Apparently, the Taiwanese giant Acer has found itself in the tablet computer market in the production of budget “tablets”. Not so long ago, the company released a very modest Iconia B1, the price of which, by the way, has already dropped to . This is a tablet that, with its entire appearance, seemed to hint that it belongs to the category of cheap. What was the cost of the TN display alone! Yes, it cost the manufacturer mere pennies.

Acer Iconia A1, our guest today, is a device of a different class. It is more expensive - on the Internet prices for this tablet start at , which, in general, is also quite divine. Judging by the technical characteristics, this price looks very attractive. Why do they ask for a little money for the Iconia A1? Let's try to figure it out.

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

Even its exterior reveals the low cost of the device. The Acer Iconia A1 looks quite standard; the device body is devoid of any interesting solutions. However, you can close your eyes to this. The main drawback of the case is its large thickness (just over 11 mm). The tablet is made entirely of plastic. When you squeeze the corners, the device's body crunches, and characteristic colored streaks appear on the screen. In general, you should handle the gadget carefully.

Acer Iconia A1 front view

The tablet was designed and assembled without due respect. On the left side there is a small millimeter-long gap between the frame and the display, which is not present on the right. The screen is installed slightly to the right of center, which breaks the symmetry. It would seem like a small thing, but it’s not at all difficult to notice, and subsequently the eye will always cling to this flaw. At first we attributed this drawback to the characteristics of our test sample. However, according to thematic forums, at least the entire first batch of tablets has such a defect.

Acer Iconia A1 - front panel

The layout of the controls on the Acer Iconia A1 is standard. The front panel of the tablet is free of any hardware keys. There is nothing on it except the front camera lens. All main buttons are on-screen.

Acer Iconia A1 - right side

The tablet's power key is located on the top end. The universal audio jack and microUSB interface are located on the bottom edge, which is not very convenient when watching a movie with headphones - left hand it tries to touch the wire. Volume control buttons, a slot for MicroSD memory cards, a microphone and a micro-HDMI video output are placed on the right side. The left side of the case is empty. The sides of the tablet are decorated with the now popular silver edging.

Acer Iconia A1 - back panel and sides

The back panel of the device is non-removable. It is made of glossy, pleasant to the touch plastic. The snow-white “back” of the device quickly becomes covered with fingerprints and other dirt, losing its pristine beauty. On the back panel there is a lens of the main, five-megapixel camera and stickers with technical information. Overall, the tablet looks somewhat bulky due to its excess thickness and wide frame around the screen. But from the point of view of ease of use, the design of the Acer Iconia A1 is quite good.

⇡ Technical specifications

Acer Iconia A1
Display	7.9 inches, 1024x768, IPS
Touch screen	Capacitive, up to ten points, without the ability to work with gloves
Air gap	Eat
Oleophobic coating	Absent
Polarizing filter	Absent
CPU	MediaTek MT8125: four ARM Cortex-A7 cores (ARMv7), frequency 1.2 GHz; 28 nm process technology
Graphics controller	PowerVR SGX544
RAM	1024 MB
Flash memory	16 GB + MicroSD
Connectors	1 x Micro-USB 2.0 1 x Micro-HDMI 1 x 3.5mm universal audio jack
cellular	No built-in modem Support for external 3G/4G modems
IR port	Absent
Bluetooth	4.0
WiFi	802.11a/b/g/n
GPS	Eat
NFC	Absent
Sensors	Accelerometer/gyroscope
Main camera	5.0 MP (2560x1920), no autofocus, no flash
Front-camera	0.3 MP (640x480), no autofocus
Battery	Non-removable, capacity 18.3 Wh (4960 mAh, 3.7 V)
Size	209x146x11 mm
Weight	410 g
operating system	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Average retail price

Tablets Apple iPad heralded the era of new mobile devices. But a little later, the iPad mini came out with a diagonal of 8" and an aspect ratio of 4:3, followed by other manufacturers. The new format became a trend for “pocket” tablets. Today in our laboratory we have just such a tablet from Acer - Iconia A1 -810. In our review we will try to identify its advantages and disadvantages.

Specifications Acer Iconia A1-810 (manufacturer information)
Products webpage	Official page Acer Iconia A1-810
Retail price
Screen	8" IPS
Permission	1024x768
CPU	Quad Core MediaTek MT8389W, 1.2 GHz
Graphics core	PowerVR SGX 544MP
RAM	DDR3 1 GB
Built-in flash memory	8/16 GB
Expansion cards	micro-SD, up to 32 GB
Front-camera	0.3 MP
Rear camera	5 MP
Dimensions	209 x 146 x 11 mm
Weight	410 g
Battery	4960 mAh
PC connection	micro-USB
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
External interfaces	Micro-HDMI, 3.5 mm mini-jack, microphone, micro SD card slot, micro-USB, OTG-USB
OS	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

Below are screenshots of CPU-Z

We have received the 810 version of the Acer Iconia A1. There is also an 811 version. It differs in that it is equipped with a 3G module.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Design and appearance

There is nothing remarkable in the design of the Acer Iconia A1; the appearance can be called standard.

