A selection of question we have been asked and the answers we have provided.
Q. When will the SL8 be available ?
A. The wifi SL8 in in stock now, however the 3G+GPS enabled devices are due in March 2011. We are still waiting for the docking station to be certified and made available
Q. How much are they?
A. Around £450 + VAT depending on volume
Q. Is the screen capacitative or resistive?
A. It is a capacitive screen, with 2 point multi-touch
Q. What is the battery life when connected to Wifi?
A. Approximately 3.5 hours
Q. What is the time to recharge?
A. From fully flat, the recharge time is around 90 minutes
Q. Are any plans to release a high capacity battery?
A. There are no plans around the battery, just the hardware surrounding it. We know we can get more life out of the battery by looking at different chipsets/decoders etc, these will be something to watch out for in future releases.
Q. How do I turn the slate on?
A. Press and hold the power button on the back for about 6 – 8 seconds
Q. Screen rotation takes a fair amount of time for the orientation to change, are there any tweaks available to improve this?
A. Screen rotation is a Windows 7 feature so is not in the control of hardware. Microsoft are working on some interesting developments however, so watch this space…
Q. We have our own copies of Windows, can we purchase the SL8 without an OS at a lower price?
A. Yes, we can supply the slates without an OS / with the OS non activated at a lower price.
Q. What accessories are available?
A. At the moment the only accessories are the docking station and a ruggedised case. Silicone sleeve, waterproof wipe clean bag, padded case, stylus, Bluetooth keyboard & mouse to follow.
Q. What software is installed as standard?
A. We provide the SL8 with Windows 7 Professional and appropriate drivers for the hardware. We recommend opting for IE8 (though we tend to run Chrome as well) and enabling the Windows 7 touch features
Q. What is the warranty?
A. We provide a 12 month Return to Base warranty as standard. Note that the extended warranty does not cover the battery.
Q. What happens when the open slots on the back are covered? This may be required to ensure no contaminants get in or out of the tablet (critically important in theatres and ICU)
A. We have a company ready to supply a ‘breathable’ silicone, which lets the fans expel air/heat, but does not let alcohol gel etc in. When running on battery power the SL8 can be set to use passive cooling, so the fans are turned off.
Q. Have any tests been done on cleaning the device with antibacterial wipes/solutions, etc?
A. The capacitive screen will be the only part of the device exposed and this can be wiped clean (the rest of the device should be fine too, apart from alcohol gel in the ports – so anti-bacterial wipes are fine. We are also evaluating a waterproof carry bag that allows the SL8 screen to be used through the plastic; so can be cleaned with mediwipes etc.
Q. Does the SL8 include a smartcard reader?
A. No, this is not available in this model; however we are evaluating a bluetooth smart card reader that can be used with NHS smartcards and the slate.
Q. How can I use the non-3G SL8 when I’m mobile?
A. Even without the 3G enabled SL8 you can still use it when away from a wifi signal. Since the SL8 has a USB port you can use a standard 3G USB dongle. Alternatively many modern smart phones provide ‘tethering’, allowing you to use their 3G connectivity from other devices. Often this is via a USB connection between the phone and the slate; we have also had great success using the wi-fi hotspot feature in Android 2.2 phones, getting better connectivity and speed than using a dongle.
Q. Can I use other capacitive stylii?
A. Yes, any capacitive stylus can be used successfully and many of them sold as iPad accessories etc.
Enabling SL8 HDMI out
Q. How do I connect the SL8 to an external monitor?
A. The SL8 has a mini HDMI out – you need a mini to standard HDMI lead which can be plugged into a modern widescreen display or other AV equipment and into many monitors. Once you have connected the devices you need to use Display Media Control (look for the CH7036 application in Programs), then click the Digital Television On/Off button to enable the output.
Q. Do you recommend using the onscreen keyboard or pen/handwriting input?
A. Capacitive screens do not offer the precision of resistive screens, so handwriting input can be a bit hit or miss. We have had good success with the Writing Pad mode in Windows 7, but we tend to prefer the onscreen keyboard. We also recommend docking it to the bottom of the screen in portrait mode – it’s easier to type on and avoids your palms resting on the screen below the keyboard and confusing the multitouch sensors. If you have large fingers then using a stylus to type with can be effective. We are actively evaluating alternative input options for the slate as well as offering a bluetooth keyboard.
Q. Is there a way of mounting the SL8 or using it as a kiosk device?
VESA/public access mounting for SL8
A. CyberD UK are trialing / developing the SL8 for use within the Kiosk industry, they are developing a secure VESA mount steel case that can be bolted down similar to the iPad case they already have. http://www.cyberd.co.uk/hardware/iStand.htm
Q. Does McAfee SafeBoot (as used by the NHS) support the SL8? Surely there is no onscreen keyboard since Safeboot loads before the OS?
A. SafeBoot has it’s own on screen keyboard solution for these types of device to avoid this issue. We have now successfully tested Safeboot with the SL8, using Autoboot mode and the Safeboot SSO everything runs fine.
Q. How good is the SL8 as an eReader?
A. Personally, I love it. Switch to portrait mode and it’s a great device. The screen is bigger than an iPad etc. so you can see more and read it without zooming etc. The SL8 weighs in at around 900g, so you wouldn’t want to hold it at arms length for mor than a few minutes, but assuming you can rest it from time to time it’s great. And the touch interface works well for this application.
- SL8 for reading docs
Q. How do I choose boot up options pre-boot, since there is no on screen keyboard?
A. The soft key in the corner can be used to step through options prior to Windows booting. A quick tap scrolls through options and a hold activates the current option
Q. How can I extend the battery life?
A. There a re quite a few settings that can be tweaked in Windows and we tend to go for pretty quick turn off for the screen and a shift to standby after about 5 minutes. We have also turned the Aeroglass effect off which seems to help a bit. We are evaluating the option for a car charger for mobile workers and also the external pack rechargers such as these:
- 11,000 mAh battery pack – good for 2 recharges of the SL8: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B004CHMP50/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_4?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFourStar
- 5,000 mAh pack – good for 1 recharge: http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Trent-Dual-port-IMP50D-Blackberry/dp/B004AM1OK4/ref=pd_cp_ce_2_img
- Or an equivalent, with connectors for iPads etc: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Veho-VCC-A007-PBP-5000mAH-Portable-Battery/dp/B003F5WEMO/ref=pd_sxp_f_r
Q. Are new Bluetooth drivers available, there have been some issues with mine since Windows 7 SP1?
A. The new Bluetooth drivers are here. Choose the “11680409 docking.zip” file.
Q. How can I boot the device using PXE?
A. Unfortunately this is not supprted by the docking station (whihc provides the ethernet card)
Q. Where can I find the latest drivers?
A. Drivers and applications are available on the Zoostorm site downloads area. The touchscreen update is here:
http://downloads.zoostorm.com/drivers/tablet/SL8/firmware/Lucid_72A1v1006h_FWUpdate.zip
