News & Reviews:   Acer Iconia W4

While you can count the number different of 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablets on one hand still, this market is one with a lot of potential to grow. Joining the ranks of the Acer Iconia W4 and others is the Toshiba Encore. Tech specs and features for the tablet include the 1.3GHz Intel Atom Z3740 quad-core Bay Trail processor, 2GB RAM, 64GB eMMC flash storage, 8-inch HFFS display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, 8MP rear camera and 2MP front camera. The Malaysia pricing is a bit higher at RM1499 (RM400 more than the $330 (RM1096) international price) but most of the features are a bit higher-end compared to the other tablets in this class. For more information check out the Toshiba site. Hopefully it comes with a good matching keyboard combo (which we didn't see on the site). 

When the Acer Iconia W3 tablet first came out it marked the beginning of the first 8-inch Windows 8 tablets in the market. Unfortunately, it didn't have a very good screen and suffered somewhat from performance lag. Looking to fix this is the Acer Iconia W4 tablet, which looks to be a revamp of the W3. This includes a better 8-inch IPS LCD screen with Zero Air Gap touch and better 170-degree viewing angle. The resolution remains 1280 x 800 but the operating system gets an update to Windows 8.1. Another notable tech spec added on includes a 1.8GHz 4th generation Intel Bay Trail processor along with a 5MP autofocus rear camera and 2MP front camera. In addition to the main tablet, there are also a number of new accessories including a microfiber Acer Crunch Cover and Acer Crunch Keyboard. Pricing for the Acer Iconia W4 is set at $329.99 (RM1039) for the 32GB tablet and $379.99 (RM1197) for the 64GB version. The Crunch Cover goes for $40 (RM126) while the Crunch Keyboard goes for $80 (RM252). It would be nice if it came with a Keyboard combo but at least the tablet comes free with Office Home and Student 2013 edition. While there aren't any specific Malaysia release dates the Acer Iconia W4 is expected to be released in October 2013. 

When the Acer Iconia W3 tablet first came out, this 8.1-inch tablet was the first Windows 8 based tablet to be smaller than 10.1-inches. Unfortunately, it had a number of issues, including a non-IPS screen. A video showcasing a similarly shaped Acer tablet but with an IPS screen has recently appeared though, and could be called the Acer Iconia W4 820. Other tech specs and features include a new 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z3740 processor, which from the video looks to have no lag at all. Other tech specs like 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage remains the same but the tablet does have a 5MP rear camera and 2MP front camera as well. The IPS LCD display looks to be 1200 x 800 pixels and may be priced from EUR329 (RM1447) perhaps because of the better hardware. So far, no Malaysia release dates are available but we expect it to arrive soon.