Questions on the Acer W700

8- If you have had an issue, how have you found Acer customer support? I have no experience with them

 

A very bad attention. It took 1 ½ months to give an answer that still does not fix the problem of WiFi

 

 

9- What's your personal vote? W700 or Surface Pro?

 

Surface Pro

 

 

1. What is the available disk space out of the box for the 128gb model? I have the 64gb model but If i were to guess I would say like in the 90gb range.
2. How do you find the overall quality and reliability? Will it start malfunctioning on me down the road?  Seemed good qualtiy, pretty much all metal, very sturdy feeling, decent cooling design from what I have seen.
3. What issues does this tablet have with hardware/software? Are they easily remedied? (e.g. wifi issue) Wifi was my only issue, it never dissconnected but it would slow down when a bit further from the router. Bluetooth was weird until i just uninstalled the bluetooth suite, otherwise pretty rock solid (I have the i3 version, some people say the i5 one will slow down in games)
4. Do you find the 11.6" form factor and weight/thickness of the W700 as suitable or at least passable for a tablet in mobile/casual situations? Do you think the 10.6" form of the Surface Pro would be better?  At first I felt it was a bit big and the thickness kinda took me by surprise. I would prefer the 10.6 inch but really the 11.6 wasn't to bad, after a while of use I started to like it alot and didn't mind the extra thickness.
5. How is the bluetooth? I use bluetooth for mouse, keyboard, and speakers sometimes all at once.  Bluetooth I just had an issue with my headphones but I just started using the generic windows drivers and all was well.
6. Your personal experience with battery life? Movie watching I tried and it would be about 6 1/2 hours if i just did a bunch of movies straight. Normal use probably in the 7 hour range, I don't think i would expect to get 10 hours unless wifi was off and just like typing something then maybe. Better than most ultrabooks still.
7. If you have had an issue, how have you found Acer customer support? I have no experience with them . Havn't dealt with them yet but I hear good and bad like with every company.
8. What's your personal vote? W700 or Surface Pro? For price the w700, though I would say the surface pro has a better design and has a stylus. If you wanted to spend the extra money.

Ok, here is my perspective.

 

1. I also only have 64GB. I don't use a lot of programs but tons of data. I store my data on TB HD's that are attached to the dock or to 64GB's USB drives. Also, whatever the amount, you can delete a lot of bloatware.

 

2. I've only had it 3 weeks but the build quality looks excellent. It matches ultrabook specs and is contained in unibody aluminum.

 

3.The only issue I had were the wifi/bluetooth issues discussed here. I replaced the wifi driver with the 221 version and I use generic bluetooth. I tested the wifi with my ipad and they are now both about the same. I doubt the wifi is as good as an external device or even a laptop but its now ok for my use. I have a 2 story house with a basement. The router is in the top level. I can receive the net in the basement, although I just tested it there. I use my W700 all over the main level without an issue. I assume future drivers will make it even better but even now its like other tablets - at least my ipad.

 

4. The size is the main issue - both for and against it. Its large compared to other tablets but small compared to other laptops. It can almost be considered a unique device. My main reason for getting it was the larger screen. The issue isn't whats better but how you use it. Its 11.6 inch 16:9 size makes it fantastic for horizontal use but poorer for portrait use. I mainly use it on my lap. Depending on the chair, I use it with the keyboard or the keyboard folded underneath. Although you can carry it in one hand, it would be uncomfortable to hold it too long with one hand. I wouldn't recommend using it on a bus, especially if you are standing. However, when sitting in my chair it runs all my legacy programs and new apps very well. When I first got it, it seemed bulky and unwieldy for a tablet. Howver, after the first day, I was comfortable with it and my ipad seemed small and boxy. Its how you intend to use it - not whats better.

 

5. I only use the bluetooth keyboard and occasionaly a mouse. Since I've changed the drivers they have worked fine.

 

6. I have got a maximum 8 hours but I agree with cylemmulo that 7 hours is reasonable for normal use.

 

7. I have had a few Acer machines over the years but I've never had a problem with the machines so I've never dealt with Acer support.

 

8. There is no right answer. I chose Acer W700. The build quality seemed similar. Acer was cheaper and had twice the battery life. Also, I wanted a larger screen as it suited my use. I am happy with my choice. YMMV.

The 8 hours was when I was researching something and was on the net all day - just research no programs. I also think bluetooth was off as that was when I was having trouble with drivers. Normal use is really about 7 hours now. Yes, I really think nothing is perfect. You buy something that matches your particular requirements.

 

You have control over the hibernate, sleep, shutdown times and also control over what the external button controls. So, the choice is yours.

dont get a acer tablet u will regret it. if u recieve a faulty tablet u wll be stuck with it. just go with the microsoft surface pro. they have a much better warrenty

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shelimp1611 wrote:

After doing a lot of weighing, I decided to go for the Surface Pro, unless anyone here can convince me otherwise. Thanks for everyones help

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I do hope you understand that you're purchasing a product from the same company thatg produced the XBOX 360, widely known for a failure rate as great as 30%, among various other problems.

 

1. Around 90GB; you can delete some of the included bloatware and metro apps to maximize space, though.

2. Hardware quality is very good, in my experience. Everything feels solid and well put together. I don't think it will malfunction down the road.

3. Yes. I downloaded one of the first available fixes for my WiFi and it was fixed since. I don't know why other people are having issues, but I have solved this problem on two W700s so far, so I don't think I'm simply lucky. Odds are, others are not doing it correctly. Honestly, Windows 8 is the biggest software problem. Nothing of Acer's doing.

4. The 10.6 screen of the SP will make the hard to use desktop in W8 even harder to use. I prefer the more generous screen of the W700.

5. Works fine for my mouse and keyboard.

6. Outstanding. Anywhere between 6-9 hours depending on what I am doing.

7. N/A
8. I haven't had experience with them.
9. W700.

you probaly can increase the battery life on surface pro by disable turbo boost, hoping to add some hrs on it. need to test it though.

turn it on if like to game, encode, or compile tasks.

 

anandtech did a good job of review of surface pro. check it out if you haven't already.

 

so if you worried about battery life, just turn the turbo off.

 

 

 

Yes, for me the battery life and accessories were more important than the microSD card and active digitizer, so it wasn't hard to make the decision in favor of the W700. Other people may have different priorities.

@ounkeo:

 

Thanks! Wow, all that sounds AMAZING. Is this the i5 version you're talking about or the i3?

 

They're actually promising the i5 version of the tablet should arrive in Finland tomorrow (Monday), so I'll be posting my own views on things also very soon. I'm quite certain from what I've seen I'll be getting the tablet no matter what.

 

So excited!

 

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Tamale wrote: 

The *only* thing I don't like about my W700 is that it doesn't come with an attachable keyboard WITH trackpad/trackpoint.  That feature alone is making me lust over the thinkpad helix, but considering it will START at $1,500 I consider it laughably high-priced.

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Thinking the exact same thing.  Love that the Helix will have an i7 processor too...but like you said, it's going to be outrageously priced which sucks.