The smaller end of the tablet market is getting greater. Formerly the island of oddity slates, the 7-inch category of tablets has turned into an arms battle of extraordinary gadgets at consumer-friendly prices. Google’s Nexus 7, Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook HD are prime case in point. And, of course, Apple is likely to jump in with an iPad Mini next week.
Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Acer has a new 7-inch slate, too. The company publicized the new Iconia Tab A110. The A110 will go on sale Oct. 30 for $230 — $30 more than the base price of the Nexus 7, Fire HD or Nook HD. Like all three of those rival tablets, the new Iconia Tab characterise a 7-inch display. But, not like those three, the A110 doesn’t have a high-definition display, instead falling just short of 720p with a 1024 x 600 pixel screen.
Acer Iconia Tab A110 Features
The A110 will be shipping with Google’s latest version of Android, 4.1 Jelly Bean. At the present, the only other 7-incher with Google’s flagship OS has been the Nexus 7. Inside, the A110 is powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 3 quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. It comes with just 8GB but built-in storage, but there is a microSD card slot for those looking for more on-board space to store movies, music, photos and apps. There’s also a built-in microHDMI port for hooking the A110 to a TV — something the Fire HD also has.
While we would have preferred a true 720p display (or better) on the A110, the essential ingredients for a solid device all seem to be in place here — except for that $230 price tag. Granted, that’s not much more than $200 price of the competition, but it sure does feel like Acer is asking for a little bit more money for just a bit less tablet.
