During the launch of the Acer Iconia TouchBook, we also got to see its little brother, the Iconia Tab. It is the first Windows 7-powered tablet to be available locally.
What’s interesting about the Acer Iconia Tab is its hybrid design. It comes with a keyboard dock so you can use it as a laptop for lengthy message composition or use it as a tablet for portable browsing and other touch-based applications and games.
The 10-inch display tablet part is where all the action is. It’s powered by the new AMD Fusion C-Series processor C50 with AMD Radeon HD 6250 Graphics to run Windows 7 Home Premium. It has all the ports, card reader and even an optional 3G slot. The 1280 x 800 resolution display isn’t exactly capacitive type but it is still capable of multi-touch support. In fact, it also features the Acer Ring Control Interface found on the Iconia TouchBook. This ring interface provides easy access to commonly used application by using gestures. The tablet is not particularly light, it’s as heavy and feels bulky as the original iPad.
The full-size chiclet keyboard dock is only a keyboard with provisions for more USB ports. It doesn’t charge the tablet but instead draws power from it. With its limited space, Acer included a trackpoint in favor of the usual touchpad.
Personally, I was not that impressed. UI navigation isn’t as smooth as you would find on Android slates and it’s too bulky for a tablet. The ability to dock it on a keyboard makes it an interesting choice for those who wants the best of both worlds, using it as a tablet or as a netbook.
Acer Iconia Tab W500 Specs: |
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Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium |
AMD C-Series processor C-50 |
AMD Radeon HD 6250 Graphics, 256MB dedicated memory |
Acer InviLink Nplify 802.11 b/g/n |
2GB DDR3 RAM |
32GB SDD |
10.1″ HD 1280 x 800 (WXGA) resolution |
Acer Crystal Eye for dual cameras |
2-in-1 card reader |
Ambient light sensor |
up to 6 hours battery life |
SRP: TBA (sub Php30k) |