Acer aspire switch 11
Acer Aspire Switch 11 V, Switch 12 2015, Switch 10 2015 and Switch 10 E - first look
The Switch is Acer’s most popular line of 2-in-1 ultraportables right now, with devices like the Switch 10 and the Switch 12 launched in the last year.
2015 brings up a few novelties in the series: a redesigned Switch 10, a new and more affordable Switch 10 E and a premium-built /Intel Core M powered Switch 11 V. They do have one thing in common: they are all detachables, or in other words stand alone Windows tablets with matching docks.
I got to spend some time with them and this post gathers my early impressions on these 2015 Acer Switch convertibles. Have a look and stay close for the updates and the reviews to come.
Acer Aspire Switch 11 V
We’re going to start with the star of this new lineup, the Switch 11 V.
As the name suggests, it bundles an 11.6 inch touchscreen with an IPS panel, which will translate in accurate colors and proper viewing angles. Reflections should be also kept at bay with the Zero Gap technology, which minimizes the space between the actual display and the glass on top, but we’re still dealing with a glossy screen here nonetheless, with its associated inconveniences.
That aside, the Switch 11 is sleek and beautiful. The truth is this is not Acer’s first Switch 11, but it’s a complete redesign from last year’s model.
The 2015 version has a more reduced footprint, feels and looks better thanks to its sturdy aluminum build and also bundles a more compact dock. All these make the Aspire Switch 11 V a more portable device. Acer also worked on making the transition between tablet and laptop mode as seamless as possible, by tweaking the latching/unlatching mechanism and designing a new connector that ties the tablet with the dock. The results are really good, both on this Switch 11 series, but also on the new 10s.
The dock houses a fairly good keyboard, at least based on the few minutes I got to use it, as well as a full-size USB slot and a Microsoft Precision Trackpad. It’s light, but the entire combo is only top heavy when you lean the screen back as much as possible. I can’t tell for sure if a 2.5″ storage bay is going to be available inside the dock, but that would be a nice addition.
The bigger novelty here though is the Core M hardware inside that replaces the Atom and Haswell Core Y hardware which powered the previous models. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of Core M, although I’ve seen it’s true potential on some devices. It does have the major benefit of being a fanless platform, but imo doesn’t exactly deliver on performance, temperatures and battery life. Still, there are better and worse Core M implementations out there, and hopefully Acer’s will be a success. BTW, I’ve made a complete list of fanless ultraportables, if you’re interested.
Overall the Aspire Switch 11 V is marketed towards professionals searching for a nice looking, proper built and decently fast computer that could be easily lugged around everyday. It will compete with the Acer Transformer Book Chi T300, which offers a slightly bigger screen in a sleeker overall body, but it’s also pricier and packs a smaller battery. BTW, Acer announced a 45W battery will be tuck inside the Switch 11 V and if that turns out to be true, it will translate in great autonomy, given how most other similar slates only offer around 30ish Wh batteries.
The Switch 11 V will be available later this year, starting at around $500. That would make it one of the most affordable Core M devices out there and could attract many potential buyers, although there are still plenty of questions that need to be answered before we actually get to draw any final conclusions. Stay tuned, that’s going to happen in the months to come.
Acer Switch 12 2015
A quick reference to this soon to be launched Acer Switch 12 2015 was made during the press-release this week, but other from the fact that it’s going to be a very thin 2-in-1 detachable powered by Core M hardware, there’s very little to say about it at the time of this post.
I do have a few pictures, but they were cut out from a video and I have to apologize for the quality and blurriness.
There’s also a video from Notebookitalia showing a bit more about this device.
Acer Aspire Switch 10 2015
The 2015 Switch 10 (model number SW5-015) is a refresh of last year’s Switch 10, still built on Intel Atom Z series platforms, but slightly redesigned. It has now received a Gorilla Glass covered back (like on the Aspire S7), among other things.
Overall the Switch 10 feels like a sturdy built slate and it is slightly sleeker and lighter than last year’s model, with its 10 mm waist and overall weight just shy of 600 grams (1.2 kilos for the tablet + dock). The ensemble is still top-heavy though and will fall on its back when leaning the screen past 100-110 degrees, which I found annoying. Many 2014 Switch 10 buyers have complained about this issue on the previous model, that’s why I’m surprised Acer did not address it on the new version. In fact, that’s also a nuisance on the Switch 10 E as well.
The dock offers an USB slot, can take a HDD inside in case you’ll need more storage space and houses a shrunk-down keyboard and petite trackpad, as you’d expect from a mini computer of this size.
These aside, you should also know you’ll be getting a nice 10.1 inch IPS FHD display on this device with digitizer support, as well as around 5-6 hours of daily use on a charge (from a 22 Wh battery).
