Being Geek Chic is a blog for stylish geeks, sophisticated nerds and people who enjoy the musings of a complete dork. Join us as we dream of driving the TARDIS, cuddle with our eBooks and test out an iPad sleeve. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi and a team of brilliant lady nerds. Meet the team.
Color me surprised.
After nearly a decade of strict Apple-only computing, the Acer W5 Iconia Windows 8 Tablet actually made a positive impression on me. In fact, I’ve found myself truly enjoying it. Let’s remember two critical things: First, my expectations were super low. Even though I had read a lot of really positive reviews, I still found myself concerned that the Windows 8 Operating System would be too clunky. It’s not. It’s fairly intuitive and has a beautiful graphic fluidity. Second, I have not used a Windows machine since XP, so my learning curve was probably higher than others who were jumping into it from Windows 7.
It’s clear that simplicity has finally won out with this OS. The Atom-Based Hybrid (tablet or laptop) could be the perfect in between for new computer buyers who can’t stomach the cost of a tablet, but want the option. As a tablet, it’s a solid device and one worth checking out. As a laptop, I would have serious reservations.
From here on out, I’m going to give you the ins and outs for how I used it: as a tablet. Overall, it’s surprisingly fun to use. The mixture of colorful apps are playful and more engaging than the iPad apps and remind me a lot of the Kindle Fire experience. Your home screen is like a playground just waiting to be jumped on.
The Good:
1. The Design: There is no doubt that the Windows 8 interface is smooth and beautiful. I like the use of color and had way too much fun changing up the color schemes to my liking. It’s this kind of flexibility that I really appreciate on the Windows devices. I understand Apple’s desire to keep the user from reducing the design to a less sophisticated level, but I ultimately think that if you are going to spend the money on the device, you should be able to make some changes like this. Overall, kudos to Windows 8 on that one.
2. The Weight: This thing is light. It’s about the same weight as my Kindle Paperwhite, which was a nice surprise. Remember, this is without the keyboard attachment though. (It’s 2.8 pounds without the keyboard, just over 3 pounds with it.) This is a double-edged issue for me, because while I like the lightness of the device, the plastic feel is something I may never get used to with non-Apple devices. I’ve decided that I don’t mind it on the casing if it can give me the reduced weight, but that what would truly make it feel more high-end is if the screen was made of something more substantial.
3. Mobile Movie Viewing: Aspect Ratio. Aspect Ratio. Aspect Ratio. I will probably never stop yammering on about this issue. Years ago I publicly complained that if Apple was going to advertise its products as “optimal media devices” then they needed to stick with accepted aspect ratios. The iPhone 5 screen change was a major, “I Told You So.” moment for me. Mark my words: iPad can’t be far behind.
Rightly, the entire range of Windows 8 tablets figured this out early on and this is hands down the best part of this tablet. My gym has drastically reduced the number of channels available on the machines, but with the Netflix app, my headphones and the W5, I’m all set. The screen is surprisingly sharp and not too hard on my eyes, which really shocked me considering the hardware. Set to a low brightness, I found it more watchable than my iPad.
4. The Battery: I can go an entire week of heavy usage (streaming, games and browsing) on one overnight charge. This is impressive.
5. The Storage: Again, if you are using the W5 strictly as a tablet, you’ll be pleased with a 64GB solid state hard drive. If you are thinking you might use this as a laptop, I’m not sure that storage will be sufficient.
6. Plenty of Ports: If you think of this device strictly as a tablet, you’ll be happy to find a lot more ports and connections here than on the Kindle Fire, Nook HD or iPads. There’s a Micro-USB, Micro-HDMI, and a microSD card slot.
The Bad:
1. The Browsers: Internet Explorer and I are just not meant for each other. I just don’t understand why it can’t render pages properly. Updates are constant and yet improvements are lagging. Chrome was fine, but the simple act of zooming into a page was absolutely impossible to achieve. After some Googling, it turns out you have to open a toolbar and then there is a zoom functionality hidden there that’s percentage based. It’s crap. Every website is different - which is why you need the ability to manipulate a page quickly and easily. Additionally, there’s the new Acer Browser, which was fine, but ultimately just a bland branded browser without many features. Firefox was ultimately the most usable and user-friendly, but I was really hoping IE would get it together here.
2. The Price: At $599 (just tablet or $749 with keyboard), it seems utterly impossible to imagine the average consumer holding the W5 with an attached keyboard next to an iPad with a Bluetooth Keyboard and choosing the Acer. I don’t understand the pricing strategy here. Plus, you can get a pretty powerful PC for $749, albeit without a detachable screen.
3. The Back End: When you are downloading certain apps or when you are connected to the optional keyboard, this sleek tablet goes back to the basic version of the Windows desktop you’d expect. To me, this tablet is weakest when it’s trying to be a computer without any real computing power.
If you aren’t an Apple person, you will like this product. It’s smart, sleek and fun to use. Some of the oddities and annoyances of previous Windows OS’s are still around and IE seems impossible to fix, but you’ll be relieved to find an easy to use app store and endless customization options.
Overall: B
Disclosure: The Acer Iconia W5 was gifted to me by Intel as part of their Tablet Crew program. See #tabletcrew on Twitter for other bloggers’ thoughts on the device.
