Ep121?

[shadrap]

I am trying to decide between the EP121 vs the Acer w500. It will mostly be used for work performing home inspections. The software is light, think word documents etc.. I will utilize the sd card for pictures. Inspections usually last around 2 hours but could go as long as 3. I will also be using it for website development, forum maintenance.

Other uses would include general website browsing, netflix, photo editing.

So which one would you buy for the above task?

Thanks in advance.

[ChrisRS]

EP121 has and active digitizer. You can use a pen to fill forms, annotate photos etc. The screen is larger and it has a more powerful processor so it will be faster. With the included keyboard, this is a laptop replacement. If the storage is sufficient, this may become your primary computer eliminating the need for transferring files.

The W500 will have a smaller screen. It will have better battery life. It sounds like it will do what you need, depending on how demanding your photo editing is. Drawing with your finger or capacitive stylus will not be as easy or accurate as with the EP121.

I would find W500 screen too small for my work, but it may be fine for yours.

[Steve S]

<<...I will utilize the sd card for pictures...>>

...In terms of handling and convenience, some users find the EP121 too big / marginally too heavy. If you intend to be mobile during your work, you should consider that.

Also, the EP121 lacks a backside camera; it only has a webcam-quality camera on the screen side of the slate.

The recently-introduced Samsung Series 7 Slate, which has two web-cam quality cameras, may be worth considering...

[Pirohmaniac]

I wouldn't even consider the Acer. I don't like their hardware. It's not very often a customer brings us a relatively new computer that burned out early, but when they do, it's usually an Acer.

[nnthemperor]

Go for the new Samsung series 7 slate. it`s just what you need.

[mmueller]

Buy neither of those. If you must buy one, take the EP121

EP121:

Bad:

Battery lifetime is between 2 and 4h depending on load, WLAN etc. so it might be a bit short. With an extra battery (XP18000) the price is around 1200€, weight around 2kg (both including a back, power supplies). The unit has no integrated 3G/telefone so if you need to go online away from WLAN you have to pair it with a phone. The camera is "web conference" at best.

Good

This is a full-powered i5 Notebook and you get a good BT-keyboard included. It uses a WACOM digitizer so you can really use Windows-software without a Mouse, special UI tools or other add-ons. It has twice the SSD and memory capacity of the W500 (and neither is easy to upgrade). Depending on how your forms are layed out you can handwrite into them with the stylus. It has a 12'' screen and a sturdy faux leather carry case that actually looks decend. And the basic unit (sans power supply and carry bag) is not much heavier than the smaller W500.


W500

Bad

This is another of the "Butterfinger" tablets that can ONLY be used with fingers or a very thick stylus. They can not do handwriting and Windows software is only useable with special UI add-ons or constant zooming in/out. A C50 CPU is a rather low powered system and both memory and the SSD are small. 32GB are considered very small for a Win7HP (and you need at least that version)

Good

A bit smaller/lighter in weight and, due to the low power CPU better running time


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Depending on you work I would also look at:

+ The Atom-Powered Slates from HP and Fujitsu. While the Atom suffers the same "low power" problems both Tablets have an active (stylus) digitizer and therefor like the EP121 can use Win7 software easily. And they have better power lifetimes

+ The big convertibles from Fujitsu etc. While heavier (and quite a bit costlier in the SSD Version(1)) they offer longer lifetimes (5-10h depending on battery configuration) and are full-sized laptops.

(1) Do NOT get a tablet with a spinning metal HardDrive!!!