Acer has slashed $80 off the price of its recently released 8.1-inch Windows 8-based Iconia W3-810, taking its price down to $299. It is the latest notable price cut for a high profile Windows 8 tablet in recent weeks. Microsoft’s own Surface RT has had $150 slashed off its price, while the Surface Pro received a $100 price cut over the weekend.
The Acer Iconia W3-810 launched to considerable fanfare as it is one of the first sub-10-inch Windows tablet devices, which was expected to help boost customer interest in Windows tablet devices. Unlike many other full Windows 8 devices, the Iconia also includes a full-version of Microsoft Office as part of its standard install. Despite this, and its initial $380 price point, Acer has been forced into taking 20 percent off its price as it clears inventory for an unusually fast redesign said to be thinner, lighter and address user complaints about the current display.
Earlier this year, Microsoft altered the specifications for Windows 8, allowing for the introduction of sub-10-inch Windows 8 tablets to capitalize on a tablet market where half of all tablet sales are on sub-10-inch devices. However, the dominant tablet devices in this segment continue to be Apple’s iPad mini and Google’s Nexus 7 with other Android devices including Samsung’s numerous offerings picking up the majority of the remaining sales.
An Intel Atom Z2760 dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz powers the Acer Iconia W3. System RAM is capped at 2GB, while it also incorporates 32GB of flash storage. It includes a micro SD card expansion port and supports Wi-Fi 802.11n. It weighs 1.1 pounds (498.95 g) and is said to last for up to 8 hours on a charge depending on use.
