Sharp's inaugural Windows 8 tablet: 10.1-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 IGZO display

[Shawn Knight]

The annual trade show known as CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) is in full swing and first out of the gate is Sharp’s Windows 8 tablet, the Mebius Pad. It may have an unusual name but there’s nothing odd about the screen: a 10.1-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 resolution IGZO display – the highest resolution Windows 8 slate yet.

Engadget was on hand for the reveal and got some hands-on time with the slate. Sharp even provided onlookers with a magnifying glass to get a close-up look at the tightly-packed pixels. The publication found the display looked good in person and was surprisingly bright.

The slate is also noteworthy in that it is both water and dust-proof (certifications pending for IPX5, IPX7 and IP5X) which is reportedly the latest trend for virtually any electronic device in Japan. Elsewhere, however, the Mebius Pad isn’t anything too exciting to write home about.

It’s powered by Intel’s quad-core Z3370 Atom processor and will be available with LTE radios in certain regions. It’s said to be suitably thin and light with a rear shell that looks like something Sony might have recently released.

With Windows 8.1 / Office and the high resolution display, it’s no surprise that Sharp will market the device to business professionals for use with spreadsheets, documents and the like. Unfortunately it’s not likely to leave Japanese soil once it launches in early 2014 but if it does, it could serve as an interesting alternative to Microsoft’s upcoming Surface 2 Pro if the price is right.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/54174-sharps-inaugural-windows-8-tablet-101-inch-2560-x-1600-igzo-display.html

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

I like the higher res screens we are getting on mobile devices now. But this might be too high of a res.

 

[Jad Chaar]

I like the higher res screens we are getting on mobile devices now. But this might be too high of a res.

I have to see it in person first.

 

[Guest]

Well, it's the thing to do. If a company has excess cash they want to pi$$ away, just make a Windows tablet.

 

[soldier1969]

I like the res as Ive been using that res (2560 x 1600) on my desktop for 3 years now but those horrible wide bezels need to go on tablets. Make em edge to edge screens and I will snag one up.

 

[misor]

I like the res as Ive been using that res (2560 x 1600) on my desktop for 3 years now but those horrible wide bezels need to go on tablets. Make em edge to edge screens and I will snag one up.

hehehe. I'm still on 1600x900 on my 20" acer and lg monitors.
is "mebius" pad a typographical error? I think "Möbius" is more appealing

 

[Guest]

The wide bezels are so a person can hold the tablet w/o triggering the touch input on the screen.

 

[Guest]

Ok. . so Intel Atom at 2560x1600. Am I the only one who see this as a problem? I'd be surprised if it could smoothly run a 1080p movie and forget about gaming at that res or anything HDish.

Amd's quad core 1.4ghz A6-1450 would have been a better choice imo.

 

[misor]

Ok. . so Intel Atom at 2560x1600. Am I the only one who see this as a problem? I'd be surprised if it could smoothly run a 1080p movie and forget about gaming at that res or anything HDish.

Amd's quad core 1.4ghz A6-1450 would have been a better choice imo.

I have yet to see any benchmarks of 3rd gen intel atom or any article pertaining to amd quad core on tablets.
maybe we'll see intel atom vs arm vs the a6-1450 you mentioned.

 

[cliffordcooley]

hehehe. I'm still on 1600x900 on my 20" acer and lg monitors.

Same here.

is "mebius" pad a typographical error? I think "Möbius" is more appealing

So you think being able to look at both sides of the tablet with out crossing an edge is the way go. lol

 

[misor]

cliffordcooley, no.
'mobius' branding only, not the folding of whatever mobius was.

 

[Archean]

For those who doesn't know what this generation of Atoms is/ can do:

http://www.realworldtech.com/silvermont/ & http://www.anandtech.com/show/7314/intel-baytrail-preview-intel-atom-z3770-tested

Silvermont is sort of warning bell for ARM bandwagon, since it can deliver superior performance to Cortex A15/Krait 400, and keep the power in check as well (from 1W to 2.5W under load). Also, Anand noted in the above review, that it can deliver reasonable performance, and the GPU "appear to be similar in performance to the PowerVR SGX 554MP4" ...... so it shouldn't be bad either.

 

[gamoniac]

@Editor: I don't think there is a Z3370. It should be Z3770 - the new BayTrail atom, which is nothing to scoff about. This new atom is on par with AMD's A4-5000, which is supposed to be the next level up.

 

[Guest]

Ok. . so Intel Atom at 2560x1600. Am I the only one who see this as a problem? I'd be surprised if it could smoothly run a 1080p movie and forget about gaming at that res or anything HDish.

Any proof that it can't run "normal" content at that resolution? No, it being labelled Atom is not proof. People really needs to learn the diffence between a brand name and the actual technology. The Bay Trail-T reference platform is infact using a 1440p display.Watch this and tell me it can't do 1080p.
There are plenty of videos of the reference design in action on youtube and elsewhere. There is flat out no proof of its inability to drive that resolution.

As for gaming at that resolution: nothing that can be put in a tablet is capable of that(unless with gaming you mean things like Angry Birds, and I bet this can play Minesweeper). Even the top-end desktop AMD APU can't do that, unless you enjoy slideshows or old games.(With gaming I mean playing the lastest PC games).

Amd's quad core 1.4ghz A6-1450 would have been a better choice imo.

Yeah, if you want a much slower and much less efficient tablet, with faster graphics that you can't really take advantage of because it's still lowend and with the added hillarity of it being cpu-limited(check out any kabini review for that one). Added bonus point for it not being cheaper(Z3770 is $37..AMD can't undercut that). There is a reason why every design with that one is a craptop(might be wrong, haven't seen a pure tablet, although there were a convertible Acer craptop).

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I like the res as Ive been using that res (2560 x 1600) on my desktop for 3 years now but those horrible wide bezels need to go on tablets. Make em edge to edge screens and I will snag one up.

I would've thought 2560 x 1600 would be the standard resolution for smart watches by now.