Hands on with Finland's EVE T1 Tablet


    Finland has been known for its mobile hardware, but Nokia and Jolla aren’t the only tablet makers in town. Already on the market is the Eve T1 which an 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet at an affordable €159 price point.

    UNBOXING:

    The packaging of the Eve T1 is pretty simple but looks really designed with a white on black logo on the box – similar to the Windows logo. Inside, you will find the essential with a charger and a user manual. The tablet itself looks like an 8 inch tablet – on the front we find a Windows button and a front camera. On the side, the power button, the volume and a slot for micro-sd. The back is made of a soft surface that feels really nice when you hold the tablet and that insure a certain grip and there is a 5.0 megapixels camera. The ensemble gives a really good impression.

    Below is (clearly) our fist unboxing video that we filmed for fun, but thought we should put on the web.

    THE SPECS:

    • 8-inch IPS HD 1280×800 display
    • Intel© Bay Trail Z3735F 1.8 GHz CPU
    • 2GB of RAM
    • 32GB memory
    • MicroSD card support up to 64GB
    • 4000mAh battery
    • 5MP rear camera
    • 2MP front camera
    • 802.11g Wifi
    • 130mm x 216mm x 9mm
    • Weighs 395g
    • Miracast display

    The 2 GB of RAM places the T1 in the high range compared to its Windows tablet competitors, and allow Windows 8.1 to run really smoothly. The onboard GPS makes it a cool feature compared to other Windows tablets, and weighing in at 395 grams it makes the device lighter than an iPad AIR.

    HANDS-ON:

    The tablet starts up pretty quickly (around 5 seconds) and the first feeling is the familiarity as we arrive on the well known Windows desktop. PC people, such as myself, will feel comfortable with the use instinctively. We find the icons that made Windows 8.1 famous and we also have a normal desktop view that I mainly use.

    First impression is that the screen is pretty responsive, precise with a soft touch, but will catch fingerprints

    The navigation is really instinctive and if you are familiar with your PC, the hands-on will only take few seconds. Few account configuration and you will see your home computer appears. For me, this is the main difference compared to a normal tablet. You have with the Eve T1, a portable device, half-way from a tablet and a laptop. If you need to be on the road, you will have an access to your files, and with the included 1-year key for windows office, you will be able to write your presentations on the go.

    As a hardcore gamer, I figured I had to test out the T1’s graphical resources and power. After the Steam launcher installed (yes, Steam launcher on a tablet), I install CS go and launched it. Surprisingly, it runs really smoothly. The screen is clear, the resolution is more than acceptable and the keyboard response is really fast. Although you will never be able to play as well than on your gaming PC, this is really a good surprise! A few frags later, I realize that the bottom of the device heats a bit, but you imagine easily that you are taking a lot of resources to run a program like this.

    But moving away from steam and looking at app market is still a platform issue. The Windows market is for the moment still quite empty, and Android or Apple users might find themselves bit disappointed with the available contents. This problem might disappear in the coming months with the launch of Windows 10, but for the moment, it might be a deal breaker for some users.

    The Eve T1 provides Bing as a search engine and Internet explorer as browser. Nothing really special on the internet navigation, though with 2 GB of RAM, it loads up pages fast.

    The battery, though going under pressure with the test, provides a really good autonomy (more than 10 hours on running).

    The back camera is solid, and the Nokia users might find a new device to play with as the 5.0 megapixel camera offers clear images. You will find an editing tool included which allows you to edit the colors, the light, an auto-fix and some effects.

    The music player included offers you a direct access to the Windows app market, and to your library on the tablet and from your home PC. The sound of the speakers is really clear for a device of this size and gets a good precision when you use headphones. With the 32GB of memory that you can add, you can carry with you enough music for a business trip without getting bored of your playlist!

    Conclusion:
    The overall feeling about the Eve T1 is really good. The tablet looks solid, offers a simple but effective design and the processor allows you to take a real advantage of it. Finnish hardware designers once again present a quality product that will surely interests the PC users such as myself.

    On the other hand, those unfamiliar with Windows 8.1 may have trouble navigating the interface, and our editor had trouble finding out how to type before seeing the onscreen keyboard button on the bottom navigation bar. Additionally trying to load up Youtube hit a certificate issue which Googling around other reviews seems to be an issue unique to us. There’s a little bit of a learning curve, but certainly not difficult to figure out.

    The T1 is a great in between of a home PC and a tablet, and I will definitively use it as my favorite on-the-go device for professional and recreational purposes. For a first tablet, Eve Technology seems to be on to something.