The base configuration will include the Intel Atom Z3735 processor, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage (64 GB models will also be available), paired with a 32-bit version of Windows 8.1. Acer actually claim this new Switch will hit 7 hours of use, but I frankly doubt that’s going to be possible, given the small battery and the FHD screen. Time will tell.
The Switch 10 2015 will be available in August in the US, with an MSRP of $399 and up. Over here in Europe it will be available a bit sooner, for €449 and up, and other regions of the world will get it around Mid Summer as well. Both base configs include 32 GB of storage space (and around 20 are actually accessible with Windows installed)
Anyway, all these sound just about right, but I do think Acer should try to bring this thing in stores sooner if possible. They are aiming for the back to school season in the US and this is well suited for students, but the competition already offers similar devices, like the recently launched Microsoft Surface 3 or the Acer Transformer Book Chi T100.
Acer Aspire Switch 10 E
This is Acer’s most affordable 2-in-1 detachable and it’s expected to ship later this year (in July) for $279 and up. That’s a real bargain, but the screen and aesthetics had to be somewhat sacrificed in order to reach this kind of pricing.
The Switch 10 E is a 10 incher, like the Switch 10, and it’s still built on Intel BaiTrail Atom hardware. However, it only packs a 10.1 inch 1280 x 800 px touchscreen and what looks like a TN panel. A rather dim one, which combined with the glossy glass surface made this nearly indistinguishable in a bright room.
The 10 E is also a slightly bulkier device, made entirely out of plastic, with a textured hood that will be sold in about 6 different colors. This latter aspect is in fact appealing and a stand-out point for the series, as most other devices are not available in blue, pink, purple or magenta (white and black versions are also available). Still, if you look past the weight and the bulk (630 grams and 11 mm waist for the tablet alone, 1.28 kg – 2.82 lbs for the tablet and dock), this thing feels nice and strong enough to handle the daily hassle.
Acer Switch 10 (left) and 10 E (right)
One of the reasons behind the slightly larger body is the fact that there’s a 30 Wh battery inside this thing, which combined with the Intel Atom BayTrail hardware and the HD-only display should easily translate in about 10 hours of use on a charge (Acer claims up to 12).
The Switch 10 E is bundled with a matching dock that offers an USB slot and the same quick-latching mechanism and connector seen on the other new Acer Switch 2-in-1s, which makes the transition between slate and laptop modes quick and smooth. The ensemble is however top heavy, which could make desk-use annoying, as even gently taping the screen will cause the Switch to fall on its back.
Regardless, the price remains the Switch 10 E’s major selling point and if Acer will actually deliver a product without hidden flaws, I’m confident this will become a best seller in the second part of 2015. There are clearly better 2-in-1s out there, but if you’re on a very tight budget, this one will be worth at least a look.
The Swtich 10 2015 is sleeker and offers a better screen with digitizer support, but the Swtich E is cheap and colorful
Wrap-up
We’re not going to draw the line on any of these new Acer Switch tablets/laptops, despite the fact that the first impressions are fairly good. Acer created a diverse range of products aimed at different types of users with different budgets at their disposals, and they kept all the series competitive when it comes to what you’ll be getting for the money. That in fact has been their strategy for a while.
Time will tell if these machines play out to be successful or in fact good, but stay close, We’ll be reviewing them properly as soon as they become available and we get out hands on them.
www.ultrabookreview.com
Acer Aspire Switch 11
The hardware specification is designed to maximise battery life as much as possible, and for this reason, you get really low performance. There's a 1.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3745 Bay Trail processor, with 2GB of video memory, and a burst frequency of 1.8GHz. On paper, it sounds okay, but Windows 8.1 noticeably chugs at times on the Switch 11, made worse by some of Acer's policies and design choices.
There's a more powerful version too, with a 1920 x 1080 display and a 64-bit 1.5GHz Core i3-4012Y processor, 4GB of memory and a 60GB SSD.
Bloatware is a definite issue, sadly
The Switch 11 we tested has a 32GB Hynix HBG4e eMMC flash drive with a 500GB Western Digital hard disk. It's dreadful. The useful SSD-Z application reported TRIM was not running, its performance was no better than a hard disk and its formatted capacity was only 29.13GB – not much once Windows is installed.
The Switch 11 uses WIMBoot though, with 7GB consumed by the recovery partition, so the reported capacity is only 21.8GB – pretty tiny indeed.
It's not helped by Acer bundling so much near-useless bloatware. The desktop is covered in affiliate links – there's abFiles, abDocs, abPhoto and abMedia, Acer's store, Acer Care Centre, and the ubiquitous McAfee Antivirus and its torrent of endless popups. This doesn't even cover everything…
With all this junk installed, the C: drive filled up quickly, to the point where benchmarks were crashing. It took hours to get PCMark to perform reliably, even when it was installed on the D: drive, since temporary files still filled up the C: drive.
