在我接触到Toshiba Encore之前，除了(Toshiba Encore)Surface Pro 2之外，我还没有使用过作为平板电脑的Windows 设备(Windows device)。在测试Toshiba Encore时，我学到了很多关于使用Windows 8.1平板电脑的真正含义以及该设备的优缺点。如果您想了解有关Toshiba Encore的更多信息，它提供什么以及它的工作原理，请不要犹豫，阅读这篇评论。
Toshiba Encore 拆箱
Toshiba Encore及其包装方式并没有什么特别之处。在包装盒内，您将找到您需要的基础知识，仅此而已：平板电脑本身、微型 USB 数据线、充电器、手册、保修和 Windows 8.1 许可证的产品密钥(product key)，该许可证也用于激活您的Microsoft Office 2013 家庭和学生版(Home & Student)。根据您购买此平板电脑的位置，您可能还会找到包含Microsoft为这款平板电脑推荐的应用程序的传单。
由于价格实惠，包装不包括更昂贵的Surface 2或诺基亚 Lumia 2520(Nokia Lumia 2520)上的支架或类型盖。在包装盒内，您将找到有关平板电脑推荐购买的信息。该清单包括一个有四种颜色的Encore 支架外壳(Encore stand case)、一个在这种平板电脑上非常有用的触摸屏笔和用于安全携带设备的(screen pen)Encore 套筒(Encore sleeve)。您可以在下面找到此设备的完整拆箱视频(unboxing video)。
根据您购买Toshiba Encore的价格和购买地点，您可能还会收到一个橡胶盖(rubber cover)。就我而言，它是绿色的。
硬件规格
Toshiba Encore是一款 8 英寸平板电脑，配备IPS 显示屏(IPS display)，分辨率为 800x1200。它的重量仅为 1.06 磅（0.48 千克），配备的锂离子电池(Li-Ion battery)有望持续使用长达 14 小时。这款平板电脑具有四核运行频率为 1.33 GHz的Intel Atom Z3740，2GB (Intel Atom Z3740)RAM DDR3（其中 1.89 GB 可用 - 其余为图形芯片保留）和三星(Samsung)制造的SSD上的32 GB存储空间(storage space)。它有一个微型HDMI 端口(HDMI port)，一个微型USB 端口(USB port)、一个microSD 插槽(microSD slot)和两个摄像头：一个在后面，一个在前面。不幸的是，东芝(Toshiba)尚未在其网站上发布此设备的详细硬件规格。您只能在Engadget或其他第三方网站上找到它们。Toshiba Encore配备的是Windows 8.1(Windows 8.1) 32 位版本，而不是您可能期望的Windows RT 。这很好，但这也意味着操作系统(operating system)将需要更多的资源才能顺利运行。所有规格都很好，除了一个重要的失误 - 没有USB 端口(USB port)。是的，您可以使用微型USB 电缆(USB cable)并将其连接到各种设备和适配器，但我发现自己想要一个完整的USB 端口(USB port)。此外，您不能使用USB出于显而易见的原因，您想为它充电时使用Toshiba Encore的设备。
使用东芝 Encore
关于Toshiba Encore(Toshiba Encore)，您首先注意到的一件事就是握在手中的感觉有多轻。尤其是在使用像Surface Pro 2这样的设备之后。它的重量仅为 1.06 磅（0.48 千克），携带非常方便。此外，其后盖的设计使您握在手中时可以很好地抓握它。
Toshiba Encore设计为纵向(portrait orientation)使用，按钮也相应排列。我发现这很不幸，原因如下：
- Windows 8.1 在纵向模式下(portrait mode)工作，但看起来不太好，并且在横向模式下(landscape mode)使用它的体验要好得多。要理解我的意思，只需查看下面的屏幕截图以及它看起来有多糟糕。这是与Encore捆绑在一起的Toshiba Places应用程序。在纵向模式下，(portrait mode)一切(Everything)看起来都更加拥挤。
- Windows 按钮(Windows button)和音量按钮之间的距离很远。这意味着在Toshiba Encore上截屏非常困难且容易出错(error prone)。
- 以纵向模式(portrait mode)浏览网页时，网站无法很好地缩放，并且比在横向模式下使用这款平板电脑时更难阅读(landscape mode)显示的文本(text displayed)。此外，屏幕上显示的信息更少。