Most of the front side is occupied by an 8” screen, which is covered with glass. Distance from the screen to the edge at the top and bottom in portrait orientation about 2.3 cm. On the sides - 1 cm. At the top center is the front camera eye.

On the sides, the border around the screen seems to be wide enough for a finger to fit on it, but the finger constantly slides off and the screen works. The edge was reduced, but not enough. On the iPad mini, the edge is not so wide, the brain doesn’t even think about putting a finger on it. Holding the Acer Iconia A1 in any other way is uncomfortable. If it were a little narrower, it would be convenient to hold it with one hand. And so the question constantly arises about how to use the tablet. All this is true for portrait orientation. Everything is convenient in landscape mode.

The side edge and back cover are made of plastic. The edge is stylized as metal and protrudes slightly above the glass. Thanks to this protrusion, when dropped, the plastic will crumple and the glass will not crack. The back cover is white. Looks good White color beautiful, fingerprints are not visible on it, but scratches are more visible.

On the top right edge there is a power/lock button. On the right (top to bottom): volume rocker, micro-SD card slot, microphone, reset button (recessed into the body, pressed with a needle), micro-HDMI output. On the bottom right side there is a micro-USB connector and a headphone jack. There is nothing on the left side.

On the back surface there are: the main camera peephole - on the left top corner, speaker grille - lower left corner, Acer logo in the center and stickers with the serial number and additional information at the bottom.

In general, the Acer Iconia A1 is assembled with high quality - there are no backlashes or gaps. But the tablet seems to have no frame: the tablet bends strongly when bent or twisted by the edges. The structure lacks rigidity.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Contents of delivery

The Acer Iconia A1 comes in an eco-friendly box made of thick cardboard. The outside of the box is stylized as wood. Inside the box is the tablet itself, multilingual instructions, warranty book, USB cable and charger.
Software and Settings

Acer Iconia A1 runs under Android control 4.2.2. This is good, since many manufacturers are still releasing tablets with Android 4.1. Installed on the tablet standard Android 4.2.2 with standard shell.

Here we note additional programs added by Acer.

As on the 2012 Iconia Tab tablets (see), the volume rocker button assignments change depending on the orientation. Volume increase is always to the right (at landscape orientation) or up (in portrait orientation). Reducing the volume, accordingly, is the opposite. It is very comfortable. If you accidentally take the tablet upside down, you can change the volume just as intuitively.

Various applications are preinstalled:

• AccuWeather – weather, weather widgets 16,17,18,19
• 7digital – music store 21
• Acer Cloud cloud storage data
• WildTangent Games - game store 22
• Acer Life Image – creating collages from photos and videos acerlifeimage
• Office Suite – a program for reading office files
• Simeji – Japanese Keyboard 25
• Tunelin – online radio and podcasts 24
• Zinio – magazine store 26
• McAfee Mobile Security– antivirus 23

Pre-installed apps are good. The manufacturer makes sure that the user can start working with the tablet right out of the box. But this time Acer went a little overboard. Not everyone needs it paid antivirus, app and music stores or Japanese keyboard. The problem here is not that there are unnecessary applications, but that they cannot be removed regular means. Pre-installed applications can only be disabled.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Video

Since April 2013 we have been using for tests multimedia devices new testing methodology. It is divided into several parts.

• Popular formats— frequently used video formats and codecs. It is recommended to evaluate their support first
• Images DVDs and Blu-Ray— testing the playback of full DVD/Blu-ray images, including menus. Recommended if you store your media library as images
• Rare formats- less common formats, but still relevant
• Ultra HD 2K and 4K— formats with an eye to the future. Ultra-high-definition video will gain popularity in 2013

