ZTE Grand X

 ZTE Grand X is one of the devices that comes to the mid to entry level market segment and we can expect some nice features with a pretty low price. This might be a decent choice for many users that are not looking to spend allot of money on a flagship device.
Form
The ZTE Grand X may not have the bold, pioneering design of Nokia’s premium models or HTC’s more recent offerings, but at the same time the design has been well thought out and it’s not a bad looking smartphone by any means.
It’s on the smaller side with its 4.3-inch display and although it’s pretty chunky at around 10mm thick, the curved corners work well and the proportions of the bezel around the screen are very narrow, making things look quite sharp.
At the bottom there are four capacitive controls for ‘settings’, ‘home’, ‘back’ and ‘search’, while at the top you’ve got the ZTE logo in silver, a light sensor port and a camera port.
The power button is positioned on the right of the top edge, which we found a bit of an awkward place for it compared to where we’re now more used to at the top of either side.
There’s also a 3.5mm audio jack on the left-hand of the top edge and along the left-side of the phone you’ll find the volume rocker at the top and a Micro USB port towards the bottom.
The front panel feels like fairly sturdy plastic – there’s no real flex to speak of, while the back panel is similarly robust with a rubber coating and a textured surface which gives very good grip, as well as making things visually interesting. The back panel is also contoured into a ‘lip’ at the bottom to help hold the device with one hand.
Aside from the texture and a small chrome ZTE logo in the centre the back panel is highly minimalist, although there’s also the sizeable camera port with LED flash in the top left corner.
Display
As previously mentioned , the touchscreen measures 4.3-inches. It’s a standard capacitive multitouch LCD with a 960×540 pixel resolution, giving a pixel density of 256 pixels-per-inch (ppi).
Picture quality is quite good with a fairly crisp level of clarity – it’s above average for this price point.
Colour reproduction and contrast are also both positive points, though we did find the screen a little dull for our liking even on the brightest setting and you can forget about using this phone in direct sunlight.

 Hardware
Performance is fairly impressive thanks to an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core processor clocked at 1GHz and paired with a ULP GeForce graphics processing unit (GPU).
It’s only got 512MB of RAM but you might be hard pressed to notice.
Admittedly a good deal of the smooth performance is going to be due to the efficiencies of Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) as much as anything else, but consistently there’s no hint of stuttering whether you’re multitasking, browsing or gaming.
Speaking of gaming, Nvidia’s hardware is ideally suited to it thanks to the company’s extensive experience with graphics kit and the Grand X punches harder than you’d think.
It’s quite capable of running graphically demanding games such as Dead Trigger with no performance lag, although the back panel will heat up something fierce and you can expect the battery to drain quite quickly.
For internal storage there’s not very much to work with as the phone only has 4GB but it does support Micro SD cards up to 32GB, which is always useful.
Connectivity is fairly extensive with a 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth, Micro USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, GPS and DLNA.
Software
As the handset runs a stock build of Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich it’s a fast, good-looking and rewarding experience.
However, the implementation by ZTE doesn’t have the stability we’ve come to expect from the platform.
We had two notable issues which were irritating to deal with.
On one occasion a folder we’d put together for the main dock bar bugged in such a way that it simply activated the ‘top’ shortcut from the stack of apps inside when pressed.
The only solution was to delete the folder and start again. Fortunately we didn’t have a second occurrence of this in our entire time with the phone.
The second problem was much more concerning as it happened multiple times.
Quite simply, the touchscreen froze, meaning we couldn’t really do much and were forced to reboot the handset. Fortunately a reboot consistently worked as a solution to the problem.
The odd crash here and there is to be expected on any computing device but it’s incredibly annoying that this error happened repeatedly, suggesting that anyone who uses this handset will have to deal with hiccups on a regular basis.
Admittedly, this sort of thing could possibly be patched out and we’d be interested to see if a bump up to version 4.0.4 of ICS or even 4.1 Jelly Bean might improve things.
