Surface RT vs. Iconia W510

[jdevenberg]

I feel like we need a thread making this obvious comparison. They are both the entry level devices (price wise) into their device gategory, the Surface RT to Windows RT and the W510 to Windows 8 tablets, both are $499 for 32 GB and no keyboard, both get similar battery life, have 720p screens, and many other similar specs.

So if you are/were hypothetically going to drop $499 on an entry level tablet with no keyboard, which would you get? Which would you reccomend to your friends? And why?

Personally, I'm going Surface RT. Some of the early reviews of the W510 have noted some sluggishness in its performance, which comes from running full Windows 8 on it's entry level Atom processor and cheap build quality. I'm inclined to think the Tegra chip in the Surface will run RT better than the Atom runs full Windows 8. Combine this with the fact that everything I do on my device can be done on RT (well, as soon as the announced Nook Windows 8 app launches). I browse the web, do email, read ebooks, and watch videos (mostly movies and TV shows). RT can handle of that, so I'll go for the higher quality, lower capability of the Surface RT vs. the lower quality higher capability combo of the W510.

 

[theefman]

Good overview of their pros/cons, I do think the Acer may have suffered a bit not being final (as stated in the engadget review) and the recent updated certainly made things snappier on my Acer so I'm not sure the whole picture is known regards performance.

As for which to choose, the Surface wins hands down on build, design, lustworthyness but the Acer counters with full legacy compatibility and keyboard dock with extra battery for even longer battery life. I personally cant see myself using Windows RT so I would choose the Acer based on x86 capability but I can see it being a tough choice for others.

 

[jdevenberg]

If the Acer wasn't ready for prime time, Acer shouldn't have released them for reviews, because those negative reviews are a big factor in me, and I'm sure others, going with the surface over the W510

 

[crystal_planet]

Shouldn't the Asus Vivo be compared as well?

 

[theefman]

They were just previews, engadget clearly says it preproduction and it wasn't a full review, and its quite normal for performance to improve when the final units are available. Acer was probably just trying to get some early PR. Whatever the case, if I was going by reviews I would be waiting to see a final unit tested.

 

[Coreldan]

Surface. The hinge on the Acer keyboard dock (the keyboard part is the only reason I'm getting a tablet anyways) looks questionable, not to mention Acer's general trackrecord.

Surface is just sexy in just about every way possible for me.

That said, the W510 is my second option if for whatever reason I cant get Surface, but MS Finland did confirm Surface is coming, but they just dont know when.

 

[Munkeyphyst]

agreed, the preview hardware is SOP.

The Surface is more drool worthy when compared to the Acer, but the Acer offers much more functionality. Much like the Ipad is more drool worthy (from an average consumers perspective) but the Surface offers more functionality.

The ASUS VIVO is a sexy machine too, but it is $100 more than the Surface... I'm waiting to hear the Samsung Ativ Tab pricing...

 

[jdevenberg]

Shouldn't the Asus Vivo be compared as well?

My comparison was meant to be for the two very entry level devices. Currently that is $499. Vivo is $599, and IMO, offers no compelling reason to get it over the $100 cheaper Surface RT.

 

[feedmylittletroll]

From what I understand the vivo has NFC and a Wacom digitizer built it. For somebody that might be worth the extra 100