Popular formats
Film/video	Notes	Test result
Borat (XVID AVI)	video MPEG-4 Visual (XviD Advanced Simple@L5) 1095 kbps 608×336 25 fps, MP3 audio 2 channels, no subtitles	Refusal
Back to the Future 3/Back to the Future 3 (XVID AVI)	video MPEG-4 Visual (XviD Advanced Simple@L5), 4.5 Mbit/s 1280×720 23,976 fps, audio Dolby Digital(AC3) 6 channels, no subtitles	Refusal
Donald Duck (FLV)	Flash Video, Sorenson Spark video 303 kbps 400×300 29 fps, MP3 audio 2 channels, no subtitles	Refusal
Once upon a time in a bakery (Jumble) (FLV)	Flash Video, video H.264/AVC (Main@L3) 640×360 25 fps 487 kbps, audio 2 channels AAC (LC), no subtitles	Success
Smeshariki. New Adventures (FLV)	Flash Video, video H.264/AVC (Main@L3) 854×480 25 fps 566 kbps, audio 2 channels AAC (LC), no subtitles	Success
Mamma Mia! (MKV)	AVC/H.264 video ( [email protected]), 13 Mbit/s 1920×800 23,976 fps, sound 6 channels Dolby Digital (AC3), DTS, subtitles	Success
Movie Despicable Me 2 (MKV)	WebM, video VP8 1920×1056 23.9 fps 1.9 Mbit/s, audio 2 channels Vorbis	Success
Pixar - For the Birds (MKV)	WebM, video VP8 640×344 23.2 fps 504 kbps, audio 2 Vorbis channels, no subtitles	Success
Space Station (MOV)	AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 1.5 Mbit/s 854×480 25 fps, audio 2 channels AAC (LC), no subtitles. Checking MOV playback	Success
Movie Cars 2/Cars 2 (MOV)	AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]) 8.4 Mbps 1920×800 23.976 fps, audio 2 channels AAC (LC)	Success
Disney Nature (MP4)	MPEG-4 video AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]) 1920×800 23.976 fps 4.4 Mbps, audio 2 channels AAC (LC)	Success
Justified Cruelty/History of Violence) (MP4)	MPEG-4 video AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]) 720×408 1390 kbps 25 fps, audio AAC (HE-AAC) 2 channels, no subtitles	Success
Video Transformers Dark of the Moon (WEBM)	WebM, video VP8 1920×1080 25.0 fps 5.6 Mbps, audio 2 channels Vorbis	Success
Union is strength (WEBM)	WebM, video VP8 640×360 29.0 fps 379 kbps, audio 2 Vorbis channels, no subtitles	Success
DVD and Blu-Ray disc images
BBC: The Private Life of Plants (DVD)	MPEG-2, 720×576, Dolby Digital sound 6 channels, subtitles Examination DVD playback from ISO image	Refusal
House of Sand and Fog (DVD)	MPEG-2, 7.6 Mbit/s, 720×576, DTS audio 6 channels, Dolby Digital 6 channels, subtitles Checking DVD playback from a folder on the disc. Checking Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. Checking menus and chapter navigation. Checking subtitles.	Refusal
Book of Masters/ Book of Masters (Blu-ray AVC/H.264)	0005.m2ts, AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]) 1920×1080, up to 39 Mbps 23.976 fps, DTS MA sound, Dolby Digital (AC3)	Refusal
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Blu-ray, VC-1)	0000.m2ts, VC-1 (Advanced@L3) 1920×1080 23,976 fps, 15.1 Mbps, Dolby Digital (AC3), DTS, subtitles	Refusal
Sky Captain / Sky Captain (Blu-ray, MPEG2)	00002.m2ts, MPEG2 (Main@High) 1920×1080 18.9 Mbps 23.976 fps, Dolby Digital, DTS, subtitles	Refusal
Rare formats
Harry Potter Parody (AVI DX50)	MPEG-4 Visial (DivX 5) 998 kbps 640×480 29.97 fps, MP3 audio 2 channels, no subtitles	Refusal
Nuclear Explosion (AVI DIVX)	MPEG-4 Visial (DivX 4) 798 kbps 352×240 25 fps, no sound, no subtitles	Refusal
Video from Nikon D300s camera (AVI M-JPEG)	M-JPEG 1280×720 (16:9) 22.7 Mbps 24 fps, mono PCM audio, no subtitles	Refusal
Video from a Fujifilm camera (AVI M-JPEG)	M-JPEG 640×360 (16:9) 6.9 Mbps 30 fps, mono PCM audio, no subtitles	Refusal
Video from miniDV SONY camera (AVI DVCPRO)	DVCPRO 720×576 (16:9) 24.4 Mbit/s 25 fps, PCM audio 2 channels	Refusal
The Resident/ Trap (MKV)	AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 6 Mbit/s 1280×544 23.976 fps, sound 6 channels Dolby Digital (AC3), subtitles. Checking header compression (Header Stripping). Examination high level ReFrames (12)	Refusal
The Avatar/ Avatar (excerpt) (1080p 60 fps MKV)	AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 43.4 Mbps 1920×1080 59.88 fps, 6-channel DTS sound, subtitles. Checking the playback of 1080p 60fps videos	Refusal
Monsters on Vacation (1080p High 10 MKV)	AVC/H.264 (High [email protected]) 4.4 Mbps 1920×1058 23.976 fps, Dolby Digital audio (AC3), subtitles. Checking the playback of Hi10p videos	Refusal
Video from SONY HDV camera (MOV)	HDV 1080i (MPEG2 HD Main@High 1440) 1440×1080, 25Mbps 25 fps, PCM audio 2 channels	Refusal
Video Kharkov (MPEG2)	MPEG Video (Version 1, BVOP) 384×288 2,800 Mbps 25 fps, MPEG Audio (Version 1), no subtitles	Refusal
Nevzorov "Hell" (MP4)	MPEG-4 Visual (Simple@L3) 352×288 25 fps, audio AAC (Version 4) 2 channels, no subtitles	Success
Video from Sanyo HD2000 camera (1080p 60fps MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 24.1 Mbps 1920×1080 59.94 fps, AAC audio 2 channels. Checking the playback of 1080p 60fps videos	Success
Video from AVCHD camera SONY (MTS)	AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 17 Mbit/s 1920×1080 25 fps, sound 6 channels Dolby Digital (AC3), subtitles. Checking support for AVCHD MTS files	Success
TV show ( TV program) (RM)	RealMedia, video RealVideo 4 320×200 386 kbps, 29.9 fps, audio 1 channel 64.1 kbps Cooker	Refusal
Crash Manga (RMVB)	RealMedia VBR, video RealVideo 4 640×480 408 kbps, 29.9 fps, audio 2 channels 96.5 kbps Cooker	Refusal
TV commercial about the love of candy (WMV)	WMV3/VC-1 350 kbps 360×288 23 fps, audio WMA (version 2) 1 channel, no subtitles	Refusal
Ultra HD 2K and 4K
Further Up Yonder (MOV)	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 14.8 Mbps 2048×1152 25 fps, AAC audio 2 channels. Checking the playback of MOV 1152p 2K videos	Refusal
576 Megapixels by Philip Bloom (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 25.3 Mbps 2048×1080 23.976 fps, AAC audio 2 channels. Checking the playback of 1080p 2K videos	Refusal
Further Up Yonder (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 32.0 Mbps 2048×1152 25 fps, AAC audio 2 channels. Checking the playback of 1152p 2K videos	Refusal
Timescapes (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 33.1 Mbps 2560×1440 23.976 fps, AAC audio 2 channels. Checking the playback of 1440p 2K videos	Refusal
Italy (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 41.3 Mbps 3840×2160 23.976 fps, AAC audio 2 channels. Checking the playback of 2160p 4K Ultra HD videos	Refusal
New Zealand (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 ( [email protected]), 40.5 Mbps 4096×2304 23.976 fps, AAC audio 2 channels. Checking the playback of 2160p 4K Ultra HD videos	Refusal

