东芝(Toshiba)宣布了新一代的Windows 8.1设备，其中一些设备非常令人兴奋，至少在设计和规格(design and specifications)方面是这样。推出的第一款设备是新的Toshiba Encore 2。这款平板电脑看起来很棒，有两个版本：10 英寸平板电脑和 8 英寸平板电脑。幸运的是，我们得到了 10" 版本，我们能够使用它并对其进行 10 天的测试。阅读这篇评论以了解有关此设备及其提供的更多信息。
Toshiba Encore 2 拆箱
不幸的是， Toshiba Encore 2(Toshiba Encore 2)的包装方式并没有什么特别之处。它使用一个相当简单的盒子(plain box)，里面的细节很少。您将找到以下物品：平板电脑本身、微型 USB 数据线、充电器、手册、保修和一年有效的Office 365个人版订阅的(Personal subscription)产品密钥。(product key)
如果您想了解有关拆箱体验的更多信息，请查看下面嵌入的视频。
鉴于其实惠的价格，该包装不包括扩展坞或键盘。
硬件规格
我们测试的Toshiba Encore 2是一款 10 英寸平板电脑，配备IPS 显示屏(IPS display)，分辨率为 1280x800。显示屏具有鲜艳的色彩和不错的视角。东芝(Toshiba)还提供该设备的 8 英寸版本，具有相同的硬件和软件规格(hardware and software specifications).
这款 10 英寸平板电脑仅重 1.2 磅（0.5 千克），配备锂离子电池(Li-Ion battery)，续航时间长达 11 小时。Toshiba Encore 2(Toshiba Encore 2)配备四核Intel Atom Z3735G、2GB RAM DDR3和 32GB存储空间(storage space)在SSD上。某些版本可能只有 1GB 的RAM，因此在购买此设备时请注意这一重要细节，因为内存数量会影响您获得的性能。
Toshiba Encore 2配备一个微型HDMI 端口(HDMI port)、一个微型 USB 端口、一个微型SD 插槽(microSD slot)、正面 1.2兆像素摄像头(megapixel camera)和背面5兆像素摄像头。(megapixel camera)
不幸的是，第一个Toshiba Encore最大的缺失功能也出现在这里：没有USB 端口(USB port)。是的，您可以使用微型USB 电缆(USB cable)将其连接到各种设备和适配器，但完整的USB 端口(USB port)对于传输数据会更有用。此外，您不能在Toshiba Encore 2充电时使用(Toshiba Encore 2)USB设备，因为您只有一个微型USB 端口(USB port)。
该平板电脑没有 802.11ac无线连接(wireless connectivity)，但您可以通过其 802.11n无线适配器(wireless adapter)连接到网络和Internet。
关于音频，它有两个内置扬声器和一个用于插入耳机的插孔。
Toshiba Encore 2有一个 32 位版本的Windows 8.1(Windows 8.1)，带有Bing而不是Windows RT。这很好，因为您还可以在其上运行桌面应用程序，但这也意味着操作系统(operating system)将需要更多资源才能顺利运行。
您可以在此处找到此设备的完整硬件规格：Encore 2 WT10-A32 平板电脑(Encore 2 WT10-A32 Tablet)。如果您对 8" 版本感兴趣，您可以在此处找到它的规格：Encore 2 WT8-B32CN 平板电脑(Encore 2 WT8-B32CN Tablet)。
使用东芝 Encore 2
不得不承认，东芝Encore 2的(Toshiba Encore 2)外观和感觉(look and feel)都非常时尚。它看起来并不便宜，而且制造质量绝对高于平均水平。
我们非常喜欢这款设备的纤薄程度，尤其是与其前身相比。
重量方面，它比第一代Encore的 1.06 磅（0.48 公斤）重了一点，重 1.2 磅（0.5 公斤），但仍然便于携带。后盖虽然看起来不错，但没有像以前的型号那样有纹理的握把，它是一块指纹磁铁(fingerprint magnet)。但是，当您将平板电脑握在手中时，它不会滑落，因此这应该不是很大的缺点。
关于按钮布局 - 当您在横向模式下(landscape mode)握住平板电脑时，所有按钮都放置在平板电脑的顶部。我们错过了设备正面的Windows 按钮，就像以前的型号一样。(Windows button)将它放在顶部会使访问和导航Windows 8.1变得更加困难，因此并不容易。此外，截屏有点困难。
Toshiba Encore 2运行良好。我们没有遇到任何重大问题，只有几个小问题。
例如，在您使用东芝 Encore 2(Toshiba Encore 2)时，有时会变慢，尤其是当您在多个应用程序中执行多项任务时。就像它没有足够的资源来处理所有这些，并且在您加载新应用程序或切换到另一个窗口时让您等待。如果您一次使用 2 到 4 个应用程序，它的性能和响应(performance and responsiveness)能力很好，但如果您尝试使用 5 个或更多应用程序，并且还添加了桌面应用程序，则应该会出现一定程度的缓慢。
