The name of the game is portable productivity. Everyone needs a way to carry their work with them, and device manufacturers are going hammer and tongs at figuring out the best implementation to get stuff done on the go. Chromebooks have gained popularity for being value for money, but what if you need some extra horsepower and software chops but don’t want a full-size laptop?
Acer believes the Switch Alpha 12 is the answer. Our review version of the 12-inch tablet came with a 2160x1440 display, an Intel Core i5 clocked at 2.3 Ghz, four GB RAM and a 256GB SSD for storage. The Switch also comes with a magnetically-attachable keyboard and a stylus, and all this is governed by Windows 10.
The Switch is an interesting device, and one of its greatest strengths is that Acer has not skimped out on ports. The Switch features a headphone jack, a USB Type-C port and a full-size USB port, besides the power and volume keys and a dedicated Windows key, on the sides of the device. Two small front-firing stereo speakers are placed right above the display on either side of the front-facing camera, and at the bottom, there is a line of magnetic connectors for the keyboard to latch on to. The positioning of the ports, speakers and cameras is a subtle hint that this device is best used in landscape mode, and if that was not enough, the Switch also has a stand that sits flush behind the display, which can be extended outward to prop it up in landscape mode. The base of the stand tucks in neatly into a recess at the bottom of the device, and does not affect handling if you’re using it as a tablet, but is also rigid enough to let you prop the device at any desired angle.
But the Switch, as the name suggests, is about versatility, and a big part of that comes from the keyboard. It’s thin, and quite light, which is a good thing, as the tablet itself feels a bit heavy despite Acer using liquid cooling instead of a bulky fan. The version we got was not backlit, though higher models of the Switch do get backlit keyboards. The magnetic attachment is easy to get done without fiddling about, and the keyboard anchors itself to the tablet quite firmly. For those who prefer to leave the keyboard attached all the time, it does fold over the display and act as a cover. The keys do not have a lot of travel, which is to be expected, and the touchpad, though not massive, gets the job done.
But how does it fare in terms of getting things done? Quite well, actually. The many connectivity options mean you can plug in just about any sort of device; Acer even includes a USB to HDMI adapter, to plug in a full-size HDMI cable. With Windows at the heart of things, Microsoft’s full productivity suite is also at your disposal, making it quite a powerful device for content creators, and there isn’t much by way of bloatware. The included stylus is a boon for designers, and Acer has used palm rejection techniques to make sure your supporting hand doesn’t make the screen go haywire. Outside of drawing and designing, the stylus isn’t particularly useful, though it does let you take snapshots of desired parts of the screen.
The most challenging bit about using the Switch is less about the device and more about the software. Windows 10 is a more mature take on unifying traditional desktop and app-based ecosystems, and by having a dedicated tablet mode, it is a bit easier to compartmentalise the way you interact with the device. However, teaching your brain to navigate between going to the Windows Store for tablet apps and using it like a regular Windows device for desktop applications takes some getting used to. The Windows Store now has a lot more content, but anyone coming from Android or iOS would bemoan the lack of some popular favourites. The availability of full desktop potential addresses the issue somewhat, but it’s hard to shake off the nagging feeling that Windows 10 is still in the void between app-centric productivity and the capabilities of a desktop.
This being Windows 10, Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana is also on hand to, well, assist. Here again, the inherent complexity of Windows on a tablet device makes itself known, as getting Cortana to work requires fiddling about with language settings and downloading region-specific language packs.
Though the Switch is not really a gaming device, we couldn’t resist having some touch-friendly fun. Taking it for a spin with the puzzle-based title The Room, we noticed the Switch ran it competently enough, though there were occasional moments of sluggishness. Gaming also highlights the limitations of the fanless design, as the tablet got a little warm after a while. The battery life is another weak point, as anything more intensive than casual browsing leads to the little indicator becoming empty at an alarming rate.
Where does the Switch fit in then? That’s a tough one to answer. Chromebooks beat it at general productivity for a much lower price, and regular Windows 10 laptops offer a bit more functionality if you can sacrifice some of the portability. What the Switch is then, is an alternative to Microsoft’s Surface tablet. The Switch also boasts a huge line-up of models with multiple configurations, and is well-designed enough to go up against the Surface on most counts. Finding one to buy may not be as easy, as Acer’s official website does not list sellers and the online asking price of over Rs. 70,000 is dangerously close to the Surface Pro 4. But if you absolutely need a portable Windows 10 tablet that isn’t the Surface, this is a decent alternative.
