Acer is gearing up for the release of Apple's iPad Mini 2. To compete against Apple's latest tablet offering, Acer just revealed their Iconia W3. It is an 8.1-inch tablet that will go head to head not just with the iPad Mini 2 but with other 8-inch tablets soon to hit stores in the third quarter.

Just recently, Acer started distributing the Iconia W3 throughout the United States under Staples and Office Depot. As an 8.1 tablet running on Windows 8, the Iconia W3 is the smallest tablet in the world of its kind. Aside from the small display, the device also runs on a dual-core 1.8GHz Atom Z2760 processor.

While Acer's newest tablet does not on the latest or fastest processor like x86 processors, the Atom Z2760 still allows the device to last long hours. Ideally, the Iconia W3 should offer up to 8 hours of battery life. This provides users more computing hours depending on their requirements.

The Iconia is just a pound over and less than one-half-inch thick. Screen display is at 1,280x800 pixels. This is ideal enough for watching 720p videos. Acer has included the complete Office suite for free boosting the value of the tablet. Not to mention, Acer decided to offer Iconia at a reasonable price.

The front and rear camera can shoot at 2 megapixels. Wireless connectivity options include 802.11b/g/n wireless and Bluetooth 4.0. Office Depot sells the 32Gb version at around $349. Acer is planning to release a 64GB version soon. Lately, the company has also started distributing in India.

"It is a touch-enabled 8.1 inch tablet. With portability and mobility being the key focus areas of the company, these devices are designed to appeal to consumers across genres," Harish Kohli, company managing director of Acer, explained.

Acer is working towards transforming 80 percent of their product lineup to touch technology by 2015.