As we mentioned in our earlier hands-on with the Grand X, it uses a third party keyboard: the TouchPal Curve.
Curve allows you to input text quite accurately by swiping your finger continuously from one key to another in a single press, and if you enjoy using this system there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it.
However, if you want to use conventional typing you’re best turning Curve off as we found it highly disruptive to normal text input – the two do not sit well alongside each other and you’re going to have to choose.
Aside from these issues, ICS on the Grand X is a breeze to use and very much preferable to either earlier versions of Android or the fussy overlays of other manufacturers.
Imaging
The cameras on the Grand X are nothing particularly special, the phone features a 5-megapixel primary with LED flash. You’ve also got provision for video calling with a VGA front-facing secondary.
There’s really not a great deal to be said here, it’s a budget phone and in this category the camera is usually (quite justifiably) the first thing to suffer.
Pictures and video are on the blurry side as you might expect, but also tend to come out a little dark.
Battery
The handset has a removable 1650mAh Lithium-ion battery pack. We found it’ll last about five hours of moderate use and around two hours of intensive video playback.
For normal use you’re looking at a daily charge here, which in fairness is fairly standard these days.
If you think you’re going to need the phone to be alive for some kind of important call or emergency don’t go playing lots of games or watching YouTube on it because you almost certainly will get caught short.
Final Thoughts
In all this isn’t a bad little phone and we certainly enjoyed our time with it and its Android Ice Cream Sandwich charms. It’s not without it’s problems, however, which are mainly bugs in the operating system.
While we’d be pleased to hear of ZTE rolling out a few bugfixes to combat them there isn’t anything here which would stop us from continuing to use the handset quite happily.
Although the battery life wasn’t low enough to affect our enjoyment of the Grand X we can imagine this being a breaking point for some users.
If you’re looking for something that will keep going for days then this isn’t the phone for you.
If, however, you want an accessible, no-nonsense device running Android Ice Cream Sandwich and for less than £200 then this might be right up your street.



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Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 comes with Windows RT OS and the possibility to be used as a laptop. This certainly is an interesting offer and for users that do not mind Windows RT and are looking for a more compact and smaller device this might be the best solution.
Design:
Without a doubt, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 jumps out most for its rarely seen multi-mode convertible aspect, which is a hallmark of the series. Visually, the Yoga 11’s interesting design scheme is further complemented by its sturdy construction, soft touch matte finish, and streamlined body. Compared to other Windows RT slates, the Yoga 11 is both thicker (0.61” / 15.5mm) and heavier (2.8 lbs / 1.27 kg), but we have to bear in mind that it’s packing along a full-sized QWERTY keyboard for added versatility. To top it off, we truly adore the various positions we can prop it in – essentially giving it some yoga-like moves. Ultimately though, it’s the unique flipping and twisting capabilities of the Yoga 11 that makes it a standout hit amongst the Windows RT crop.
Below the display, lying flush to the surface, is the tablet’s square shaped physical Start button – while the tablet’s sole front-facing camera, a measly 1-megapixel one, is perched on the opposite side.
Considering that the Yoga 11 is more laptop-like than tablet, it benefits from having an arsenal of ports. Around its edges, we find 2 full-sized USB 2.0 ports, a combo 3.5mm headphone jack, full-sized HDMI port, proprietary charging port, a full-sized SD card slot, and left/right speaker grills. In addition, there are a few physical buttons too, the power, orientation lock, and volume control, but unfortunately they’re all nearly flush and difficult to feel out.
Keyboard:
One step ahead of its Windows RT brethren, the IdeaPad Yoga 11 doesn’t require an optional keyboard to broaden its depth. Rather, it’s already there, ready and waiting! For those of us used to typing on a larger sized laptop, there’s some adjustment needed to get a good feel for the Yoga 11’s keyboard layout. However, after a bit of practice, we find ourselves moving relatively quickly. As for the keys, they’re slightly raised and bunched close to one another, but there’s a decent amount of travel with them. In addition to using the touchscreen, the trackpad also works well for a variety of navigational controls. Most importantly, it’s nice to find that the keyboard is deactivated when the Yoga 11 is propped up in its tablet and tent modes – though, it does feel a bit awkward feeling the buttons as we grasp the tablet with both hands.

