The Windows 10 ready Aspire Switch 10E is the attempt of Acer to capture individuals who wanted to achieve a lot while on the go. It is a highly portable 10.1 inch 2-in-1 that has that "pull it off" option where-in you can use the device as either a laptop, tablet display or tent that basically fits your lifestyle.
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| Meet Aspire Switch 10E in Laptop Mode |
Unboxing / Accessories
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| The packaging |
The Acer Aspire Switch 10E comes in a simple small box and package for a mini laptop / tablet, it contains all the basic things you'll need like the microUSB cables, keyboard, manuals and wall adapter.
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| The keyboard |
Build Quality and Design
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| The textured cover of the Switch 10E |
This is another Acer specialty lately, the build quality and design of their products always feels solid. The Aspire Switch 10E is no exception to that, it comes in a thick and durable looking textured polycarbonate that doesn't feel like it will break anytime soon. When in tablet mode the body also has a nice grip thanks to its textured design and doesn't feel too heavy nor too light to hold.
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| The power button, volume rocker and windows button |
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| The ports like microUSB, HDMI, 3.5 mm jack and microSD card slot |
However, it's still far from a perfect product. There are still few things that Acer can improve on it design wise. First is the keyboard, it's a full compact keyboard but the keys are a bit hard to press and may take sometime before getting used to. Second is the the magnetic lock, as it might be too easy to pull off that might lead you to dropping the monitor / tablet part when you're not careful. Something like a lock mechanism would be fantastic.
Display
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| The display mode |
This is one of the nicest display I've seen for the size. It packs a 1200 x 800 resolution with good pixel density that ensures that you're looking to bright, sharp and vibrant images with good contrast on a bit warmer tone. The colors from this unit also feels more natural compared to the older T100 by Asus. Another thing that I like with the display of this unit is it actually doesn't hurt my eyes that much even with the small screen size and prolonged usage due to the bluelight shield coating it have.
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| The tablet mode |
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| Tent mode, by the way the touch responsiveness of this computer is very good |
Battery Life
The Aspire Switch 10E is advertised to have very good battery life and it's actually true. On my normal usage with max brightness and WiFi on while doing blogging, surfing and Photoshop outside it was able to last me more than 8 hours. That is quite a feat as most laptops few years ago only has 2-4 hours of battery outside. When in normal browsing and lower brightness it was able to last for almost 10 hours which is very near to the 12 hours advertised battery life.
Audio
What I love with Acer is they always manage come out with pretty good audio quality. The speakers of this one is fairly loud that can fill a small room with decent and clear audio output. When it comes to the headphone out, I'm always satisfied with what I'm hearing. It's has that warm sound signature output that has very clean frequencies and nice wide soundstage. This device also has good driving power, it was able to run some full sized Superlux cans that I have here and was able to unleash the potential of the usually hard to drive Havi B3 Pro I IEM and was fairly loud at around 30% of the volume.
Camera
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| Rear camera early in the morning |
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| Flower focus shot |
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| Front camera test |
The Aspire Switch 10E is one of those rare 2-in-1's that has two cameras. Usually, 2-in-1 devices only have a front facing camera, but to my surprise this one has a rear camera aside from the selfie camera. Both can take decent images with the same natural color tone. The rear camera is sharper and can focus better though. This will be good enough for taking instant photos and Skype purposes as long as you have decent lighting.
Performance
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| Free Microsoft office :) |
The Aspire Switch 10E is a performer for a laptop of it's type. It was able to do most of my casual Microsoft office work, browsing and watching YouTube videos with ease. It was also able to run some light games and other productivity apps with no problems at all thanks to the 1.33 GHz Intel Atom BayTrail-T Z3735F processor. I also loved the way that Acer placed here a 64 GB storage instead of the regular 32 GB from its competitors in the same price range. It also has a generous 500 GB of extra storage found in the keyboard dock. However, I faced several problems with it as the keyboard storage disconnects randomly sometimes for unknown reasons.
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| Some system information |
However, when it comes to heavy multitasking and applications the Switch 10E wasn't able to cope up that well as expected which is very understandable for the specs and this one isn't meant to be a heavy performing laptop, but a portable one that can do light to moderate work. What's important here is I was able to run my portable Photoshop and browser at the same time. :)
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| Some benchmarks (For some reason, Geek Bench won't run) |
It also has some special features like the Acer SwitchLock that let's you dock its keyboard only with the tablet it's used so that your HDD data is protected and can't be stolen. As I said earlier, the Aspire Switch 10E is also upgradable to the much awaited Windows 10! :)
Acer Aspire Switch 10E Specs
- Display: 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 px, IPS, touchscreen
- Processor: 1.33 GHz Intel Atom BayTrail-T Z3735F
- GPU: Intel HD graphics
- RAM: 2 GB
- ROM: 32 GB eMMC w/ 500 GB on keyboard dock
- Camera: Front and back
- OS: Windows 8.1 32 bit upgradable to Windows 10
- Battery: 8,060 mAh
- Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth,
- Ports:micro-HDMI, micro-USB, microSD card reader, headphone jack, USB 2.0 on the dock
- Others: available in multiple colors, docking station included, with keyboard, trackpad, USB 2.0 slot
- Dimensions: 262 x 180 x 21 mm
- Weight: 1113g
- Price: PHP 19,990
Pro's - Great build quality, hip design, good screen quality for the size, nice screen quality, decent speed and performance, Free Microsoft office, Windows 10 upgradable
Con's - Very easy to detach screen, a bit thick and heavy, keyboard might take time before getting used to
Verdict
The Aspire Switch 10E is a nice to have on the go tablet / laptop in one. It has decent computing power and large storage for work, school and entertainment. It's also looks good with the toughness to match. This will be great for everyone who simply loves portability without sacrificing too much performance with different modes to fit your lifestyle.