- 在纵向模式下(portrait mode)使用桌面(Desktop)是一种糟糕的体验，尤其是在您没有鼠标的情况下。在横向模式下(landscape mode)使用桌面(Desktop)稍微不那么令人沮丧，因为有更多的屏幕空间可用于显示按钮和窗口。与之交互时，您的精度略高。
使用Toshiba Encore(Toshiba Encore)的另一个重要方面是它的充电方式和电池管理方式。首先(First)，这款平板电脑只有一个电源计划(power plan)。例如，您不能像在Surface上那样切换到其他计划。此外，电源线(power cable)很短，充电时您无法舒适地使用平板电脑。然后，充电过程非常缓慢。如果在关机状态下充电，电池在 5 小时内充满。那是很多时间。如果您在开机状态下充电并使用它，大约需要 12 小时充电。此外，规格中提到了东芝安可(Toshiba Encore)在睡眠模式下可持续长达 7 天。根据我的测试经验，它不能持续超过 3 天。但是，我确实每天都使用它。当我在给东芝 Encore(Toshiba Encore)充电时，我注意到一个很快变得烦人的错误：我在睡觉的时候让平板电脑充电过夜，而没有关闭它。因此，平板电脑在充电时进入睡眠模式。每天早上，当我拔掉它并开始使用它时，触摸屏没有反应。我不得不强制关闭并重新启动平板电脑才能使触摸屏正常工作。这个问题的唯一解决方案是在让它过夜充电之前完全关闭它。此外，我进行了几次测试，我注意到，如果您让平板电脑充电直到电池 100% 充满，然后您很快拔下电源，屏幕仍然可以正常工作。只有在充满电后长时间插上电源时才会出现这种无响应问题。另一个小问题是，有些时候Toshiba Encore在使用时挂起/冻结，尤其是在您在多个应用程序之间执行多任务时。就好像它没有足够的资源来处理所有的应用程序，它让你等待一段时间，直到加载另一个应用程序或切换到另一个窗口。如果您一次使用 2 到 4 个应用程序，它的性能和响应能力(performance and responsiveness)将保持正常坚韧。就电池使用时间(battery time)而言，东芝 Encore(Toshiba Encore)提供了不错的结果。如果你用它来浏览网页，它可以持续长达 9 个小时。如果你玩游戏或看视频(watch video)，它的自主性会下降几个小时。但是，它永远比笔记本电脑更耐用。我还使用了(rubber cover)与东芝安可(Toshiba Encore)。我(Mine)的是绿色的，看起来很不愉快。使用它时，我发现很难弄清楚电源和音量按钮(power and volume buttons)的位置，而且我不确定我按下了正确的按钮。但是，所有按钮在使用封面时都不会失去响应能力。
就个人而言，我不会仅仅因为它看起来不好看而使用它。但是，如果您有一个孩子会滥用此设备并玩(device and play)它，那么强烈建议您使用保护套。此外，请记住，此保护盖可能不是此设备标准包装的一部分。Toshiba Encore上的相机没有发布硬件规格。前置摄像头(front camera)似乎是一款便宜的VGA摄像头(VGA camera)，可用于进行简短的视频通话，后置摄像头能够录制 720p 和 1080p 视频。但是，录音质量非常一般。
与Toshiba Encore(Toshiba Encore)捆绑的应用程序
不幸的是，东芝 Encore(Toshiba Encore)捆绑了一些桌面软件(desktop software)，尽管它是以平板电脑而非混合设备的形式出售的。您将在其上找到Spotify（仅在少数国家/地区可用）、Toshiba Manuals、Toshiba Service Station、Microsoft Office 2013 Home & Student（需要使用包装内的产品密钥(product key)激活）和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，它表现不佳。我建议我们的读者删除该套件并使用更好的安全产品。还有一些与Toshiba Encore捆绑在一起的基于触控的应用程序：Toshiba Places、McAfee Central、WildTangent Games和Pinball FX2。虽然Toshiba Places在您需要了解有关平板电脑的更多信息以及如何在需要时获得支持时很有用，但McAfee Central 应用程序(McAfee Central app)仅用作查看安全套件(security suite)状态的工具。您不能使用它来管理McAfee LiveSafe - Internet Security。你需要去桌面(Desktop)并为此使用鼠标。我觉得讽刺的是，WildTangent Games 应用程序(WildTangent Games app)是一个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
