Any time you get more tech than you’re paying for is a good time. Acer South Africa, ostensibly to help shift users from the outgoing Windows 10 operating system to Windows 11, will offer some new buyers a free Iconia A10-11 tablet. Just to sweeten the deal.

The ~~marketing stunt~~ free offer isn’t a shabby one, at least. The Acer Iconia A10-11 currently retails for R3,000 in most locations, offering basic Android performance in a 10.1in display that would prove more than adequate for a comic book library.

Acer your deal

‘Free things’ are never that simple, however. There are some conditions for buyers. First, there’s the buying itself and second, there’s the place you have to buy from. The offer is only valid for two specific laptops bought from local online retailer Computer Mania. The models are the Acer Aspire 14 AI (A14-52M-78D5) and the Swift 14 AI (SFL14-51), which retail for R25,000 and R28,000, respectively.

If it’ll take you some time to round up the ready cash, you’ll have it. The promotion began on 11 August and continues through to 26 September. That’s two payday cycles, which might be enough to arrange the upgrade. If the death of Windows 10 is bothering you, it’s also just before Microsoft’s operating system reaches its end-of-life.

Acer Africa’s marketing manager, Lesego Bobbi Nyamane, said, “With the end of support for Windows 10 approaching, it’s the perfect time to move to Windows 11 and take advantage of the latest AI-powered features and security.”

Both of Acer’s 14in notebooks are solid purchases. The Swift 14 AI features an OLED display for the price, while both include Intel Core 7 Ultra processors, 32GB of system memory, and a terabyte of NVMe storage. Either will blow the Aconia A10-11’s Android spec out of the water, but you can’t (and shouldn’t) haul a full 14in computer into the bathroom to read the latest Chip Zdarski run of Captain America.