Acer Iconia W510 Hands-On: Windows 8 Tablet Starts At $499

In order for Windows 8 tablets to take off, they need to be at least as cheap as the iPad. Acer got the message with the Iconia W510, a 10-inch Windows 8 tablet that will start at $499. During our hands-on preview of the W510, we appreciated its sturdy and lightweight design, which includes 10.1-inch Gorilla Glass display with a resolution of 1366 x 768. At 0.35 inches thick and 1.27 pounds, this Atom-powered slate is thinner and lighter than the third-gen iPad.

You can also use the W510 as a mini laptop–if you spring for the $749 configuration with the keyboard dock included. This accessory increases the thickness to 0.84 inches and weight to 2.63 pounds, but doubles the battery life of the device. The tablet docks using a mechanical latch, not as fancy as the magnetic one on the HP Envy X2, but it gets the job done. We do like that Acer used the entire width of the deck for the keyboard, so it doesn’t feel as cramped as the netbooks of yesteryear.

The W510 is one of the more versatile Windows 8 hybrids because it can dock two ways with the keyboard. In addition to laptop mode, you can insert the slate so that the screen faces away from the keyboard, which will come in handy for presentations. 

Powered by an Intel Atom Z2760 processor, the W510 should get up to 9 hours of battery life. Acer claims that, using the embedded Always On and Always Connect technology, the W510 should resume from sleep in 1.5 seconds and connect to a previously used hotspot in 2.5 seconds. 

Standard on all three configurations is a front-facing 2MP camera capable of shooting 1080p video; a rear-facing 8-MP camera, microHDMI, microSD Card, and a microUSB 2.0 port. Stay tuned for our full review of the Ionia W510.

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