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TabletPCBuzz.com - I feel sorry for all of you buying Averatec Tablets
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I feel sorry for all of you buying Averatec Tablets All Forums >>
Averatec
I'm satisfied with it for now. Unfortunately, it seems that most other tablet PCs are underpowered. Plus, there seems to be a lack of resources on tablet PC comparisons.
I'm hoping the market will diversify in the not-too-distant future. The Averatec is the closest thing I could find to a reasonable-priced Tablet PC that still has all the features and power of an average laptop. For me, 256 MB isn't enough memory (I average 300-400 MB of memory used with all the apps I got open), 1.1 GHz sounds a little slow, and a DVD/CD-ROM is a must, as well as a keyboard.
I've never used any other notebooks, so I can't really compare, but yes, it does run hot, and yes, there's only 2-3 hours of battery life. Battery life isn't really a problem for me, though, because I carry the power cord and an inverter in the bag I bought for it.
Once there's more options in the Tablet PC market, I'll think about selling it and getting a better one, but for now, it works well for me.
USA
7 Posts My Tablet PCs: Acer TMC102Ti
Averatec C3500
Posted - Dec 16 2004 : 2:05:16 PM
quote:Originally posted by sullivanpt
Doug,
I appreciate all the positive and negative product reviews. But … people may appreciate a less accusatory tone in your replies.
I think if you take a step back and reread your posts in this thread, you may be surprised at what you see. True or not, I see a disgruntled former customer, or worse a possible competitor plant, who will say anything to prevent sales of this brand of tablet. Is that what you intended?
Well done. I couldn't have said it better myself.
quote:Originally posted by Mannyman
Hi Doug, By reading this site, not everyone has had your bad experience with this Convertible. I figured people should be aware that us 1 in a million exist.
I'm sorry I don't regret the purchase enough for you, but I think it's fair that others hear of my positive experience with this machine. I don't sell the thing, just like using it.
Totally agree!
quote:Originally posted by c3500
Reading the provocative "sorry for you" title of the thread and the transparent "I have an important job, I am an authority" preamble, I was hardly surprised to read some of the Chicken Little "sky is falling" nonsense that started this thread.
How true. I felt the same way!
quote:Originally posted by c3500 I've had a C3500 for a few months now. I've posted to this site on my experiences with the machine and I've found it to be quite a useful and productive Tablet PC.
c3500, you're the man! You have posted reliable, informative reviews from the very beginning. Thanks for your immensely helpful contribution here. Keep up the good work!
Wow, I've really missed out on this discussion. I remember when I got mad at motion1 for bashing, and this new guy (leftyrightfoot) is SO MUCH WORSE. He obviously needs to stroke his larger-than-life ego by spreading his unmatched knowledge and authority in the Averatec forum. Too bad we can't get an antivirus patch to remove all trace of him.
I've owned my Averatec 3500 for almost 5 months, and I haven't had any real problems. Doug can go **** himself before he tells me that I made a mistake, like he has with others. I'm extremely satisfied with my 3500. I'm very happy that I purchased it, and it has reliably worked as well or better than any of the previous six laptops/tablets I've owned over the years. I've traveled across the country with it; I use it every day as my sole primary computer; I carry it around everywhere from home to work to school to some stores; I've used it outside on my farm tractor while plotting GPS coordinates on vacant land; and it's even rode for 500+ miles on the small luggage rack of my Harley-Davidson V-Rod -- and it still looks and works like it's brand new. My Acer tablet didn't hold up near as well. I'll have my 3500 with me at CES in January, if anyone wants to see it, I'll be happy to show you.
I appreciate all the positive and negative product reviews. But … people may appreciate a less accusatory tone in your replies.
I think if you take a step back and reread your posts in this thread, you may be surprised at what you see. True or not, I see a disgruntled former customer, or worse a possible competitor plant, who will say anything to prevent sales of this brand of tablet. Is that what you intended?
Well done. I couldn't have said it better myself.
...
Wow, I've really missed out on this discussion. I remember when I got mad at motion1 for bashing, and this new guy (leftyrightfoot) is SO MUCH WORSE. He obviously needs to stroke his larger-than-life ego by spreading his unmatched knowledge and authority in the Averatec forum. Too bad we can't get an antivirus patch to remove all trace of him.
I've owned my Averatec 3500 for almost 5 months, and I haven't had any real problems. Doug can go **** himself before he tells me that I made a mistake, like he has with others. I'm extremely satisfied with my 3500. I'm very happy that I purchased it, and it has reliably worked as well or better than any of the previous six laptops/tablets I've owned over the years. I've traveled across the country with it; I use it every day as my sole primary computer; I carry it around everywhere from home to work to school to some stores; I've used it outside on my farm tractor while plotting GPS coordinates on vacant land; and it's even rode for 500+ miles on the small luggage rack of my Harley-Davidson V-Rod -- and it still looks and works like it's brand new. My Acer tablet didn't hold up near as well. I'll have my 3500 with me at CES in January, if anyone wants to see it, I'll be happy to show you.
