Iconia W700 vs Aspire P3

Hi all. I'm looking to get a Windows tablet in the immediate future and after ruling out the Surface PRO on cost, had set my sights on the i5 version of the Aspire P3. I'm currently in Malaysia and can pick this up for the equivalent of UK £480. Today though I came across the Iconia W700, lower CPU performance (i3), but full 1080p rather than the Aspire P3s 720p.

My main concerns on the W700 are the Wifi issues I've read about and the dodgy sounding docking station (slightly less concerned by fan noise and AAA batteries for keyboard I've read about). The W700 can be picked up for the equivalent of £400 so also some savings.

As I will be returning to the UK, can anyone advise whether the tablets have an international warranty? Also, for those of you who have these tablets, are they likely to run without problem or should I be concerned about reliability?

....and the most important question, which do you recommend?

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billsey

WillL wrote:
Hi all. I'm looking to get a Windows tablet in the immediate future and after ruling out the Surface PRO on cost, had set my sights on the i5 version of the Aspire P3. I'm currently in Malaysia and can pick this up for the equivalent of UK £480. Today though I came across the Iconia W700, lower CPU performance (i3), but full 1080p rather than the Aspire P3s 720p.

My main concerns on the W700 are the Wifi issues I've read about and the dodgy sounding docking station (slightly less concerned by fan noise and AAA batteries for keyboard I've read about). The W700 can be picked up for the equivalent of £400 so also some savings.

As I will be returning to the UK, can anyone advise whether the tablets have an international warranty? Also, for those of you who have these tablets, are they likely to run without problem or should I be concerned about reliability?

....and the most important question, which do you recommend?

Wifi issues seem to be limited to a relatively small (but vocal) number of owners. They show up early if you look for them and can be dealt with under warranty. The docking station actually works quite well, but is somewhat less than portable since you can't fold it up into a managable bundle (the 'bent arm' that hold it up is a rectangle of plastic that is bent to a 90 degree angle and no matter how you bundle things it will stick out). It's fine for leaving at home though. If you are traveling and need to have the dock travel with you you will either have to add some bulk to it to keep it from being crushed by enthusiastic baggage handlers or take it in a sturdy carry-on. The warranty should be good pretty much worldwide... Though I don't know how well it would work in North Korea or Iran. :-)

I use mine a lot, 5-6 hours each day, and travel with it a couple of times a month. I've been an active Windows tablet user for several years now though (my first tablet was a Fujitsu running XP), so I'm liable to take something in stride that would bother someone not used to them. I use mine at 125% zoom and find that some buttons can be tough to hit (the 'new game' button on Midnight Sunitaire for instance, though the game hasn't been updated for many years so I'm not surprised it doesn't scale to high resolution screens). I also use it in desktop mode for everything except a couple of games, so I'm not the best person to talk to about Metro interface issues.

jason2234

best thing to do is post the specs and price to compare. the w700 is the better tablet because the screen is amazing but if its running the old i3 there no point compromising cpu over the screen. check to see what cpu the p3 has as some of the y series cpus look slow

WillL

The Windows score for the CPU in the P3 was 6.3, with an overall score of 4.7 (let.down by desktop graphics). The W700 CPU scored 5.6 with an overall score of 5.2 (again, let down by desktop graphics). From the reviews I've read, even though the P3 uses a lower power CPU, the W700 still has the longer battery time. As I don't play games on PCs and use mainly for Office and internet, I'm swaying towards the W700. Given that it is supposed to come with a 3 USB docking station, I think I can used it as a replacement for my desktop too, simply plugging in my full size keyboard and mouse, and connecting to my 23" monitor via the HDMI port. My biggest concern is whether Acer will warranty it from the UK or whether it only comes with a local warranty.