根据销售国家/地区的不同，您可能会在Toshiba Encore的包装中找到(Toshiba Encore)Microsoft推荐的应用和游戏(apps and games)列表。此列表混合了特定于您所在地区的本地应用程序和随处可用的全球应用程序。其中一些应用程序确实有用，并为其用户提供附加值。该系列还包括提供免费试用的付费应用程序。
基准表现
我所做的第一个测量与启动时间(boot time)的快慢有关。为了衡量这一点，我使用了BootRacer。令我惊喜的是，东芝 Encore(Toshiba Encore)的启动时间平均为 28 秒，尽管它捆绑了一些在启动时运行的试用软件。一个非常好的结果！然后，我运行了Windows应用商店中的(Windows Store)3DMark 应用程序(3DMark app)，该应用程序用于测量平板电脑的游戏性能。在Ice Storm Unlimited 测试(Ice Storm Unlimited test)（可用的最详细测试）中，东芝 Encore(Toshiba Encore)的得分为 15386。相比之下，在相同的测试中，诺基亚 Lumia 2520(Nokia Lumia 2520)仅快 1%，平均得分为 15545。Surface 2慢了 10%，平均得分为 13751，Dell Venue 8 Pro慢了 2%，平均得分为 15086。
接下来，我测量了浏览网页时电池的续航时间。您可以在下面看到使用所有主要浏览器时的持续时间，同时运行Peacekeeper电池测试。
如您所见，当使用专为平板电脑使用而设计的(tablet use)Internet Explorer触控版时，您的电池续航里程可长达 8 小时或更长时间。
判决
对Toshiba Encore(Toshiba Encore)作出裁决是一项艰巨的任务。不幸的是，这款平板电脑不适合极客和 IT 专业人士，除非他们愿意购买支架、蓝牙键盘(Bluetooth keyboard)和鼠标，以便将其用作混合设备。然而，这很快提高了设备的成本，你可能想用这笔钱购买另一台设备，如Surface 2或 Lumia 2520。在我看来，东芝 Encore(Toshiba Encore)适合平板电脑世界(tablet world)的初学者，他们想要一个负担得起的设备这使他们可以浏览网页、做Facebook、YouTube等。对于消费媒体内容和浏览网页，东芝 Encore(Toshiba Encore)是一个非常好的选择。如果你想要更多，你应该去别处看看。
The Toshiba Encore Review - Is it a Good Windows 8.1 Tablet?
Untіl I got my hands оn the Toshiba Encore, I had not υsed a Windows deνice that is made to be a tablet, except the Surface Pro 2. While testing the Toshіba Encore І have learned a lot about what it trυly means to use a Windows 8.1 tablet and the strengthѕ and weaknesses of this dеvice. If you want to learn more about the Toshiba Encore, whаt it offers and how well it works, don't hesitate to read this review.
Unboxing the Toshiba Encore
There's nothing special about the Toshiba Encore and the way it is packaged. Inside the box you will find the basics you need and nothing else: the tablet itself, a micro-USB cable, the charger, the manuals, the warranty and the product key for your Windows 8.1 license which is also used to activate your copy of Microsoft Office 2013 Home & Student. Depending on where you buy this tablet, you might also find a leaflet with apps recommended by Microsoft for this tablet.
