Wouldn’t even be worth $99. The screen is so awful, it makes it almost unusable. It has a very narrow viewing angle, and the colors are all washed out. I owned one, but took it back after 3 days.
As others have already posted, the screen on this Windows 8.1 tablet is quite terrible.
It also has the previous generation Atom processor that was super slow: the Z2xxx series. The current series Z3xxx is a completely revised architecture that is both FASTER and MORE POWER EFFICIENT.
The upcoming generation due out late this year will be even better.
I would not buy any tablet based on the Z2xxx series Atom processor. The processor just uses too much power for how slow it is.
The Dell Venue 8 Pro 32GB is available for around $200 from Dell Outlet (and can be found for much less if you’re lucky see slickdeals for details.) It’s a much better choice since it will actually last 8 hrs on a charge and will be fast enough for tablet activities.
Electronics.Woot → Community → Woot Plus → Tablets
Link for 30+ comments before you buy!
May 19 I think
I suggest as soon as you start the tablet and down load Belarc Adviser. (Free) from Belarc.com .run Belarc adviser and save the ms manufacture program ID serial number. You may need this during tablet start up or if you upgrade to win 8.1 or 8.2 when released. Belarc advisor should be run on any new windows or android computers. You also may need this even if you do the initial windows start up successfully .
Fully charge the tablet 3-4 hours before doing a startup. These tablets are easily killed if mistake made during startup !
Read 30+ comments on may19 product comments.
New $200 ms tablets this size coming this October with Win 8.2.
Very pleased with mine but without past advise I could have easily own it as a brick.
Don’t expect help from ACER or WOOT.
Product shipped from liquidation.com
Only help from ACER was a PDF manual download. No instruction on startup shipped with product.
Good Luck ( you will need it)
I came here to post basically everything bbf posted above. I have an Asus VivoTab ME400 with the same specs and while everything technically works, the Atom z2xxx with 2 GB RAM is quite sluggish. Also while fortunately I have a 64 GB SSD, this device will probably leave you with <10 GB of free storage out of the box, which will be filled up over time as the Windows updates pile up. I’d have to say 64 GB is a minimum for a Win 8 machine.
That being said, the aforementioned Dell Venue 8 Pro is a nice performance boost (despite the 2 GB RAM limit) although if you can get a Core i3 or higher tablet then go for it.
The free office uses the same key as your windows key if you navigate to your programs folder you might see an office folder with the install icon, once you install office you use the same key that your windows is using to register office. Don’t know your windows key? You can download a free program (search “windows key finder”) that will display your windows key. If you don’t have a office folder on your PC then I think you can download the student version and enter your windows key in that.
I owned one of these for a few days. Not a bad value for $150, but as others have said, the screen is really bad. I could deal with the limited viewing angles, but not the screen door effect. On a white or light background, the dots that make up part of the touch layer are clearly visible which makes everything on the screen look grainy.
I have one and its not a bad tab, but the screen is sub standard for anything made these days. If this was six months ago is still recommend it, but you can get a new Dell venue 8 pro for a little more and find refurbs for this price. You’ll soon be able to get better spec’d tabs, new, for less than this.
I’m going to post an opposing viewpoint. I have a Lenovo K3011 Windows tablet with the Z2760 processor, and the performance seems fine for “tablet-like” activities (internet, photo viewing, etc.). If I stick with single-tasking, I don’t feel like it slows me down. It’s definitely an older, slower processor, but I wouldn’t rule it out if the price is right. There’s always something faster/better coming…
I picked up this same tablet a few weeks ago on woot for the same price of $145. Overall, I am satisfied with it. It came with Windows “8.0” installed which had some issues running new apps from the windows store. You’ll definitely want to upgrade to Windows “8.1”, which is a 2.5Gb download. But, after that, and customizing my Win8 main layout, it performs well. I bought it mainly for web surfing and for portability of plugging it into HDTVs for powerpoint and streaming presentations. For that, the Micro HDMI port is great. As others have said, the viewing angle is narrow. It tends to leave black colors looking a little gray toward the edges. Also, the speakers are a little under powered. But, I frequently use headphones with it, making it a non-issue.
So long as you keep your expectations reasonable for an entry-level Windows 8 tablet, you should be satisfied. If you want more features, you can probably spend a few dollars more and will be glad you did, though.
Got from last woot.
It replaced my Surface Pro as everyday on the go PC. I didn’t set my expectation too high such as playing Skyrim or editing home made blu-ray movie. Those task are for desktop and desktop replacement laptops. This tablet does what I expected: surfing internet, checking my emails, playing some games, book reading, and word processing. As matter of fact, if you are expecting more than that from $145 8inch tablet like PC, please let me know when you find one so I can buy one, too.
Here is my experience so far.
Yes, screen is bad and has very narrow viewing angle, but you’ll get use to it and I have no problem watching movies or playing Plant vs Zombies. I added 16inch USB powered monitor ($60). Although I need mouse and keyboard to use dual screen, it works pretty nice. No delay in screen refresh…
Had hard time (and very frustrating) upgrading to Windows 8.1 due to the small size (32GB) of built in SSD. However, once I uninstall all the Acer apps, I was able to upgrade to 8.1 with no issue. Upgrading to Win8.1 gave me much more free space than Win8! And there is also microSD slot.
You have to buy a usb dongle for it has only micro usb slot and it does not come with one. Luckily local big computer store had one for $1. And nice leather case for $9.
MS office is not included. Comes with trial version of MS Office 365. Downloaded free MS One Note and I was surprise to see writing with my finger is good as wring on my Surface Pro with Wacom digitizer.
Battery last 8+ hours on and off use. I charge over night and it last full day at work and more to play when I get home.
Perfect size for book reading in portrait mode. No issue holding with one hand.
Absolutely no support from ACER for they advise this is refurbished product (they go by serial number) and ask to contact the company who sell this to woot (when you receive the package, there is piece of paper with phone number. you have to contact them, but not Acer).
I bought one of these the last time it appeared on woot and it easily replaced my Surface with RT. It didn’t want to update to Windows 8.1 until I updated the Acer drivers (specifically the video driver, as I recall) and then it all went without a hitch. I use it for watching ball games using the MLB app and TV using Slingplayer, Skype, GoToMeeting, and light administration duties. It also runs MS Streets & Trips with a bluetooth GPS unit. The screen isn’t the best available, for sure, but for $145, it’s pretty good and I have no trouble reading what’s on it. In all, I’d say this is well worth the money if you need a tablet and don’t want to settle for all the compromises of Windows RT, such as the lack of “legacy” applications. Finally, the battery lasts forever and it’ll go days and days and days in standby.
I received this tablet at a Microsoft event, and it is terrible. Not even a year old, and it is unable to hold a charge properly. Screen is below the standard compared to competitor offerings. If you’re looking for a starter tablet, then this might get the job done. But I really wouldn’t recommend as there are much better offerings out there.
![[Preview 1]](http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/b5b7f9ae-8223-48a5-a3d6-a5117136b7d6.jpg){kind=link}
![[Preview 2]](http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/d66ef3f7-48bc-430b-9ffc-e298ee803fb4.jpg){kind=link}
![[Preview 3]](http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/cb7c8063-0973-434a-bcc6-5be987afaf48.jpg){kind=link}
![[Preview 4]](http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/e9d87527-0f26-45d7-86eb-3e2899ffaba7.jpg){kind=link}
