Until now, tablet support for Windows 8 was limited to 10-inch devices. This is less than ideal from a portability standpoint. The Iconia W3 is the first 8.1-inch tablet to ship with support for Windows 8 Pro. While it does offer improved portability, it comes with a few tradeoffs in return. Gizmodo sums up the tablet well by saying “It’s great hardware let down by its form factor and a crappy screen, but by virtue of being the only competitor, it’s the best 8-inch Windows 8 tablet on the market.”
The performance of the tablet is respectable. No, it is not a gaming tablet. But for productivity purposes, media consumption and web browsing, it has plenty of power thanks to its Atom processor clocked at 1.8-GHz. Support for microSD cards and USB OTG helps to improve flexibility and accessory options as well. The best part is that Windows 8 Pro allows you to install legacy Windows applications and have a full version of Windows that fits in your bag with ease. Best of all, the processor is incredibly battery-friendly, with PC Magazine’s video test achieving nearly 10 hours on a single charge.
Unfortunately, there are a few things that are really working against the Iconia W3. The first is the display. It is an LCD TFT display at 1200x800. This not only means that graphics are less than stellar but that viewing angles are atrocious as well. Dana Wollman of Engadget described the screen well: “Even for a budget tablet, the W3's 8.1-inch, 1,280 x 800 screen feels like a letdown.” You won’t be letting anyone peek over your shoulder with tablet. They could not read your screen. The lower resolutions also means that you cannot snap applications on the screen. So no multitasking on the tablet without the normal bouncing between apps. The last problem with the tablet is the materials. For a device at this price point, it feels cheap. Screen bezels are thick, the plastic chassis of the tablet is sturdy but cheap looking and it is about as visually interesting as a rock.
The Good: Windows 8 Pro, portability, outstanding battery and low price.
The Bad: Poor viewing angles, cheap feel, dull display and no included dock.
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Shaun Musgrave, TouchArcadeBlokshot Revolution is one of those brilliant titles that finds a central mechanic that feels good and runs all the way home with it. It's exciting, tense, and has a great learning curve that keeps it fresh well beyond what you might expect from its somewhat simple premise. It takes skill, quick thi...
- Michael Kozlowski, Good E-ReaderI was turned off automatically by the chosen design aesthetics with 4 different colors on the back, body and sides. Just pick one color and stick with it! The speaker quality was also very poor, that warranted me constantly having to strain to hear anything. The display is terrible and is much akin...
- Peter Bright, Ars TechnicaI don't really understand the Acer Iconia W3. I mean, I understand on a conceptual level why OEMs want to produce sub-10-inch Windows tablets: Android and iOS have both demonstrated that there's a substantial desire for this kind of form factor. But in practice, I don't get it. The Windows desktop...
- Tom Warren, The VergeUltimately, it might be up to Microsoft to really make this form factor shine. This first effort from Acer is cheap and plasticky, and I can’t help but feel that Microsoft won’t want all these smaller Windows tablets to head down the bargain route. A Surface mini feels inevitable, and wi...
- Barry Collins, PC ProAt best, the Iconia W3 proves Windows 8.1 can run smoothly and for a respectable duration on a compact tablet. We can only hope there’s more attractive hardware to come, though, because the W3 doesn’t have anything like the quality to justify its premium £330 price tag.
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