Windows 8 tablets have so far been relegated to the 10-inch or larger category, with nothing so far falling between the 7- to 8-inch mark. That could soon change, though, as a leak originating from French site Minimachines shows that Acer may soon be releasing an 8-inch Windows 8 tablet dubbed the Iconia W3. Further compounding the evidence? Acer quickly asked the publication to remove the information.
Luckily, nothing ever disappears on the internet. Engadget reports that the Iconia W3 includes an 8-inch touchscreen, an Atom Z2760 processor clocked at 1.8Ghz, and 2GB of RAM. A microSDHC slot is apparently also onboard for expandable storage, but beyond that there are few details regarding the specs of the device.
Acer is reportedly lining up a range of accessories for the tablet too, including a small keyboard dock that will enable productively on the go. There’s also a cover that will double as a kickstand for the device, not unlike the iPad’s Smart Cover. As for when the tablet will see the light of day? Before Minimachines pulled its information, it believed that we could be seeing it around September.
Recent rumours have indicated that Microsoft is aware of the demand for smaller tablets in the market, with the company reportedly working on a 7-inch version of the Surface that will debut later this year. That really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the success of both the Nexus 7 and iPad mini – the only question remaining is if Microsoft’s other partners see the trend and will follow suit.
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