Acer Iconia TAB W500
Iconia Tab W500 from Acer will arrive on April 15
Acer, one of the biggest producers of gadgets, will very shortly launch a new PC tablet, a model powered by Windows 7 Operating System. This is a tablet which can be associated with a keyboard. Because the Android OS is already used in the latest generation of its devices, Acer decided to launch a Windows 7-powered tablet with a 10.1 inches display already fitted with a dock and an integrated keyboard (this will be sold as a separate option for 100 euros more). Some features included in this new gadget are a 1 GHz processor, a multi-touch display interface, an SSD hard drive with 32 GB capacity and a wrapper called Acer Ring, provided to make access to content easier.
If you look at the market of touch pads / tablets, you will see that almost all manufacturers have opted for a solution with ARM processors, the same processors used in smartphones. Anyway, some producers decided to offer better equipped tablets with a x86 processor and Microsoft Windows 7 as their operating system. This is the case with the Asus EeeSlate EP121 tablet and the newest Iconia Tab W500 model.
AMD Fusion processor
The Acer Iconia Tab W500 is powered by an AMD C-50 processor at a 1 GHz frequency, which includes a Radeon HD6250 circuit for the video card. The model is still not available for a test and a full review but at first look this platform should provide good performance while at the same time maintaining low power consumption. The memory of the tablet is good and with 2 GB of DDR3 RAM and a 32GB SSD the gadget seems to be a powerful one. The new Acer tablet is powered by Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit operating system and should easily handle video movies at 1080p resolution. The multipoint touch screen has a 10.1″ diagonal display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and a 16 / 10 format. The brightness level announced by the producer is 350 cd / m 2 and the contrast ratio is 500:1. Other features of this tablet are a Wi-Fi 802.11n module, Bluetooth 3.0 standard, a memory card reader, a USB port, an HDMI output, a headphone jack and a slot for a 3G extension module. The tablet comes with two webcams, both with a 1.3 megapixel resolution and located on the back and front (for video telephony) of the tablet.
Can be used as a laptop
This time around things seem to look better. Producer Acer provides this tablet with some software designed for the touch interface. One of them is Touch Activity Center, identical to the one already tested on Iconia. The difference is that this version has no stylus provided to handle the tablet comfortably with the Windows 7 interface. You must know that it is possible to use this tablet with a special keyboard. This way you can transform it into a real little laptop with all the features that brings. However, the set weighs about 1.5 kg (970 g for the tablet and 610 g for the keyboard), a value almost similar to that of a notebook, for example. The gadget has a battery with just three cells, but Acer claims that its life is about four hours. If you use the tablet to watch movies and about six hours if you use the gadget for Internet browsing.
Acer will launch the Iconia TAB W500 model next month and the selling price is going to be about 499 euros. If you want the keyboard, too, the price for this device is about 100 euros. Another thing: the 3G version of this model will cost about 599 euros. If you need the keyboard and keypad, you must pay for this set about 649 euros.
Positive points (pros)
* Powerful AMD platform compared to the rivals;
* Impressive display resolution;
* Has two HD webcams included by default.
Negative points (cons)
* The tablet is not very lightweight;
* No stylus provided by the producer.
Technical specifications and features
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium |
| Processor | AMD C-50 |
| Processor Frequency | 1 GHz |
| GPU | Integrated |
| RAM (MB) | 2048 MB |
| Flash memory (in MB) | 32000 |
| Support Memory Cards | SD / MMC |
| Physical keyboard | Optional |
| App Store | No |
| Accelerometer | Yes |
| Display | |
| Size (diagonal) | 25.65 cm |
| Screen resolution | 1280 x 800 |
| Display Technology | LED |
| Color | Yes |
| Touch | Yes |
| Touch technology | Capacitive |
| Multipoint | NC |
| Details Multipoint | 2 points |
| GPS | |
| GPS | Yes |
| GPS mapping | NC |
| Multimedia | |
| Video Playback | Yes |
| Play Audio | Yes |
| Video Recording | Yes |
| Definition video (in pixels) | 640 x 480 |
| FM radio | No |
| Webcam | Yes |
| Definition Webcam | 1.3 Megapixel |
| Integrated Camera | Yes |
| Definition integrated camera | 1.3 Megapixel |
| Connectivity | |
| Headphone | 1 |
| Format headphone jack | 3.5 mm |
| Support for Wi-Fi | 802.11b/g/n |
| Bluetooth support | Yes |
| PC interface | USB 2.0 |
| USB connector | 2 |
| Connector Type USB | Classic |
| USB Host | Yes |
| HDMI Output | Yes |
| HDMI Type | Type C (mini HDMI) |
| Communication | |
| Telephony | Optional |
| Compatible with GSM networks | 850/900/1800/1900 MHz |
| GPRS Compatible | Yes |
| EDGE compatible network | Yes |
| Compatible with 3G (UMTS) | Yes |
| Compatible 3G + (HSDPA) | Yes |
| Dimensions | |
| Weight (grams) | 970 |
| Width (cm) | 27.5 |
| Height (cm) | 19 |
| Thickness (cm) | 1.6 |
im picking up a test unit in 1 hour but i already watched a few videos on youtube about it and its totally awesome!
beats the iPad for sure.
You have to be warned that this is not an Android/iPad toy. This is a real computer ! Cannot be compared with iPad or other tablets in any way….. it is another category. iPad doesn’t have Flash, SDcards, USBs, Ethernet (yes, Iconia has an Ethernet slot ! ), full Office 2010 etc etc. iPad has nothing. So it is nothing to beat.
i agreed with tudor…right now i’m using iconia tab w500
I am using iconia tab w500 for the last three months. All my friends,who own,ipad are repenting now after seeing my iconia. YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING ON AN ACER ICONIA. ITS APROFESSIONAL DEVICE.
IPAD IS JUST AN IPAD,A HANDY MEDIA DEVICE
I have the acer iconia a500 and it puts the ipad to shame good job acer
W500 puts A500 to shame also…I own both. Android-x86 + Win 8 dual boot = W500 PWN’S!