Acer's Iconia W700 Ivy Bridge Windows 8 Tablet: The Start of Something Big ( very responsive)

Anandtech. ^ | 6/9/2012 12:45:00 PM | Anand Lal Shimpi

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

My first meeting of Computex wasn't a meeting at all, rather it was Acer's press conference a day before the show officially started. In its press conference, Acer introduced a top to bottom lineup of touch enabled Windows 8 devices.

Among the list were two particularly interesting tablets: the Iconia W510 and W700. The former is an Atom (Clovertrail) based tablet with Transformer-style keyboard dock, while the latter is a full fledged Ivy Bridge based tablet. On my last day in Taipei I managed to secure some extended hands on time with the W700. I'm always asked what I was most impressed by at any trade show, and I'd have to say for this Computex it was definitely Acer's W700. It's not just a good device, but it's also the start of something very big.

At first glance Acer's entire Windows 8 lineup looks significantly improved from the company we knew just a few months ago. There's a lot more attention paid to styling, ergonomics and the user experience of these new Windows 8 devices. For example, where we could once complain about subpar displays, the W700 puts an end to that with its 11.6-inch 1080p IPS panel.

The W700's build quality is excellent, however the handful of devices that exist in the world today were all hand built. I was surprised to find fairly polished Windows 8 tablets at Computex, and it turns out I was right to be surprised. Everyone worked overtime to get devices ready by Computex, in most cases resorting hand building prototypes to the tune of $10K a piece. W700 will be a launch vehicle for Windows 8.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Be sure and see the video....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[Scutter]

This kind of device is why I have been waiting for Windows 8 to launch before replacing my rapidly deteriorating MacBook Pro. I want something I can travel with, download photos from my camera, and plan routes for my Garmin GPS. The only thing that I see that is missing is an SD card slot - but that’s no big deal; I can just attach an external SD reader.

[ak267]

This has caught my interest. Once docked, could I use a USB mouse?

[ak267]

this is sweet, would love to use it for canvassing my precincts

1. Precinct maps (with cell tower GPS)
2. Houses to visit in the precinct which are high lighted
3. Talking points on what to say
4. Key policy positions
5. Annotate notes when you visit a house
6. Video of candidate asking for their vote

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

The next few years in tech ought to be interesting.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

The next few years in tech ought to be interesting.

[Batrachian]

You have a MacBook Pro but are not gravitating to an Ipad?

[reg45]

Yes! I saw the earlier model Acer Iconia tab W500 at the Microsoft Store. It could use touch, a touch stick (the one that looked like a pencil eraser), or a Bluetooth mouse. I assume a USB mouse would work also.

[TChad]

Be sure and see the video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QhmSi9WOtY

Nice.

[Scutter]

I can’t do nine tenths of what I need to do on an iPad. If I just wanted to read email and browse the web, I could use my HP TouchPad.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest. The next group of Macs will (eventually) use Ivy Bridge. This Acer W700 tablet may cook along nicely, but could wind up having lousy battery life and a too-high price.

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/05/14/apple-to-release-thinner-macbook-pro-at-wwdc/

[snip] Bloomberg confirms a report from earlier today that Apple is preparing to release thinner MacBook Pro models with Retina displays. The models are to be released at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on June 11 and will also include flash memory to “cut startup times and extend battery life”. The report is likely a “controlled leak”, something that Apple PR has been known to do in the past to share product details. [/snip]

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/10/photos-of-claimed-new-15-inch-macbook-pro-logic-board-show-nvidia-gt650m-retained-layout/

[snip] An alternative explanation relates to claims put forth late last week by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who indicated that a thinner, Retina-capable Mac notebook would appear as a third member of the MacBook family with Apple continuing to offer the existing MacBook Pro alongside the new model for the time being. In that case, these leaked photos could represent the updated version of the current MacBook Pro with the new notebook still remaining under wraps. [/snip]