Software Acer Iconia B18101193
Acer created a lot of buzz when it announced its decision to jump into the Budget tablet segment with the Acer Iconia B1-A71, that it first announced during CES, and later, as reported by us, launched it in India at an attractive price of Rs. Here's our review of the tablet.Hardware/ Build & DesignThe Acer Iconia B1-A71 is a 7-inch tablet, and accordingly comes in a compact form factor. However, the first thing that you notice about the tablet is that it's very apparent that it's made of plastic. The tablet is light-weight but feels flimsy. The hardware doesn't exude the feeling of durability, and if you put even a little bit of pressure on the screen, you'll see that it creaks and pushes through.Talking of the design and construction, the front of the tablet has a big black bezel, and the screen peeps through it in a manner similar to a digital photo-frame. The top sports Acer branding at the middle and a VGA camera at the right side. There's a strange Blue-coloured frame contouring the tablet at the sides, and sadly, it doesn't do much to enhance the look of the device.
It looks more like a toy, and though we do understand that it's a budget tablet, Acer has cut corners when it comes to the quality of materials used.The back has also been done in black coloured plastic. There's some Acer branding, a small speaker grill and certification labels.
A Micro-USB port is located at the bottom with a slot for a micro-SD card that is covered with an insert, while the 3.5 mm headset jack sits at the top of the device. The volume rocker and the power/sleep button, also done in black plastic material, have been placed at the right side of the tablet.DisplayThe 7-inch (diagonal) WSVGA capacitive multitouch screen comes with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels, which is nothing to write home about. The pixel density is about 170 ppi. The screen is bright, but we found that it's very reflective, and this hampers visibility under sunlight.
Also, the colours appear to be washed out and due to the low resolution, images also appear to be less sharp. Viewing angles, especially from the sides (vertically) are bad, and colours appear different from what they should. Although text doesn't appear very sharp, the screen is decent for reading e-books and magazines. The touch sensitivity is excellent and we didn't encounter any issues while using the device.Software/ InterfaceThe Acer Iconia B1 runs Android 4.1.2 - Jelly Bean and except for a few tweaks in the notification bar, doesn't include any custom skin. At first boot we also found Google Play apps for Movies & TV, Books and Magazines, but they disappeared as soon as we connected the tablet to a Wi-Fi network - this is likely because of region restrictions.
Acer also includes a Registration app. We like the fact that there's no bloatware and Acer has tried to keep the experience as close to stock Android as possible.
Acer Iconia B1 is one of the few 7-inch tablets that run Jelly Bean. Similar to the Nexus 7, the tablet's onscreen controls (for Home, Back and App Switching) are at the centre, and the notification tray and quick access settings (for brightness, screen timeout, Wi-Fi, Screen rotation, Bluetooth, GPS, Airplane mode and shortcut to Settings) are located at the top area in the notification tray, in a manner which is a bit different from the stock build of Android on the Nexus 7.There are five customisable home screens that can be filled with app shortcuts and widgets. The standard app-launcher and dock that allows users to place six of their preferred apps are omnipresent across all home-screens. The standard lockscreen allows users to either unlock the device or go straight into the camera.
Of course, users can customize it to put a Face Unlock, Pattern, PIN or Password lock.During our use, we didn't notice much lag while navigating through menus, and Google's much touted 'Project Butter' makes the overall experience more responsive than tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich.The other major feature that Jelly Bean brings is 'Google Now', a voice based information assistant and an extension of Google search. You can ask questions and the tool returns answers or search results. It uses 'cards' which are essentially small boxes that offer different sets of information ranging from weather forecast, directions, traffic information, scores, appointments, and currency conversion, among others.
