Acer Dual-screen Iconia Up for Preorder at $1200

We first clapped eyes on Acer’s dual-screen Iconia touchbook tablet back in November, but it’s only now that Acer is getting around to pricing and releasing the device.

Now available for pre-order for customers in North America, the touchy-feely Core i5-powered beast packs two 14-inch (1366x768) LED-backlit TFT Gorilla Glass LCDs, up to 4GB of DDR3, integrated Intel HD graphics, up to 750GB HDD storge, VGA and HDMI out, 802.11b/g/n, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0+HD integrated 3G WWAN, gigabit Ethernet and Windows 7. At nearly 6 pounds, she’s a little on the hefty side, but not quite overweight.

As far as the touchscreen interface goes, the bottom display acts as a full screen keyboard, which can be chopped and changed to suit whatever task you're doing at the time. Placing five fingers on the bottom display will bring up what's called the Acer Ring. From there you can control media applications, such as music and video, or launch the virtual keyboard. You can also use the Gesture Editor to set customized gestures to perform certain tasks (like launch apps, show desktop, or lock computer), and close the keyboard completely for a more immersive browsing experience.

Pre-orders for Canada and the United States start at $1,199.99 in both USD and CAD. The Iconia is expected to launch at retailers nationwide in April, so that should give you some of idea of when you can expect your new machine to arrive.