Windows 8 Hits the Small Screen as It Arrives on Eight-Inch Acer Tablet

Acer on Sunday announced what is expected to be the first of many smaller tablets from PC makers running the full version of Windows 8.

The Taiwanese computer maker announced the Iconia W3, a 1.1-pound, Intel-powered tablet that also comes preloaded with the home and student version of Office.

“With the Iconia W3, Acer is giving those who create, read, work and play in the Windows environment a device they can hold in one hand that does it all,” Acer chief marketing officer Michael Birkin said in a statement.

The device will come in 32 gigabyte and 64GB versions, and will be available for preorder starting Tuesday. The 32GB version carries a $379 suggested price, and the 64GB version has a $429 sticker price, but even lower prices may be out there when the devices go up for order on Tuesday.

The Iconia W3 debuted at a press conference at the start of the Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan. Acer also introduced the Aspire S7 and S3 Ultrabooks, and the Liquid S1 phablet.

The S1, due to start selling in the third quarter, is Acer’s first entry into the phablet space, and packs a quad-core processor and a 1280-pixel-by-720-pixel screen onto a 5.7-inch display. Among its features is the ability to multitask with one app, such as Caller ID, floating above another.