Because of its affordable price, the packaging doesn't include a stand or a type cover like on the more expensive Surface 2 or the Nokia Lumia 2520. Inside the box you will find information about recommended purchases for your tablet. The list includes an Encore stand case that is available in four colors, a touch screen pen which can be very useful on this kind of tablet and the Encore sleeve for carrying the device safely. Below you can find a full unboxing video for this device.
Depending on the price you pay for the Toshiba Encore and from where you buy it, you might also receive a rubber cover. In my case it was green.
Hardware Specifications
Toshiba Encore is an 8" tablet with an IPS display working at a 800x1200 resolution. It weighs only 1.06 lbs (0.48 kg) and it has a Li-Ion battery which promises to last up to 14 hours. The tablet has a quad-core Intel Atom Z3740 running at 1.33 GHz, 2GB of RAM DDR3 (out of which 1.89 GB are usable - the rest is reserved for the graphics chip) and 32 GB of storage space on an SSD made by Samsung. It has a micro HDMI port, a micro USB port, a microSD slot and two cameras: one on the back and one in the front. Unfortunately, Toshiba hasn't published the detailed hardware specifications for this device on their website. You can find them only on Engadget or other third-party websites. The Toshiba Encore comes with a Windows 8.1 32-bit edition and not with Windows RT as you might expect. This is great but it also means that the operating system will require slightly more resources to run smoothly. All the specs are fine except one important miss - there is no USB port. Yes, you can use micro USB cable and connect it to all kinds of devices and adapters but I found myself wanting a full USB port. Also, you cannot use USB devices with the Toshiba Encore while you want to charge it, for obvious reasons.
Using the Toshiba Encore
One of the first things you notice about the Toshiba Encore is how light it feels to hold in your hands. Especially after using a device like a Surface Pro 2. It weighs only 1.06 lbs (0.48 kg) and it is very easy to carry around. Also, its back cover is designed so that you have a good grip when holding it in your hands.
The Toshiba Encore was designed to use in portrait orientation, and the buttons were arranged accordingly. I found this unfortunate for the following reasons:
- Windows 8.1 works in portrait mode but it doesn't look great and the experience of using it is much better in landscape mode. To understand what I mean, simply look at the screenshot below and how bad it looks. This is the Toshiba Places app that's bundled with the Encore. Everything looks a lot more crowded when in portrait mode.
- There is a great distance between the Windows button and the volume buttons. This means that taking screenshots on the Toshiba Encore is very difficult and error prone.
- When browsing the web in portrait mode, websites don't scale that well and reading the text displayed is harder than when using this tablet in landscape mode. Plus, less information is displayed on the screen.
- Using the Desktop in portrait mode is an awful experience, especially if you don't have a mouse. Using the Desktop in landscape mode is slightly less frustrating simply because there's a lot more screen space available to display buttons and windows. You have slightly higher precision when interacting with it.
Another important aspect of using the Toshiba Encore is the way it charges and how it manages the battery. First of all, this tablet comes with only one power plan. You cannot switch to other plans like you do on the Surface, for example. Also, the power cable is short and you can't use the tablet comfortably while it charges. Then, the charging process is very slow. If you charge it while it is turned off, the battery is charged in 5 hours. That's a lot of time. If you charge it while it is turned on and you are using it, it charges in about 12 hours. Also, the specifications mention the fact that the Toshiba Encore lasts up to 7 days while in sleep mode. In my testing experience it wasn't able to last more than 3 days. However, I did use it for a bit each and every day. While I was charging the Toshiba Encore, I noticed a bug that quickly became annoying: I was leaving the tablet to charge overnight, while I was sleeping, without turning it off. Therefore, the tablet went into sleep mode while it was charging. Every morning, when I unplugged it and started using it, the touch screen was unresponsive. I had to force a shut down and restart the tablet in order for the touchscreen to work. The only solution for this problem was to shut it down completely before leaving it to charge overnight. Also, I have made several tests and I noticed that, if you leave the tablet to charge until the battery is 100% full and you unplug it soon after that moment, the screen continues to work well. This unresponsiveness issue appears only when leaving it plugged in a long time after it is fully charged. Another small issue is the fact that there are moments when the Toshiba Encore hangs/freezes while using it, especially if you multitask between many apps. It's like it doesn't have enough resources to deal with all the apps and it makes you wait a while until loading yet another app or switching to another window. If you work with 2 to 4 apps at a time, its performance and responsiveness will remain normal tough. In terms of battery time the Toshiba Encore delivers decent results. If you use it for things like browsing the web, it can last up to 9 hours. If you play games or watch video, its autonomy will drop by a few hours. However, it will always last you more than a laptop. I also used the rubber cover that was bundled with the Toshiba Encore. Mine was green and rather unpleasant looking. When using it, I found it hard to figure out where the power and volume buttons are placed and I wasn't sure I was pressing the correct button. However, all the buttons don't lose their responsiveness when using the cover.