Be warned – without changing the default installation path to the D: drive whenever you install software onto the Switch 11, you'll run into this problem too. If you buy a Switch 11 for a less technical family member, it's worth explaining this point.
The full device weighs 1.55kg
Here are the full specs of our review model:
- CPU: Intel Atom Z3745
- Graphics: Integrated
- RAM: 2GB
- Screen: 11.6-inch 1366 x 768
- Storage: 32GB eMMC
- Optical drive: none
- Ports: 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x Micro-HDMI, 1 x Micro-USB, 1 x MicroSD
- Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
- Camera: 720p
- Weight: 840g (1.55kg with dock)
- Size: 298 x 205 x 11mm (W x D x H) with dock 25mm high
A close-up of the dock mechanism
Performance
The benchmark results for the Switch 11 were as follows:
- 3DMark: Sky Diver: 512; Cloud Gate: 1334; Ice Storm: 17781
- Cinebench 11.5: CPU:1.72 points; Graphics: 6.74 fps
- PCMark 8 (Home Test): 1163
- PCMark 8 Battery Life: 5 hours 51 minutes
Now, this Acer hybrid isn't designed to be a supercomputer, so low performance results are to be expected. PCMark 8's Conventional test result of 1163 points was notably slightly lower than the Switch 10's 1240 points. A typical score from a gaming laptop is around 3500 points, so it's clear the Switch 11 is no powerhouse.
Graphics performance is similarly limited, as seen from the Cinebench tests. As the Atom Z3745 is only a 32-bit chip, I could only use Cinebench 11.5. An OpenGL score of 6.74 fps looks bad, and a CPU score of 1.72 not much better, but once again, this isn't a system designed to replace a high-end laptop. To judge it on these scores alone would be missing the point a bit.
Battery life was a highlight
The Fire Strike section of 3DMark wouldn't run, seemingly since the Switch 11 only supports DirectX 9 graphics. And the scores that I could get from 3DMark weren't great, but again, this is expected.
However, real-world usage is where the Switch 11 shines. Sure, it's slower than a normal laptop, but it will run Office, and crucially, could play back 1080p HD video from a connected USB hard disk without any problems. So it's certainly powerful enough for basic tasks.
Battery life is good too. Almost six hours in PCMark 8 when docked is a decent result.
Page 2
The Switch 11 provides a netbook-like Windows 8.1 environment, with both a tablet and keyboard dock for a fairly reasonable price.
It lets you run (32-bit only) Windows software, without being restricted to an app store, and therefore you can use the same software you have on your desktop PC in a tablet. That is something a lot of people will definitely want.
Battery life is pretty good. You'd expect that, since it's one of the main driving forces behind Intel's Bay Trail processors – but credit is still due. PCMark 8 is quite a tough test for battery life, and any score over five hours is good, so the Switch 11 does well here.
We disliked
The Switch 11 is really not very well designed. Nearly every aspect of its build feels cheap, notably excluding the display. It's heavier than most tablets, and even some laptops when docked.
It's full of bloatware too, which takes up a chunk of the very limited space on the C: drive, and really makes the Windows experience less pleasurable.
While we can forgive its slow application performance, loading times seem quite long, and the overall feel of the device is a bit clunky. It's Windows 8.1, but not at its best. The slow performance may lead to frustration at times, made worse when the C: drive fills up and the Switch 11 no longer behaves itself.
Final verdict
Just as happened when I tested its predecessor, my feelings about the Switch 11 changed during use. The initial grumbles at the low benchmark scores were put to one side when it handled a 1080p video with ease, bearing in mind the price tag is still lower than Apple's starting price for a 16GB iPad Air 2.
The concept of hybrid tablets has some legs, and they bear a strong resemblance to netbooks, but Acer's execution falls short with the Switch 11. With limited hardware resources, lean and mean is the way to go, but the Switch 11 is loaded with junk. Uninstalling the whole lot makes the experience a good deal better.
Given the higher price than its predecessor, I feel the shortcomings of the Switch 11 cannot be ignored. It's not a great tablet, laptop or Windows 8.1 system. It's not particularly portable, it feels cheap and it's most definitely not powerful. But it works okay as long as it isn't given anything stressful to do.