对于这款新机型，东芝针对(Toshiba)纵向模式(portrait mode)优化了他们的应用程序，因此当您以这种方式握持平板电脑时，它们看起来不再怪异。此外，Windows 8.1 在这种模式下比 Windows 8 工作得更好，这很棒。
当我们使用Toshiba Encore 2时，我们注意到它在随机的时间间隔失去了无线连接(wireless connectivity)，即使它与路由器在同一个房间里使用。这也不允许我们执行测试来评估电池在浏览网页时的持续时间。希望(Hopefully)这个问题可以在未来的固件更新(future firmware update)中得到解决。
前置摄像头(front camera)有1.2 MP，后置摄像头(back camera)有 5 MP。您可以将它们用于简短的视频(brief video)通话和随意拍照。但是，您的照片质量不会很好。该设备主要适用于快速视频通话和自拍，不适用于户外摄影。
就像第一台Toshiba Encore一样，电源线(power cable)很短，充电时您无法舒适地使用平板电脑。为电池充电确实比以前的型号花费的时间更少，这很棒。第一次Encore在关机状态下充电大约需要 5 小时。新机型充电约3小时，进步很大。
就电池使用时间(battery time)而言，东芝 Encore(Toshiba Encore)提供了不错的结果。是的，东芝(Toshiba)承诺最长可达 11 小时，但只有当你在这款平板电脑上做的不多时才会发生这种情况。在我们的测试中，它持续了 5 到 6 个小时，同时使用平板电脑浏览网页、电子邮件、使用触摸应用程序、观看短视频和进行一些快速的休闲游戏会话。
由于此设备不附带支架和键盘，因此您只能将其用作平板电脑。这意味着它不会成为生产力设备(productivity device)，除非您愿意投资蓝牙键盘和鼠标(Bluetooth keyboard and mouse)等配件，以及也可以用作支架的盖子。
Toshiba Encore 2提供的平板电脑体验(tablet experience)总体不错。该设备易于握持，使用时感觉很好，除了少数问题外，它通常运行良好。此外，Windows 8.1是比 Windows 8 更好的平板电脑操作系统。唯一的缺点是，Windows(Windows lags)提供的应用程序生态系统与其竞争对手相比落后，但未来应该会有所改善。
与Toshiba Encore 2(Toshiba Encore 2)捆绑的应用程序
说到应用程序，Toshiba Encore 2捆绑了几乎与第一个型号相同的软件：
您会发现Spotify（仅在少数国家/地区可用）、一些东芝(Toshiba)手册、东芝服务站(Toshiba Service Station)和其他实用程序、Symbaloo（可设置为浏览器主页的门户网站的快捷方式）、Office 365 个人订阅(Personal subscription)（您需要使用包装内的产品密钥激活它）、 (product key)Google Drive 和 McAfee LiveSafe(Google Drive and McAfee LiveSafe) - Internet Security。不幸的是，McAfee 套件(McAfee suite)使启动时间更长，并且很难在触摸屏上使用。另外，在我们的互联网安全系列评论中(Internet Security)套房，它的表现相当差。我们建议您删除此套件并使用更好的安全产品。在某些国家/地区，McAfee被Norton取代，在北美(North America)，Hulu Plus还与Toshiba Encore 2设备捆绑在一起。
还有一些与Toshiba Encore捆绑的基于触摸的应用程序：Toshiba Places、SkyScanner、WildTangent Games、Amazon Kindle、Amazon 和 Toshiba(Amazon and Toshiba)。当您需要了解有关您的平板电脑的更多信息以及如何在需要时获得支持时，东芝 Places会很有用，而(Toshiba Places)SkyScanner可以用于查找航班。
WildTangent Games 应用程序(WildTangent Games app)是一款基于触控的应用程序，但它提供的下载主要是经典桌面游戏，这些游戏不能很好地与触控配合使用。因此，您很可能会想要卸载此应用程序。
我们认为您会喜欢Office 365 Personal、Spotify（如果您所在的国家/地区提供此服务）、Toshiba 实用程序(utilities)、Amazon Kindle和SkyScanner等应用程序和程序。其他的虽然你可能不会。我们建议您快速测试每个捆绑的程序或应用程序(program or app)，并删除那些您不需要的。它肯定会提高Toshiba Encore 2提供的性能。
基准表现
现在是时候将Toshiba Encore 2与第一款Toshiba Encore、Asus Transformer Book T100 和 T200(Asus Transformer Book T100 and T200)进行比较了。我们运行了几个基准测试并比较了所有这些设备获得的结果。
