Acer Iconia W700

The Acer Iconia W700 is a Windows 8 tablet with a stand and keyboard.Not quite a tablet, a desktop PC, a laptop, or a convertible, the Windows 8-running Acer Iconia W700 occupies a strange netherworld among all of those form factors. It's a bold experiment in design and a sign of how Windows 8 can inspire intriguing new ways for a computing device to be packaged. However, it's also an awkward device to work with.

The tablet part of the Acer Iconia W700, with its lightweight aluminum body, is a little thicker than some other tablets and a bit heavier, but not to the point where it seems clunky or unmanageable. That said, unlike other tablets, it doesn't taper its Gorilla Glass front around the rim of the device - the edges are metal all around and a bit sharper .

Dock and keyboard

It's the dock and keyboard for the Acer Iconia W700 that leave it a mixed bag. The dock (Acer calls it "cradle") supplies power to the unit, but also works as a viewing stand, and it can be oriented either horizontally or vertically. This is done by sliding a kickstand, a solid piece of L-shaped plastic, into the back of the dock. The stand is reasonably sturdy, but because it's all one piece, there's no way to adjust the viewing angle for the screen. This is a major disadvantage - the default viewing angle wasn't comfortable at all.

Specs