The ExoPC Slate is a tablet computer with an 11.6 inch display and no keyboard. It has an Intel Atom N450 processor and runs Windows 7 Home Premium. But what really sets it apart from the crowd is the custom user interface designed by ExoPC.
Don't get me wrong. The hardware is decent. The large, high resolution display is a nice touch — although viewing angles are a mixed bag. And the touchscreen is quite responsive. There's a decent array of ports around the sides of the slate, and while it's a bit heavy to hold with one hand, it's about as light as you can expect a computer with an 11.6 inch display to be.
But in general I've been underwhelmed by the Intel Atom-based netbooks I've used in the past. While the ExoPC doesn't exactly pass all tests with flying colors, it's clear that the company put some thought into making the experience of interacting with Windows 7 using your fingertips a little easier, especially on low-end hardware. Unfortunately, the ExoPC doesn't exactly have a low-end price. It sells for $699 and up in the US.
I still think that if you want a truly great Windows slate experience you're going to need to spend more money for a machine with a faster processor, higher quality display, and maybe an active digitizer — at least until Windows 8 is available. But for now, the ExoPC Slate is probably the Atom-based Windows tablet to beta, for what it's worth.
ExoPC sent me a demo unit to use for a few weeks for the purposes of review. You can find purchasing information for the tablet in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Australia at the ExoPC web site.
Design
The ExoPC Slate is a nice looking machine, if not 100% unique. In fact, a couple of other tablets including the German WeTab are based on the same OEM design. The front of the slate isn't exactly all screen, which is fine because you need something to hold onto. But there is a single piece of glass which goes almost all the way from one edge to the other, giving the front a nice clean look.
Near the top of the screen (if you're holding it in landscape mode with the thickest part of the bezel at the bottom) you'll find a 1.3MP camera and an ambient light sensor.
The back of the tablet has a power button and a few vents, along with the ExoPC logo. Again, the design is nice and clean, giving the machine an attractive appearance. The black plastic coating has a matte finish which doesn't easily show fingerprints and which feels easy to hold onto. The computer does get a bit warm toward the center of the back, but it's not that warm, and more importantly this isn't a spot where you're likely to rest your hands very often.
The left side of the ExoPC has 2 USB 2.0 ports, a mini-HDMI port, an SDHC card slot, and a combination mic/headphone jack.
The computer has a 1366 x 768 pixel display, a capacitive dual-touch panel, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 32GB or 64GB solid state disk, and a Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator. There's also an accelerometer for automatic screen rotation.
The ExoPC weighs about 2.1 pounds and measures 11.6″ x 7.7″ x 0.55″. It's remarkably thin for a Windows slate, and in fact doesn't seem to be that much thicker than my Google Nexus One smartphone. It also feels reasonably light when held with two hands. But when I try to hold it in portrait mode in a single hand to read an eBook, it feels kind of heavy and unwieldy.
There are 2 1.5 watt speakers, which are reasonably loud and will provide decent audio when watching a movie or listening to music in a quiet room. But you're going to want headphones or external speakers for truly rich sounding audio.
The touchscreen is also reasonably accurate, so I didn't frequently find myself trying to tap on a minimize button only to accidentally hit the close box instead — something that I've struggled with on other Windows tablets with capacitive touch displays.
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