Google Now collects information based on the user's behavior, location and even e-mail to offer information, automatically.We're not sure if the tablet will get updated to Jelly Bean 4.2, but if it does, features like multi-user accounts (different profiles and access for different users) and lock-screen widgets would also come to the tablet.CameraThe Acer Iconia B1 comes with a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Although, personally we're no fans on using tablets for clicking needs, some may miss having a rear camera that can be used for taking casual shots or just for scanning some documents. The pictures that we clicked with the front camera, indoors, were very grainy. It's functional at best and does a decent job when used for making video calls over Skype or other video chat apps.Performance/ Battery LifeThe tablet is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor alongside 512MB of RAM. We did not encounter any crashes while working on this tablet and multitasking was comfortable. We also did not notice much lag and were able to play tablet-optimized games, without a hitch, though loading time for apps is on the higher side.
We were able to play 720p HD videos but the tablet wasn't able to play 1080p videos.The tablet comes with the native Android browser and Chrome, and renders all webpages well. The speaker grill on the back of the tablet delivers average quality sound. There's no voice calling or support for 3G data via SIM card or dongles, and the only way to connect to the Internet is through Wi-Fi. In our tests we observed that download speeds were a bit slow compared to other devices. The tablet comes with 8 B of inbuilt storage and a micro-SD card slot that allows users to expand storage. Interestingly, the tablet also features a GPS module, but without 3G or data connectivity of any kind on the road, you'll have to rely entirely on navigation apps that include offline support.The Iconia B1 comes with a 2710mAh battery, which we feel is a little inadequate, especially if playing music and videos is a major part of your everyday usage.
We were able to completely charge the battery in about 3 hours. We were able to get around 4 hours of video playback, with the display on full brightness levels. The standby time with push notifications and e-mails, and intermediate usage, was about a day. The tablet gives between 5-6 hours of continuous usage on a single charge.VerdictThe main USP of the Acer Iconia B1-A71 is the price. 7,999, the tablet packs in a lot of features, and if you're not constantly on the road and don't require 3G connectivity (or use a 3G hotspot), then the tablet is a great deal if price is a major consideration. To offer the tablet at this price, Acer has cut corners when it comes to the overall quality of the hardware, which we feel doesn't appear to be very durable.
Other tablets that run Jelly Bean in this segment include the Karbonn Smart Tab 8, an 8-inch tablet that sports a better screen and larger battery, though we're yet to test it. If price is not a consideration, then the Huawei MediaPad Lite (with voice calling) and the Nexus, are other 7-inch Android tablets in the premium segment that you can consider, though the Nexus 7 isn't officially available in the country yet. The Acer Iconia B1 is a great option if you're looking for a tablet for casual web browsing, reading e-books and playing casual game.Pros. Runs Jelly Bean. Attractive pricing. Decent performanceCons. Quality of materials used is underwhelming.
The screen's viewing angles are bad & colours looked washed out. Battery life could have been betterRatings (Out of 5)Design: 3Display: 2.5Performance: 3.5Software: 4Battery Life: 2.5Value for Money: 3.5Camera: 1Ecosystem: 3.5Overall: 3.
For the original German review, see.The notebook market is still the core business for Acer, so the decreasing sales of personal computers are not the best future prospects. It is not surprising that the manufacturer would jump on to the tablet bandwagon, even though the lucrativeness of the Android tablet sector is still in question. The majority of devices are based on Windows 8 while the Iconia A series uses the Android operating system.The Acer Iconia A1-810 comes in two versions. We review the 16 GB version while an 8 GB version is also available. The performance figures for both storage capacities are identical: 7.9-inch display with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels, quad core processor at 1.2 GHz and 1 GB RAM. Acer's price recommendation is 200 Euros ($260) but you can get it for around 180 Euros ($230) on the Internet.The price is about the same as the very similar Google or the. There are also numerous other devices in this price range or even below like the with phone functionality or devices from the many unknown manufacturers like the with UMTS and TV reception.
The stands out with its unusual appearance and the with its low price of just 85 Euros ($110). Inconspicuous but quite solid is the. Finally there is the 50 Euros ($65) cheaper from Acer. There are so many attractive devices having pretty similar features across the board. But we will see if the A1 has the stuff to stand out from the bunch. Due to the 0.9 inches larger display, the Acer Iconia A1-810 is taller and wider than most of the competition but the tablet could really be a bit thinner: 11.1 millimeters still too big a number even for 8.0-inch tablets.
