Acer Iconia W510, the Windows 8 tablet-netbook hybrid

With the official launch of Window 8, we’re seeing a lot of tablet-notebook hybrids cropping up. Acer decided to test the netbook waters with Windows 8 using its own hybrid version, the Iconia W510 which is an Intel Atom-based 10-inch tablet that comes with a keyboard dock.

While docked, the Acer Iconia W510 looks just like your typical 3-pounder netbook running on Windows 8. It is powered by an Intel Atom Z2760 1.5GHz dual-core processor which is specifically designed for Windows 8 tablets having Intel Burst and Intel Hyper-Threading technology that can be used with sleek and lightweight form factors.

The tablet has a 10.1-inch 5-point multi-touch display with a 1366 x 768 resolution which is good for those Windows 8 tiles. It also has 2GB RAM, integrated Intel GMA which supports up to DirectX 9, 64GB embedded storage with microSD expansion support, an 8-megapixel rear camera plus a 2-megapixel front camera capable of 1080p video conferencing. The tablet is rated with 9 hours of battery life and another nine for the keyboard dock.

The tablet portions docks sturdily on the keyboard so doing your touch gestures while docked won’t be an issue. Once docked, it automatically leeches of juice from the keyboard’s battery pack when required. They keyboard dock also has a USB 2.0 port so you can plug your external drives where you should be storing most of your files due to the limited storage on the W510.

What’s unique with this tablet + keyboard dock setup is that you can rotate the tablet all the way outward with they keyboard flipping over so you’ll get a tablet-only stand. Small rubber pads are conveniently placed around the palm rest so that the keyboard won’t touch the surface of the table.

The Acer Iconia W510 is set to be available next month with a price tag of Php29,900. I know it’s a bit too much for an Atom-based device but remember, you’ll get a tablet that transforms into a netbook here.