Acer Announces Aspire Switch 10
by Brett Howse on April 29, 2014 7:00 PM EST
Acer took the wraps off of a new product today – the Acer Aspire Switch 10. This is a new take on the two in one for Acer, offering a Bay Trail-T equipped 10.1” tablet with a magnetic detachable keyboard design. The keyboard offers two hooks to connect the tablet to the keyboard without requiring a latching mechanism, but more secure than a comparable Surface keyboard.
Acer claims four modes for the tablet. First, there is Notebook mode, where the keyboard is attached the normal way, and Pad mode, which is just the tablet. That’s all fairly standard in a two in one Windows tablet. The other two modes are based on the fact that the magnetic latching system on the keyboard is actually reversible – there is a Display mode where the display is simply turned around, and a tent mode where the display is turned around and the keyboard slightly folded up to give the same effect as a Surface with kickstand.
None of this is new to the Windows tablet scene of course– the Asus Transformer Book T100 offers a detachable keyboard, and Lenovo has several devices such as the Yoga and Flex lines which offer the four device modes, but Acer has done a unique take on it with the combination of reversible and detachable keyboard.
Specification wise, it’s a pretty standard tablet. The device has a Bay Trail-T quad core processor (actual model number not disclosed), 2 GB of RAM, up to 64 GB of storage, and a 1366x768 10.1” IPS touch display. Where Acer seems to have focused their efforts was in dimensions and mass, where they are claiming a 8.9 mm thick chassis (20.2 mm with keyboard) and 0.59 kg (1.29 lb) weight for the tablet alone, and 1.17 kg (2.58 lb) for the combination.
| Two in One Computers | ||||||
| Acer Aspire Switch 10 | Asus Transformer Book T100 | Microsoft Surface 2 | ||||
| Dimensions |
H: 0.35" (8.9mm) W: N/A D: N/A |
H: 0.41" (10.5mm) W: 10.35" (263mm) D: 6.73" (171mm) |
H: 0.35" (8.9mm) W: 10.81" (274mm) D: 6.79" (172mm) |
|||
| Weight | 1.29lbs (590g) | 1.21lbs (550g) | 1.49lbs (676g) | |||
| CPU | Intel Bay Trail-T | Intel Bay Trail-T Z3740 | NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 | |||
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics | Intel HD Graphics | NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 | |||
| RAM | 2 GB LPDDR3 | 2 GB LPDDR3 | 2 GB LPDDR3 | |||
| Storage | 32-64 GB | 32-64 GB | 32-64 GB | |||
| Display Size and Resolution | 10.1" 1366x768 | 10.1" 1366x768 | 10.6" 1920x1080 | |||
| Battery | N/A | 31 Wh | 31.5 Wh | |||
| Price | $379 with keyboard | $349 with keyboard | $449 without keyboard | |||
Other notable features are a zero air gap (direct bonded) display, which should help dealing with external light sources, and an auto brightness feature they are calling LumiFlex which they claim will help with colors when using the device under varying lighting sources. As to what this will actually do, we’ll have to wait for a review sample to see. Acer is also supporting Windows 8.1 InstantGo which is the new term for Connected Standby and Bitlocker enabled storage.
Also, there's an optional keyboard dock with 500 GB of internal storage - no other specs of this accessory were announced.
Overall, the Aspire Switch 10 looks like a nice two in one, with an aluminum rear cover with a cross brush pattern. Prices start at US $379 with availability in late May.
Source: Acer
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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/28v3ntghybrid2d4x4 - 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 10asmart2012 - 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 T100Brett 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..