Customer Reviews

Averatec AV3500T60-01 Tablet PC (AMD Athlon XP-M 2200+, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW Drive)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This is my first tablet and it also functions as my desktop at work. The best thing about this tablet of course is the built in DVD-rom/CD-RW drive. Why no other tablet has one is beyond me. The screen is nice, and the VGA and TV out options complete the package. It also comes with a protective cover so some of you may not even need a case for it. The 4 USB 2.0 ports and PCMCIA slot are also a nice touch. Handwriting recognition software is good and gets better as you get the hang of it. The speakers aren't loud but overall sound is good. While the laptop heats up quite a bit, it is limited to a specific corner so you can rotate the screen accordingly to avoid getting burned.

Now some advice, if you want to use a tablet primarily for gaming, buy a Toshiba M200 instead, if you only need ocassional gaming this will do. Warcraft 3 plays fine, but MOH:AA doesn't even load. The stylus is responsive enough for games, so the graphics chip is what is holding it back.

If you want a tablet primarily as a web browser this is perfect. The battery only last 2 hours at best, but the 12" screen is perfect for browsing.

For on the go note taking I would suggest something smaller, about 8" diagonally. Oddly enough the screen seems to be too big to use on something other than a desk. This is where it helps to be able to switch to laptop mode and still use the pen. But there is a corner that gets quite hot, so you need to keep that in mind, especially in landscape mode because it becomes the front right corner. Note taking is best done in portrait mode, easy to get to with the push of a button.

As a portable movie player the DVD drive, 60GB HDD and big screen shine. But the built in DVD player refuses to output copyrighted DVDs to a TV, so keep in mind that you will need to get another program or change the DVDs to another format for TV watching.

Besides the TV out thing, there are other anoying things. The power button is hidden in tablet mode, so in order to turn the PC on, or come back from standby or hibernation you need to open it up and bring the keyboard out. Also, when using an external display you can't close the lid all the way, or you'll get weird mouse behaviour.

Overall I like it. For their next model I would like Averatec to use a real graphics chip, include an external power button and a joypad, and fix the lid/mouse thing. I commend them for using a DVD combo drive when nobody did and for keeping their price when nobody did as well.

this is a nice little laptop even without the tablet features, they didnt skimp on memory or disk and it even comes with a very nice portfolio type case.
the tablet stuff is gravy and since it comes with onenote (which many dont) you can get going right away.
it is also a nice compact size. I am very impressed and cant think of anything bad to say.

The cons: not the greatest battery life, but then again I very rarely need more than 1.5hrs of uninterupted use with no outlets available, and the battery can certainly supply 1.5+ hr.
There are a number of software glitches, make sure that your first steps after turning it on are to turn on the firewall, then get online and download the login fix from the averatec website. Installing other patches along with SP2 can be a headache. If you decide you are going to install SP2, do this before installing other software, that way if you give up on getting things to work with SP2, you can restore the system without losing time spent installing other programs. My tablet does work with SP2 installed, but it did take a few tries to get there. The averatec tech support does advise against installing SP2, just because it can cause problems for various drivers (and microsoft also indicates not all of the drivers are compatible with SP2).
Pros: great price, hardware seems to work fine, and once you're past the initial setup difficulties, the software seems to work fine. I read a few reviews that indicated there may be problems with the pen with non microsoft programs, thus far, I haven't had any issues except with erasing. Tech support is generally good, waits haven't been terribly long, and for the most part they have been helpful

I strongly recommend not to buy this product. The product received was defective on receipt. When turning the screen around to be in tablet mode it had a short and would shut off the screen. The pen broke within a week ($49 to replace it) and then in 2 weeks the glass on top of the screen cracked all the way across when the product was picked up by it's side like a piece of paper to show the screen to a client. I returned the product for repair. It has been over 3 weeks and they continue to 'lose' the repair order. For over week a now I have called every other day because every other day they say they will call me back that day or the next day about the repiar. This has been going on for well over a 10 days and have yet to get a return phone call.
So in short- a defective product that was returned under an RMA and in all it's been just under 2 months. I have neither the unit nor the money.

I recently purchased this tablet Pc brand new. When writing on the display in certain areas it is not smooth and it doesn't always recognize the pen. It has blank spaces between characters. If you are in a meeting taking notes, there will be so many missing characters, so your notes probably won't make sense. I had problems with the power during the first couple of days. It would get so hot that I couldn't have it directly on my arm or leg. When turning the display to write in the tablet mode, the display would freeze and I couldn't get it to turn off with the power button, ctrl alt delete, or by unplugging the power cord. I had to remove the battery several times. I called their customer support and received horrible service. Not only was the rep rude and irritated with my concerns, he didn't seem to have much knowledge about the product or how to resolved the issue. His response to most of my concerns was, "I don't know." I took it back thinking that maybe I had a lemon, but my second one also had power issues within a couple of days. It would give an errror after powering on and I didn't have to log in to access the laptop. Tech support stated that they received a notice from Microsoft after the laptop was released saying that there were logon and power issues with windows and to download the quick fix from their site. I did that, but I still had power issues. It would turn off by itself, and I couldn't get it to stay on for more than 2 seconds after pressing the power. The second one also didn't always recognize the pen. I took it back for a refund. Don't waste your time or money. I'm not bitter, I just don't like lemons!

I noticed that the tablet cursor jumps away when it gets close to the edges. So I exchanged it with a new one. With the new one, the clock was not very accurate. It slows down by hours overnight, plus BIOS options kept resetting. Unfortunately the return period is over. So I called customer support and told them I suspected it's a bad CMOS battery. They said there is no way I can change the battery myself without voiding the warrenty and I have to send it back for warrenty repair. They said it'd take about a week. My laptop got to them on 5/9. Now 3 weeks later and I'm still waiting. I called them and they said it's not the battery but it needs a new motherboard. They're still waiting for the parts.