Deborah technogal since 1988
Im glad you agree with SullivanPT about someone being rude. Oh wait... Doug at least managed to get his opinion and experiences across without resorting to immaturity.
Check out my "needed" thread, buying lots of used accessories:
USA
7 Posts My Tablet PCs: Acer TMC102Ti
Averatec C3500
Posted - Dec 16 2004 : 3:53:05 PM
Yes, you're right. I said some immature things, and for that I apologize. But I have my convictions and I'm sticking to them. I don't regret anything that I said. It came from the heart, and I meant every word.
So here's the more mature version of what I could've said ... I disagree with someone who tells everyone not to buy a product based on his experience with one unit. Just like I don't advise people to buy the 3500 based on my good experience with one unit. If someone tested hundreds of units, the information would be much more credible. And I certainly wouldn't be so presumptuous as to suggest that someone who already purchased an item made a mistake in purchasing it. I have no problem with critical Averatec opinions, such as lewdvig, that seem to be legitimately fair and objective, but I'm totally against those who appear to be product bashing.
I love Tablet PCs. In November 2002, I bought the first model ever released (Acer C102) and used it for 18 months until I got the 3500. I purchased the 3500 as something to try while I was waiting for Fujitsu to release the T4010. I still want to buy the Fujitsu for the built-in DVD burner, firewire and bluetooth, but I can't justify spending that much money for niceties, when my Averatec is still working great. I didn't expect much from the 3500, and it's pleasantly surprised me ever since I got it. I feel like I got an amazing bargain for $1199. That's why I'm so adamant in defending it against the bashers and the haters. The Fujitsu T4010 that I want is more than twice that price ($2599). Thanks to the 3500, I can afford to wait on Fujitsu to lower their price.
Yeah, kudos to Averatec for pushing prices on Tablets down, and they do learn fast. I will bet that the next gen gives any Tablet a run for it's money.
It is low-priced and well constructed. It is fast and well spec'ed for the price.
But I also think it is important to know what you are getting. My friend does not get anywhere near 3 hours with his c3500 - even with that German powerstep utility for AthlonXPs. 90 to 120 minutes is more accurate. And it gets hot - really hot. Also the digitizer is proprietary - you can only use Averatec styli. It is nioce to have the built-in combo drive, but this increases the weight (a factor for a Tablet).
As for price - at 1299 there are better deals. An M200 can be had for the same price online (and it is better). And there are other units in this price range that offer a Pentium-M or Celeron-M (cooler and longer running).
My buddy would have been better served to know of all opinions at the time of his purchase (negative and positive).
I joined the member of this site yesterday because of Averatec3500! And I just ordered this item two days ago from Samsclub.com with 3 yr. service agreement. http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shopping.jsp?coe=0&oidPath;=0%3a-23542%3a-33761%3a-38929%3a-38935%3a873127&mt;=a&n;=0&BV;_SessionID=_SC_0258279909.1103607385_CS_&BV;_EngineID=cccgadddgelggilcfkfcfkjdgoodfkh.0 Which mean I will get this tablet pc before Christmas! I will tell/report you guys how I feel once I receive it and from day1 to day ? ...(3 years i guess.)
42 Posts My Tablet PCs: Adveratec 3500, Fujitsu ST5010,
Motion 1400va on it's way back :(
Posted - Dec 21 2004 : 10:48:08 AM
Tabjot... The information that posted about the 3500 was not in any way meant to be a personal attack on you. I am sorry that you took it that way. It was unbiased information from someone who has a lot of experience evaluating IT equipment for real world situations. People should not take information like I have posted personaly just because they own a particular product or have made a purchasing decision. The idea is to help others avoid the same mistakes and make a fully informed decision. So you have not had any problems yet. It seems you are one of the lucky ones. There have been a large number of people who have posted in this forum that have, several in this particuar thread. Costco would not have droped the item if they were not having problems with it as well. There was even just a couple of days ago a guy from Circuit City posting a simular problem to what I was seeing: http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20366 People are not just makeing it up.
if one needs an inexpensive tablet I would suggest looking into one of the simular priced alternatives that can be found in this thread.
"People should not take information like I have posted personaly just because they own a particular product or have made a purchasing decision." I think one explanation is sufficient rather than the continued reiteration of one’s supposed ongoing intimate knowledge of a particular product.
“The idea is to help others avoid the same mistakes and make a fully informed decision.” Perhaps by simply stating ‘The idea is to help others to make a fully informed decision’ would be less offensive.
“So you have not had any problems yet. It seems you are one of the lucky ones.” Again, maybe you should say something like, ‘It seems that you may be one of the lucky ones since you don’t seem to have any problems with yours.’ I took what you stated to be an inflammatory statement.
I think all those who read this forum understand that YOU don’t like the Averatec C3500. All you do by continually posting the negatives is to make yourself a target for negative reviews. Get past this and let it go. As with politics, there are 2 sides to every issue - and by refusing to acknowledge that point (i.e. total focus on the negative) you cast yourself as incapable of arriving at an unbiased opinion. At least some of the others who have had less than optimum experiences state that they would take another look after the bugs are worked out.
