Acer Iconia Tab W500
Notebook Specifications
Notebook: Acer Iconia Tab W500 (Iconia Tab Series)Processor: AMD C-Series C-50
Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon HD 6250
Display: 10.1 inch, 16:10, 1280x800 pixels, glossy: yes
Weight: 0.97kg
Price: 500 euro
Average of 11 scores (from 15 reviews)
Reviews for the Acer Iconia Tab W500
Source: Computer Active
The Acer Iconia Tab W500 is baffling. It tries to bridge the gap between full notebooks – which Acer makes well – and tablets, and fails at both.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/25/2011
Rating: Total score: 40%
Source: PC Advisor
With a large proportion of corporate customers, we can see why Acer decided to take a punt on a Windows-based tablet. Unfortunately, a desktop OS just doesn’t cut the mustard here, and bolting on a keyboard only makes matters worse. Look to an Android tablet instead or choose a low-cost laptop if Windows is what you need.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/13/2011
Rating: Total score: 60% price: 70% features: 60% workmanship: 60%
Source: Techcentral.my
Overall, the Acer Iconia Tab W500 works better as netbook than a Tablet. If you are looking for a lightweight netbook primarily for surfing the Web, the W500 fits the bill nicely.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/11/2011
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Pocket Lint
The Iconia Tab W500 wants to be the best of both worlds; in the end it's one of the nicest Windows tablets we've seen so far (barring the small size of the on-screen keyboard) and that's both praise and complaint. Windows 7 does do touch pretty well, but it's always going to be an afterthought for all but a few apps. There's a lot you can do well with touch on Windows, from browsing to playing all of your media (especially in Windows Media Center which works as well for fingers as it does for a remote control). It's the other apps that you want Windows for in the first place that don't always work well enough with touch. You have the keyboard as a fallback, but that's not quite ergonomic enough to really make this the perfect combo. But if you have a tablet PC with a swivelling keyboard that you long to be able to rip off (and you already know what compromises you'll be making), you'll love the Tab.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/09/2011
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Trusted Reviews
The Acer Iconia W500 is a device that does the tablet cause no good. The keyboard dock is clumsily implemented but without it, using Windows 7 becomes a chore. After a few more passes from Acer's design bods it could have been closer to a winner, but as is it's too bulky to beat rival Android tablets and not convenient enough to worry ultra-portable laptops.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/09/2011
Rating: Total score: 60% price: 70% performance: 60% features: 80% mobility: 60% ergonomy: 40%
Source: V3.co.uk
The design flaws together with a total price of £519 to get the dock could put off some users, however the fact that the tablet runs Windows could make it attractive to businesses.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/04/2011
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: It Pro
We could put up with the W500's numerous shortcomings if the battery life was long, but even here the W500 is disappointing. In our light usage web browsing test it lasted just under seven hours. This is long compared to 15in laptops, but most netbooks and some ultra-portable laptops can last as long as ten hours. When playing H.264 video, the battery ran for just under five hours. This might seem impressive at first glance, but it pales in comparison to the iPad 2 which lasted 17 hours in the same test. The bottom line is that you'd need to keep the charger close by when using the W500 just so it doesn't ran out of battery power when you need it most.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 04/08/2011
Rating: Total score: 33%
Source: PC Pro
A poorly executed and expensive attempt to create a hybrid of two popular form factors.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 03/31/2011
Rating: Total score: 50% price: 50% performance: 33% features: 50% ergonomy: 50%
Foreign Reviews
Source: e-media - 17/11
Comparison, , Short, Date: 08/01/2011
Rating: Total score: 60% price: 40% display: 60% mobility: 20% ergonomy: 80%
Source: Connect - 8/11
Comparison, , Medium, Date: 08/01/2011
Rating: Total score: 50% features: 53% mobility: 12% ergonomy: 59%
Source: Connect - 5/11
Comparison, , Medium, Date: 04/01/2011
Rating: features: 60%
Source: Erenumerique
FR→ENSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/15/2011
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Hi-Tech Mail
RU→ENappropriate price
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/26/2011
Source: Notebook.cz
CZ→ENpositive: display, fan; negative: lack of memory, workmanship
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/26/2011
Comment
AMD Radeon HD 6250: Integrated graphics card in the Ontario netbook processors (e.g. C-50 and C-30) featuring an UVD3 video decoder and no dedicated memory.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
C-50: Dual Core low power processor with an integrated graphics cards. Due to the low clock speed, the CPU should be only as fast as a single core Atom CPU, but offers a faster integrated GPU.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
10.1": The netbook/subnotebook has a quite small display format. Nonetheless, it is a common format for netbooks. The advantage is, that the subnotebook/netbook can be small dimensioned and can be carried easily. Further the small display has the advantage, that it needs few energy, which improves the battery runtime and in consequence the mobility. The disadvantage is that the reading of texts is a bit exhausting for the eyes. It is difficult to use high resolutions. » To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
0.97 kg: This subnotebook is one of the most lightweight of all notebooks and can be carried very easily. There exist hardly any models in this extreme class of weight. 7-9 inch displays are normal for this class of weight.
Acer: Acer Incorporated is a Taiwanese multinational electronics manufacturer. Its product lineup includes desktops and laptops, as well as personal digital assistants (PDAs), servers and storage, displays, peripherals, and e-business services for business, government, education, and home users. Acer is the third largest computer manufacturer in the world (by sales) after HP and Dell Inc (2007). The company owns the largest franchised computer retail chain in Taipei, Taiwan. Originally named Multitech, it was founded in 1976. Gateway and Packard Bell are economically connected with Acer. Market share regarding sales of personal computers in 2007 (market research IDC): HP 18.9 %, Dell 16.4 %, Acer 9.9 %, Lenovo 7.5 %, Apple 5.7 %
56.64%: Such a bad rating is rare. There exist hardly any notebooks, which are rated worse.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
