An Arm and a Windows

The Asus TF600T Vivo Tab is being bundled right now with a keyboard docking station (which includes a separate battery that effectively doubles your time before needing to charge) at Microsoft brick and mortar stores for $399, or $200 less than retail. Click here for the slickdeals post.

I stopped by our local Microsoft store and they still have a few available. This would make a GREAT Christmas gift for someone interested in a Windows RT device. It's a little lighter than the Surface, and the screen's a little smaller (11x7 on the Surface vs 10.5x6.75 on the Vivo), but really what you walk away with for $399 is an ultraportable touchscreen laptop. When you close the keyboard on the Vivo it's quite a different feel and look from the Surface. Instead of a cover that also serves as a keyboard and touchpad, you have a genuine dock that adds the battery, keyboard, touchpad, and USB port. Closed you feel like you're holding an extremely thin netbook, or a mini ultrabook.

I'm posting a few pics here of how the Surface and Vivo look side by side.




Just for the sake of consumer objectivity, I'm linking to a less than flattering, but very informative review of the Vivo here. Like most Surface reviews, it's colored heavily by the reviewers opinion of RT's prospects.

Long story short, get the Vivo at a Microsoft store and you end up saving yourself $200 and walking away with a device comparable to if not superior to the Surface w/ Touch Pad Cover.