Acer Announces Aspire Switch 10

by Brett Howse on 4/29/2014 7:00 PM EST
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  • Godwin - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link

    There is a typo in the computer configuration chart. The Transformer T100 uses a Intel Bay Trail-T Z3740 not Intel Bay Trail-T Z7340. Otherwise good read.
  • Brett Howse - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link

    Fixed!
  • euskalzabe - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link

    Color me interested. This seems like a step up from previous Acer efforts: metallic body, zero-gap IPS and it's not just a typical 2 in 1 but accepts all 4 positions. For the price… I'm genuinely interested in this thing, as tent and movie mode are abilities I've been intrigued by in the Yoga devices, but those don't allow you to snap the tablet off… If battery is up to snuff, I might consider getting this Switch as the price seems quite right.
  • Brett Howse - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link

    As someone who once thought my first Acer would be my last, I have to say this interests me as well. I have a Yoga 2 Pro and those other modes are ridiculously useful - in fact far more than I ever thought they would be.

    This is going to be one machine I keep my eye on. We'll have to wait for the actual release to see the quality of the connection/hinge, and the keyboard/trackpad, and everything else, but it does look interesting.
  • Ortanon - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    For Windows, I prefer 11.6" to 10", but more importantly this 720p/768p stuff is getting pretty tired. I have 1080p on my phone where I don't even care about that, and not on this tablet where it's actually needed. Opposite Day!

    All I've wanted since Silvermont was just a bullet point on an Intel roadmap PowerPoint somewhere is a 11.5" - 12" 1200p* convertible with both laptop and desktop. But 1200p is all over Android and on virtually ZERO Windows tablets, and people keep making the convertibles 10". ARGH. The only convertible with laptop and desktop TO THIS DAY is the wildly overpriced Venue 11 Pro from Dell (which I'll probably end up buying, used).

    I think things will improve with Cherry Trail, but the wait is getting old.

    *I think the best tablet aspect ratio is ~4:3, but 16:10 seems like a likely compromise for a convertible.
  • Impulses - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    The res is acceptable given the price point IMO, if it were double or triple that or it was running an i5 it'd be a different story. As a budget 2nd/3rd system it's intriguing, just like the T100 was, cause it'll run x86 Win and it'll be far more versatile than most systems in it's class (size/price wise).
  • Impulses - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    BTW I have an OG ASUS TF (liked it, eventually gave it to my father tho, along with dock), a N7 2013, an Acer 1st gen netbook that's still kicking around (after RAM/SSD upgrades), and a desktop of course. I've no real need for a pricey laptop, but there's also things I wish I could do on the go that no mobile OS can really handle well.
  • Ortanon - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    Going from 768p to 1200p probably adds about $40 to the BoM, maybe $60. In my mind, that means a Full HD version of the ASUS T100 would be $400. The Venue 11 Pro WITHOUT THE KEYBOARD is $500. WTF!

    Also they're doing a 768p version of the Venue 11 Pro now that's $430 without the keyboard. Just LOL forever. Anyway, the $70 difference does corroborate the ~$50-$60 hypothesis.

    I find 768p to be irritating to use on a laptop, and this is in fact a laptop-class product. In that respect, the low-res thing is just petty penny-pinching. These devices need to be Full HD, minimum.
  • euskalzabe - Friday, May 2, 2014 - link

    Given the 10" size of the screen, 1080p might do more harm than good since Windows doesn't handle scaling very well.
  • p1esk - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link

    I'm not impressed with 1080 resolution. 2.5k should be minimum.
  • xaueious - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link

    When Acer ships Haswell Chromebooks at the same price point as these, who in the right mind is going to go Bay Trail?
  • frostyfiredude - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    You mean the C720? I'd happily take a minor hit from the Celeron Haswell to a Z3770 or Z3740 Bay Trail if it means getting Windows, IPS touchscreen, better build, nicer form factor, probably better battery life and more storage.
  • asmart2012 - Saturday, May 3, 2014 - link

    Conversely, I wonder why anyone would buy a Chromebook if they could get a Switch 10 for the same price.
  • SetiroN - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link

