The tablet was supposed to be out last week, and Acer showed the thing off at IFA in September. It is an important release because, in theory it combines the worlds of heavy mobile gaming and a cheap price.

Looking at the spec, the Predator 8 has an 8-inch 1920x1200 screen which is ideal for gaming. We are less sure about the use of the Intel Atom x7-Z8700, a quad-core chip. This can run at 1.6 to 2.4 GHz we would have preferred to see a Core m as the Atom might be a little too below parr. For some reason Acer installed 2 GB of RAM inside, which might be OK for a tablet but is pointless for solid gaming.

Still Acer has made the tablet look like a gaming tablet and its odd design is supposed to give it a better grip. The tablet has four speakers, which Acer dubs as "Quadio." The Predator Precision Plus technology gives a bit more sensitivity to the touch screen for better onscreen controls.

Still it is pretty good for the price – $299.99. If the performance of an Intel Atom x7 for mobile gaming survives a thorough test then it might be worthwhile. That price is for a Wi-Fi model only and Acer has not told us about any 3G/LTE variant.