Toshiba Encore Mini Tablet Is Perfect to Share, Take Along

When we don’t have much money to spend, we tend to just buy the one device we need. Something that is in the right price range that handles all the tasks we intend to throw at it. But what if we have the opportunity to have an extra, secondary device? What do we choose then? Likely we would choose something less expensive, less fancy, and something we’d feel comfortable handing to our kids.

I’ve found such a mini tablet. Not a headliner, but definitely a good, functional backup and secondary device which you’ll feel comfortable giving heavy use to.

The Toshiba Encore Mini tablet is an affordable and portable option for tablet use on the go. It has a nice heft, and it fits perfectly in my (average woman-sized) hand. This 7-inch tablet will fit in just about any purse or bag, and its dimensions are equally great for apps, watching videos, or doing light work. I like how all of the controls, other than power, are on the top, which makes it easier to avoid accidental activation. There are two cameras, and a speaker at the bottom. The back of the device is white, while the front borders are black. It runs Windows 8.1 and provides all the app and desktop features contained therein.

A few negatives include shipping without a regular plug (it charges over USB), lower-than-I’d-like screen resolution, and low res cameras. There is also no Windows button, but you can reach the Start menu using the Charms on the side of the screen.

Still, the battery life is decent, and that counts for a lot with me. Since it’s a great take-along tablet for entertaining your kids and basic utility use, you’ll want it to survive a short car ride, or a day out running errands. I did some fairly non-scientific tests just to get a ballpark figure about how long the battery would hold up. Fully charged to 100% battery to start, I tested its standby battery life. After 24 minutes it was at 98%. After over 3 1/2 hours it was at 95%. After 6 hours, 93%. Then 28 hours took it down to 64%. I lost track after that, but after 2-3 days, the battery was finally dead.

Next I tested the battery with a video playing via Netflix. Granted, I had turned the volume down, but starting with a 98% battery charge, after an hour it was down to about 80%, 1 1/2 hours to 69%, 3 hours to 37%, and 3 1/2 hours to about 30%. This is plenty of battery to keep your kids entertained for an outing, or to do some work while you commute. It will survive at least one movie, if not two (or several episodes of your kids’ favorite shows).

For full specs, visit the Toshiba site.

Though not a perfect “only” solution to most people’s computing needs, this tablet is my go-to device for entertainment on-the-go, and for handing to people of the young variety.

The Toshiba Encore Mini tablet costs about $100 and is a perfect gift idea, for yourself or others.

Note: As part of the Microsoft Bloggers program, I have been loaned hardware for the purpose of these reviews. The views expressed in these posts are my honest opinions about the subjects involved.