- Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Great Tablet for techies or almost anyone!"
Pros: Good Specs, Solid System
Cons: Closing Latch is funky
Summary: THE GOOD
I have had my eye on a tablet PC for a long time. The problem I always had was this, I am a technical manager at a company that makes internet appliances.
This means that as a tech I need a good system, with a decent processor and a decent amount of RAM and screen real estate etc. All of the tablets I looked at were pretty weak. Small screen, small amount of RAM and a pathetic processor. This system did not suffer from the ususal spec weakness.
While a 2GHz isn't the fastest, it is at least passible for a day to day use system, the 1 Gig of RAM is definately nice, especially with 533 FSB and DDR RAM.
Since I spend a large amount of time in meetings, I have spent far too much time converting written notes into digital form. Sure I could type my notes, but since we are discussing software design etc. there is a lot of diagraming, something that cannot be typed. Over the last few weeks of using this thing, I have fallen in love with the ability to take my notes right on the screen. I figure that this ability is saving me at least .5 to 1.5 hours a day.
I use this thing in laptop mode most of the time, right now I am holding the unit on my lap and typing this review. A common problem with most of the convertible tablets has been the swivel/hinge causing the monitor to shake during typing. The swivel/hinge on this laptop does NOT have that problem. There is absolutely 0 movement of the hinge while I type this.
The performance of this system matches well with the specs. One of the things I was happy to see was that this system does not have tons of useless software loading at startup, the way that most OEM systems do. There is nothing worse than a powerful system slowed by 10 OEM installed applications. The only application I had to stop from launching was an Acer quick launch app. Kudos to Acer on that front.
THE BAD
The closing latch on this thing is my only major concern on this system. With all of the other laptop systems I have owned the latch closed automatically when the screen was closed. For some unknown reason this one does not. You have to close this one manually. Since the screen rotates the latch can come down a little out of alignment, so you have to line it up, then you have to move the latch slider over to latch the screen closed. This is true whether the screen is closed in tablet mode, or storing mode. It isn't horrible, you get used to it, but it does seem like a silly design flaw.
THE UGLY
The DVD writer is a litte slow compared to some others. But it does get the job done.
The unit is a little heavy for a tablet system, but I knew that when I bought it, so I didn't factor that into my overall score. But it should be noted for those that will hold the unit for long periods of time.
OVERALL
The way I see it, there are two types of tablet users. There are the tablet users, that will use the system as a laptop, using the keyboard for input most of the time. But will need the ability to write or draw on the screen occasionally for meetings or design etc. The other kind of tablet user will carry the tablet around making notes, etc. on the system (such as a doctor, nurse, or floor manager in a manufacturing facility.)
If you are the 1st type, where you want a laptop with occasional tablet use, this is the system for you. That is not to say that this is lacking tablet functionality, the tablet input works great. This system is just simply too heavy to cradle in your arm all day. However if you will be in a conference room like me, with a table or a lap to set the system on, it works great. If you plan to cradle the system in your arm all day, look elsewhere, this is a heavy system for that use.
I did my research on this purchase, and I am happy with my purchase. The only thing that kept me from scoring a 10 was the silly design of the closing latch on the system.
As a side note, I purchased from mpsuperstore (Marine Park), a C-Net rated store. I was extremely unhappy with their service and should have spent a little more elsewhere.Updated
My opinion has not changed. I still love this system. I have gotten used to the latch, but I do wish the pen had a teather. I am deathly afraid of using it.
