Not quite an iconic tab

Acer Iconia W4 3 comes bundled with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013

Tablets running Windows have a peculiar situation to contend with. While Android-based tablets have the numbers and the cost advantage, iPads happen to be the most aspired for devices. Windows tablets fall somewhere in between going by their hardware specifications and pricing. While Windows tabs don't offer a lot in terms of apps (when compared with Apple's devices or those running Android), these tabs are almost always compatible with desktop versions of familiar software.

Microsoft seems to be pushing this advantage as the Acer Iconia W4 3G, which we got a chance to play with, comes bundled with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 (like in many other Windows tabs).

The Iconia looks and feels hefty (for an 8-inch tab, it's a heavyweight at 425 g). The metallic finish fools you into thinking the tab is made of metal, but a light tap on the back panel confirms it is all plastic. That said, it does have an understated elegance to it.

ACER ICONIA W4 3G

Price: Rs 29,999
Screen: 8-inch 1,280x800p
Weight: 425 g
OS: Windows 8.1
RAM: 2GB
Processor: 1.3 GHz Intel Atom
Memory: 64 GB
Camera (front/rear): 2 MP/5MP
Battery: 4,960mAh

While held in portrait mode, the right edge houses the microphone, the microHDMI port, microSIM slot and the microSD card slot. While the 'Iconia' branding on the edge is cool, the slots are devoid of flaps and besides being unprotected from the dust, the overall look of the tablet takes a hit. The top edge has just the power button while the Windows hardware key is placed at the bottom part of the bezel. The two speakers, headphone port and microUSB port are on the bottom edge while the left edge is devoid of any buttons/slots. Held in landscape mode, one does tend to cover a speaker accidentally. The back panel, which gets scratched easily, has the logo displayed prominently at the centre, with the five-megapixel (MP) camera at the top edge. Above the screen, the front 2MP camera is placed by the side of the logo.

The Iconia W4 runs the 32-bit version of Windows 8.1 and after the initial setup, when the tab was able to detect both the networks on my dual-band home router, we were good to go. While the familiar interface is welcoming, the trouble starts once tries opening apps/selecting options, especially with stodgy fingers. Also, in landscape mode, about half the screen area is taken up by the on-screen keyboard. Using it with a stylus (sold separately) should be easier.

Next, we connected a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to the tablet. While it did help a bit, the 1,280 by 800 resolution on the 8-inch screen had us squinting for the icons. Next we connected an external display. Finally we felt at ease. Office applications worked like a charm and browsing was also quite fast over Wi-Fi. We slipped in an Airtel 3G SIM and while the speed wasn't as good as Wi-Fi, it was pretty decent.

A caveat: Please keep in mind you're essentially using a tab powered by a 1.33 GHz Intel Z3740 Atom processor, not a full-fledged desktop. We were guilty of forgetting this fact and soon had to remedy the situation with those three magic keys for Windows users: CTRL+ALT+DEL. Music, browsing and office applications work well together on this tab.

We installed Asphalt 8: Airborne on this tab and the 2GB of RAM along with the Atom processor ensured we had an enjoyable experience, provided we didn't mind the heft of the tablet. The review device had 64GB of memory on board, of which about 36GB was available. Acer also bundles in its own suite of apps, just like with its notebook range and some of them, especially the music one, are quite good.

We pulled a few movies off the media server and played them on the Iconia W4. Viewing angles were quite good but we were forced to connect external speakers as the onboard ones are not very loud (they don't distort at the highest volume though). We liked what we saw on the Iconia W4 but the colours are brighter on my iPad 4 and the image is sharper on both the iPad as well as my Nexus 7. The Iconia W4 doesn't like overhead lights - there's a distinct glare on the screen, which, however, behaved quite well outdoors. The tab also has an in-built GPS receiver.

The 5MP snapper takes decent snaps outdoors when there's ample light but indoors, the images are grainy. The 2MP front cam makes decent calls in HD over Skype. The battery lasted for about seven hours with moderate gaming, heavy browsing, music, videos and office apps, with 3G turned off. With normal usage, the battery should last through the day.

The Acer Iconia W4 is a decent device, let down by its weight. Also it is a pain to use Windows in an 8-inch screen. But if one wants a PC in one's pocket, which one can hook up to a screen for office work, this is it.