    Yay, more bullshit windows tablets with 1366 pixel displays and 2GB of ram.
  • rituraj - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    The reversible tablet mode was already there in the thinkpad helix. They called it 'tablet plus mode'.
  • KermitAMendoza - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    This is going to be one machine I keep my eye on. We'll have to wait for the actual release to see the quality of the connection/hinge, and the keyboard/trackpad, and everything else, but it does look interesting. http://sn.im/28v3ntg
  • frozentundra123456 - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    Definitely something I would consider. I dont think 1080p is really necessary on a cheap device like this, but 900p would definitely be nice. 10 inches seems like about the ideal size for a detachable as well. I love the idea of a detachable tablet, but unfortunately one has to make compromises in size either way. If the detachable part is small enough to handle easily as a tablet, it makes the "notebook" configuration kind of small. In any case though, my next computer purchase for myself will probably be some device like this. I dont really need a powerful/expensive ultrabook, but something in this price range to take on trips and so forth for e-mail, surfing, reading books/watching movies would be very nice, along with the ability to use the occasional windows app.
  • Valis - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    Don't forget there is a T100 coming out now with the newer Z3775 and 500 GB HDD as an option.
  • asmart2012 - Saturday, May 3, 2014 - link

    Yes hope the combine the 64GB with the 500 GB HD. Wonder how that affects battery life?
  • rocktober13 - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    This really intrigues me. If AMD's new Mullins has respectable battery life, I would like to see Acer swap out the Bay Trail processor for a Mullins and upgrade to a 1080p display. They could possibly do it at the same price point.
  • BillySBui - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    All I've wanted since Silvermont was just a bullet point on an Intel roadmap PowerPoint somewhere is a 11.5" - 12" 1200p* convertible with both laptop and desktop. But 1200p is all over Android and on virtually ZERO Windows tablets, and people keep making the convertibles 10". ARGH. The only convertible with laptop and desktop TO THIS DAY is the wildly overpriced Venue 11 Pro from Dell (which I'll probably end up buying, used). http://sn.im/28v3ntg
  • hybrid2d4x4 - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link

    Potential buyers, beware of the Windows 8.1 InstantGo BS! Specifically the "connected standby feature" which will burn through your battery within 1-3 days while it is sleeping. The spec says it should last ~3 weeks, but my T100 has never made it past ~70hrs of standby before going completely dead since I have hibernate off to save on the little SSD space this thing has (this affects many others on asus forums that doesn't use this in the same way as a cell-phone that you have to charge everyday). MS has disabled conventional sleep, and there is no way you can change the power profile to actually go to sleep. Instead, the tablet will run "maintenance" and other bullshit tasks in standby while on battery even if you have the services set to "only run when plugged in". I bought it as a travel companion and have been burned- coming back from a day of sightseeing to find it completely dead in the evening even though i charged overnight (in standby). This is typical for all the atom-based Win 8.x netbook/tablets!
  • euskalzabe - Friday, May 2, 2014 - link

    So... why don't you simply turn it off while you're not using it? The thing takes like 30 seconds to turn back on anyway. Whatever Asus/MS say about how many weeks the device should be able to run on sleep, all I'd expect is a device that lasts all day and goes to sleep without dying on the same day.
  • Impulses - Sunday, May 4, 2014 - link

    Or just don't turn off hibernation and it'll come on even quicker, what's 2GB less? I guess on the 32GB models it could get pretty tight without proper maintenance.
  • R3MF - Thursday, May 1, 2014 - link

    mullins.
  • lmcd - Thursday, May 1, 2014 - link

    1080p for $70 more would make this king. As it is, this is the same range as the T100 and falls short of the Miix 2 10
  • asmart2012 - Saturday, May 3, 2014 - link

    The Mix magnetic dock is weak in comparison and concerns me. I'm sure I would eventual drop the display on the Mix.
  • asmart2012 - Saturday, May 3, 2014 - link

    I wonder if this comes with Office as the T100 does? No mention makes me think it does not and in that case I would choose the T100
  • Brett Howse - Thursday, May 8, 2014 - link

    It does come with Office.
  • gambita - Monday, May 19, 2014 - link

    Are you going to get a review soon? what did you think of the "docking" i heard the t100 gave some users problems..

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