fionaconers: Gigabyte announces S1080 Windows 7 tablet with USB 3.0 and optical drive dock

Monday, May 30, 2011

Gigabyte announces S1080 Windows 7 tablet with USB 3.0 and optical drive dock

We're here at Computex's pre-show event to get some hands-on time with a few new products. As expected many tablets are present, and one such device is Gigabyte's S1080 Windows 7 tablet, which we almost mistook as Viewsonic's Viewpad 7. Here you have a 14.94mm-thick chassis housing a 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen LCD, along with an Intel Atom N570, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 320GB hard drive (2.5 inches, 5400rpm, SATA). Other tidbits include a USB 2.0 port, USB 3.0 port, SD card reader, RJ-45 jack, 1.3 megapixel webcam, 4,000mAh battery, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, and 3.5G modem. All of this boil down to an 895g (32oz) package.

If the S1080 doesn't interested you, then maybe its accompanying multimedia dock will. Like similar offerings from competitors, Gigabyte's version adds stereo speakers, VGA output, three USB 2.0 ports, and audio line-in to the tablet. But the real zinger here is the front-loading optical drive, which is a rare sight on docking stations these days. Oh, and if the built-in 4,000mAh battery isn't enough for you, there's also an optional 2.700mAh battery bar that hooks onto the bottom of the tablet. Expect the S1080 to hit US markets in June for around $700, with the yet-to-be-priced dock to follow later on in the summer (or you could just fly to Taiwan in July to pick one up).

Gallery: Gigabyte announces S1080 Windows 7 tablet with USB 3.0 and optical drive dock