 Display:
Somewhat expected to say the least, we’re not terribly wowed by the 11.6-inch 5-point capacitive HD Glare Multitouch display, as details lack that sense of sharpness with its 1366 x 768 resolution. However, for most trivial things, such as surfing the web, it’s more than adequate for the job. Despite that, we have to admit that our eyes really take notice of its punchy color tones, which receive more vibrancy thanks to its 350 nit brightness. Viewing angles are good, but outdoor usage still requires some proper shielding from the sun.
Interface and Functionality:
After spending a great deal of time with the full blown Windows 8 experience, it’s surely something trying to get back into the swing of things with Windows RT. Actually, we almost forgot this is the Windows RT, mainly because on the surface, there’s nothing too ornate that differentiates the two. In fact, the Start screen is a familiar one with its dynamic live tiles – plus, the Windows Store is home to a growing list of apps. However, upon going into the desktop mode, we realize that there’s no support for legacy software, which is the single drawback of Windows RT. Regardless of that, it’s nice to see that Lenovo doesn’t add any bloatware out of the box, thus, keeping it as stock as possible. Oh yeah, it’s absolutely stellar to find Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT preloaded!
Going through the Yoga11’s core set of organizer apps, it’s the same usual suspects we’re adjusted to finding nowadays – so there’s nothing terribly new with any of them. From the calendar to mail apps, they all function as we’d expect.
Certainly, the best option for typing is to use the Yoga 11’s physical keyboard, but as an alternative with its touchscreen, we can also rely on the on-screen options as well – especially when we’re using it in tent or tablet modes. Spacious with its layout and responsive, it works as good as the physical one, so it’s a matter of choice on which one to stick with.
Processor and Memory:
Being a Windows RT device, the Yoga 11 relies on NVIDIA’s 1.4GHz quad-core Tegra 3 chipset coupled with 2GB of RAM and the NVIDIA ULP GeForce GPU for its processing might. For what it’s worth, it’s effective enough to handle most tasks, but it easily begins to show some strain with more processor intensive things. For example, it’s buttery smooth navigating across the Start Screen, but when we’re executing some heavy multi-tasking, such as using two apps in split view, its performance tends to stutter a tiny bit. Luckily, it’s never to the point frustrating.
Sure, it’s lugging around a 64GB SSD inside of its body, but when it’s all said and done out of the box, it translates over to roughly a little over 40GB of free storage. Nevertheless, the full-sized SD card slot and USB ports are there to supplement its capacity.
Internet and Connectivity:
By now, we might sound like a broken record, but the web browsing experience with Internet Explorer on the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 is wonderful, which is what we kind of expect from most Windows RT slates at this point. Quickly loading complex web sites, its top-notch performance is also evident in other navigational controls – such as instant page rendering, responsive pinch zooming, and fluid kinetic scrolling.
Strictly an 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi convertible, there’s no word if we’ll see variants outfitted with cellular data connectivity. Despite that, it’s sporting the typical set of connectivity features – like aGPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and HDMI-out functionality.
Camera:
Limited to snapping self-portraits and the occasional video-chatting session, there’s nothing great to say about the quality of its 1-megapixel camera. Obviously, it serves its purpose in those aforementioned tasks, but it also has the ability to shoot 720p videos as well – though, its quality isn’t something worth bragging about.
Multimedia:
Consistency is what makes Microsoft’s platform unique, so there are few differences with the core experience. So much so that the music player on the Yoga 11 is the same identical one used by all the other Windows RT tablets out there. Armed with left and right speakers, its output is on the weak side, but at least there’s no crackling or distortion at the loudest volume setting.
