Six Windows 8 tablets: Can one be your next travel PC?

A new tablet PC era

PCWorld - On Thursday, Intel's hardware partners showed off their mid-range Windows 8 hybrid devices at a Clover Trail coming-out party. Today we reveal the hardware in all its photographic splendor.

Each tablet features Intel's Z2760 Atom processor (aka Clover Trail), a dual-core, four-thread system-on-chip running up to 1.8GHz. Clover Trail devices won't pack the performance oomph of Ultrabooks, laptops and hybrids running Core-caliber processors, but the products you see in this gallery should deliver excellent battery life—in excess of 10 hours. In theory, at least.

Perhaps more importantly, Clover Trail devices could emerge as winning travel PCs: thin, light tablets married to accompanying keyboard docks. Put everything together, and you might be able to leave your iPad and Ultrabook at home, and simply take one of these hybrids on the road.

 

Acer Iconia W510

Boasting a 10.1-inch, 1280x800 display, the W510 doesn’t offer quite the screen real estate of its 11.6-inch Clover Trail competitors, but it’s just 8.9mm thick and 1.27 pounds—or 2.78 pounds including the keyboard dock, which reportedly extends battery life to 18 hours.

The tablet connects to its dock with a seemingly sturdy click, but only extended PCWorld testing will prove out durability. The tablet includes speakers, a SIM slot, and microSD, microUSB and HDMI ports. The dock adds a full-size USB 2.0 port. The industrial design didn’t wow us compared to other tablets we saw at the event, but, who knows, some people may appreciate the cheery, bright styling.

See the rest!