Acer Iconia W3-810

Acer sure dabbles in a lot of devices, and with the Iconia W3, it’s showing that it can be the first in a new place: small-scale Windows tablets.

Even for a budget tablet, the W3's 8.1-inch, 1,280 x 800 screen feels like a letdown. Head-on, at least, colors are balanced and the pixel density is pleasing, but once you adjust the screen angle at all, whether it be horizontally or vertically, the panel quickly becomes washed out.

The W3's Intel Atom Clover Trail 72760 chip has a dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM and a clock speed of 1.8GHz, meaning the tablet is zippy enough to handle Windows 8 operations.

Basically, this tablet will have enough horsepower for basic Web browsing tasks, and it will also allow you to view local videos, listen to music and look at photos. You could also play some simple games on it that can be downloaded from the Windows Store...

The poor display, mixed performance scores, and less-than-satisfying accessory keyboard are a tough sell, even with the tablet's excellent battery life, small form-factor, and low price. If you must have Windows 8 and can't go larger than 8inches, then the Acer Iconia W3 is worth considering, since it's the only one out there.