For some reason, it seems as though these NVIDIA Tegra 3 Windows RT devices handles 1080p video playback a lot better than some Intel Atom-based Windows 8 tablets. Not only does the Yoga 11 support the major video codecs, but it handsomely plays 1080p videos with minimal slowdown.
Battery:
After using the Lenovo IdeaPad extensively, we forget that we’re dealing with a Windows RT device here. Hiding away a 4-cell battery in its skinny chassis, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 is able to effectively give us more than a solid day of normal usage with a fully charged battery. To tell you the truth, even power users will be impressed by its longevity!
On the average right now, you can pick up the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 for approximately $600, which quite frankly, seems to be grossly expensive for a Windows RT device. However, when we add in the fact that it’s boasting an extremely usable keyboard, combined with its cool convertible aspect, the Yoga 11 is a great netbook replacement. Sure, you won’t be able to install legacy software, but if you’re looking for the basics, this will suffice for most things. Honestly people, with so much versatility packed into this netbook-like replacement, it’s certain to stand out among the existing crop of Windows RT devices that have been out on the market, due to its different form factor.


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Fujitsu Stylistic M532

 
Tablet devices are delivered to replace laptops and to be more mobile. Currently on the market we have a decent number of those devices and one of the latest that we were able to see is the Fujitsu Stylistic M532. This tablet is available on the market and here it is what it brings.
Form
If there’s one thing that can be said about the Fujistu Stylistic M532 it’s that it’s a smart and stylish looking piece of kit.
There’s not much room for individuality with the overall shape – it’s your usual rectangle with slightly rounded corners, but the proportions are neat and the shiny black bezel is nicely sized around the screen.
We also found the bezel was just the right size to appear thin enough to look hi-tech and modern, yet large enough to provide a very comfortable grip and you won’t find yourself accidentally activating the touch screen while maneuvering the tablet around.
Fujitsu has been a bit adventurous with the colour, a relatively thin outer edge of bodywork between the front and back panels is coloured in a striking metallic red.
The back panel itself is black and coated with rubber, although it doesn’t have a texture to enhance grip and can be a bit slippy. The camera port at the top of the back panel also has a red accent to tie the two-tone look together.
Visually the Stylistic tablet certainly pops and the build quality is also sound – there’s no creaking or wiggling here, just a snug, solid fit.
It’s also worth mentioning that the device is MIL-STD-810G certified – that’s a US military-grade standard of durability for withstanding a variety of environmental abuse.
We’re not sure how far this goes as we weren’t exactly prepared to start slinging the review unit around with abandon. Nor did we feel inclined to book a holiday to the rainforest to test its water, humidity, dirt and fungus tolerances (yes, that last one is real), but needless to say it should be tougher than your average slate.
Although the Stylistic tablet weighs less than 600g we noticed that the weight distribution is somewhat poorly balanced. It feels like a heavier device than it is and holding it in one hand is very difficult indeed.
We might not have noticed this so much, but for the fact we happened to have an Asus Transformer Infinity in the office at the same time.
According to its stats the Transformer actually weighs more than the Fujitsu, but if you held both devices simultanesously you’d probably find this difficult to believe as the balance of the Asus gives it a much lighter feel.
One other bone of contention we mentioned in our first-look is still as annoying as ever, the proprietary charging port. The device has a MicroUSB port but it’s only good for data transfer.
Other ports include a 3.5mm audio jack, a MicroSD card slot and a SIM card slot. Yes, the Stylistic is designed to take SIM cards so you can utilise 3G mobile data plans but, as we said before, we couldn’t get the damned thing to work.
The 10.1-inch 1280×800 pixel LCD display is disappointing to say the least. Although colours are suitably vivid the brightness and contrast aren’t the best, but the most jarring issue is simply the picture clarity.
Android comes with some visually interesting wallpapers but they don’t look good on this display with some obvious blockiness.
The Stylistic’s display doesn’t seem to do smooth curving shapes and things end up looking very jagged and pixelated.
The text of any shortcuts, menu elements or ebooks you might wish to look at is also particularly bad and the smaller it gets the more blurry it becomes.