Personally, I wouldn't use it just because it doesn't look good. However, if you have a child that's going to abuse this device and play with it, then the cover is highly recommended. Also, please remember that this cover may not be part of the standard packaging of this device. The cameras on the Toshiba Encore have no hardware specifications being published. The front camera seems to be a cheap VGA camera you can use for making brief video calls and the back camera is able to record 720p and 1080p video. However, the quality of the recording is very average.
Apps that are Bundled with the Toshiba Encore
Unfortunately, the Toshiba Encore has some desktop software bundled with it, even though it is being sold as a tablet, not a hybrid device. You will find on it Spotify (which works only in a few countries), Toshiba Manuals, Toshiba Service Station, Microsoft Office 2013 Home & Student (needs to be activated with the product key found inside the packaging) 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 poorly. I recommend that our readers remove this suite and use better security products. There are also some touch-based apps bundled with the Toshiba Encore: Toshiba Places, McAfee Central, WildTangent Games and Pinball FX2. While Toshiba Places can be useful when you need to learn more about your tablet and how to receive support when it is needed, the McAfee Central app acts only as a tool for viewing the status of your security suite. You cannot use it to administer McAfee LiveSafe - Internet Security. You need to go to the Desktop and use a mouse for that. I found it ironic that 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
Depending on the country where it is sold, you might find in the packaging of the Toshiba Encore, a list of apps and games recommended by Microsoft. This list is a mix of local apps, that are specific to your region, and global apps that are available everywhere. Some of these apps are truly useful and offer added value to their users. The collection also includes paid apps that have a free trial available.
Performance in Benchmarks
One of the first measurements I've made was related to how fast the boot time is. To measure this, I have used BootRacer. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Toshiba Encore boots, on average, in 28 seconds, even though it has some trialware bundled with it, that runs at startup. A very good result! Then, I ran the 3DMark app from the Windows Store which is used to measure gaming performance for tablets. In the Ice Storm Unlimited test (the most detailed test available), the Toshiba Encore had a score of 15386. For comparison, in the same test, the Nokia Lumia 2520 is only 1% faster, with an average score of 15545. The Surface 2 is 10% slower, with an average score of 13751 and the Dell Venue 8 Pro is 2% slower, with an average score of 15086.
Next, I measured how long the battery lasts while browsing the web. Below you can see the time it lasted when using all the major browsers, while running the Peacekeeper battery test.
As you can see, when using the touch version of Internet Explorer, which was designed especially for tablet use, you get great mileage from your battery - it will last you 8 hours or more.
Verdict
Giving a verdict for the Toshiba Encore is a hard task. Unfortunately, this tablet is not for geeks and IT professionals unless they are willing to buy a stand, a Bluetooth keyboard, and a mouse so that they can use it as a hybrid device. However, this quickly raises the cost of the device and for that money you may want to buy another device like the Surface 2 or the Lumia 2520. In my view, the Toshiba Encore is for beginners to the tablet world, who want an affordable device which allows them to browse the web, do Facebook, YouTube, etc. For consuming media content and browsing the web, the Toshiba Encore is a very good choice. If you want more than that, you should look elsewhere.
