 handles pretty well, offering middle-of-the-pack performance in both standard CPU tests as well as gaming, in addition to running the latest version of Android Lollipop.

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Nothing to do with layziness by danbob999 · 2015-09-17 01:17 · Score: 2, Informative

But, then again, I guess this allows everybody to be lazy and just reuse the same architecture they've had for decades and slowly turn the tablets back into low end desktops for no good reason.
Asus could have used ARM just as easily. They chose Intel because they thought it was the best SoC for their needs, not because of the legacy x86 compatibility. Nobody is going to install DOS or Windows on these.