Acer Aspire Switch 10 Detachable Windows 8.1 Tablet Unveiled

Acer unveiled the detachable Windows 8.1 tablet today, their newest Intel Bay Trail powered tablet with optional 500GB hard drive keyboard.

(UPDATED: The Acer Aspire Switch 10 was released on May 23 and can be bought from Microsoft Store:
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Acer-Aspire-Switch-10icon)

The price for Acer Aspire Switch 10 will start at $379.99 in the US or €349 in Europe, while the release date has been set to May 2014, without a specific launch date as of yet.

The specifications for a detachable Windows 8.1 tablet at this price includes a Intel Atom Z3745 Bay Trail T processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB/64GB storage options, and a 10.1-inch screen with a 1366 x 768 resolution IPS display featuring 178-degree viewing angles. The zero-gap display also have a feature called Acer LumiFlex that provides stronger light on the display when needed.

The tablet is detachable from the keyboard through magnetic hinges. Acer’s system is called Acer Snap Hinge, and takes 2.8 kg of force to detach, which is the combined weight of 3 Microsoft Surface tablets. You can also chose to attach the tablet with the display turned away from the keyboard, so that the keyboard functions as a stand for the tablet.

The Acer Aspire Switch 10 tablet is 8.9 mm thick, and 20.2 mm thick with the keyboard attached and closed.
The weight is 590 grams for the tablet and 1170 grams with the keyboard dock attached.

Acer will also sell an optional keyboard dock with 500GB of SSD storage, in the same way you can get on the Asus Transformer Book T100 already.

Features bundled in are Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 as well as AcerCloud, which is Acer’s own cloud storage system. The ports seen in the pictures below are USB 2.0, HDMI out, and a microSD slot. It also have Bluetooth 4.0. The average battery life is set to 8 hours.

While the $379 launch price indicates that this tablet can be cut to under $349 not too long after launch, that still won’t be convincing enough to a lot of potential customers when taken into consideration that both the 1920 x 1200 HP Omni 10 and the 32GB + 500GB Asus Transformer Book T100 that have both been launched already, are selling for the same price.

Acer Aspire Switch 10
Acer Aspire Switch 10
Acer Aspire Switch 10 tablet and keyboard
Acer Aspire Switch 10 tablet and keyboard
Acer Aspire Switch 10 attached to 500GB keyboard dock
Acer Aspire Switch 10 attached to 500GB keyboard dock
Acer Aspire Switch 10 keyboard
Acer Aspire Switch 10 keyboard
Acer Aspire Switch 10 back
Acer Aspire Switch 10 back
Acer Aspire Switch 10 ports side view
Acer Aspire Switch 10 ports side view
Acer Aspire Switch 10 tablet attached
Acer Aspire Switch 10 tablet attached
Acer Aspire Switch 10 tent mode
Acer Aspire Switch 10 tent mode

– Jim Miller