It is a very solid little laptop/tablet though. My pal came by tonight to pick-up the screen protectors we both bought from Strong Engineering. He brought his C 3500 over. It is better made than my M 200 - way more robust feeling.
I’ve had my Averatec 3500 for about 3 months now and I love it and would recommend it to people that are looking for a true lap top machine with descent performance with the added advantage of tablet capabilities.
The reason I got the 3500 was as a counterpart to my other machine; the Sony PCG-GRT170 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009MGUT/psxextreme/102-5313262-9304156) with an extra 512k of ram. I wanted something reasonable beefy that I could do both development and the occasional slacker game fest. This machine was a beast. Forget about portability; battery time on it was about 35 min from boot to shutdown, I kid you not. And heat, let me tell you that the Averatec does not get hot comparable. The Sony gets at least 75 degrees Celsius. The Averatec 3500 has turned out to be a much better fit for me.
I found that the 3500 handles my development needs great. Compiling time is very reasonable on some of my biggest projects. As for gaming I decided to try LORT Battle for Middle Earth on it. I can say that it did play, lowest settings and very slowly, but it did play.
At 5.5 lbs this machine is very portable, as in from the bedroom to the living room to car and so on. And I’m getting about and hour and half with heavy use. Screen presentation is very good and I’ve I used it as my DVD player on my last camping trip.
As for the heat issue that some are complaining about. My machine does not get “Hot”. Hot would be 70 degrees Celsius or better. At the most I’m getting about 45 degrees Celsius out of it. In regular notebook mode the fan usually does not run or cycles for about a minute then shuts off, even if I’m running it in bed. If I’m in tablet mode I have to care not to cover up the vent port on the machine or it will start to get warm. The front of the machine barely rises above room temperature. So the notion of part failure or battery deterioration seems absurd form my point of view.
It is true that the casing is cheep; I have a small crack already on the corner of the screen. But for the price performance there is nothing that can touch this machine. And it’s all about the right now with laptops; right now I could get almost two of these for the same performance from another manufacturer. If you think you’re going to get more then two years out of a note book you’re kidding yourself. You will end up getting a new just on performance alone. May my HP N3150 rest in peace…
So as to whether this machine is what you need. If you want a true portable laptop that can keep up with modern apps and a very competitive price, then this machine is right for you. If you want all this and have cash to burn then Toshiba would probably be a better choice. Except for Acer stepping up, most of the other manufactures I’ve looked at may as well be selling $2000+ dollar paper weights. I just don’t see them having the processor power to be useful. But, if you want a true hand held device that runs for four hours and then you should be looking at a Pocket PCs.
Good point Chuck. I have access to a Fujistu T4010 for awhile. I've been looking forward to an m200 and having been switching back and forth among models. I've begun reasoning that the Avertec might be the way to go for those who want more than is on the market because less money invested for one of the current models that currently don't meet the simplest requirements that I have. But, I a can't say when it is time to buy what it will be,
I am a developer using a Dell P4 2.4GHz, 1Gig ram and 14.1 1280x1024 native resolution. I always run a 1280x1024. So I still use that for development at home and when at work, I connect to an external monitor and drive it at 1600x12xx something. I really wonder if I should get a smaller slate and not expect to develop on it, but to use it as my paper for drawing sketches, documentation and such.
How do you manage development and note taking? Do you swivel the screen often, write with it propped up etc?
A confession here: I’ve been typing so long that I nearly can’t read my own handwriting, the character recognition is asking a lot even for me. So note tacking has been something I have to get use to again. Fortunately MS Journal makes this easier then ever. I can sketch out my DB schemas, classes, Ideas, whatever during an idea session. The lasso function in Journal is really cool because I can lasso a section and move it to other areas and resize as the project ideas spans out. I haven’t run the numbers on how much I’m saving on yellow note pads but it certainly is easier then trying to find that napkin I scratched an idea out two weeks later because it there on the machine somewhere. The screen size is a bit limiting but limiting but if I have a rather large schema or something to that effect I always have the option of remote login on that machine with my big one (1400 x 1050), just sharing the project and loading it on the big, or even plugging in an external monitor. The dev anywhere is a big plus for a slacker like me too. Nice to go from the desk to the bed, to the living room, or back porch; really no excuse for not banging the keyboard. Though this may be viewed as bad thing.
leftyrightfoot: Could you recommend a tablet that has:
-DVD/CDR drive -Equivalent processor -512 MB of memory -LAN/Modem/Wireless capabilities -60+ GB Harddrive -Video out -USB ports -A keyboard (a convertible)
For about the same price as the Averatec?
Honestly, all that stuff is required for my purposes. Sure, the C3500 not the best quality, but in all honesty, there's not much diversity in the current tablet PC market. I, for one, would like to see more higher-end models.
I feel sorry for all of you buying Averatec Tablets 
Posted - Dec 13 2004 : 10:51:44 PM