Hardware
The processor hardware is one of the better elements of the device, like many of its contemporaries the Fujitsu Stylistic uses Nvidia’s ARM Cortex-A9 based Tegra 3 quad core chipset.
It’s clocked at 1.4GHz and has 1GB of single-channel RAM along with a ULP GeForce graphics processing unit (GPU).
Performance is as good as we’ve come to expect from this setup – it’ll gleefully devour any multitasking or other intensive activities you throw at it. Gaming is a particular strongpoint thanks to Nvidia’s background in graphics hardware.
As usual, we tried pushing the tablet’s performance to see if it buckled under the pressure. We did notice a slight stutter when running a video window app over the top of a graphically demanding game.
But, on the whole it coped remarkably well and you can expect consistently good performance from the tablet running it in a more normal capacity.
Internal storage is quite generous too, with 32GB of space for you to fill with media and apps before you even get to the MicroSD expansion.
Put simply, it’s more than adequate for the needs of most users.
We already mentioned the MicroUSB port, but other connectivity support includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.
Software
The Fujitsu M532 runs a stock build of Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), which of course has all the perks we’ve come to appreciate from this more recent build.
It’s fast, smooth, reliable and features a neatly re-organised menu layout, plus a handy multitasking app switcher control.
Fujitsu has aimed the device at least partly at the business and enterprise market as there are a few extra additions.
You get full versions of ThinkFree Office, ES File Explorer, Adobe Reader and Norton Security. There’s also provision for Virtual Private Networks via Citrix, virtual desktop support and on-device encryption.
For non-business stuff there’s the TegraZone Gaming Hub and PowerDVD Mobile.
Imaging
On the rear is an 8-megapixel camera with an LED flash, autofocus, continuous autofocus, white balance, digital zoom, face detection and 1080p HD video capture and a video light.
It’s also got a weird set of modes for video capture under the heading of ‘silly faces’, some of which are genuinely terrifying to behold, particularly as they only kick in once the camera sensor’s face recognition activates turning a normal-looking video into a horrific freakshow in seconds.
The picture quality isn’t great on the primary camera and images tend to be a bit washed out and fuzzy. However, the HD video isn’t bad and the secondary 2-megapixel camera is also very good considering its primary purpose is video calls.
Battery
The battery pack is a 3170 mAh unit which is pegged to last for around 8.5 hours of video playback.
For general use it should be quite adequate and last at least a couple of days without any problems. We didn’t have any issues with it running out of juice unexpectedly.
As usual, intensive use of games and demanding multimedia such as films will drain it faster but it’s not at any particular advantage or disadvantage compared to the rest of the current Android crop.
Final Thoughts
On balance we find it hard to recommend the Fujitsu Stylistic M532, but at the same time there isn’t anything about it that is particularly damning. It’ll perform as well as the rest of the Tegra 3 powered crowd, but at around £400-£500 it seems like a lot of money for something quite average in many other respects.
The display is particularly bothersome at this price point when you consider the cost of a 16GB iPad 3 with a Retina display.
£400-£500ish also seems pricey against an Asus Transformer with the addition of a keyboard dock and, most glaringly of all, the £199 16GB Nexus 7, which has a much nicer touchscreen to boot.


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Acer Iconia W511

We do know that hybrids with Windows 8 are pretty rare and new but it seams that a decent number of companies have these devices in their portfolio. Acer Iconia W511 is one of those tablet devices that can be very useful and could replace your laptop.
Design:
Being a tablet made of cheap matte plastic, the Acer Iconia W511 won’t make anyone go “wow” with its appearance. But the use of lightweight materials has helped with keeping its weight down to a satisfactory level. When it’s by itself, the device ranks among the lightest 10-inch tablets with a weight of 580 grams, which makes the tablet comfortable to hold and use.
