Since the release of Windows 8.1 and Intel's Bay Trail Atom generation, tablets based on the Windows operating system are growing in popularity. We have tested quite a number of Windows tablets since the beginning of last year, and they have impressed us here and there with a vision of where we are headed: Windows tablets can now be light, compact, relatively high-performance and offer a long battery life too. Combined with the almost unlimited possibilities the Windows operating system offers, this new generation could be exactly the right answer to the Android and iOS competitions. However, while Windows works perfectly with a keyboard and a mouse, it isn’t all that ideal to be paired with a touchscreen, as the number of applications in the Windows 8 store is still too small compared to that in the Android Google Play or Apple App Store, and traditional desktop applications are not quite responsive to touchscreen operations, user experience is compromised.
Forward-thinking manufactures such as RAMOS started experimenting on Android & Windows 8 dual-boot solutions since the very beginning of last year, and even showed their first dual-boot tablet – the RAMOS i10pro in Hong Kong in April, 2014. However, as promising as this idea seemed, the awkwardness of switching between the two operating systems was off-putting: users need to shut the tablet down and then, in the very few seconds after booting the device with the power button, hold the volume rocker to force the slate to enter the OS they choose.
Not until the end of 2014 did the OS switching become less inconvenient, and lots of dual-boot tablets has rushed into the market since then, the iWork 8 Dual Boot Edition we are testing today is just one of the many.
To be fair, Windows 8 isn’t a whole new world to Cube, as it has already released quite a number of Windows tablets since the beginning of 2014, including the much celebrated Cube iWork 10, the medium-sized iWork 8 and the smallest Windows tablet ever - the iWork 7. It even released its first ultra-book tablet hybrid product, the Core-M powered Cube i7 in January. With that said, the dual-boot solution is still quite new to Cube, and we really need to take a look at how this slate actually performs.
Cube iWork 8 Dual Boot Edition specs:
• OS: Android 4.4.4 & Windows 8.1 dual boot
• Display: 8-inch IPS, 5-point multi-touch, IGZO
• Screen Resolution: 1280 x 800 (16:10)
• CPU: Intel Atom Baytrail-T Z3735F Quad-core Processor
• CPU Frequency: 1.33GHz – 1.8GHZ
• GPU:Intel HD Graphic Gen7
• RAM / Storage: 2GB / 32GB
• Function: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, OTG
• WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n
• Camera: 2MP back camera , 2MP front camera
• Battery: 3500mAh
• Extend Port: TF Card Slot, SIM Card Slot, Micro USB Port, 3.5mm Earphones Port
• Weight & Size: 340g / 214 x 133 x 8.8mm
Design
Measuring at 214*133*8.8mm and weighs 340g, the iWork 8 Dual Boot Edition isn’t fighting to be the thinnest or lightest tablet in the world. But by the standards of Windows tablets, it is quite compact. It is noticeably thinner than the original iWork 8, which measures at 10mm thick. And it is also much smaller than the Acer Iconia W4 and the Toshiba WT8.
The plastic rear that makes the device easier to grip, and the silver rim around the edges gives the tablet a premium look.
There are three physical buttons: the Power/standby key on the left side, the Windows/Android Home key and the volume rocker on the top. All of the buttons feel pretty solid and have comfortable pressing depth.
Nevertheless, consider the tablet's price, overall its manufacturing quality is good and slightly superior to that of the Ployer MOMO8W Dual Boot Edition and Chuwi Vi8 Super Edition. Tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S or the Acer Iconia W4 still belong to a completely different class and give the impression of being substantially more valuable.
Connectivity
The iWork 8 Dual Boot Edition offers more connectivity options than most of its competitions on the Windows 8 side. With the Mini HDMI output on it, the user can connect an external monitor or television. This broadens the tablet's range of uses immensely and is a huge benefit. As there is an independent DC charging port, the Micro USB 2.0 port only serves as the connection for data transfer, which means you can charge the device and transfer files at the same time. We measured a maximum data transfer rate of 39.1 MB/s over the USB 2.0 port. However, the Micro USB port can only be used as a host, even after booting into Android, it is not possible to connect the tablet directly to a PC as a flash drive (slave).
