Windows Hybrid is the name given to the devices which blur the lines between a laptop and a tablet. Acer Aspire Switch 11 is a Windows Hybrid with an 11.6 inch display. The device has an excellent battery life and the screen quality is also quite vivid. Another feature that stands out in the laptop cum tablet is its keyboard which is of superb quality.
However, it will let you down with a terrible touchpad and a design that lacks imagination. The tablet part of the device has the screen a large chunk of components. The keyboard is attached to the screen with a hinge magnetically. The hinge design used by most of the windows hybrid device makers has been taken little further by Acer with this model. It is a budget device and the students will lap up this device because of its affordable price tag.
The design of the device is not impressive as a laptop or as a tablet. It looks ordinary to the extent of being slightly ugly. The design can be described as grossly unimaginative as it shows thick edges and curves which are not in line with the rest of the design. The finish on the back side of the device is silvery, which gives some respite from its utter ordinary looks.
The gray plastic is dominant in the device, making the device look boring. When the tablet is opened as a laptop, it looks good, mostly due to the keyboard which of top quality. As the top is very heavy, the device when fully opened along the hinge tips backward. This is a common problem in most of the hybrid devices. In the laptop mode, the dimension of the machine is 298 x 205.4 x 25mm and weights 760 gm which is certainly on the higher side.
Acer Aspire Switch 11 is equipped with an 11.6 inches IPS display with a resolution of 1366 x 768. Gorilla Glass 3 protects the screen which is common in the hybrid devices at this end of the market. The image quality of the laptop is pretty decent with vivid colors. While watching videos or playing games, the screen was able to respond well.
However, the games which are graphic intensive showed some lag. The sound of the device was not something which could be termed impressive. The sound they produce has not got enough power are easily subdued by the ambient noise. The performance of Acer Aspire Switch 11 can be termed as above average. With Intel Atom Z3745 and 32GB of storage, the device fared well in the performance tests that were conducted on it.
The device is not the most elegant devices so those who are fussy about the design can give it a miss. However, those who are looking for a budget hybrid device with good battery life and decent features can go for it. The fact that it works doubly as laptop as well as tablet makes it even more desirable for budget shoppers.
Price: AED 2000 approx.
