- Intel Atom Z3740 1.33 GHz
- 8" 1280 x 800 WXGA IPS Touchscreen
- 64GB Flash Memory, 2GB RAM Memory
- Micro SD slot up to 32GB
- 5MP Rear and 2MP Front Camera
- 8.6" x 5.3" x 0.4" 0.95 lb.
- Windows 8.1
Best all-around Windows tablet, with associated quirks...
07/05/2015
This review is from: Acer ICONIA W4-820-Z3742G06aii 64 GB Net-tablet PC - 8" - In-plane Switching (IPS) Technology - Intel Atom Z3740 1.33 GHz
Pros:
- Best power-for-buck in a Windows tablet under $300, better than average performance
- Features most sub-$300 Windows tablets do not have (higher quality memory)
- No major issues working with external attachments yet
- Decent battery life, though you have to be a bit diligent about screen brightness and leaving wifi on when tablet isn't in use
- Screen quality issue from the W3 is totally fixed
- More RAM than pretty much any tablet in this end of the market
Cons:
- The same as any small capacity tablet sporting an OS that occupies half its available storage space
- Designed for geeks, not as a techie fashion accessory
- Build quality is enough to pass muster; a bit better than early Samsung Galaxy tablets
- Windows-based quirks and frustrations, especially with OEMs that don't fully test their component selections before putting out these devices
Overall Review:
In truth this really is a great tablet. It can do a ton of stuff and has surprising horsepower for something south of $300. That said, as an owner of this tablet for nearly a year, I can tell you that something in the componentry, when mixed with Windows 8.1 and its innumerable updates, inevitably results in this thing crashing itself, or hanging, or something. At least once a week I have to do a hard shutdown using external buttons, and then restart it because it hangs for reasons like I didn't update Windows, or let Windows update itself (by accident), or let the lock screen shutoff time expire, or some other simple act that causes this thing to lock up and become unusable until you restart it. This isn't every time, but it happens often (I mostly blame Windows and/or whomever wrote bad drivers). I've only had it crash during use once or twice, but guaranteed at some point after you've set the thing down after a period of use, you will come back and be unable to wake the thing.
It works quite well outside of this one issue, though. Even the HDMI out works quite well (make sure you have a mouse plugged in too), and it's amazing what you can do with it. I just wish it would reliably wake any time, every time, like my iPad, which is a few years the W4's elder.
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- Paul A.
-
Verified Owner
-
Owned For:
1 month to 1 year
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