Weakness:
- Heavy
- Short battery life
- Very few things you can control in BIOS options
- Tablet not very responsive (I have a Fujitsu Lifebook which has touch screen and is excellent)
- Not very reliable

Strength:
- Price

**Updated** It's been over a month and "they're still waiting for the motherboard". They don't even know when they'll get the parts. Every time I contact them, the response is they *might* have more info next week. I asked them to send me a replacement, but they refused. Note their Warrenty Policy says "Timeframes for service repairs:" is "allow 3 business days for repair and return shippment of 1 day".

***Updated*** I finally got it back after more than 6 weeks. After using it less than a month, the same problem came back! I talked to their tech support, and finally got some more detailed info this time. They've been using a rechargeable CMOS battery for this laptop and it's not charging. They were waiting for the new non-rechargeable (probably non-standard) batteries for replacement, but it took them forever to come in. Last time, they manually recharged mine and sent it back to me. This time they said don't send it in until they got the battery shippment. I was told their website would have such update when it comes in. Of course, such info never appeared. I called them several weeks ago to check, just in case, and to my surprise they said the batteries came several days ago and I could send it in now! So I did. Unfortunately, it's been more than 2 weeks and my laptop is still sitting at the shop. I just talked to them and they said they're still waiting for the batteries! Are you kidding? The guy said he'd check again and then came back and said the batteries just arrived today! Ok, but when will I get it back? Well, he said there are over 100 people in line ahead of me, and it'd hopefully take another week to fix mine.

So the ordeal goes on again...

As of today, my laptop spends more than in their shop than being used by me.

My rating for this laptop should be 1 star.

I've had my machine for almost a year now. It has gone back for trackpad problems once. In addition the CMOS battery was replaced, the case was cracking and it was replaced as well. It was fixed in a timely manner, but it is now doing the same thing. The machine is noisy, hot and the battery life is horrible. I bought it as a cheap way to get into a tablet. I'm convinced of the value of having a tablet; I just need to get a better tablet. If you get one, get an extended warranty.

I was excited to get my Averatec tablet and intergrate my several systems on to it. After merely a month and a half, the computer is useless. Since I run a paperless office, this resulted in not only huge inconvenience, but major lost time.

While the Averatec Tablet 3500c provides some nice features - i.e. a sharp VGA screen and a large hard drive - it is constructed very poorly and is totally unreliable.

I handle the computer with kid gloves. However, the junction at the swivel hinge began to decay after only a month. The video connection with the computer became unstable and the video would intermittantly be disrupted.

When you have a client sitting in the office waiting for a document to be produced for signature, this is totally unacceptable.

Unfortunately, I did not buy the extended warranty. In this case, that decision proved to be costly.

When I called Averatec for assistance (after having the computer a mere 45 days) I was met with an aloof attitude and a rigid repair policy. The computer would tied up for "seven to ten business days." After requesting to speak with a supervisor, I learned that there were no exceptions to the policy and no way to expedite the repair. Further, the attitude of the company clearly conveyed a total lack of understanding (or caring) for the computing needs related to running an office with their equipment.

Even if I were to get the machine repaired, the problems encountered here negate the possibility of further use of the machine or further dealings with Averatec. I simply cannot depend on either.

After writing this review, I will be spending the rest of the day finding and rebuilding another machine, only to have lost all of the time and money invested herein.

What I thought would be a unique piece of equipment turned into an unfortunate little disaster.

If this computer worked (or if Amazon shipped new computers) this would be a great buy. I got four and had to send all of them back.

1) First computer had a latch problem. In hindsight I should have just kept this one as it was the best of the bunch.

2) Second one had a problem with the keyboard. Reinstalled the OS, updated all drivers, etc. Averatec tech support determined there must be a problem with the hardware.

3) Third one arrived with two stickers on the bottom marked REFURBISHED. Returned it without even turning it on.

4) Fourth one arrived in a box that had obviously been opened before. Bottom of the laptop had scratches and a sticker from stuffbak.com that they didn't even bother to take off before reshipping this used compter to me. Returned it without even turning it on.

I've given up. For the record, I was generally impressed with Averatec's technical support when I had to deal with them. And I'm genrally pleased with purchases from Amazon, but their supplier has left Amazon with a lot of egg in their face for shipping refurbs and used computers.

I am giving this computer two stars instead of one because if you get lucky with a unit that works then you've got yourself a great deal and a computer worthy of five stars. But that has not been my experience.

Buy this Tablet PC at your own risk and make sure you know about the store's return policy before you buy. I lost a $180.00 restocking fee at Circuit City because I didn't want to exchange for another same model or anything else they had in stock on the day I brought the computer back.

What I liked:
1) LOVED the Tablet PC software, can draw and write and talk into this computer. Sex? I dunno, it did get very hot.
2) LOVED the design, got compliments but no dates
3) LOVED the solid casing and bright display
4) LOVED the processor speed and wireless

What I didn't like:
1) Battery life: between 1 and 1 1/2 hours. Computer turns off after 2 second warning.
2) Runs very hot, smells like a hot iron, will press your pants for free.
3) DVD player useless, very bad quality.
4) Keyboard very uncomfortable to type on. Touchpad keys really strained my thumb.
5) Broke after I had it for 12 days.
6) Made with very bad latches, parts. It looks like the company ran out of money halfway through building the computers. What a shame.