Review: Acer Iconia Windows 7 tablet (W500)

I envy Engadget for being able to hands on all the new gadgets in town. However, this time I wasn't too far behind trying out the new Acer Iconia tablet W500 which runs on Win7 and comes with an optional keyboard dock! 


Last month, I reviewed the Acer A500, http://jllovegadgets.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-honeycomb-android-30-on-acer.html. Now it made sense.. A500 = Android, W500 = Windows. Oh? you knew it all along? Okie... I must have missed the memo.


My summary of the unit and the complete specs + pictures after the jump.

Summary : 

At the first glance (Picture above) I thought it was a notebook clam design which I can use it as a notebook and clam shut it when not in use. I was wrong. To clam shut it just like the image below, you need to undock the screen, flip 2 flaps and then place the screen on the keyboard. NOTE: it is fastened only by 4 magnets on each corner. And... it is kinda heavy and thick (even when undocked)

Usage? Am not too sure... It will be used as a normal notebook, however it is missing a large hard disk. The touch screen will not be helpful during docking mode. Keyboard is just helpful to type emails quickly and to write long documents. 

Undocking just the screen is neat. As you can bring your documents, pictures or surf internet without much hassle. However, the smoothness of the screen is not to my liking. 

Frankly 32GB for Windows7 is not enough for me. If this is on iOS or Android, it is a different story all together. 

Specs :

Processor	AMD C-Series processor C-50 (1 MB L2 cache, 1 GHz, DDR3 1066 MHz, 9 W)
Chipset	A50M Fusion Controller Hub
Operating System	Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit)
Screen Type	HD CrystalBrite LED-backlit TFT LCD with integrated multi-touch screen
Resolution	1280 x 800
Brightness	350 cd/m²
Screen Size (Diagonal)	10.1" (25.7 cm)
Memory	2GB DDR3 onboard
Storage	32 GB SSD, with mini-SATA (mSATA) interface connector
Graphics	AMD Radeon HD 6250 Graphics with 256 MB of dedicated system memory Supports: Unified Video Decoder 3 (UVD3), OpenCL 1.1, OpenGL 3.1, OpenEXR High Dynamic-Range (HDR) technology, Shader Model 5.0, Microsoft DirectX 11
Interface	HDMI port with HDCP RJ-45 LAN Dual USB 2.0 ports 3.5 mm mini-jack (headphones/speaker) line output 3.5 mm (microphone) line input DC-in
Communication Protocol	Acer InviLink Nplify 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet Bluetooth
Card Slot	2-in-1
WebCam	Dual Acer Crystal Eye webcams with 1280 x 1024 resolution
Docking Connector	Bottom US Keyboard Dock
Battery	Lithium-ion battery
Battery Cells	3
Battery Life	Up to 6 hrs (depending on configuration and usage)
Dimensions (WxHxD)	10.8 x 0.6 x 7.6? (27.4 x 1.5 x 19.3 cm)
Weight	2.14 lb (0.97 kg)

You can look at some of the pictures I took and text from the official website.

Official website : http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/iconia-tab-w500 

 


With the full-size dockable keyboard complete with Ethernet port for fast Internet connections, a USB port for external devices, and the integrated Acer FineTrack™ pointing device with two buttons for effortless navigation, the Acer ICONIA TAB W500 creates a seamless bridge between portability and productivity.





 10.1” HD 1280x800, multi-touch screen for seamless interaction with your digital world. Weighing just 1kg and smaller than a magazine (210 x 280 mm), the Acer ICONIA TAB W500 is supremely portable and perfect for the non-stop Internet lifestyle!