The standard player Acer Iconia A1-810 did not open quite a few files. There is support mainly only for popular formats, and even then not all of our test files. However, the problem is solved by installing a third-party media player, but we are testing pre-installed ones.

It is worth remembering that the screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio, so when watching movies you will most often get quite wide black bars at the top and bottom.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Camera

Acer Iconia A1-810 has two cameras. The front one is for video chatting and the back one is for taking photos. The front camera is of average quality, but definitely enough for conversations - the image is not very blurry when moving, and noise appears only when poor lighting. The main thing is that it is located conveniently - centrally above the screen, and not in the corner, like many tablets.

The 5 MP rear camera takes good pictures in sufficient lighting. There is a lot of noise in the dark. But this is forgivable. The main thing is that the camera performs well in the test with text, even in low light. It's still a tablet, not a camera phone.

Below are some test shots. Click on the image to view the full-size version.

The camera shoots video in Full-HD resolution. The quality is average, as you can see in the following video.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Performance

CPU performance

Quad-core performance Cortex processor We tested the A7 tablet of the Acer Iconia A1 using Linpack. Results are in millions of floating point operations per second (MFLOPS).

The Acer Iconia A1's results are strong, characteristic of its quad-core processor. The results are higher than a similar processor in .

Overall system performance

We used Smartbench 2012 1.0 to evaluate overall system performance. This test is very similar to the 3DMark and SysMark suites in that it provides simple and easy-to-use performance indexes for two categories: productivity applications and games. On the other hand, a synthetic test may not accurately reflect the actual performance of applications and games.

You can compare the tablet's results with other smartphones and tablets at http://smartphonebenchmarks.com/

The results are high thanks to good hardware and low screen resolution. We get performance at approximately .

