It’s clear at this point that there will be no shortage of Windows 8 systems when the OS launches in just over three weeks. We profiled Acer’s Aspire S7 Ultrabook series just a couple of days ago but now the attention turns to tablets as the company has released more details on their upcoming Iconia W700 Windows 8 tablet.
Acer’s base model starts at $799 which includes an 11.6-inch full 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) IPS display, a 1.8GHz Intel Core i3-3217u “Ivy Bridge” processor, Intel HD 4000 graphics, 4GB of RAM and a 64GB solid state drive. Other standard features include a 1-megapixel front-facing camera, a 5-megapixel rear shooter, a USB 3.0 port, a micro HDMI port, a microSD card slot, headphone jack and 802.11n Wi-Fi / Bluetooth. We’re told that users can expect up to eight hours of battery life from a single charge.
If you’re after a bit more power, Acer will sell you an i5-equipped W700 for just $100 more. Finally, $999 will get you everything mentioned above, the i5 processor and a larger 128GB SSD.
There are a few tradeoffs that one has to consider with the Iconia W700, however. First and most importantly, there’s no mobile broadband option which could be detrimental to the system’s success. Furthermore, the tablet is a good bit heavier at 2.3 pounds than its Android and iOS counterparts already on the market. For comparison, it’s a full pound heavier than the Galaxy Note 10.1 and just shy of a pound more than Apple’s third generation iPad.
The Acer Iconia W700 will be available on October 26.
