Right now there aren’t any Windows 8 tablets available with screens smaller than 10 inches. But that could change later this year, and it looks like one of the first smaller tablets could come from Acer.

The company is reportedly working on an 8 inch Windows 8 tablet called the Acer Iconia W3.

Acer Iconia W3

Some specs for the upcoming tablet showed up at the Geekbench website earlier this month. Now French site MiniMachines has snagged the first images of the Iconia W3.

The tablet is expected to have an 8 inch, display, an Intel Atom Z2760 Clover Trail processor and 2GB of RAM.

It’ll be available with Windows 8 Pro and features front and rear cameras, a few ports on the side, and a keyboard dock that should make entering text a lot easier.

Interestingly, the dock appears to be a full-sized keyboard, so the dock is actually wider than the tablet. It might not be the most attractive arrangement, but after spending a little time with a few keyboard cases designed for the 7.9 inch iPad mini, I think I’d rather have a keyboard with full-sized keys than one that matches the size of an 8 inch tablet.

There’s no word on the screen resolution, storage, or other specs and it’s not clear how much Acer plans to charge for the tablet. But MiniMachines reports that the Acer Iconia W3 should hit the streets around September.

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20 replies on “Acer to launch 8 inch Windows 8 tablet this fall? (Acer Iconia W3)”

  1. Oh dear. I’ve been waiting nearly 44 years for a decent 7″(ish) Windows tablet with a keyboard. I thought Acer might be the company to make it. But not this. Clovertrail when Bay Trail is just around the corner? And what on earth is with that strange keyboard attachment? If I want a 7″ tablet, why would I want it to be nearly the size of a 10″ tablet when the keyboard is attached? Why not just get a 10″ convertible tablet, which would then have a 10″ rather than 7″ screen? But I don’t want that. I want a 7″ tablet to fit in my pocket, and I want a keyboard that fits the tablet so the whole thing fits in my pocket. The first company that makes one, I will buy.

    1. You didn’t like the OQO sliders when they came out? They had 5″ inch screens though. Fujitsu made some UMPCs in the 5″+ screen range.

      1. No, none of the previous generation of UMPCs had a usable battery life, in my opinion. And the OQO’s keyboard was not good… not compared with a good old Psion 5 which is kind-sorta touch-typeable.

        By the way, my previous comment seemed to be saying the first *company* that makes a decent Windows tablet, I will buy. Not what I meant… that would be a slightly over-the-top way to secure a machine of exactly the design I want.

  2. I can’t make out the perspective on that first photo but it looks to be an inch or more thick. Surely it can’t be.

      1. Yeah, I don’t know. From that angle I’d expect to see more bezel on the other three sides. This still looks like the white part is a (thick) side. I know it’s probably not but that’s how my eyes (really my brain, I guess) see it. They really should have a straight on shot and shots of each side to be perfectly clear.

          1. OK, that could be it. In that case it just looks odd, not thick. 😉

  3. it will come with Windows 8 Pro? Why? Windows 8 is more than enough…I don’t see to many businesses rushing to this form factor.

      1. well yes that makes sense, I was talking about companies that do real work.

        1. Yeeahhhh ok. I run multiple VMs and can use this to quickly remote in or even have it connected to a 24″ screen to do mild work. Sales staff can use this on the go with a wide range of peripherals while locked down via GP. Various admin staff could use this for stock take or other tasks with long battery life and low energy costs for the company.
          Maybe think about it for a little longer before the sarcastic comment!

          1. Engadget has sales staff? Oh wait your name is Endgadget. Must be something else because Engadget blogger don’t do real work.

          2. You don’t need Windows 8 Pro to run multiple VMs or connect to a 24″ screen, Windows 8 will handle that just fine. Maybe think about it for a little longer before making an uneducated comment.

  4. Finally, too bad it’s close to when Bay Trail is going to be available. Of course, chip availability to when UMPCs with it will be released could be a year like this one (Clover Trail was released last Winter) so it might not be worth waiting for Bay Trail for some people.

    Anyway, I hope it has an an active stylus with a silo. It would have been nice if it was a 7″ screen if the bezels were the same size. Also, an embeded mouse in the bezel like the never released Viliv X70 would be useful as well or give that cover some sort of touchpad for flat surface use. WWAN would be good too.

    I’m buying it even without those unless there are some severe build quality, stability and battery life issues. Been wanting a new UMPC ever since my OQO died. These are great for when I need to use desktop only software on the go and my carrying case is some backpack/luggage that’s not dedicated to it (ie. it has my travel stuff and there’s limited space for any PC) or a jacket pocket.

    1. If they made it smaller, a slider design might work if they have some sort of split thumb keyboard thing. Maybe use the middle area for a numpad or something.

      While UMPCs never really took off the first time, I hope they come back for those who might benefit from them more than using an iOS or Android device (ie. me).

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