JavaScript Performance

SunSpider is a JavaScript test that demonstrates both the performance of the tablet's JavaScript engine and computing power(less) hardware. Very poor implementation of JavaScript fast tablet can “lubricate” the entire performance of the platform. And at the same time, an excellent implementation of JavaScript will allow you to effectively use even slow systems. However, today the main implementations of JavaScript engines are becoming closer to each other, and developers are borrowing all the best ideas. JavaScript tests are single threaded due to the nature of browsers. SunSpider correctly evaluates CPU-sensitive tasks found in real web applications.

Below are the results of SunSpider 1.0 on tablets and Android phones. Android devices use Google V8 JavaScript engine.

The smaller the result, the better. The result of Acer Iconia A1 is good. Only a tablet running full Windows 8 is significantly faster.

AnTuTu

Below we have provided the results of the popular AnTuTu test. It has been updated to version 4.1.

The results are high. They are comparable to .

Relative Benchmark

This test was created “for growth”; no available devices on the market have really high results. Android based They can’t show it. The graphics level is much higher than the average gaming one, so even if the results here are not impressive, real games the results can be quite good. 60 fps in this test is already Xbox 360.

In the Relative test, the Acer Iconia A1 gets an average result. It is even slightly smaller than the MSI Primo 76. In various tests, Acer and MSI tablets compete with each other with varying success.

Network Bandwidth

We tested network performance using the IxChariot test, as well as an 802.11 b/g/n router with 1 Gbps ports. The tablet was located about 1 meter from the access point. We tested the maximum available mode network (802.11g or 802.11n), at this time there were no other active transmissions, and no pronounced interference was detected in the network coverage area.

The results are excellent. The Wi-Fi module transmits more than 50 Mbit/s. Page loading speed will depend on the network speed, and not on the capabilities of the tablet.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Game tests

Test results are not always consistent real performance, so we decided to conduct tests in real conditions.

In games important factor is the frame rate per second (fps). The higher it is, the smoother the game feels. Frame rates below 30 fps may result in stuttering and other unpleasant consequences. Frame rates below 15 fps turn the game into a slideshow and you'll hardly be able to enjoy it. We took the average frame rate throughout the test run in the selected game.

Epic Citadel

We added gaming test Epic Citadel, which is a demonstration of the capabilities of the Unreal engine from Infinity Blade for Android OS. The test has different .apk and cache for different GPUs, so you need to take your versions for the test. The test was carried out only in High Quality mode. We excluded the High Performance mode from the tests, since the results differ slightly, and we are interested in the tablet’s performance relative to other models. You can see the results below.

Epic Citadel is a fairly serious gaming test with heavy graphics. The result is simply excellent. In almost all scenes in High Performance and High Quality modes, our Acer Iconia A1 produces frame rates close to the maximum 60 fps. Only in Ultra High Quality mode does the frame rate drop. And then up to 26.9 fps. This best result in the Epic Citadel test among all the tablets that visited our laboratory.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Battery life

A battery with a capacity of almost 5000 mAh allows you to watch a movie at maximum brightness for 5 hours. But, unlike most tablets, the Acer Iconia A1 has a low maximum brightness. Therefore, in real conditions when watching a movie, you will get about the same time. The results are not good. But it is worth noting that in in this case Power consumption mainly goes not to the screen, but to the hardware. Therefore, you can read a book on the Acer Iconia A1 for a long time. Also, in the locked sleep state, the tablet consumes almost no energy.

Charging, despite the 2 A power supply, takes a relatively long time. Slightly less operating time. In this aspect, the Acer Iconia A1 is not as strong as we would like.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Conclusion

Acer has made a good tablet. Popular format 8" is good for mobile use. But, unlike the iPad mini, the Acer Iconia A1-810 turned out to be quite large both in thickness and in length and width. The compactness is not felt. It is no longer so convenient to hold the tablet in one hand.

An 8” screen with a resolution of 1024x768 is no longer impressive, even phones come with Full-HD resolution. The same ASUS recently released the 7″ Nexus (2013) with Full-HD resolution, so I would like a similar step from Acer. As a result, we do not get the highest pixel density. They become noticeable almost at a distance of use. The tablet screen's brightness also let us down. The range is very small. The maximum brightness is not enough outdoors even on a cloudy day, and the minimum brightness “hurts” the eyes in the dark.

Acer Iconia A1 is suitable for gaming. Both simple casual and heavy ones. Good hardware coupled with a low screen resolution leads to high frame rates in games. The tablet is also good for reading - in this mode the tablet discharges slowly.

We recommend purchasing the A1-811 version, that is, with a 3G module. It costs a couple of thousand more, but you will have the opportunity to use the Internet at any time and not depend on Wi-Fi points. Moreover, the Acer Iconia A1 has an aspect ratio of 4:3, which makes it convenient to view web pages.

