Has anybody owned or tried the Acer Iconica W3?

[Scienceguy Labs]

You think that's good. One of my field supervisors has an iPad and it's funny to see him lugging that thing around trying to take pictures of documentation and trying to email them. I just finished installing the drivers for a portable Brother scanner I use. Can't wait to pull that one on him next time I'm at the hospital we're working on. Like tomorrow.

Cheers to you for spreading the W3/Win 8 word!!! I teach, so apple products are spreading through my field like a cancer. I'm a lonely beacon. Agreed...It is quite funny seeing people take pictures with that giant slab. Might look into the scanner you mentioned. Sounds pretty cool.

I'd go ahead and pull the trigger on the 8.1 Preview install....but the official release is just around the corner, so I guess waiting is a logical choice.

 

[fatclue_98]

Cheers to you for spreading the W3/Win 8 word!!! I teach, so apple products are spreading through my field like a cancer. I'm a lonely beacon. Agreed...It is quite funny seeing people take pictures with that giant slab. Might look into the scanner you mentioned. Sounds pretty cool.

I'd go ahead and pull the trigger on the 8.1 Preview install....but the official release is just around the corner, so I guess waiting is a logical choice.

Picked up the scanner on eBay for about $20 a year ago. They also go by the Pentax name. It's cool because it's USB powered. TigerDirect sells a Polaroid external CD/DVD burner for $40 that's also USB powered and is literally plug/play - no drivers at all. It's great to be able to use legacy peripherals on a tablet-sized device. Maybe the 8" Toshiba that's coming soon does have a better screen. There would be absolutely no other reason to ditch this little marvel.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Picked up the scanner on eBay for about $20 a year ago. They also go by the Pentax name. It's cool because it's USB powered. TigerDirect sells a Polaroid external CD/DVD burner for $40 that's also USB powered and is literally plug/play - no drivers at all. It's great to be able to use legacy peripherals on a tablet-sized device. Maybe the 8" Toshiba that's coming soon does have a better screen. There would be absolutely no other reason to ditch this little marvel.

Cool. Thanks! I will look into those.
I'm sure the screen will better, but for the price, the W3 is just fine by me.

 

[aximtreo]

I bought the W3 from one of the attendees at the recent SF dev meeting. I got the keyboard, 64 gig unit. I paid just over 300 for it. Worst investment I have made and I've had two wives so you see how bad it was. I sold it to someone as a first student computer and it will serve this person for her needs.

I then jumped on the Surface RT refurb offering for 199 and have not looked back. I got the 64gig unit with a type cover and love it. The screen is larger, a bonus for me, and the speed is much greater. I would suggest the Surface RT over the W3 as a good investment,

 

[z33dev33l]

Commenting for later reading purposes.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Well, to each his own. The Surface RT does have many high points that the W3 just can't compete with. I agree with you. Having said that, however...the W3 is a PC, which is worth something to me. Plus, I only paid $249.00 for it! My RT serves its purpose for me. My W3 serves its purpose as well.

 

[ajst222]

I take it you got the RT?

I did get the RT, yes. I think an ideal setup for me would be the RT, along with a higher powered desktop. And then of course my phone. I really do enjoy the Surface. The battery life is great and I love the touch cover. I have already been a fan of Windows 8 so obviously another plus there.

 

[fatclue_98]

I did get the RT, yes. I think an ideal setup for me would be the RT, along with a higher powered desktop. And then of course my phone. I really do enjoy the Surface. The battery life is great and I love the touch cover. I have already been a fan of Windows 8 so obviously another plus there.

I really wanted to get the RT but I need to plug in peripherals. Being an ARM-based device that wasn't going to work very well. The way I see it, it's a win-win situation. You get what you need, I have what I need while a certain fruit company and a little green robot can only admire from afar. As I had mentioned to Scienceguy Labs a few posts ago, I'm having some real fun watching iSheep turn as green as the Android robots seeing what I can do with my W3.

 

[cckgz4]

I was really debating the W3. I'm worried about the surface being too big. 8" is a sweet spot

Sent from that other device using Tapatalk

 

[z33dev33l]

Screen is about the quality you see on those 40 dollar Chinese tablets, it feels like it might hold together well enough but the build quality is definitely cheap and the amount of lag received while doing the mist basic computing is pretty dismal. I appreciate that they're the first to do what they did but I'm waiting for someone to come along and do it better.

 

[TeknoBlast]

I was really debating the W3. I'm worried about the surface being too big. 8" is a sweet spot

Sent from that other device using Tapatalk

I dont like rumors, but it's been said that a Surface Mini might be in the works. I really hope it's true.

 

[ajst222]

Screen is about the quality you see on those 40 dollar Chinese tablets, it feels like it might hold together well enough but the build quality is definitely cheap and the amount of lag received while doing the mist basic computing is pretty dismal. I appreciate that they're the first to do what they did but I'm waiting for someone to come along and do it better.

I'm completely with you. I would definitely be willing to pay more for a higher end 8" tablet.

 

[ajst222]

I dont like rumors, but it's been said that a Surface Mini might be in the works. I really hope it's true.

It's not true. WPCentral there would not be a Surface Mini in a blog post

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Sort of off topic, but... is the W3 capable of taking screen captures? I can't seem to figure out if it can or not.

 

[cckgz4]

As soon as I decided on this, I saw this article:

Asus announces the T100: Windows 8.1 device with 11 hours of battery life just for $349 | Windows Phone Central

I think I'm going for that bad boy

 

[fatclue_98]

As soon as I decided on this, I saw this article:

Asus announces the T100: Windows 8.1 device with 11 hours of battery life just for $349 | Windows Phone Central

I think I'm going for that bad boy

Hope it does better than the Toyota pick-up of the same name.

 

[ajst222]

Hope it does better than the Toyota pick-up of the same name.

The T100s were a solid pickup back in the 90s. But the Tundra is probably what it should have been the first time. I'm a Tundra man myself

 

[fatclue_98]

The T100s were a solid pickup back in the 90s. But the Tundra is probably what it should have been the first time. I'm a Tundra man myself

I meant sales-wise. The V-6 T100 was a decent (but pricey) alternative to the S10 & Ranger, the 4-cylinder DX was a dog.

 

[ajst222]

I meant sales-wise. The V-6 T100 was a decent (but pricey) alternative to the S10 & Ranger, the 4-cylinder DX was a dog.

The Tacoma competed with the Ranger and the S10 but the T100 was unusual because it was larger than midsize pickups but smaller than a full size. Anyways...back to tablets haha don't want to get too off topic.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Just wanted to let the other person on the planet that owns the W3 that Staples is selling the Acer Iconia W3 official keyboard/case for $24.99. Picked mine up today. Also, they had the HDMI to VGA connector for $6.99. Didn't need that, but just wanted to pass along the info.