All of the tablet’s physical keys are located in the upper right-hand corner – the volume rocker, the on/off button, and the key that locks the screen’s orientation in place. All of them are well exposed so finding them with a finger is no trouble at all. Underneath the screen we have a capacitive Windows button used for accessing the system’s Start screen. We’re left with mixed feelings about this solution – it works fine, but the key is prone to accidental presses if the device is being held single-handedly from underneath.
In addition to the mandatory 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, the Iconia W511 offers a Micro HDMI connector, a microSD card slot, and a SIM card slot for cellular data connectivity. However, Acer skipped the full-size USB port, presumably to keep the tablet’s thickness down. Instead, there’s a microUSB port that you plug a special adapter cable (included in the set) into, and then you can hook up USB devices to the Iconia 511. That’s not really a dealbreaker, especially since there’s a proper USB port present on the keyboard dock, but carrying the said cable around all the time isn’t convenient.
By the way, the two USB ports can be used simultaneously. You can connect all kinds of peripherals to them, such as thumb drives, a mouse, or a USB hub. You can even charge a smartphone in case you have its USB cable handy, which is neat.
Keyboard dock:
For an extra $100 or so one can buy an Acer Iconia W511 with a keyboard dock thrown in the set. That not only adds the convenience of having a physical keyboard for text input, but also increases the tablet’s longevity dramatically as the accessory has an internal battery cell. In fact, the Iconia W511 will last through at least a whole day of heavy usage when docked.
Typing on the physical keyboard reminds us of the days when netbooks were all the rage. At first, its keys feel tiny and cramped together, but our fingers got used to their arrangement eventually. All keys are springy and have decent travel. Of course, you can’t compare the experience to using a proper, desktop-sized keyboard, but in case we had a 25-page report to write for work or school, we’d much rather use what the dock keyboard has to offer instead of relying on any on-screen solution.
But while we’re content with the physical keyboard and its usability, the touchpad that’s also on the dock leaves a lot to be desired. At first it works just fine, yet after being used for 20 seconds or so, it goes bonkers, causing the cursor to move chaotically. Our quick online investigation shows that others have experienced the same issue with their units, so apparently we aren’t dealing with an isolated case of a misbehaving touchpad.
Another thing we’re bothered by is the docking mechanism that connects the Acer Iconia W511 and the keyboard dock. Connecting or disconnecting the two is easy-peasy, but the lock isn’t tight enough, causing the tablet to wobble back and forth when moved or when the touchscreen is used, which is worrying, to say the least.
Acer has designed the Iconia W511 dock in a way that allows its sturdy hinge to rotate at a nearly 300-degree angle. That’s referred to as “Presentation Mode” – the dock acts as a stand, with the keyboard facing downwards, which allows the touchscreen to be used comfortably while the device is placed on a flat surface. The dock is designed in a way that prevents accidental key presses when the tablet is used in such manner, in case you’re wondering. If you’ll be using the touchscreen interface to show off your sketches and designs to someone, taking advantage of this feature is recommended.
Display:
Although it is nothing out of the ordinary, the 10.1-inch IPS LCD display on the Acer Iconia W511 gets the job done. It has a relatively low resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels, which is typical for low-end Windows-based tablets, so small test can be a challenge to make out. On the other hand, its viewing angles and color accuracy are decent – likely superior to what you’d get out of a basic notebook/netbook, for that matter. Using the tablet outdoors is possible as its screen has a decent brightness output, but you’ll have to cover it with your hand when the sun is shining right at it.
Interface:
The versatile Windows 8 Pro comes loaded on the Acer Iconia W511 – an operating system that’s built to run not only on tablets, but on laptops and desktop computers as well. The OS is compatible with a vast array of legacy Windows applications, which is a huge benefit.
When the Acer Iconia W511 is turned on for the first time, about 10 minutes are needed for it to get set up for use. It is nice to see that a tutorial is played after the OS’ first boot, explaining all the new touchscreen gestures implemented in Windows 8 – new users are advised to pay attention to it.
