75

Conclusion: We're mixed

The VivoTab Smart is a lightweight, affordable Windows 8 tablet that's worth considering if you want a hybrid PC that won't break your bank or your back. Weighing in at just 1.3 pounds, the sub-$500 VivoTab Smart offers, as Engadget puts it, "fantastic value for the money," and its optional keyboard is "comfortable to type on." PC Mag says the Smart has "decent battery life" and "solid performance." However, if you can spend a little more, you may want to consider the ThinkPad Tablet 2, which, as Engadget points out, has pen support, a better keyboard, better battery life, and, overall, is "the absolute best tablet in this class."

Buy It:

$428.37
$459.00

90-Day Price History

now
high
$489
low
$419

Critic reviews

7.4
12 reviews
  • Speed and features
    6.5
  • Design and form factor
    7.0
  • Battery life
    8.0
  • Display
    7.0
  • Durability
    8.0
  • Expandability
    6.3
  • Noise
    10
  • Portability (size / weight)
    7.9

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User reviews

9.0
3 reviews
  • Speed and features
    8.0
  • Design and form factor
    9.3
  • Battery life
    10
  • Display
    8.7
  • Durability
    10
  • Expandability
    8.7
  • Noise
    10
  • Portability (size / weight)
    9.3
8.0
Engadget Feb 20, 2013

In absolute terms, the VivoTab Smart isn't our favorite low-powered hybrid ... But it's close. Hands down, this offers more bang for your buck than anything else you might be considering, what with its attractive design, relatively low price point and generous storage.

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8.0
PC World Apr 5, 2013

As a lightweight hybrid that’s more tablet than laptop, the Asus VivoTab Smart is a decent choice. This tablet is both extremely portable and usable, and the full Windows 8 OS is a welcome bonus.

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7.0
Laptop Magazine Feb 15, 2013

It's definitely not a laptop replacement, but the ASUS VivoTab Smart is a pretty good choice for Windows 8 tablet shoppers on a budget.

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7.0
CNET Feb 25, 2013

The combined price of the VivoTab and its quirky accessories (including a great little Bluetooth keyboard) is better than the competition, however, and you won't lose out on any performance or real-world usability by choosing it.

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6.0
PC Mag Feb 21, 2013

As a second or third device, the Asus VivoTab Smart ME400C offers solid performance and all day battery life, with multiple colors to choose from, making it a reasonable choice for tablet-buyers on a budget.

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8.0
Pocket-Lint Feb 13, 2013

But overall, our time with it has been quite positive. No one can argue that it's a triumph of technology and lovely to use. During our time, we had some glitches that were fixed with a full reset of the software, and our only other trouble was with slow Wi-Fi.

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8.0
CNET UK Feb 14, 2013

If you're after a Windows 8 slate for social networking, Web browsing, and playing with apps from the Windows 8 store -- but you want to be able to install your own software too -- the VivoTab Smart would be a wise and affordable choice.

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8.0
phoneArena Feb 17, 2013

Overall we like the VivoTab Smart as a Windows 8 tablet, since it has a lot of features for the price, and can run pretty much any Windows program, though the Intel Atom processor does seem to hold back performance.

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7.0
TechRadar Feb 19, 2013

But the Asus VivoTab ME400 is our favourite Windows 8 tablet yet – it's not as efficient as an iPad, but you can use it with your existing software and have the best of the Start Screen and traditional desktop modes on the same device.

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7.0
TrustedReviews Apr 19, 2013

The Asus VivoTab Smart is a decent attempt at an entry-level Windows 8 tablet, but the issues of any current-gen Atom-powered Windows tablet are hard to forget, and some are worsened by Asus's design decisions.

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8.0
Notebook Check Feb 14, 2013

The tablet scores in mobility with a competitive weight, good workmanship and decent stability. The battery runtimes are viable, but lag slightly behind those of the Android or Apple competition.

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7.0
Digital Trends Feb 28, 2013

You’ll be able to do more with this than with an iPad – even taking the scarcity of Windows 8-specific apps into account – but you won’t be able to do it more speedily and without some frustrations with the interface.

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First Looks

product preview
Engadget Jan 7, 2013

Though we weren't in a position to do a side-by-side comparison, the VivoTab Smart feels thinner and more compact than other Atom-powered tablets we've tested.

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product preview
Laptop Magazine Jan 15, 2013

Though we didn’t get to run many apps on the device, its 10.1-inch, 1366 x 768 IPS screen seemed bright and sharp while its 1.3-pound, 10.4 x 6.7 x .4-inch body felt quite light, particularly in comparison to the 1.44-pound iPad.

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product preview
SlashGear Jan 7, 2013

This machine is relatively light, especially for a full Windows 8 machine ,,, Quite similar to the display on the ASUS Transformer Prime, this tablet has excellent viewing angles and will be prepped for both simple browsing and your on-the-go computing needs.

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product preview
Techno Buffalo Jan 10, 2013

The 10.1-inch LED-backlit IPS display (1366×768) looked pretty good under the bright CES lights, and it felt pretty light, too ... While it seemed to operate smoothly here on the show floor, we wonder how its Intel Atom chip will hold up after more demanding tasks.

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9.0
Wupaz Wupaz

It's a really great tablet, if you need more battery live vs power processing it's a really good choice. I own this tablet for reviewing and if work very good. It's a perfect tablet for extented you PC @ work, for your meeting/email/sharepoint/onenote. Bonus you have nfc and it work great with...

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9.0
ahashan21 ahashan21

its a really good tablet, considering the price. I would hope for two stereo speakers with more sound.. as per the feature, its doing great job... one more thing, the resolution is high enough, so you may face little bit problem with small icons or selections, so better use a stylus

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How it stacks up

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