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Windows 8 meets 8-inch tablet? Possible Acer Iconia W3 leaks

A French-language site offers the first glimpse of what it claims is Acer's future 8-inch Windows 8 tablet.

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Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
2 min read
8-inch Acer Iconia W3, as leaked at MiniMachines.net.
8-inch Acer Iconia W3, as leaked at MiniMachines.net. Engadget

At the Microsoft Store, 10-inch tablets rule. But that may be about to change.

Earlier today, a French-language site posted lots of images (now removed due to an Acer request, the site says) of what it claims is a future Acer Iconia W3 8-inch tablet.

If accurate, that would be a Windows 8 first for a global top-tier vendor and would put Microsoft and its hardware partners in the tablet screen-size sweet spot.

This product, as reported, does not use the limited RT version of Windows 8. So, this would give you full-blown Windows compatibility on a device that can be held in one hand -- not unlike the iPad Mini or Nexus 7 in this respect.

Acer's tablet is expected to sport an Intel "Clover Trail" Atom Z2760 dual-core processor, a 1,280x800 IPS screen, 2GB of memory, and front and rear cameras, among other specifications. The specs jibe with statements Microsoft made last week about "a new suite of small touch devices powered by Windows" that are coming later this year.

And expect pricing to come down on these smaller tablets -- possibly way down.

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A steady stream of reports out of Asia claim Microsoft is offering Windows 8 licensing fee discounts to device makers for smaller machines. That should translate to tablets that are priced south of $499, the low-end of Windows 8 tablets on the market now.

A quick glance at the Microsoft Store's tablet page shows that Windows tablets are stuck at one size: 10 inches. (You can thank a Microsoft edict...er...guidelines on screen sizes for that).

Prices generally go no lower than $599 with the exception of the Acer Iconia W510, which is on sale for $399.

Acer has not yet responded to a request for comment.

[Via Engadget ]