Advantages of Acer Iconia A1-810

• IPS screen with wide viewing angles
• High performance
• Android 4.2.2, regular updates firmware
• Micro-HDMI output
• Memory expansion using micro-SD cards
• Availability of versions with 3G module (A1-811)

Disadvantages of Acer Iconia A1-810

• Large weight and dimensions
• Small brightness range
• Long charging

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	208.7 mm (millimeters) 20.87 cm (centimeters) 0.68 ft (feet) 8.22 in (inches)
Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	145.7 mm (millimeters) 14.57 cm (centimeters) 0.48 ft (feet) 5.74 in (inches)
Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units measurements.	11.1 mm (millimeters) 1.11 cm (centimeters) 0.04 ft (feet) 0.44 in (inches)
Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement.	410 g (grams) 0.9 lbs 14.46 oz (ounces)
Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.	337.52 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 20.5 in³ (cubic inches)
Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale.	Black

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation.	MediaTek MT8125
Technological process Information about technological process, on which the chip is made. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor.	28 nm (nanometers)
Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications.	ARM Cortex-A7
Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors.	32 bit
Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute.	ARMv7
Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster as system memory, and other levels of cache memory. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2.	32 kB + 32 kB (kilobytes)
Level 2 cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory.	1024 kB (kilobytes) 1 MB (megabytes)
Number of processor cores The processor core performs program instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel.	4
CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	1200 MHz (megahertz)
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. IN mobile devices it is used most often by games, consumer interface, video applications, etc.	PowerVR SGX544
Clock frequency GPU Running speed is the clock speed of the GPU, measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	300 MHz (megahertz)
Volume random access memory(RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted.	1 GB (gigabytes)

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends.	IPS
Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches.	7.9 in (inches) 200.66 mm (millimeters) 20.07 cm (centimeters)
Width Approximate screen width	6.32 in (inches) 160.53 mm (millimeters) 16.05 cm (centimeters)
Height Approximate screen height	4.74 in (inches) 120.4 mm (millimeters) 12.04 cm (centimeters)
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side	1.333:1 4:3
Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. More a high resolution means sharper detail in the image.	1024 x 768 pixels
Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. More high density Allows you to display information on the screen with clearer details.	162 ppi (pixels per inch) 63 ppcm (pixels per centimeter)
Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display.	24 bit 16777216 flowers
Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device.	63.76% (percent)
Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics.	Capacitive Multi-touch
	LED-backlit

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.

Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of mobile device cameras is their resolution, which shows the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in the image.	2592 x 1944 pixels 5.04 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution Information about the maximum supported resolution when shooting video with the device.	1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels)
Video - frame rate/frames per second. Information about the maximum number of frames per second (fps) supported by the device when shooting video with maximum resolution. Some of the main standard video shooting and playback speeds are 24p, 25p, 30p, 60p.	30fps (frames per second)
Characteristics Information about other software and hardware features related to the main camera and improving its functionality.	Autofocus Geographical tags

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

HDMI

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a digital audio/video interface that replaces older analog audio/video standards.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

After much deliberation, Apple finally decided to bring a smaller tablet to the market. New tablet from Acer, namely the Iconia A1 (or A1-810), has much in common with the “younger” iPad. Both tablets feature a 7.9-inch diagonal, 1024 x 768 pixel display resolution, both have the advantage of having their own ecosystem and are aimed at a wide audience of consumers at an affordable price. But, of course, the difference in operating system is quite significant: unlike the iPad, the Acer tablet is based not on iOS, but on Android.

On Android market The division of tablets by diagonal and price is clearly visible: large tablets with a diagonal of 10.1 inches are targeted by manufacturers at the premium segment of the market, and in the “budget” segment there are mainly tablets with a diagonal of 7 inches. At the same time, manufacturers realized that there is also a demand for compact tablets with high-quality hardware. The same one clearly showed that a 7-inch tablet can become a bestseller: you just need to ensure high build quality, a decent processor and display, although the price is only about 9 thousand rubles (200 euros). The success of Nexus 7 and Android tablets with a smaller diagonal led to the fact that Apple, after much hesitation, finally released a “small” tablet.

The iPad mini is inferior in specifications to the Nexus 7, despite the retail price of about 12.5 thousand rubles (330 euros in Europe). The low resolution display is especially sad. Either way, the iPad mini is still the cheapest ticket to the world of iOS tablets. You can also notice that Apple chose the 7.9" format instead of the smaller 7". In practice, this step can be welcomed. A 7.9" or 8" diagonal still becomes a compromise option for those users who need a compact tablet, but a 7" diagonal is still too small.

The following table shows the comparative specifications of the three tablets. We took the Nexus 7 as a 7-inch representative.