The Micro SD card reader can only recognize memory cards with a capacity smaller than 32GB. While the Lenovo Miix 2 8, Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro and some other high end tablets have a cover for their card slots, the Cube iWork 8's slot remains open to the elements.
Bluetooth 4.0 and WLAN 802.11n serve to connect the tablet to the outside world wirelessly. In practice, the iWork 8's signal quality was slightly better than my Acer Iconia W700 and Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, at least subjectively. At a distance of about 10 meters from the router, with two inside walls between the router and the tablet, the Galaxy Tab Pro’s connection with the 802.11n wireless router was severed various times. The iWork 8 still showed 1-2 bars signal strength here and maintained stable contact with the router. And placed on the same table, the W700 can pick up far more hotspots than the Acer Iconia W700.
Display and sound
The glossy 8-inch IPS panel offers a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, which equates to an aspect ratio of 16:10.
The pixel density amounts to 188 dpi, although far from behind those market-leading power Android tabs, it is still nearly impossible to distinguish individual pixels. The manufacturer intends the device to be used predominantly in horizontal format, as you can see from the position of the Windows/Home buttons, webcam and manufacturer logo. In practice, we did used the tablet in landscape format more running Windows 8.1, but we need it to stay in portrait more running Android applications.
The maximum brightness amounts to 344 cd/m², and the panel's brightness distribution is quite even. Differences in brightness are hardly distinguishable with the naked eye.
There are noticeable light bleeding when the background is in total black or when the tablet is viewed from some extreme angles, but not enough to become bothersome during everyday use. The brightness level can be adjusted using the graphic slide control, but there’s no light sensor to help auto-adjust the brightness of the display according to ambient lighting.
To our surprise, the iWork 8 Dual Boot Edition's speakers are clear-sounding, and produce relatively loud, full output that's just good enough to make me forego my headphones while watching YouTube videos. With that said, I still very much needed my Monster headphone when I was listening to music.
System and apps
The major selling point of this tablet is that it runs both Windows 8.1 and Android OS. The nice thing is, Cube didn’t mess with the stock user interface, so we get a clean Windows 8.1 as well as a clean Android 4.4.4. The not so good thing is, the 32GB eMMc internal storage is divided into 2 parts. 24GB is allocated to Windows and 8GB is allocated to Android. The reason why those two systems don’t have shared storage is that it prevents the users to accidentally delete important files of an OS while running the other.
Fortunately, the Windows 8.1 is licensed and the there is even an activation code which offers the users free Office 365 suite subscription for one year, which means you can really get some serious business work done after you connect the tablet to a monitor or TV. Even better, the Microsoft Office 365 works pretty well with a touchscreen, so you can modify your presentations or excel sheets during your business trip.
Booting
You have 10 seconds to choose which system you to enter after booting the device. Simply by touching one of the two icons which respectively represent Windows and Android and you are good to go. If you fail to choose a system in the limited 10 seconds, the tablet will boot into the OS you ran last time.
OS switching
Switching between the two operating systems is easy. If you need to switch from Android to Windows, simply press and hold the power button, and then choose to reboot into Windows 8, and the tablet will do that.
If you are running Windows 8.1, you simply need to open the “Win to Android” app on the desktop, and choose to reboot into Android.
Performance and battery
The iWork 8 Dual Boot Edition is running the same quad-core, Atom Bay-trail Z3735F as the latest budget Windows and dual-boot slabs. The processor has a base clock of 1.33GHz and a turbo clock of 1.8GHZ. There is 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM on board, enough to handle all Android apps and lightweight Windows desktop apps you're likely to be running.
We ran a few benchmarks respectively on Windows 8.1 and Android 4.4.4, and we wouldn’t say that we were surprised with what we got.
