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Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds

By | April 21, 2011, 5:00am PDT

Summary: Acer continues to roll out new offerings from its tablet catalog. Today’s new release is the 10.1-inch, ultra-lightweight Iconia Tab W500.

Acer continues to roll out new offerings from its tablet catalog. Today’s new release is the 10.1-inch, ultra-lightweight Iconia Tab W500.

The Iconia Tab W500 is targeted at both general consumers and for industry-related purposes (i.e. education and small businesses). Such diversity could make or break this device. While it’s nice that’s its versatile, it might be better if the W500 could fit in a more niche category to compete against the slew of tablets rolling out this spring. After all, most Windows 7-based tablets haven’t found a fit in the consumer category.

At least it’s a very travel-friendly slate as it weights only 2.14 pounds, and it can be paired with a full-size chiclet docking keyboard via USB. However, the battery life is less than impressive at up to four hours of HD video playback and six hours of Internet browsing.

Nevertheless, the spec list of the Iconia Tab W500 is definitely worth a look. For example:

  • 10.1-inch multi-touch, LED-backlit display (1,280 x 800 resolution)
  • AMD C-50 processor
  • ATI Radeon HD 6250 graphics
  • 2GB of DDR3 memory
  • 32GB solid state drive
  • 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth
  • Webcam
  • Connectivity: HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot (expandable up to 32GB)
  • Dolby advanced audio v2
  • Supports Adobe Flash 10.1, 1080p HD video playback
  • Dimensions: 10.83- x 7.48- x 0.63-inches

Two models of the Iconia Tab W500 will be made available, and the major difference is the operating system. Available now, the W500-BZ467 with Windows 7 Home Premium will retail for $549.99, and the W500P-BZ841 with Windows 7 Professional will cost $619.00.

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Acer Inc., Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco.

Disclosure

Rachel King

Rachel King has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted in this blog.

Biography

Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for CBS Interactive in San Francisco. Before serving as a contributing editor at ZDNet in New York City for two years, she previously worked for The Business Insider, FastCompany.com, CNN's San Francisco bureau and the U.S. Department of State. Rachel has also written for MainStreet.com, Irish America Magazine and the New York Daily News, among others. Rachel has a B.A. in Mass Communications and History from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, where she served as art director for the student magazine, Plated.

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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
wanzewurld 7th May 2011
I'm liking mine; on the down-side, the virtual keyboard is awdward - I've typed several characters with my finger hovering about 1/8" above the screen! The battery life is about 5 hours with substantial multi-tasking. The mechanical keyboard is a nice touch with smooth operation taking a little while to get used to. I'm growing more proficient with the machine as time goes by and liking it more as time goes by. I'm not terribly impressed by the operational speed though.
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That's not a bad price for what you get
bobiroc Updated - 21st Apr 2011
And is only slightly more than a 16/32GB iPad.

I wouldn't mind seeing one of these in action.
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
Wanda1223 22nd Apr 2011
@bobiroc HSN today's special preorder $599 with 32SSD and keyboard doc; 5 ez pays of $119.98; 30 days to play - would get you to Asus Eee Pad release. Just sayin'
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
Rick_K 21st Apr 2011
What is Acer claiming for battery life? If the battery life isn?t more than 4 hours, this is not a portable enough device. I do like the thought of a diversified field of products.
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
bobiroc 21st Apr 2011
@Rick_K

It said it would get up to 4 hours of HD video playback and about 6 hours of internet browsing. Still pretty respectable for a small device like that running a full Operating System.
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
Rick_K 21st Apr 2011
@bobiroc
Apparently I missed that part. I do notice that battery estimates tend to be rather generous. My notebook claims up to 7 hours of battery life, but I usually only get between 5 and a half, to 6 hours. I find that respectable, when compared to other units that only average 2 and a half hours.
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Cheaper than the iPad!
Robert Hahn 21st Apr 2011
It's only $257 per pound, versus $384 per pound for the iPad2.
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
bwilkes8@... 22nd Apr 2011
@Robert Hahn
ROFLMBO
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How 'bout spec-wise? Which one is cheaper?
adornoe@... Updated - 22nd Apr 2011
I mean, which one can do more of the things people do with computers, for the money?

Is there a formula for figuring that out?
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
Solid Water 21st Apr 2011
Asus 10.1-inch tablet is also coming on 26th of April: Nvidia Tegra 2, Android 3, all other goodies, ~10 hours on a battery charge, IPS screen, $399 for 16 GiB version, $499 for 32 GiB

It is great to have a choice! wink
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
opcom 22nd Apr 2011
I am starting to like the new tablets, but I always need a large keyboard!
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There is an accessory for that...
adornoe@... 22nd Apr 2011
I hear that some tablets and smartphones are going to start shipping with an accessory known as a magnifying lens. wink

It'll have a double purpose: use to view the tiny screens, and to get a better view of the keyboard keys for typing.
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
babyfacemagee 28th Apr 2011
The tablet pictured above is actually the A500 which is the Android tablet...not the W500 that the article is talking about with Windows.
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
babyfacemagee Updated - 28th Apr 2011
The W500 is a cool device but the Windows 7 is still not a true touch enabled OS. It's a little awkward to use.
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RE: Acer unveils 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500; Windows 7, 2.14 pounds
wanzewurld 7th May 2011
I'm liking mine; on the down-side, the virtual keyboard is awdward - I've typed several characters with my finger hovering about 1/8" above the screen! The battery life is about 5 hours with substantial multi-tasking. The mechanical keyboard is a nice touch with smooth operation taking a little while to get used to. I'm growing more proficient with the machine as time goes by and liking it more as time goes by. I'm not terribly impressed by the operational speed though.

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