Acer Iconia Tab W510 Windows 8 Hybrid Tablet

Overall, our time with Acer's Iconia W510 was rather enjoyable. We like the flexibility of having the keyboard dock to enter text, compose emails, and surf the web. We also appreciated the fact that Acer has provided the full Windows 8 experience with a multi-touch display in a compact form.

The W510 is easy to dock thanks to the pegs on the keyboard dock. It may seem like something minor, but anything that helps align the system and snap it into place quickly and easily is definitely something we appreciate. In addition, we like that Acer has included a full-size USB port on the side of the keyboard dock for additional storage and easy transferring of files. Our biggest complaint with the keyboard dock is that the touchpad doesn't support gestures. Although the touchpad functions just fine, the lack of gesture support makes the touchpad feel a bit like it's a generation behind many of the ultrabooks we've tested recently.

 

Battery life with the W510 is excellent; even when undocked from the battery/keyboard dock, the W510 outlasted most systems in our comparison database. For users who require a tablet and/or ultrabook that can last, the W510 offers more longevity than most systems we've reviewed.

If you've considered a tablet or an ultrabook for use in the kitchen, on a plane, or for giving presentations, you'll also like that the W510 can convert to stand mode. By rotating the keyboard on the Iconia W510 back 295 degrees, the W510 can stand at a comfortable viewing angle on a desk or counter.

 

For users who can't decide which is better—a tablet or an ultrabook—Acer's Iconia W510 is a good option that balances most of these features, for the best of both worlds. You'll pay a bit of a premium in comparison to an Android tablet with a keyboard dock but in exchange, you'll get the full capabilities of Windows 8, including the ability to run your favorite and most-needed apps.

 

     
  • Runs Windows 8, not Windows RT
  • Keyboard dock provides additional battery life and flexibility
  • Various ports including USB, microUSB, micro HDMI, and microSD
  • Excellent battery life
  • Touchpad doesn't support gestures
  • Screen resolution of 1,366 x 768 might not be high res enough for some


Tags:  Acer, tablet, Windows 8, W510
Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer grew up around technology. From an early age, she was curious about all things related to computers. As a child, Jennifer remembers spending nights with her dad programming in BASIC and taking apart hard drives to see what was inside. In high school, she wrote her senior term paper on her experiences with building custom computers.

Jennifer graduated from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After college, she began writing full-time for various PC and technology magazines. Later, she transitioned to the Web. In these roles, Jennifer has covered a variety of topics including laptops, desktops, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various consumer electronics devices. When she's not playing with or writing about the latest gadget, Jennifer loves to spend time with her family, capture memories with her camera, and scrapbook.

Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.

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