	Acer Iconia A1-810	Apple iPad mini	Google Nexus 7
Products webpage	ACER	Apple	Google
Price	about 8.7 thousand rubles in Russia about 189 euros in Europe	about 329 euros in Europe about 12.5 thousand rubles in Russia	about 199 euros in Europe about 9 thousand rubles in Russia
Flash memory capacity	16 GB	16, 32, 64 GB	16, 32 GB
Display diagonal	7,9" IPS panel	7,85" IPS panel	7" IPS panel
Permission	1024x768 pixels	1024x768 pixels	1280x800 pixels
Pixel Density	162 ppi	163 ppi	216 ppi
Dimensions	208.7 x 145.7 x 11.1 mm	200 x 134.7 x 7.2 mm	198.5 x 120 x 10.6 mm
Weight	410 g	308/312 g	340 g
CPU	MediaTek MT8125 Quad-Core at 1.2 GHz PowerVR SGX544MP 1 GB RAM	Apple A5 Dual-Core at 1 GHz PowerVR SGX543MP2 512 MB RAM	NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad-Core at 1.3 GHz GeForce ULP 416 MHz 1 GB RAM
WiFi	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 and 5 GHz)	802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz)
Mobile data standards	3G model announced	GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSPA, LTE	GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSPA
Bluetooth	4.0	4.0	3.0
NFC	No	No	Yes
Sensors	Gyro sensor Accelerometer	Gyro sensor Accelerometer Digital compass Ambient sensor	Gyro sensor Accelerometer Digital compass Proximity sensor Magnetometer
GPS	Yes	Yes (WiFi+3G model)	Yes
Front-camera	0.3 MP	1.2 MP	1.2 MP
Rear camera	5 MP	5 MP	No
Interfaces	3.5mm audio micro-USB micro-HDMI	Lightning Headphones (3.5 mm audio)	Micro-USB Headphones (3.5 mm audio)
Memory expansion cards	microSDHC cards	No	No
operating system	Android 4.2	iOS 6	Android 4.2
Battery capacity	4960 mAh	4430 mAh	4325 mAh
Battery life	7 hours on average	10 hours with WiFi 9 hours with 3G	10 hours with WiFi

When comparing the new Acer tablet with the Apple product, parallels can be drawn in terms of diagonal and display resolution. The Acer Iconia A1, despite its low retail price, has a 4-core processor and 1 GB of RAM. When it comes to storage capacity, the Acer tablet is noticeably inferior to the iPad mini variants, but you can expand the capacity with micro-SD cards. Both tablets are equipped with two cameras, the difference is visible only in the resolutions of the front cameras. Our test laboratory received a variant of the Iconia A1 without 3G/4G support. But the 3G version should hit the market soon. Apple offers video output from the tablet via its own Lightning standard, but the Acer tablet uses standard micro-USB and micro HDMI interfaces.

The Acer Iconia A1 has no specifications worse than iPad mini. At the same time, the Apple tablet is the leader in terms of lighter weight and thickness, but it also costs 140 euros more. Although the Nexus 7 has a smaller screen format compared to the two 7.9" tablets, it offers a display with a higher pixel density for around 200 euros. Both Acer and Apple differ in this parameter for the worse from the Nexus 7, which we get density 216 ppi.

However, a direct comparison of the three tablets is somewhat artificial. In practice, most users initially target an Android or iOS tablet; they usually do not switch between the two worlds. Comparing the two ecosystems is beyond the scope of our review, but the table of characteristics will be useful for beginners who have not yet decided on the choice of their world.

Before the tests, we would like to show a video of unboxing and first acquaintance of the Acer Iconia A1-810.

As is known, in model range Acer has tablet PCs that can run on the Android operating system or Windows. In particular, the ICONIA Tab A1-810 was introduced in Europe quite recently. It is a quad-core Android tablet with a 7.9-inch display, which is a smart decision considering that for most users, seven inches is not enough, but ten is too much. In addition, power and functionality of this tablet should not raise any doubts. Of course, the Acer ICONIA Tab A1-810, like any other gadget, has its advantages and disadvantages. The main thing is that it will always be at hand, helping you perform various tasks.

Specifications

CPU:	MediaTek MT8125 1200 MHz
RAM:	1 GB DDR3
Data storage:	16 GB internal memory
Display:	7.9" 1024x768 XGA LED IPS, glossy
Video card:	PowerVR 5XT SGX544 MP1
Wireless connection:	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Audio:	2 speakers
Interfaces:	Micro-USB, Micro-HDMI, microSD card reader, headphone output
Additionally:	0.3 MP front webcam, 5 MP rear webcam
Battery:	2-cell Li-ion 4960 mAh
Dimensions, weight:	208.7x145.7x11 mm, 410 g
Operating system:	Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Equipment:	Acer ICONIA Tab A1-810-81251G01nw

Design

The body of the gadget is made of plastic, but not textured, like most models, but smooth. Because of this, you may have to be more careful so that the tablet does not accidentally fall out of your hands. The coloring is set in two classic colors: black and white, so it will suit literally any user. At the same time, the entire lower surface of the tablet is light, and the frame around the display is dark.

