Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Sci-tech watch, 27: With the RCA Cambio 10.1 inch two-in-one for~ US$ 129, Windows 10 machines move into the educational tablet zone

A few days back, I ran across a new tablet in a local shop, an RCA brand*, RCA Viking Pro 10 2-in-one 10.1 inch Android tablet with magnetic-locking keyboard that looked like an interesting tablet development relative to our education focus. 
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 * NB: RCA since about 1985, has been in effect a licensed brand name rather than a separate operating entity. (A fate similar to that of many other formerly great Electronics corporations.)

It is, and I did a web search. 

Very interesting, and as I saw it is going at Amazon (and Walmart too) for ~ US$ 80 [ --> at Walmart], that looks like a very interesting deal.

But the surprise was its sister that, as headlined above moves windows into the edu tablet zone that is of interest to us here at KF blog:  the  RCA Cambio 10.1 inch two-in-one for~  US$ 129. 

Windows 10 machines are now clearly in the educational tablet zone, especially if we go for say Libre Office as the productivity suite:

Let me clip from a short discussion by Marshal Rosenthal:
By possessing a real keyboard (not software oriented) and a real OS, it bridges the gap between tablet and PC effectively and efficiently as a hybrid that provides the best of both technologies . . . .
[T]he 2 lb. Cambio has a display that's about 10 inches (diagonal) in reality and so provides a bit more space than the more conventionally found 10 inch tablet. The resolution is high enough (1280 X 800) for fine detail to be seen -- be that text or otherwise. There's a microSD card slot for increasing the storage capacity (32GB comes built-in, as does 2GB for memory) and there's also the following outputs which make it suitable for use with accessories that plug in (as there's also Bluetooth, such things as auxiliary keyboards, mice and even speakers can be used): there's a standard USB port (for use with external devices like a hard drive, etc.) and a micro-USB port (for charging) and an HDMI out so you can send the video to an external display or a TV. Sound is conveyed through a built in speaker that provides decent results, in fact the sound is a bit louder than most tablets of this size. Think of the speaker as a casual use, a convenience and just plug in headphones when more quality listening (stereo or otherwise) is desired.

There's also a connection for use with the included keyboard: as noted above, this keyboard has a full set of keys, including those usable with Windows, and there is also a small integral trackpad. The Keyboard doesn’t require being charged by itself and makes a hard connection for a firm fit using magnets as part of the means and then swings over to cover the tablet when not in use or traveling. The keyboard also functions as a kickstand . . .
A video review may be worth watching too:



All in all, a sign of things to come, and obviously something that -- with reasonable care -- is useful right now for home or education or light work purposes. 

For sure, I am taking a closer look. END