News & Reviews:   Acer Iconia W3

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.

Microsoft may be going to cut the Surface RT tablet prices down by $150. This means that after the price cut, you can get the 32GB base version Surface RT tablet at just $349 (RM1106) while the 64GB version would go for $449 (RM1422). Adding on an extra $100 would get you the Touch Cover.

After it's much hyped announcement at Computex 2013, we've been waiting quite some time for it and now Acer Malaysia has finally released the Acer Iconia W3 tablet. Packing in the full Windows 8 with an 8-inch screen, the tablet will be priced at RM1199 for the 16GB version, which is probably the lowest price for any full Windows 8 system to date. The 64GB version will be coming later in July 2013, but will probably be priced around RM1300 as the US price for the 64GB version is around $429.99 (RM1362) but it also comes with the keyboard. In addition to the full Windows 8 experience, Microsoft have also added a fully functioning Office for free so you can do more than just browse with this tablet.

After all the leaks, teaser videos and unintentional Amazon listings, it was a bit hard to say that the official Acer Iconia W3 announcement was much of a surprise. Regardless, it has been officially announced at Computex 2013 and it has confirmed many of the leaked information. This includes the $379 (RM1169) price tag and the fact that it is running a full Windows 8 operating system much like Microsoft's own Surface Pro. Confirmed tech specs for the Acer Iconia W3 include:

• 1.8GHz Atom Z2760 processor
• 8.1-inch display (1280 x 800)
• 32GB / 64GB Storage + 32GB microSD
• 2MP rear camera + 2MP front camera
• 802.11b/g/n + micro-HDMI + micro-USB
• 540g

Like every other major Computer related company, Acer has quite a few things that they would like to unveil at this year's Computex 2013. They have already revealed quite a few tablets and hybrid tablet computers. Some were just ho hum and some were downright exciting. Teasing their Computex 2013 debut,  Acer have released a teaser video indicating that they have quite a few things to unveil.

While rumours regarding Acer's upcoming 8.1-inch Windows 8 powered Acer Iconia W3 have been swirling about, it has finally gone official. Acer didn't make any official announcement just yet but the tablet has appeared on the Acer web site as the Acer Iconia W3. Confirmed tech specs on the site for the Acer Iconia W3 include:

• 8.1-inch WXGA (1280 x 768) display
• Intel Atom Z2760 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB storage (W3-810-27602G03nsw) / 64GB ( W3-810-27602G06nswor)
• 2MP webcam
• Windows 8 Pro

In what could be a world's first Amazon was recently caught selling an 8.1-inch tablet running Windows 8. While the listing has since been removed, details of the listing revealed an Acer Iconia W3-810-1600 tablet with the following tech specs:

• 8.1-inch screen (1280 x 800 pixel resolution)
• 1.5 GHz Apple A4
• 2GB SDRAM
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator
• 802.11 bgn
• 1x USB 2.0 port
• Li-ion battery (8 hour battery life)
• Windows 8
• 1.1 pounds
• 8.6w x 5.31 x 0.45 inches
• 2MP rear camera
• Intel brand processor
• 32GB storage