我们首先使用BootRacer测量了该设备的启动速度。Toshiba Encore 2平均启动时间为34 秒，尽管它有一些在启动时运行的捆绑程序。这比第一个模型慢一点，它在 28 秒内启动，但比Asus Transformer Book T100 和 T200(Asus Transformer Book T100 and T200)提供的启动时间要好。
我们还运行了Windows应用商店中的(Windows Store)3DMark 应用程序(3DMark app)来衡量游戏性能。在Ice Storm Unlimited测试（可用的最详细测试）中，Toshiba Encore 2的得分为 14436。这比第一次Encore的得分 15386 低 6%。
让我们看看东芝Encore 2(Toshiba Encore 2)获得的总分和竞争对手获得的总分。如您所见，华硕 Transformer T200(Asus Transformer T200)在本次测试中表现最佳。
由于总分并不能告诉你太多，让我们来看看在每次测试中获得的每秒帧数。
当我们评估电池使用时间时(battery time)，我们通常使用Peacekeeper基准，它告诉我们在浏览网页时电池可以使用多少时间。由于我们遇到的无线连接问题，我们无法使用此基准。相反，我们运行了Powermark。当使用运行网页浏览(web browsing)、文字处理、视频和轻度游戏工作负载的(word processing)Balanced基准测试时， (Balanced)Toshiba Encore 2的电池持续了整整 5 小时，我们认为这是一个不错的结果。
我们在本次评测的前面提到，东芝 Encore 2(Toshiba Encore 2)需要大约 3 小时才能自行充电。您可以在下面看到与竞争对手的充电时间的比较。如您所见，它的表现非常好。
判决
Toshiba Encore 2是一款外观漂亮的平板电脑，具有良好的制造质量(build quality)、良好的性能和实惠的价格标签(price tag)。它非常适合不需要将其用作生产力设备(productivity device)而仅用作消费各种内容的工具的用户。如果您想要一款可以浏览网页、查看电子邮件、Facebook、YouTube等的平板电脑，那么Toshiba Encore 2是一个不错的选择。如果您想做得更多并将其用作生产力设备(productivity device)，那么您应该考虑投资额外的配件，或者您应该购买更昂贵的Windows 8.1混合设备。
Reviewing the Toshiba Encore 2 with Windows 8.1 - Is It a Good Tablet?
Toѕhiba has announced a new generation of devices with Windows 8.1 and some of them are prеtty exciting, at least in terms оf design and specifications. The first device that was launched is the new Toshiba Encore 2. This tablеt looks great and it is aνаilable in two versions: a 10" tablet and an 8" one. Luckily we got our hands on the 10" version аnd we were able to use it and teѕt it for 10 days. Read this review to lеarn more about this device and what it has tо offеr.
Unboxing the Toshiba Encore 2
Unfortunately, there's nothing special about the way the Toshiba Encore 2 is packaged. It uses a rather plain box with very few details about what's inside. You will find the following items: the tablet itself, a micro-USB cable, the charger, the manuals, the warranty and the product key for your Office 365 Personal subscription that is valid for one year.
If you would like to learn more about the unboxing experience, view the video embedded below.
Given its affordable price, the package doesn't include a docking stand or a keyboard.
