Giving Away 5 Acer Switch Alpha 12 2-in-1 Laptops Through Twitter. (Really.)

I’m partnering with Acer Education to give away 5 of their Switch Alpha 12 2-in-1 laptops. If you’re not familiar with the product, it’s a laptop that converts into a tablet with an adjustable display and full-sized keyboard to help you stay productive on the go.

Information about the laptops is below, but I know you want the contest details right away:

1. Look for my daily Tweets during the next five work days on the contest at https://twitter.com/stevehargadon (@stevehargadon)
2. Retweet (RT) and/or like my giveaway tweet to be entered. You can do as many retweets as you would like, but only one each day of the 5-day promotion will be counted! 
3. You have to be in the US to win. I know, sorry to you international folks. I’ll still love you if you retweet, follow, or like, but you can only win if your mailing address is in the United States, since the giveaway includes shipping.
4. After 5 (work) days of the giveaway tweets, we’ll randomly draw a winner, entering your name for every point you’ve accumulated.   
5. Winners will be contacted by me and once verified, announced through Twitter. 
6. The official Terms and Conditions of the giveaway are at http://bit.ly/2hud7Ii.

It’s important that I disclose that I’ve been contracted by Acer to hold this promotion. That being said, I absolutely love this device and the whole movement toward the 2-in-1 laptop. I’d like to believe I predicted this years ago--a thin device that a student (or a teacher, or a librarian, or…) could carry into a classroom, plug into a docking station with a monitor or two, a keyboard, and a mouse, and have as a full computer. (If I find that prediction anywhere in my past writing or speaking, though, will anyone even care?)

I feel like this is an inevitability for classroom computing. A long-battery-life tablet, add a keyboard for writing-intensive use, bring to the classroom and it becomes part of a full computer. Now, we’re not offering that full setup as part of this promotion, but the Switch Alpha 12 has this capability. But Acer is asking me to give away 5 of these devices (the tablet + the keyboard) through the above-detailed Twitter contest. (My job is not nearly this fun most of the time!)

It’s worth learning more about this device. https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/switchalpha12. 

Here’s some of their promotional copy: “Quickly snap on the full-size keyboard to the tablet, via a magnetic hinge, and turn this tablet into a full powered laptop! The full-size keyboard is backlit and features widely spaced keys for comfy and accurate typing and folds over as a cover for easy transport and screen protection. The U-frame kickstand can adjust up to 165 degrees so you can tilt the screen to the exact angle you need, yet its sturdy enough to hold the device stable when touched.” 

CNET gives this device an 8.3 out of 10 rating.  “ For its price class, the Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 delivers excellent performance in a well-thought-out design, and it includes a great keyboard.” https://www.cnet.com/products/acer-switch-alpha-12/review

PCMagazine’s review doesn’t come with a rating, but they concluded:  “The Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 represents a strong value, standing as one of the fastest midrange tablets we've tested, but coming in at a reasonable price. The screen is sharp with a high resolution, and the USB-C port is a welcome addition to the single USB 3.0 port. There are some letdowns with the overall design, though, like the cheap hinge and the average keyboard. Given that the Acer's speed boost over the Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 700 is modest and we like that tablet's design a bit more, it remains our Editors' Choice. But if the inclusion of USB-C is particularly appealing to you, the comparably priced Switch Alpha 12 is worth your consideration” http://www.pcmag.com/review/348116/acer-switch-alpha-12

Hope you’ll participate!