But it does weigh only 410 g which is just about right for this class of device.The choice of materials of construction leaves a lot to be desired. The white back certainly looks nice but attracts fingerprints very easily. The build quality however is good: no gaps between adjacent panels, convenient material transitions and high torsional stiffness are hallmarks of this device. Only concentrated pressure on the back causes ripples on the display. All in all, the build quality is better than the cheaper Acer Iconia B1-A71. The front-facing camera is on the shorter edge and the manufacturer recommends using the tablet in the portrait mode.
Considering this, we also used the portrait mode to describe the port selection and locations.Micro USB port and audio jack are at the bottom, which can be annoying if the headphone cable is too short. On the right side is a mini HDMI port - not an exclusive feature anymore but still an advantage over the and the Asus. There is also a micro SD card reader and the usual control elements for standby and volume. SoftwareAcer uses the latest Android 4.2 operating system, and users do not have to worry about software updates for now. There are also new features like the improved quick access bar. The operating system is stock Android and Acer does not use a custom user interface.Acer preinstalls some additional applications but most of them are also available on the Google Play Store for free. Bloatware is no problem apart from an exception.
The free cloud services from Acer are interesting. Your data is not stored on the Internet but on a device of your choice that then streams the data to all your other devices. Communication & GPSAlthough there are versions with integrated UMTS on the website, they are not officially distributed by Acer in all countries. Our review unit can only establish an Internet connection via WLAN 802.11 b/g/n.
The reception is worse compared to other devices: only 50% signal strength at a distance of 10 meters and three walls in between. Another wall results in just one bar of the Android reception icon. Bluetooth 4.0 is also integrated. Some less-known manufacturers offer devices with integrated UMTS for around 150 Euros ($200), and the can obviously use the mobile Internet as well.You will not be satisfied with the Iconia A1-810 if navigation or location based services are important for you. The GPS reception is very weak. It is below average and often insufficient to determine your location.
The, for instance, is much better in this regard. The Google device also comes with NFC and can be equipped with 3G for an additional charge.
Cameras & MultimediaTwo cameras are still the exception for 7 or 8-inch tablets. It is nice that Acer acts as a role model with the 5.0 megapixels (2560x1920 pixels) main camera at the back and the 0.3 megapixels (640x480 pixels) camera at the front.The quality of the main camera is decent. Details are sharp when you zoom in, the contours are not blurry and the colors are vibrant. The color accuracy is not very good however. The flowers on the pictures are actually violet. The front camera is really a backup solution for video calls. Pictures are blurry and show no details.Considering the price, the camera equipment of the Acer Iconia A1-810 is really a class leading.
Neither the or the or most of the competition have such a good camera. AccessoriesThe tab for 'Accessories' on the website is empty but there is one interesting product in the Acer Store. A protective cover for 29.90 Euros ($40), which is very similar to the iPad cover. The box itself only contains a power supply unit with a separate USB cable. WarrantyThe warranty period is 12 months, although that can differ depending on the country and its laws. You can extend the warranty by up to 3 years via the Acer Store.
An international warranty and accident insurance are also available. You have to decide for yourself if prices between 99 and 139 Euros ($130 - $180) are justified considering the low price of the device.
The 7.9-inch display of the Acer Iconia A1-810 has a resolution of 1024x768 pixels, which is still okay for this tablet class., and the have a slightly higher resolution at 1280x800 pixels. The picture is crisp and quite bright; the measurements are on the same level with the competition.The average brightness of 283.8 cd/m² cannot compete with the but is slightly better than the and is sufficient for daily tasks. The black value on the other hand is higher than the competition at 0.45 cd/m². Black areas appear gray.
