First impressions of Acer Iconia W3, the first 8-inch Windows 8 tablet

Tablets are getting smaller by the day, even as the smartphones are becoming larger. Of late, the 7-inch marker is the size around which these devices are converging. In fact, this is the ideal phablet size at which you can have a tablet that is good enough to be held in one hand to make a call.

But all the phablets so far have been Android devices. The Windows 8 tablets have been mostly 10 inches or more. The exception to this rule is the Acer Iconia W3 launched in India on Tuesday.

The Iconia W3 is the first 8-inch Windows 8 tablet. Acer thinks this form factor is much more user friendly in comparison to larger devices as you can hold it with one hand to work with the other. The larger tablets have to be placed on a surface, or lap, for you to use it effectively.

But we felt the W3 is a bit heavy for its 8 inches. It weighs 540 grams and is 11.35 mm thin, good enough for it slip into a coat pocket or be held with your books. The tablet is powered by the Intel Atom Z2760 processor and will run the Windows 8 32-bit operating system. The 8.1" HD screen has a 800x1280p resolution which appears quite bright.

It will come in both 32GB and 64GB versions with prices starting Rs 30,499 onwards. For a couple of thousand rupees more you can get the optional full-size Bluetooth keyboard that has a dock which holds the screen upright as you type. Acer claims the 2-cell battery pack is good enough for eight hours of 720p playback.

Overall, the Iconia W3 seems to be a good package though is it priced almost Rs 10,000 more than its Android equivalents.