UPDATE (2 Sept, 1133pm): Reader dontfeedthecat pointed out that this tablet might be adapted from an OEM manufacturer’s product from China. However, Intel Malaysia is not able to comment at the moment and stated that more will be revealed on the launch day itself. Read more for details.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE (2 Sept, 1048pm):
Over the years, we have seen numerous attempts by ambitious local companies to come out with their own PC, netbook and tablets. Although many of them vanished into thin air (like the 1Malaysia Pad), that still doesn’t stop others from trying though.
Hence, this is where the upcoming Joi 8 tablet comes into the picture. Scheduled to be launched by Intel and SNS Network this coming Thursday, it is apparently the first local Intel-based Windows 8.1 tablet.
However, so far we have no idea what both companies mean by the word “local”. Specifically, it is not known right now whether the Joi 8 is fully conceived and manufactured in Malaysia or an OEM product that was adapted by a Malaysian company.
In fact, the upcoming Joi 8 is not the first Joi tablet in the market. Prior to this, the Joi tablets line up were consisted of Joi 7 and Joi 10 but both of them were actually rebranded Intel-based Android “whitebox” tablets from ECS Taiwan which is the reason why we are curious about Joi 8’s origin.
Meanwhile, SNS Network has actually listed most of the tablet’s specifications on its online shop Gloo. Apart from running on Windows 8.1 as mentioned earlier, we are also looking at an 8-inch 1280 x 800 IPS display, 1GB DDR3 RAM, 16GB internal storage, MicroSD card slot, 5-megapixels camera on its rear, and 2-megapixels front camera. Interestingly, the tablet comes together with free 1-year subscription of Microsoft Office 365 Personal.
The Joi 8 also features an Intel Atom quad-core processor although SNS Network didn’t specify the actual model in the listing. Nevertheless, we believe that the Atom processor that was equipped into Joi 8 most probably comes from the Bay Trail or Moorefield family since it is a quad-core processor.
Not surprisingly, the price for Joi 8 is not listed at SNS Network’s website at this moment. We guess we just have to wait for its launch this coming Thursday, 4 September. So, stay tuned.
[Source: SNS Network]
UPDATE (2 Sept, 1133pm): Reader dontfeedthecat posted an interesting article from GizmoChina that might provide a glimpse on the origin of Joi 8. At the same time, Intel Malaysia has stated that it is not able to comment on that at the moment and more clarifications will be provided during the tablet’s launch event this Thursday.
https://twitter.com/myintel/status/506825843893477376
