The Acer Iconia W510 Tablet review went out a few weeks ago and since then I’ve had a driver-set update that is worth mentioning. I can also add that I’m still using the W510. It’s really finding a place in my life.
Acer W510 Driver Set V2.04 (08 Jan) is available here and I advise everyone with the W510 to update.
The main feature here is that there’s a huge improvement in stability and it appears that the audio problem is fixed.
The touchpad response, for me, is still a problem and likely to be a hardware issue as it’s still locking into a vertical plane occasionally.
The drivers don’t seem to improve WiFi performance for me either although I’m not having a problem in my main zones of use (at home.)
As for general usage I’m finding the tablet getting a lot of use at home and it’s replacing my (old) 7 inch tablet for a lot of activities. I’m trusting financial transactions to the browser too which is something I rarely do in Android. I’ve found a good set of apps too.
Very importantly though i’m still not using the Acer W510 for any sort of document creation and have decided I won’t risk doing any sort of mobile productivity with the device. I’ve looked at a 11.6 inch Lenovo Lynx but based on the poor keyboard, that’s going back. I’m struggling to find a Clovertrail tablet with a really good keyboard and a built-in battery although I haven’t done extended testing with the HP Envy X2 yet. Anyone?
599 Euro was a great price for the Acer W510 with docking station, despite the cramped keyboard. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it as I’m looking to test a few other Clovertrail and Core devices soon but for the time being, I’m happy with the stability, value-for-money and completely spoiled with the battery life. I tested the ASUS Taichi 21 recently and the 3.5hrs of battery life on that (in exactly the same total weight) is shockingly bad in comparison.
Any W510 owners out there care to put a few comments below? How’s the experience for you?
Chippy, you too are saying that the keyboard is ‘cramped’. What did you expect in a 10″ form factor? I think the KB is fine–as I wrote in my Amazon review, I was able to do 40 WPM in an online (java applet!) typing test.
Agree with you about the stability. Much much better. It has not crashed EVEN ONCE since the update. BTW, the 2.04 update only seemed to update the Processor for me. Did you/others find more things updated?
The track pad is still a bit flaky and I am seriously thinking about having this replaced/fixed through Acer–while the W510 is still under warranty.
Acer W510 is just about the perfect tablet for my needs. Now, if only a Win 8 based 7″ tablet comes out with the form factor like that of Google Nexus 7..
PS. I sat in a corporate meeting this morning. It was quite amusing to hear people reporting crippled online experiences with their iPADs. Ha ha ha!
Thanks for the update Chippy!
meengla – I’m also on the lookout for a smaller Win8 Clovertrail device. My preference would be for a 5-6″ device in a clamshell form factor. Who’s going to resurrect a Viliv N5 and give it a Clovertrail/Win8 makeover?
@Peejay, there is a market for a 5-7″ full Windows 8 Clovertrail tablet. I hope someone is listening….
I expected the keyboard to be cramped, it is cramped. I don’t see your issue. People that have never used a 10″ device need to know that.
I’m looking to get a hardware swap on the device too although I want to confirm that new versions are fixed before returning it and getting another dud one.
Applied update 2.08 this evening. It was installed through Acer’s Live Updater application. The update caused a restart and some firmware updates. A couple of firmware updates had ‘touch’ and ‘keyboard’ in the description.
I can confirm that the trackpad is better than before. Not sure how much better because it is still not quite as responsive as my Toshiba laptop’s but then I may be expecting perfection. Too early to tell yet. Thought to let you guys know.
Apply the 2.04 update. It will most probably be a good update.
I meant ‘Apply the 2.08 update.’ above.
Installing now. Thanks.
I’ve applied this now. I can only say that it doesn’t fix the major mouse problem (where it gets stuck in the vertical plane)
As for typing, I haven’t noticed any improvements.
A have noticed that the unit now charges from the dock when off. In 2.04 I couldn’t get that to work (although it worked on previous builds)
Chippy
Yes, Chippy, the track pad still has issues. I think there is improvement. But I still can’t do simple things like try to re-arrange task bar icons for applications. For example, I recently installed Office 2007 and there the Outlook link pinned to the right-most place; trying to move it toward left side just makes the icon/link continues its slide to the right. Annoying, to say the least.
BTW, Acer has a promo for the W510 (64 gb model) with dock for $649; that’s the lowest price AFAIK.
Chippy, interesting to hear that you’re using the W510 and liking it. I’ve been using win tablets for a while (since the 1st gen of Samsung Q1… and this is the first one that I really enjoy to use – as opposed to “tolerate” ;-) Not because it’s specially fast, because it’s not the case, but rather because it’s more “round”, in my opinion. Also, the battery life is really good. One strange thing that happened to me was that after the first upgrade, a few weeks ago, the battery was draining really fast. For some reason, it was never going to sleep… Now, with the latest update, everything is back to normal.
As per the keyboard, I’ve decided to skip the original one, simply because it was a bit too bulky to me. I’ve ordered one Adesso super-thin that, while not wonderful, does the job whenever I need a “real” keyboard. Also, I’m using the Microsoft Wedge mouse – a tiny yet, yet VERY capable BT mouse. Loving it.
One last comment/question. I’m having a hard time to find a good cover to it, without the keyboard. I’ve tried many already and the one that is working better is the Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10 (first gen) case, because the dimensions are close enough. But it’s really a less than ideal arrangement. Any suggestions here, anyone?
About the track pad issue (you know, the flakiness): I just spoke with Acer’s Tech Support about the problem. He said the software/patches applied couldn’t 100% fix that issue and that some kind of hardware work needs to be done. He wanted me to return the whole tablet because Acer will need to look into ‘synchronization’ between the tablet and the dock. I said I can’t part with the tablet right now but may ship to them later.
I am trying to buy another W510 (this time for my wife who is quite envious of my W510!) and am thinking about using that meanwhile if I do decide to ship back mine to Acer.
PS. I still think the 2.08 upgrade improved the track pad. I can now almost live with this–almost.