The first Windows tablet with decent battery life, the Evolve 3 Maestro S just might offer the best Windows tablet experience until Win 8.
We’ve included the 10in Maestro S from Evolve 3 in this roundup for three reasons. Firstly, it’s one of the world’s first tablets with an Intel Oak Trail processor, the 1.5GHz Z670, Intel’s first CPU built specially for tablets. As such, it marks Intel’s belated entry into a market it had previously ignored in favour of notebooks and netbooks.
Secondly, the tablet is actually created by an Australian company, Evolve 3. And thirdly, it runs Windows 7 Home Premium (and dual boots with Android Honeycomb).
Plenty has been written about Windows 7’s clumsiness on a tablet -- and that Windows tablets have actually been around for over 10 years and have never taken off, but this ignores the fact that if you need a tablet to run existing Windows applications, then a Windows tablet is your only option.
Windows 7 on the Maestro S is no easier to navigate and operate than on other tablets we’ve tried but what makes the Maestro special is that it comes with long battery life. That’s because the Oak Trail processor was specifically developed to reduce power consumption by packing even more components onto the one die. We weren’t able to do full battery life tests on the Maestro, but its makers claim a charge will last up to 10 hours, which is as good as those of an iPad or the latest Android devices. With a 32GB SSD and 2GB of RAM, plus two USB and one HDMI port, a microSD slot and Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, the Maestro S is as close as you’ll come to enjoying the full Windows netbook-style experience on a tablet. It’s just a bit heavier (910 grams) and thicker (17mm) than other tablets you'll see on the market.
Available from EVOLVE III, retailing for $799.APC rating: 7/10