At the start of Computex ASUS unveiled its two tiered approach to an iPad competitor: the 12" Eee Pad running Windows 7 Home Premium on an Intel CULV Core 2 Duo, and the 10" model running Windows Embedded Compact 7 on NVIDIA's Tegra 2. Yesterday ASUS answered some additional questions we had about the models:

- Both Eee Pads have a 1366 x 768 resolution

- Both support 802.11 b/g/n with optional 3G

- 1080p H.264 decode acceleration is supported on both platforms.

- The 10" Eee Pad will not support MKVs at this time

I also got clarification on the minimum focus distance for the camera on the Eee Pad. It's 10cm, not 10mm as ASUS originally told us.

There's nothing terribly surprising about these details, but the lack of MKV support out of the box for the 10" Eee Pad is disappointing. There's enough ambiguity in ASUS' statement to not give up all hope, but I'm not sure this will be the play anything iPad alternative that many were hoping for from the first Tegra 2 tablets.

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  • AugmentedFourth - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link

    Yes, you would still be able to download a codec and the movie would be decoded in software (by the CPU). Since this 10" version is not a fast dual core however, then the CPU probably wouldn't be able to keep up with a fast enough frame-rate to make the experience enjoyable.

    Funny thing is, the 12" with the Core 2 Duo would probably be able to handle the 1080p in software...just barely. My quad core AMD can handle 1080p at about 20% across all 4...but using my ATI GPU to decode the MKV/x.264 my CPU goes down to <5%.
  • xdrol - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link

    The 10" model is NOT Windows 7, furthermore it is not x86. As the article states: 10" model running Windows Embedded Compact 7 on NVIDIA's Tegra 2.
  • GullLars - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link

    What's the storage configurations and options?
  • Lonyo - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link

    Woo for decent resolutions, which no one seems to have mentioned.
    Sure, lack of mkv on the 10" is nice, but 1366x768 resolution is nice. More than low-HD capable and widescreen. Higher resolution than the iPad's 9.7" screen.

    Much nicer than the 1024x600 offerings which other people seem to be heading towards.
  • jonyah - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link

    I was about to download the "Windows Embedded Compact 7 Public Community Technology Preview" to see how it was, but without mkv support, there's no reason to now. I have hopes for the 12" though.
  • lordmetroid - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link

    I would love to get one but not unless there is I/O ports such as for example USB and support to boot from an USB flashstick so I can install a Linux on this device.
  • dingetje - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link

    "The 10" Eee Pad will not support MKVs at this time"

    ^ FAIL
  • Schnoogs - Thursday, June 3, 2010 - link

    Who cares. I think it's funny people think that's a deal breaker over the iPad.
  • jonyah - Thursday, June 3, 2010 - link

    I don't think it's a deal breaker OVER the ipad. The ipad has it's own set of deal breakers, much more numerous than just the lack of support for MKV.
  • Visual - Thursday, June 3, 2010 - link

    It is exciting to see a Tegra 2 at last, but not in a 10" form factor, sorry.
    Call again when it is in a Zune or PSP update, or a cellphone.

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