TEST RUN OF THE AVERATEC C3500

had the opportunity to spend a hour playing with the Averatec C3500 at my local Costco store. Got the opportunity to do so since they had the tablet...had been in stock for couple days and no one seemed to know how to make the **** thing work ..... so had sort of a work shop..

The machine looks really nice and advanced design. a bit of a two stage slope to the front of the tablet with the screen gently sloping to meet the bottom. the latch to open is in the center and like the Acer, uses the same locking mechanism to lock the screen down as well as lock the screen when in the tablet mode.

The unit I had was an 12.1 screen 80g HD, 512 Ram (was told it was one stick, but I did not open the slot on the bottom to check out) It comes with the standard WinXP TP edition WITH Office OneNote included. I did not find the writing quite as smooth as with my Fujitsu ST5011D but then the Averatec did not have a screen protector on it. At first there was a bit of skipping when writing until I discovered I was not pressing enough. It does not require 'hard' pressing...just a different feel from a couple of the other tablets I have used. The keyboard felt okay, again a bit different from my present keyboard but then that is expected.

I did not find the fan to be distractingly noisey...but then I am an old man and maybe my hearing is a bit off. Certainly no louder than the M205 that I had....and sold...The AMD CPU seems okay. I did notice heat a bit sooner from the exhaust port...which is located on the back edge of the unit. Again it did not seem excessively hot for the time that I used it (plugged in...no battery)

Controls for switching from landscape to portrait(can be rotated in all four directions) is located on the top of the keyboard as is the scroll device...not a wheel but like a moveable switch. there is also a button which brings up a menu to control brightness, volume, etc...handy edition I think. also on the keyboard is the on/offswitch for the 802.11g wifi. The touch pad is marked to show you can drag/scroll top to bottom and side to side (a feature that the Toshiba had and did not clearly state and nearly drove me crazy as to why my cursor was shifting so much 'on its own'.

It comes with FOUR USB 2.0 slots, a video S connection as well as external monitor outlet. There is a volume wheel on the side and the obligatory headset/mic plugs. The speakers are on either side at the front (this is an edit on 7/29)... is like a lot of laptop speakers..sort of on the weak side and not one to enjoy your favorite CD on. There is a built in DVD/CD-RW is included along with Roxio software.

The screen is rather nice but does not have a wide angle for viewing and is a typical 12.1 XGA screen and would not be adequate for extended (read that 'any') use in direct sunlight. When writing on flat surface in tablet mode the view is best if the back of the unit is raised about 3/4 inch or so. there is of course the 10/100 LAN as well as 56K modem as well as PCMCIA slot

The screen is swiveled in the center of the screen ala Toshiba and Acer. My impression is that the swivel hinge is stronger than the Acer I owned and on par with the Toshiba. There is a little 'bounce' when typing as you have with the Toshiba. But it seemed to be as good as the Toshiba to me.

The weight of 5.5 lbs is noticeable heavier than the 3 lb Toshiba but if the unit is being used mostly in office environment, I dont think that would be a huge drawback. The weight issue is something for individual preferences and uses.

I am sure I have overlooked some feature/item. But this is best I can do with the limited time at my disposal. So bear that in mind when reading my ramblings.

All in all...not a bad unit and this unit as tested was $1279 and cents. I must say that IF I did not neet outside viewing, this unit would probably find a home with me just because of the price. After all this around 2k plus difference for similiar unit. (exception may be the Acer with built in CD which I have never seen...let alone use) But for students and those wanting to try the tablet idea, this is a most attractive offer. Incidently on the hard drive there is a 140 page pdf format manual which is rather nice..

My only reservation....based on limited knowledge...is how the AMD will hold up under these conditions. I have heard that AMD does run hotter and has 'burned out' in some configurations, but this is only from some forums and I have never personally met a person with such problem.

Hope the rambling will be of use to someone.. by the way I dont think the $50 rebate applies to the 80 gig model from Costco..but then the price is right without it...

Thank you for the overview. Hope you don't mind but I thought it is so good that I've split it off for it's own thread. Maybe others can chime in on their opinions too.

I've played with it for a bit at Costco. It was idle at the password. Heat was very low but I don't know how long it had been on. The keyboard is very similar to my Acer. No pen was present :down:

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