Acer Iconia W510 and W700 Hands On at IDF
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 11, 2012 5:38 PM ESTIntel had Acer W510 (Clover Trail/Atom based) and a W700 (Ivy Bridge based) Windows 8 tablets in its private press demo room at IDF. Both devices are featured in the video below. There have been some changes to what we reported on at Computex however, the big one is that the W700 no longer has a Thunderbolt port. This is a seriously disappointing change, but I do believe it was Microsoft influenced.
Both the Atom and Ivy Bridge based systems felt really fast. You can get a feel for yourself in the video below:
Gallery: Acer W510 Hands On
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Impulses - Wednesday, September 12, 2012 - link
I dunno, TB and some great docks would go a long way towards making these things more marketable... As a desktop user I could care less, when I get home my laptop just sits idle or acts as third/fourth screen, but if my sole system was a 10-12" hybrid like this I'd desperately want anything that simplifies docking it to a larger display and ample storage.I think Anand being a big fan of TB has less to do with him using a Mac and more to do with him using a laptop as his primary system. I would think anyone with a laptop as a primary system would want TB to succeed and get cheaper pronto.
damianrobertjones - Wednesday, September 12, 2012 - link
I'd actually think that the standard consumer has barely even started to buy USB 3 devices let alone TB.Alexvrb - Thursday, September 13, 2012 - link
Nobody has come up with a real reason for this tablet to need TB. Simple docking? Already has that - you watched the video right? Mass storage? W700 has USB 3.0. It's got HDMI too. Current TB controllers are also a bit expensive in terms of power and cash money too, IIRC.I'm not so sure this was a case of MS pressuring them. Why would they? Win8 laptops will have it, I'm sure.
Now if you're going to tell me that you're going to use it as a gaming system, and need TB for an external GPU... I'm going to recommend therapy.
sean14760 - Sunday, October 14, 2012 - link
Every other tech site is saying it has thunderbolt port and only anadtech is saying it is not, why is this and is this rumor or been actually been proven to be fact? Not trying to discredit the site just want to know if it has one or not before I order it.sean14760 - Sunday, October 14, 2012 - link
Sorry for the horribly written question I would correct it but the site won't seem to let me. Auto correct plus a screaming child has really thrown a wrench into my post.sean14760 - Monday, October 15, 2012 - link
Here is a video posted by a Russian who has acquired one showing it having a thunderbolt port ,can someone at Anandtech please clarify if they are absolutely certain that the W700 does not have a thunderbolt port. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlrwLoJ8Q1IIt may not matter to some but I feel is a rather significant port for a slate and would like to know before I buy one. Can someone at Anandtech please find out.