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Acer Iconia W3: A US$380, 8-inch Windows 8 Tablet?

By Ng Chong Seng - on 6 May 2013, 11:05am

Acer Iconia W3: A US$380, 8-inch Windows 8 Tablet?

The 8-inch Acer Iconia W3. (Image source: MiniMachines.net.)

It’s no secret that Microsoft is working with PC OEMs to make smaller Windows 8 tablets. Who knows, maybe the Redmond-based company itself is working on a smaller Surface tablet.

Just a few weeks ago, MiniMachines.net posted leaked images of one Acer Iconia W3, purportedly a Windows 8 tablet with an 8-inch screen. Besides being small enough to fit in one hand, it has optional accessories such as a cover stand and a keyboard dock that’s longer than the tablet itself.

Fast forward to just a few days ago, Acer did make a number of product announcements - the 15.6-inch Aspire R7 with an ‘Ezel’ hinge; the 11.6-inch Aspire P3; and mainstream Windows 8 notebooks in the V series - but the Iconia W3 is nowhere to be seen. But as reported by Engadget, that didn’t stop a pre-order page at Amazon (now pulled) from going live, and it revealed more details about the tablet.

Assuming the Amazon listing to be correct, the Acer Iconia W3 has the following specs:

  • OS: Windows 8 Pro
  • Screen: 8.1-inch, 1,280 x 800-pixel touchscreen
  • Processor: Intel dual-core Atom Z2760
  • RAM: 2GB SDRAM
  • Storage: 32GB flash memory
  • Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; 1 x USB 2.0 port
  • Camera: 2MP (front and rear-facing)
  • Weight: 0.5kg
  • Dimensions: 219 x 135 x 11mm

The fact that this tablet runs on the Atom Z2760 also means it’s running the 32-bit version of Windows 8, which is okay as it’s still able to run desktops apps, unlike ARM-based Windows RT devices. The 32GB flash storage is also going to be eMMC-type instead of SSD. Of course, perhaps what’s more important is what’s the battery life of this tablet and how much does it cost. According to the now-pulled listing, the Iconia W3’s two-cell 3,500mAh battery lasts for eight hours and the tablet costs US$380 (about S$468).

So, a sub-S$500, 8-inch Windows 8 tablet that runs all your favorite desktop apps (including Microsoft Office) - will you buy it?

Source: Engadget.

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