www.techradar.com
Acer Aspire Switch 11 SW5-111 Driver Download
Acer Aspire Switch 11 SW5-111 Driver Download– I’m not going to mislead anybody. Prior to this 2-in-1 even made it into my hands, I knew it would have been cumbersome. Without anyone else, the tablet weighs 1.8 pounds, coordinating the Asus Transformer Book T200, and it’s marginally heavier than the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (1.76 pounds). At the point when joined with the console dock, the Switch 11’s weight inflatables to 3.4 pounds, which is heavier than the Surface Pro with its Type Cover appended (2.4 pounds), the Dell Inspiron 11 3000 (3.1 pounds) and the T200 (3.2 pounds). Hell, the 13-inch MacBook Air measures 3 pounds.At the point when joined with its console dock, the Switch 11 measures a thick 11.7 x 8.1 x 1 inches, which is on a standard with the T200’s 12 x 7.9 x 1-inch outline. Contrast that and the Surface Pro 3 (11.45 x 7.8 x 0.36 inches) and the Inspiron 11 (1.8 x 7.93 x 0.83 inches) and obviously the Switch 11 is the D.U.F.F. (Assigned Ugly Fat Friend) of ultraportable portable PCs.When I moved beyond the awkward measurements, whatever is left of the tablet is acceptably good looking. I like the silver aluminum board with the brushed cross-bring forth and the sparkly brought chrome Acer logo up in the inside. Notwithstanding, the thick dim band of plastic at the top combined with the thin dim fringe corrupts the general look. The cumbersome plastic dim pivot of the console dock doesn’t help.The right half of the tablet houses a full-estimate USB 3.0 port, smaller than normal HDMI, microSD space, reset pinhole and a force port. Situated on the left is the headset jack and catches for force, volume and Windows.For reasons unknown, Acer simply cherishes ergonomically tested catch position. The area of the Windows catch is without a moment’s delay confounding and irritating, as it would be better off along the base presentation bezel where it’s regularly found on different frameworks. Rather, Acer labeled that prime land with a sparkling Acer logo.
If you need a driver for Acer Notebooks, then this site is the right solution for you, here you can download the drivers for your Acer Notebooks on the download link that already we provide below.
How to Install driver Acer: Here is how to install the drivers on the Asus laptops and notebooks, the steps are as follows.
1. Download the drivers on the table below. 2. Click and select driver download and extract file 3. Please follow the instructions provided and click Next 4. then click Finish
5. finish then Restart Pc or Notebook
That’s how Acer notebook driver install, follow the instructions already given above, please download the required drivers on the download link in the table below.
Acer Aspire Switch 11 SW5-111 Driver Download Windows 8.1 32 bit| Intel Platform Drivers Installer | ||
| Realtek Wireless LAN Driver |
| Acer Add “Check ProjectID” mechanism before flash BIOS | ||
| Synaptics Improve touchpad performance (Windows8.1) |
| Broadcom Bluetooth Driver | ||
| Broadcom Wireless LAN Driver | ||
| Realtek Wireless LAN Driver |
| Acer Quick Access Application | ||
| Acer Quick Access Application |
| Acer Add “Check ProjectID” mechanism before flash BIOS | ||
| Synaptics Improve touchpad performance (Windows8.1) |
| Intel Platform Drivers Installer | ||
| Acer Add “Check ProjectID” mechanism before flash BIOS | ||
| Synaptics Improve touchpad performance (Windows8.1) |
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Acer Aspire Switch 11
There's certainly a market for entry-level Windows tablets. Plenty of people would prefer to run their favourite desktop software, such as desktop web browsers, rather than having to use alternatives from Apple and Google's app stores with an iPad or Android tablet.
The Surface Pro 3 is without a doubt the best in this class, but its cost and performance approaches that of a fairly high-end laptop, which somewhat limits its audience. If you're not looking to run demanding software like Photoshop or would prefer a simple device for little more than Microsoft Office on the move, then a hybrid could be the perfect alternative – less powerful, but much more affordable.
It's a pretty standard hybrid design
The Switch 11 is designed to fill that gap. It can be used as a tablet when detached from the dock, or like a laptop when the two are conjoined. It comes with an 11.6-inch screen, an upgrade from the 10.1-inch screen in the Switch 10, providing a bigger desktop area to work in, which many people will prefer when using Windows. But aside from that change, the design remains just about the same.
It costs a bit more than its predecessor too. The Switch 11 retails for about £369 (around $550, AU$720), while the Switch 10 was £299 (around $445, AU$580). Being less affordable eliminates one of the key advantages of the Switch 10, and means the shortcomings of the new model are less forgivable.
You get a USB port here
Design
The dock and trackpad feel like they were taken straight from a netbook, with a cheap feeling plastic keyboard. There's a single USB 2.0 port on the side of this section. With the tablet and dock connected together, the Switch 11 weighs a hefty 1.6kg.
The tablet part is weightier than most slates
The tablet part is 11mm thick and weighs 840g, considerably more than many other tablets, but not an absolute show-stopper. The rest of the connectors and ports are built into this section – there's mini-HDMI, mini-USB, a MicroSD card reader, the volume controls and the power button.
The screen has a standard 1366 x 768 resolution, is coated in Gorilla Glass, and delivers a crisp, picture with bright colours. It looks okay even when viewed at different angles. It's perhaps the high point of the hardware, as with its predecessor. I've used far worse displays on laptops and have no real complaints.
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