Acer launches 7-inch Honeycomb tablet, Iconia Tab A100

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Acer's tablet arsenal has grown one device stronger today with the arrival of its Iconia Tab A100, purportedly the first 7-inch Android 3.2 Honeycomb slate to wash up on North American shores. Priced at $329.99 (8GB) and $349.99 (16GB), the A100 undercuts the cheapest 10.1-inch Iconia A500 (read our review here) by approximately $50 to $70. Despite that price reduction, very few features are sacrificed -- besides three inches of display, of course.

The A100 measures half an inch thick, weighs just shy of a pound and packs the same dual-core 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 SoC used by its chubbier sibling. It carries a 1024x600 capacitive touchscreen, a 5MP rear-facing auto-focusing camera with an LED flash, a 2MP fixed-focus front-mounted webcam. Battery life is quoted at 4-5 hours when browsing the Web or streaming video over Wi-Fi (roughly half of the A500) and 4.5 when playing 720p videos locally.

As noted, the A100 is powered by Honeycomb, but Acer has "enhanced" Android's user interface with a graphical overlay. The company also provides its "clear.fi" service, cross-platform media streaming solution that allows DLNA-compliant devices to access digital content from another computer or the cloud. It's worth noting that network access will require a Wi-Fi connection as there doesn't seem to be any support for WWAN -- just like the A500.

Other specifications include 1GB of DDR2 RAM, support for 32GB MicroSD cards, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a dock port, a micro-USB 2.0 port, a micro-HDMI output with support for 1080p content and dual displays, a hardware screen orientation lock, as well as a gyro-meter and e-compass. Optional accessories include a $69.99 Bluetooth keyboard, a $79.99 dock with an IR remote, and a $29.99 protective case. Units are available across North America today.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/45052-acer-launches-7-inch-honeycomb-tablet-iconia-tab-a100.html

 

[Trillionsin]

Oh yay... a cheaper Acer tablet. I may prefer the downgrade in size to save a few bucks... I mean, when I finally decide to spend $300 - $500 on one of these devices... I have a couple laptops, might as well sell one. Any takers?

 

[Guest]

It's about time more manufacturers are actually thinking "portable". Most of the tablets on the market are just too large to easily carry around. I want something that I can stick in my car's glove compartment, center console, etc., even in my pocket. Smartphones are too small for most web surfing, typing, reading, etc. Try using an iPad, Samsung Galaxy 10.1" Tab and others in that size range, without being so obvious in a crowd. I think something in the size range of 7"-8" range would be a lot more practical. Otherwise, why not just use a netbook? Also, I'd like to see a replaceable battery!