Once past that step, the user is introduced to the new Start screen and its Live Tile interface. This is where things get tricky for anyone who is not familiar with Windows 8 and its peculiarities. Closing apps, switching between windows, accessing the list of installed applications and the system settings – there are gestures assigned to each of these actions, so better get used to them. Even a tech-savvy user will need to spend an evening or two with their new device in order to get comfortable with its interface.
But the Start screen and its Live Tiles aren’t the only way of interacting with the Acer Iconia W511. Alternatively, the classic Windows desktop can be used as it is available at the touch of a button. That isn’t of much use, however, unless you’re also using the keyboard dock, or a mouse. The classic desktop is anything but comfortable to use on a touchscreen with its tiny icons and menus.
The on-screen keyboard is usable indeed, save for the annoying fact that it doesn’t always pop-up automatically when it’s needed. With its multiple key arrangements, it can be used as a typical virtual QWERTY, occupying the bottom half of the screen, or in split mode, which is comfortable for typing whilst holding the tablet with both hands. In addition, typos get corrected automatically.
Software and functionality:
There’s a long list of new features that are being introduced with Windows 8, and on it are the new hubs and apps accessible from the Start screen. The People hub, for example, is where you store information about your contacts. All of that data is synced with your Microsoft account, which is convenient since you’ll have it backed up indefinitely. Also, by adding your Facebook and Twitter credentials, you can connect with your social network buddies as well. Too bad that the experience is a far cry from what a dedicated social networking client would deliver as the hub’s functionality is limited only to some basic actions.
The stock Weather application is great as it provides detailed forecast information, not to mention that its interface is very pleasing to the eye. As one might expect, you can set it to pull weather data for multiple locations and its live tile updates automatically.
Keeping you up to date with the latest news from around the world is the Bing News app. There’s also Bing Sports bringing you news about, well, sports, and the dedicated Bing search app that tells you what search terms are currently trending.
We must also note that Acer has added its very practical “Always On” technology to the Iconia W511 feature set. In a nutshell, that allows the device to pull updates from the internet even when it’s on stand-by. That’s why all your new emails and messages are synced and waiting as soon as you press that “On” button.
Processor and memory:
What runs under the hood of the Acer Iconia W511 is a dual-core Intel Atom chip – the Z2760 with a maximum clock of 1.8GHz when Burst mode is enabled. That happens automatically, whenever an app requires additional processing power, but only if the processor is running within its thermal specifications. 2GB of DDR2 RAM are also on board – just as much as we’d expect seeing on a machine of this caliber.
Performance-wise, the tablet runs well, as long as it isn’t burdened with any heavy apps. Chances are that you’ll rarely encounter any major hiccups if you stick to the Start screen and its apps, while many legacy applications will be feeling right at home in Desktop mode. Just don’t expect any resource-hungry software like graphics or video editors to run smoothly. For that you’ll need something powered by a Core processor.
The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator is powerful enough to run some basic games. We tested several popular titles from the Windows Marketplace, including a 3D strategy game, and it ran at high frame rates. Graphic-intensive games, however, are a no-go.
The Acer Iconia W511 comes with 64GB of on-board storage, but since half of that is occupied by the operating system and its recovery files, there’s “only” about 32GB at the user’s disposal. For some people, that will do just fine, but storing music, movies, or other large files on the device might be a problem. Thankfully, there’s always the option to expand the tablet’s storage using a microSD card of up to 64GB. In addition, a free SkyDrive account will get you several gigabytes of cloud storage that can be used for storing photos, documents, and other files you don’t require having access to on a daily basis.
Web Browser and connectivity:
With the desktop-grade Internet Explorer 10 web browser, one can experience all that the web has to offer, including Adobe Flash content and Java applications. What’s more is that the application is touch-optimized, meaning that navigation gestures like pinch to zoom and the likes are supported and work well. Performance issues are rare, occurring only when browsing heavy web pages. Sadly, although alternatives can be installed in case you aren’t happy with the native solution, browsers like Chrome, Firefox and Opera don’t support touchscreen gestures, which makes them harder to use without a pointing device.
