Acer's New Switch Windows 2-in-1 Is Chromebook Cheap

If you're looking for a lightweight 2-in-1 that's even lighter on your wallet than your hands, Acer has a pair of interesting 10-inch options. Shown for the first time this week at Computex, the $199 Acer Switch One 10 and $249 Switch V 10 promise plenty of value and just enough performance to make them useful as a primary device for children or secondary computer for adults.

Both hybrids have detachable screens that can be mounted facing backwards so they can go into presentation mode. You can also bend the screens backward on their hinges to go into tent mode. On the inside, the two devices are each powered by Intel Atom Cherry Trail processors with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The Switch V 10 will also be available with 64GB of storage.

The $199 Acer Switch One 10 comes in a gunmetal gray color with a brushed metal lid. We had the chance to spend a few moments with it at Acer's Computex booth and were pleased with its solid build quality and vibrant display. The tablet portion, which weighs around 1.7 pounds, easily snapped onto its keyboard and came off with just the right amount of required force.

The Switch One 10's 1280 x 800, 10.1-inch display offered a colorful view of the Windows 10 desktop, without any of the dimness or white washing we often see on devices in this price rane. The keyboard, though a bit cramped, offered decent tactile feedback.

A slightly more premium device, the Acer Switch V 10 comes in five fashion colors: Navy Blue, Peacock Blue, Shale Black, Coral Red and Pearl White. The 2-in-1 also comes with a USB Type-C connector and a fingerprint reader, both features missing from the Switch One 10.

At its booth, Acer only had a few Switch V 10 units and they were all under glass. The black model in particular looked striking and much more premium than the Switch One 10's gray aesthetic.

Both the Acer Switch One 10 and Switch V 10 will be available in the U.S. sometime in the third quarter of this year, in plenty of time for holiday shoppers.

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The official Geeks Geek, as his weekly column is titled, Avram Piltch has guided the editorial and production of Laptopmag.com since 2007. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram programmed several of LAPTOP's real-world benchmarks, including the LAPTOP Battery Test. He holds a master's degree in English from NYU.