Acer W510 vs Surface RT

[NickA]

Acer Iconia W510 Windows 8 Pro tablet available at Microsoft's online store for $399 | Windows Phone Central

Anyone thinking of selling their Surface for this Acer? I know is has lesser hardware and no Office, but is being able to run any Windows application a good trade off? I really like my Surface, but I see it's limitations after having it for a month. Well, limitations for what I want to do with it. And at $399, it's a good deal.

 

[oldpueblo]

I wouldn't assume the hardware is lesser, the atom in there is a brand new design. Here's a rough idea for how they stack up (the samsung has the same chipset):

http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-8-architecture-wars-part-1-clover-trail-vs-arm

Also http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/review-samsung-ativ-smart-pc

 

[stephen_az]

Which apps do you plan to add to a 32GB Windows 8 tablet? Windows 8 will take at least half of that 32 GB by itself not including swap file/cache. Add a few large apps (Office, Photoshop, Acrobat,) and you will find you are limited to MicroSD for file storage and access. I can assure you that will slow down performance and the device is hardly a performance record setter in the first place. I have also seen nothing on Acer's web page or at the Microsoft store to confirm it is any more than a MicroSDHC slot. Throw in as well that you give up the full size USB port for a micro-USB port. That then makes using external drives a bit more of a nuisance. Altogether, I view this as an example of you get what you pay for and what you are paying for is not very much.

 

[NickA]

Which apps do you plan to add to a 32GB Windows 8 tablet? Windows 8 will take at least half of that 32 GB by itself not including swap file/cache. Add a few large apps (Office, Photoshop, Acrobat,) and you will find you are limited to MicroSD for file storage and access. I can assure you that will slow down performance and the device is hardly a performance record setter in the first place. I have also seen nothing on Acer's web page or at the Microsoft store to confirm it is any more than a MicroSDHC slot. Throw in as well that you give up the full size USB port for a micro-USB port. That then makes using external drives a bit more of a nuisance. Altogether, I view this as an example of you get what you pay for and what you are paying for is not very much.

There a time tracking/invoice app that I'd like to use on a tablet (I'm a developer and it would help when visiting clients). There's also a financial app I use that syncs the desktop version with my iPad. There's nothing in the RT store that fits my needs for this situation, and I have years of data invested into this system.

The downside to the Acer is the keyboard dock is 250 bucks. It does add 9 hours of battery life, but now you're talking 650 bucks. For that price I would probably wait and see what the Surface Pro pricing is, or consider an ultra book.

 

[Dos101]

There a time tracking/invoice app that I'd like to use on a tablet (I'm a developer and it would help when visiting clients). There's also a financial app I use that syncs the desktop version with my iPad. There's nothing in the RT store that fits my needs for this situation, and I have years of data invested into this system.

The downside to the Acer is the keyboard dock is 250 bucks. It does add 9 hours of battery life, but now you're talking 650 bucks. For that price I would probably wait and see what the Surface Pro pricing is, or consider an ultra book.

Surface Pro won't be less than $999, guaranteed. Though I would still choose it over an ultrabook (even the dirt cheap ones) given how nice the formfactor of Surface Pro is.

 

[martinblank64]

From the reviews of the W510 that I've read, I think you will be very disappointed in build quality going to the W510 from the Surface. I would also not be surprised if the screen is worse on the W510.

 

[NickA]

From the reviews of the W510 that I've read, I think you will be very disappointed in build quality going to the W510 from the Surface. I would also not be surprised if the screen is worse on the W510.

Yeah, I tend to agree after looking more into it. And it's not 399.00 anymore. The low price for a full W8 tablet is what initially attracted me. But the keyboard dock being 250 bucks is a deal breaker.