While you’ll probably connect to the internet over Wi-Fi most of the time, there’s a 3G module built into the Acer Iconia W511. Just pop in a SIM card in there (with a data plan, of course) and you’re good to browse the web wherever there’s network coverage. Just keep in mind that you’ll be limited to 3G speeds – those fancy 4G LTE networks are not supported. Another connectivity feature that’s missing is GPS. NFC and Bluetooth, on the other hand, are present. As a side note, the device’s cheaper, non-3G variant is known as the Acer Iconia W510.
Camera:
Here’s why we often say that when it comes to digital cameras, megapixels aren’t all that matters. Although the Acer Iconia W511 comes with an 8MP auto-focus main shooter, the photos that it takes are of average quality at best, with little fine detail and rather low dynamics range. Digital noise may also be an issue, especially if shooting indoors. On top of it all, the camera is noticeably laggy unless you’re shooting at a low resolution setting. But since tablets in general aren’t known for their photographic skills, we don’t see the 8MP camera’s mediocre performance as too big of a deal. All in all, the tablet’s photos are good enough for sharing on social networks, and the quality of its 1080p videos is also acceptable.

 The front-facing camera is what you’ll be using for video chats. It offers 2MP of resolution and the quality of its images is okay, just don’t expect your self-portraits to look fabulous. In low-light conditions, the image quality deteriorates significantly due to the heavy presence of digital noise.
While the camera interface is simple and easy to use, it offers little settings to tweak and no special shooting modes. You only get sliders for brightness, contrast, and exposure adjustments, as well as a timer and a resolution setting. Nevertheless, that’s okay with us since when it comes to photography, the tablet probably won’t be used as anything more than a last-resort camera.
Xbox Music is your default destination for playing your tunes, but it’s less of a media player and much more of an audio store built-in. It allows one to browse for and purchase new music. Naturally, the software merges whatever audio files you have stored in the Music folder with your audio library. A neat feature is the integrated radio that streams music straight to your device, free of charge. Overall, the music player works, but we’re not too happy with it as it lacks in features. Also, we wish there was a simpler way of enjoying our tunes without being reminded that we should buy more of them.
The Xbox Video hub is designed in a similar manner and allows you to browse through its huge catalog of movies and TV shows. Top titles are priced at about $17, but some of them can be rented for about $5. And yes, you are free to add your video files to its database.
Whatever kind of video you throw at a Windows 8 device, chances are that it will play it, and even if a specific codec isn’t installed, the user is free to download it manually. That’s why we’re not surprised to see that all our video samples are playable on the Acer Iconia W511. The Video player that’s set by the Start screen, however, is unable to play back 1080p videos smoothly. For that you’ll need to use Windows Media Player, which also comes installed, or a third media player of your choice.
Battery life:
Users who value battery life should be satisfied with the Acer Iconia W511 and its 3540 mAh battery. It will last for about 9 hours on a single charge – almost as much as an iPad or a high-end Android slate. Sure, other Windows-based tablets can do even better, yet a figure like that is still more than acceptable. When docked, the W511's battery life doubles to 18 hours, so no matter how hard you’re pushing it, rest assured that the device will last you through at least a whole day of heavy usage.
Conclusion:
The Acer Iconia W511 is clearly aimed at tablet buyers on a tight budget, or simply people who aren’t willing to spend too much on a Windows 8 hybrid device. It may look a bit uninspiring, but it’s light, affordable and offers an adequate set of features combined with a decent battery life. Moreover, with it you get the complete Windows 8 experience with legacy app support and all that good stuff, while the Atom processor delivers performance, which users that aren’t too picky will be fine with.
But while it is an okay Windows 8 tablet, we can’t really recommend it as a notebook/netbook replacement. Something in the back of our heads is telling us that its build quality isn’t as good as it should be, while the touchpad is downright pathetic. In case what you’re really looking for is a productivity device, you might want to look elsewhere, or better yet, get yourself a proper notebook.


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