Hardware Specifications
The Toshiba Encore 2 that we tested is a 10" tablet with an IPS display working at a 1280x800 resolution. The display has vivid colors and decent viewing angles. Toshiba also offers also an 8" version of this device with the same hardware and software specifications.
The 10" tablet weighs only 1.2 pounds (0.5 kg) and it has a Li-Ion battery which promises to last up to 11 hours. Toshiba Encore 2 has a quad-core Intel Atom Z3735G , 2GB of RAM DDR3 and 32GB of storage space on an SSD. Some versions may feature only 1GB of RAM so pay attention to this important detail when purchasing this device because the quantity of memory impacts the performance you get.
Toshiba Encore 2 sports a micro HDMI port, a micro-USB port, a microSD slot, a 1.2 megapixel camera on the front and a 5 megapixel camera on the back.
Unfortunately, the biggest missing feature of the first Toshiba Encore is present here as well: there is no USB port. Yes, you can use a micro USB cable and connect it to all kinds of devices and adapters but a full USB port would have been more useful for transferring data. Also, you can't use USB devices with the Toshiba Encore 2 while you want to charge it, because you have only one micro-USB port.
The tablet lacks 802.11ac wireless connectivity, but you can connect to the network and the Internet through its 802.11n wireless adapter.
Regarding audio, it has two incorporated speakers and a jack for plugging in your headphones.
The Toshiba Encore 2 has a 32-bit edition of Windows 8.1 with Bing and not Windows RT. This is great, since you will be able to run also desktop applications on it, but it also means that the operating system will require slightly more resources to run smoothly.
You can find the full hardware specifications of this device here: Encore 2 WT10-A32 Tablet. If you are interested in the 8" version, you will find it specifications here: Encore 2 WT8-B32CN Tablet.
Using the Toshiba Encore 2
We have to admit, Toshiba Encore 2 has a very stylish look and feel. It doesn't look cheap and the build quality is definitely above average.
We very much liked how thin this device is, especially when compared to its predecessor.
In terms of weight, it is a bit heavier than the 1.06 lbs (0.48 kg) of the first Encore, weighing 1.2 lbs (0.5 kg), but it is still easy to carry around. The back cover, while it looks good, doesn't have a textured grip like the previous model does and it's quite a fingerprint magnet. However, the tablet doesn't slip when you hold it in your hand, so this shouldn't be a big downside.
Regarding the button layout - all buttons are placed on the top side of the tablet, when you hold it in landscape mode. We missed having the Windows button on the front of the device, like on the previous model. Having it on the top makes it harder to reach and navigating Windows 8.1 is not as easy because of that. Also, taking screenshots is a bit more difficult.
Toshiba Encore 2 works generally well. We did not encounter any major issues with it, only a couple of small issues.
For example, there are moments when the Toshiba Encore 2 slows down while you are using it, especially if you multitask among many apps. It's like it doesn't have enough resources to deal with all of them and it makes you wait when you load a new app or switch to another window. If you work with 2 to 4 apps at a time, its performance and responsiveness is good but if you try to use 5 apps or more and you also add desktop applications to the mix, you should expect some degree of slowness.
For this new model, Toshiba has optimized their apps for portrait mode, so they don't look weird anymore when you are holding the tablet that way. Also, Windows 8.1 works better in this mode than Windows 8 did, which is great.
While we were using the Toshiba Encore 2, we noticed that it lost its wireless connectivity at random intervals, even though it was used in the same room with the router. This also did not allow us to perform tests that evaluate how long the battery lasts when browsing the web. Hopefully this problem can be fixed in a future firmware update.
The front camera has 1.2 MP and the back camera has 5 MP. You can use them for brief video calls and for casual picture taking. However, the quality of your photos will not be great. This device is suitable mostly for quick video calls and selfies, not for great outdoors photography.
Just like on the first Toshiba Encore, the power cable is rather short and you can't use the tablet comfortably while it charges. Charging the battery does take less time than on the previous model, which is great. The first Encore took around 5 hours to charge while powered off. The new model charges in about 3 hours, which is a big improvement.
In terms of battery time the Toshiba Encore delivers decent results. Yes, Toshiba promises up to 11 hours but that will happen only if you don't really do much on this tablet. In our tests it lasted somewhere between 5 and 6 hours while using the tablet for things like browsing the web, email, using touch apps, watching short videos and doing some quick casual gaming sessions.
