Acer's new tablet-notebook fails to live up to its big brother
Acer has rolled out its tablet-notebook hybrid series. Two weeks ago I reviewed the W700 model, the big brother that made a good impression on me. Today's question: Will this positive impression transfer to its little brother, the W510?
Specs at a glance: 10.1'' HD touch screen, 1.8GHz Intel Atom, 2GB RAM, 32GB SSD storage with Micro SD slot, 8MP camera with LED flash, weighing around 0.6kg with a 3650 mAh battery.
For those who missed the W700 review, it is a powerful hybrid-tablet that can replace most of the functions of a traditional desktop system. Sadly, the W510 doesn't follow that path.
Acer went down another path by using an Intel Atom CPU. The Intel Atom is made for office-centric productivity and it doesn't do well with graphic-intense apps or multitasking.
Browsing in Google Chrome or IE was a pleasant experience when they were the only programmes running. With three or more programmes active at once, however, the W510 gets slower and slower.
Still, the Intel Atom should be enough for normal usage e.g. surfing the net, writing articles or watching movies. And since it is a power-efficient system, users will get up to eight or nine hours of battery life along with a slim and light design.
Its light weight will ease the burden for users who wish to carry it around, but if you put it in your bag, it will be noticeable.
Unfortunately, the slim design comes at a price. For instance, the HDMI and USB ports are both shrunk, so users must carry an adapter. If you forget, well, you are out of luck.
One significant problem I found is the limited storage space. It offers only 32GB and the space accessible to the user is far less. Realistically, you can't store anything on this machine since installed third-party programmes will leave you with just 7GB (reviewed system). This is unlike the W700 with 64GB storage. With storage, bigger is better, right?
The screen of the W510 is bright and colourful _ you can view and touch your content. But remember that typing a long passage using an on-screen keyboard will not be as comfortable as typing on a desktop keyboard.
A removable keyboard is available for purchase as an accessory. This item will give users a keyboard, a trackpad and an additional external battery. By combining all these features, the W510 will transform itself into a netbook with a 16-18 hour battery life.
On the OS side, in theory, Windows 8 has a double life. When you want to use it as a tablet, you mainly stick to the ``modern-style'' interface, with its touch-friendly apps and games. When it's time for work, you pop over to the desktop, where all your existing Windows software is supported.
The problem is that neither side works well at this point in time. Windows 8's app selection, for now, is nowhere near the catalogue available for iOS or Android. On the laptop side, its computing power is crippled due to the Intel Atom CPU.
The reviewed system is a Wi-Fi-only version, but although Acer gives users a 3G option, it becomes more expensive.
Overall, despite the W510's power of a netbook with a Windows system, which has given me the tools to write this article, I could have done most of the work on my iPad.
comments powered by Disqus
