Acer has taken the wraps off its second 8-inch tablet: the Iconia W4, a follow-up to the Iconia W3. Soon to be available in the US, the Iconia W4 will join the likes of the Toshiba Encore, Dell Venue 8 Pro, and the Lenovo Miix2. It packs a price tag of $330 (£205) for the 32GB model and $380 for the 64GB model. 

Given Windows 8.1 was released on Thursday as well, the Iconia W4 will ship to customers running the new software. The inclusion of Windows 8.1 should help on the software front, bringing several enhancements including the return of the Start button, better multitasking and a revamp to several native apps. 

From a hardware and specification point-of-view the Iconia W4 should be plenty capable, packing a fourth-generation Atom processor running at 1.8GHz, 8-inch 1280x800 display, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, micro-USB socket port, micro HDMI port, and up to an additional 32GB of storage using a MicroSD card slot.

At first glance the Iconia W4 doesn't look too different from the Iconia W3, but packs a lighter design at 0.91lb versus 1.1lb. The screen has been vastly improved, says Acer, mainly in outdoor conditions.

Along with the tablet, Acer will also offer a based protective case for $35, a Crunch Cover that can also be used as a stand for $40, and a keyboard case for $80 that packs a similar look to the Crunch Cover. The products will be available this month - no specific date has been named. 

Having trouble deciding which Windows 8.1 tablet to purchase? We've rounded them up for you.