Because this device doesn't come with a stand and a keyboard, you can use it only as a tablet. This means that it is not going to be a productivity device, unless you are willing to invest in accessories like a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, plus a cover that can also be used as a stand.
The tablet experience offered by the Toshiba Encore 2 is generally good. This device is easy to hold, it feels good when you are using it and, except for few issues, it works generally well. Also, Windows 8.1 is a better tablet operating system than Windows 8 was. The only downside is the fact that the apps ecosystem offered by Windows lags when compared to that of its competitors but things should improve in the future.
Apps that are Bundled with the Toshiba Encore 2
Speaking of apps, Toshiba Encore 2 has almost the same software bundled with it as the first model:
You will find Spotify (which works only in a few countries), some Toshiba Manuals, the Toshiba Service Station and other utilities, Symbaloo (a shortcut to a web portal that you can set as your browser's homepage), an Office 365 Personal subscription (you need to activate it with the product key found inside the packaging), Google Drive and McAfee LiveSafe - Internet Security. Unfortunately, the McAfee suite makes the boot time longer and it is very difficult to use on a touch screen. Plus, in our series of reviews for Internet Security suites, it performed rather poorly. We recommend that you remove this suite and use better security products. In some countries, McAfee is replaced with Norton and, in North America, Hulu Plus is also bundled with Toshiba Encore 2 devices.
There are also some touch-based apps bundled with the Toshiba Encore: Toshiba Places, SkyScanner, WildTangent Games, Amazon Kindle, Amazon and Toshiba. Toshiba Places can be useful when you need to learn more about your tablet and how to receive support when it is needed, while SkyScanner can be useful for finding flights.
The WildTangent Games app is a touch based app but it offers for download mostly classic desktop games that don't work well with touch. Most probably you will want to uninstall this app because of this.
We think that you will appreciate apps and programs like Office 365 Personal, Spotify (if you are in a country where this service is available), the Toshiba utilities, Amazon Kindle and the SkyScanner. The others though you might not. We recommend that you quickly test each bundled program or app and remove those that you do not need. It will surely improve the performance offered by the Toshiba Encore 2.
Performance in Benchmarks
Now it is time to compare the Toshiba Encore 2 with the first Toshiba Encore, Asus Transformer Book T100 and T200. We ran several benchmarks and compared the results obtained for all these devices.
We first measured how fast this device starts, using BootRacer. The Toshiba Encore 2 boots, on average, in 34 seconds, even though it has some bundled programs that run at startup. This is a bit slower than the first model, which started in 28 seconds but better than the start time offered by Asus Transformer Book T100 and T200.
We also ran the 3DMark app from the Windows Store to measure gaming performance. In the Ice Storm Unlimited test (the most detailed test available), the Toshiba Encore 2 had a score of 14436. That is 6% lower than the first Encore's score of 15386.
Let's see the overall score obtained by the Toshiba Encore 2 and the ones obtained by its competitors. As you can see Asus Transformer T200 was the top performer in this test.
Since the overall score doesn't tell you much, let's take a look at the frames per second that were obtained in each test.
When we evaluate the battery time, we generally use the Peacekeeper benchmark that tells us how much the battery lasts while browsing the web. Because of the wireless connectivity issues that we had, we could not use this benchmark. Instead, we ran Powermark. When using the Balanced benchmark which runs web browsing, word processing, video and light gaming workloads, the battery of the Toshiba Encore 2 lasted exactly 5 hours, which is a good result in our view.
We mentioned earlier in this review that Toshiba Encore 2 took about 3 hours to charge itself. Below you can see a comparison with the charging times of its competitors. As you can see, it fares very well.
Verdict
Toshiba Encore 2 is a good looking tablet, with good build quality, good performance and an affordable price tag. It works great for users who do not need to use it as productivity device but only as a tool for consuming all kinds of content. If you want a tablet that allows you to browse the web, check your email, Facebook, YouTube and so on, then Toshiba Encore 2 is a great choice. If you want to do more and use it as a productivity device, then you should consider investing in additional accessories or you should purchase a more expensive hybrid device with Windows 8.1.