The upper part of the gadget is the display itself with a frame on which the built-in front-camera. The bottom panel of the tablet has a rear camera lens, a speaker and the company logo. You can also see information about the manufacturer and other information here.

This device, although compact, is not the lightest in its form factor. With dimensions of 208.7x145.7x11 mm, ICONIA Tab A1-810 weighs about 410 grams. The tablet is assembled well, but not perfectly.

Display, sound, webcam

The 7.9-inch capacitive IPS screen of the ICONIA Tab A1-810 has a relatively low resolution of 1024x768 with a pixel density of 162 ppi. The sensitive touch surface supports multi-touch gestures, making it easy to resize images, turn pages, etc.

In addition, the screen is characterized by wide visibility, but it cannot please you with high brightness.

Acoustics, unfortunately, is not an advantage of this tablet. The sound comes out through the speakers located at the rear, which partially eats up the volume. So, most likely, you will have to connect headphones while listening to music. By the way, the tablet supports MP3, AAC, WAV, and WMA audio formats.

As we have already said, the Tablet PC is equipped with two cameras. The front one has a small resolution of 0.3 megapixels, which is only enough for video calls.

But the 5-megapixel rear camera knows how to take good photos and shoot videos even in low light. Moreover, among its features there is an autofocus function. Considering that the tablet has GPS, geotags can be added to the received photos and videos after appropriate permission.

Separately, we would like to add that the ICONIA Tab A1-810 tablet supports such graphic formats, like JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG and TIFF.

Keyboard

To enter information, an Android touch keyboard is used, the standard appearance and features of which, we hope, everyone is accustomed to. The only interesting thing to note is that in Android 4.2 installed on the ICONIA Tab A1, you can enter words without lifting your fingers from the display surface. This method of entering information is called Gesture Typing, of course, this is only an alternative option, because the traditional method of entering remains - with separate touches on each virtual key. It is worth adding that the tablet also has three standard buttons for control: “Return” (one level), “Menu” and “Home” (exit to the desktop).

Performance

As already mentioned, the Acer ICONIA Tab A1-810-81251G01nw tablet runs on the operating system Android Jelly Bean version 4.2. The MediaTek MT8125 processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz and 1 MB cache has four ARM Cortex-A7 processing cores. The processor frequency can increase or decrease depending on the load.

Such a chip provides the device good performance when running applications, and together with 1 GB of DDR3 RAM and integrated single-core PowerVR 5XT SGX544 MP1 graphics, it also provides optimal performance in demanding 3D games designed for tablets, or when performing various multimedia tasks, such as playing Full HD video. Note that the video card has clock frequency 300 MHz.

Separately, it is worth noting 16 GB of internal memory, but if this is not enough, you can also use a memory card with a capacity of up to 32 GB by installing it in the appropriate slot. Deserves no less attention cloud service AcerCloud, which will allow the user to store his own content: music, photos, etc.

Ports and communications

Despite the low cost of the tablet, the Acer ICONIA Tab A1-810 provides a fairly good set of interfaces. On the top of the device there is only a power button, and on the bottom there is a Micro-USB port and an audio jack for connecting headphones.

As for the side faces, the left side is completely empty, while on the right you can see Micro-HDMI, a card reader that reads cards microSD memory with a capacity of up to 32 GB, and a volume rocker.

The tablet has wireless Wi-Fi module 802.11 b/g/n standard. Besides him there is also Bluetooth version 4.0. The gadget also has an accelerometer and a gyroscope. Both sensors are of course especially useful in gaming. Manufacturers have not forgotten about the GPS receiver.

Battery

2-section lithium ion battery, installed in this tablet, has a capacity of 4960 mAh. The manufacturer claims that the average battery life is about seven hours. In particular, in movie mode, the tablet will run out after six hours. A 10-watt power supply is used to charge the battery.

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Conclusion

Well, segment budget devices added another interesting tablet. Acer ICONIA Tab A1-810 copes well with modern challenges, has decent autonomy, and also offers a good set of interfaces. Among the advantages, it is pleasant to note the IPS display with excellent viewing angles and the presence of two cameras, but its resolution and brightness are let down. Another disadvantage of this tablet is its poor quality acoustics. But the only determining factor is its price – only $280.