That said, the Encore’s battery life doesn’t seem to hold as long as some of the other tablets I’ve tested recently, despite featuring similar internals. This could be due to the HFFS panel, which is a type of display seldom used on tablets, but other software and hardware choices may also be contributing factors.
Our video playback battery benchmark backs this up. The Lenovo Miix 2 8, which is very similar to the Encore spec-wise manages to last nearly two hours longer.
Closing Thoughts
Toshiba’s first foray into the world of 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablets isn’t the fantastic product the company was hoping for. The drab, chubby design is particularly uninspired, failing to make an impression up against slimmer and more portable competition. The inclusion of an HFFS display is interesting, although its overall quality falls behind IPS-type panels, not to mention the disappointing resolution. It’s not all bad news for the Encore, though. Like all previous Bay Trail-powered devices, I was once again pleased with the performance from Intel’s low-power SoC, which competes well with offerings from ARM.
The Sony-made 8-megapixel rear camera is surprisingly good, although it’s of little consequence when you consider a tablet isn’t exactly a go-to device for photography. Windows 8.1 is also a great operating system for power tablet users, despite lacking a solid collection of touch oriented apps. If you value Windows 8.1 support more than anything, you may find these sub-$300 tablet to look like a bargain. Note however that using desktop apps and typical productivity software like Office is somewhat challenging in this form factor (unless you plan to add a keyboard). If that’s your primary intention you may be better served by hybrid PC like the Asus Transformer Book we recently tested. Cons: Chubby, uninspiring design. Disappointing display resolution. The Windows desktop is tricky to use on a small screen.