The contrast ratio of the Acer Iconia A1-810 is average at 622:1. The picture quality is very good. Colors on the IPS panel are quite subdued and if you like vibrant colors of OLED displays you will not be satisfied.We determined the biggest color deviations with blue tones - a result of our test with colorimeter and CalMan software. Colors generally deviate more from the ideal value at higher brightness levels, especially with blue colors. The grayscale presentation is very accurate by comparison with an average DeltaE of 4.37 (sRGB). PerformanceThe SoC of the Acer Iconia A1-810 is provided by MediaTek and has a quad core CPU clocked at 1.2 GHz. It is also used in the smartphone, for instance, and performance is pretty good.The user-experience when using the tablet is good without any delays.
Navigating the operating system, launching and running applications is very smooth. The synthetic benchmarks are regularly better than most of the other tablets with only the and the offering better performance numbers.
The low processor clock can be a problem if the application is not optimized for multi core CPU's. The chip offers relatively poor single threaded performance numbers. We have already mentioned that applications launch very quickly on the Acer Iconia A1-810, which is a result of the excellent performance of the storage. The 16 GB flash memory even beats the fast storage of the in three of the four Androbench categories.All in all, the Acer Iconia A1-810 shows quite impressive performance figures and is at the top of the charts for 7-inch tablets with regard to the system performance. Only 3D performance cannot really keep up with the competition. We use real gaming tests to determine if the weaker GPU has an impact in games.
We already determined the average 3D performance of the Acer Iconia A1-810 with respect to the competition. However, that does not mean that the tablet has problems with latest games from the Google Play Store. Iron Man 3 with its 3D graphics as well as Zombiewood with large groups of enemies are no problem for our review unit. The performance is obviously sufficient for casual games like Angry Birds: Star Wars. The touchscreen and the position sensor reacted very precisely and executed our inputs without delays.
TemperatureHigh performance often results in a higher heat development which has to be dissipated by the case. Tablets usually have no fan so the case is used as a heat sink. The Acer Iconia A1-810 warms up during idle and we determined a surface temperature of up to 34.5 degrees Celsius at the right side on the front.Under load, the warming can be felt on the whole case. However the maximum temperature is just slightly raised to 35.3 degrees. Overall, the heat development is modest but can be felt all the time. There should not be any restrictions during operation.
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 32.9 °C / 91 F, compared to the average of 30.6 °C / 87 F for the devices in the class Tablet.(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.4 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 34.7 °C / 94 F, ranging from 22.2 to 51.8 °C for the class Tablet.(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 34.6 °C / 94 F, compared to the average of 34.1 °C / 93 F(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 31.3 °C / 88 F, compared to the device average of 30.6 °C / 87 F. SpeakerThe small speaker is at the lower right side on the back in portrait mode and is located behind a metal cover. The location is not ideal. If you put the tablet on a flat surface or cover the speaker with your fingers the sound is clearly muffled.Otherwise, the small speaker shows a good performance: Maximum volume is decent and there are no distortions.
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Acer Iconia B1 Price
Music sounds very balanced - obviously bass is missing but medium and high tones produce rich sound. It is certainly sufficient for casual music playback. For the best music experience you should still use good headphones or external speakers.
Acer offers a well-balanced tablet with the Iconia A1-810 that can compete with big competitors like the and the with regard to performance, price and features. Photography enthusiasts will be happy with the performance of the 5 MP main camera - finally a decent camera in a small tablet. The speaker convinces us, the latest Android version is reassuring and the heat development is not alarming.However, it might be the smaller details that will result in a purchase of the competition from Google or Amazon. The 3G version is currently not available in all countries and the competition has higher resolution screens. The weak GPS module, the slightly shorter battery runtimes and the cheap haptics are additional arguments against the Acer.You should also consider that the brand new Google Nexus 7 2.0 is soon to be released, at least according to the. If you do not want to wait that long and want a tablet with high system performance, but do not need GPS and some other details, then you will be happy with the Acer Iconia A1-810.