We saw some news and rumors about Acer making a very small 8 inch tablet running Windows 8 a while back. Well, now we got to try out an early version of the new Acer Iconia W3 and it seems like Windows 8 will work quite well with the smaller 8 inch form factor. Of course, it’s not a terribly powerful tablet with a 1.8ghz Intel Atom processor, 2Gb RAM, and 32Gb storage, but right now it’s one of a kind and the price is going to be a respectable $379 when it’s available in a couple of weeks. An innovative keyboard accessory is also going to be available for an extra $70. The keyboard is much larger than the tablet so that you have plenty of room to type and it also has a nice little slot underneath it where you can attach the tablet to protect its screen and carry both around. A 64Gb version will also be available, and you can add a little more storage with a 32Gb MicroSD card. The tablet will also come bundled with the Home & Student version of Microsoft Office and since it’s an x86 processor with full Windows 8, you’ll be able to install anything that is tolerable on a computer with 2Gb of RAM and 32Gb of storage. In other words, you’ll have to manage what you install a little more than you would on a full-sized laptop, but that’s often the price for such an increase in portability.
Originally published on Pocketnow on June 21, 2013. More from the Pocketnow archive.