When we handed Acer's Iconia Tab to our tame tablet reviewer, they were bewildered by its 1,920 x 1,200 display. While it may have been easy to use, quick and lovely to look at, it was also a bit on the hefty side, with its meager battery not helping. So then, six months down the line, we're asking you to sound off about what you liked and loathed about this device, because we're fairly sure the Acers of this world are listening.
Cheap as chips (credit: Benchmark.rs) Acer is planning to launch a 7-inch budget tablet next year called the Iconia B1, as the PC maker looks to expand its reach in the handheld market.
This is according to the Wall Street Journal who says it's spoken to a source with direct knowledge of the Iconia B1 project over at Acer - a tablet which will come with a very low price tag.
Going head to head with the likes of the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD, Acer is so-say planning on stealing the show by offering the Iconia B1 for just $99 (around $60/AU$95).
According to the source the Acer Iconia B1 will pack a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 7-inch 1024 x 600 display – neither of which matches the power and output of its closest rivals.
Images of the Acer Iconia B1 leaked last week on a Serbian forum, so it looks like Acer is certainly readying something, but whether it will sport that attractive price tag is another question.
Acer isn't the only company supposedly planning a ridiculously cheap tablet, with several rumours surrounding a $99 Nexus 7 also refusing to go away.
We will be visiting all the key manufacturers at CES 2013 and MWC 2013 to find out what their plans are for the 7-inch market, so stay tuned for more.
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Following recent rumors of an Asus-made $99 Google Nexus 7, Acer is said to be prepping its own 7-inch, $99 tablet offering. The Wall Street Journal claims this information comes a source with "direct knowledge" of the project, but let's keep this one's status set to "rumor" until we ascertain more concrete details.
Purportedly, Acer's upcoming Iconia B1 will be the $99 model in question -- a slim, black tablet with blue edges as pictured here. The Iconia B1 is hardly a mystery, as we know the PC-maker recently submitted the device to the FCC for approval. Interestingly, there even appear to be benchmarks of the tablet in the wild.
The Iconia B1 sports 7-inches of screen real-estate with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels, giving it a ~170 PPI. The device is expected to be powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz processor paired with a PowerVR SGX 531 graphics processing unit -- fairly modest specs akin to Amazon's Kindle Fire, but it's difficult to argue the price.
Notably, the tablet's performance is far behind that of the Nexus 7, which is an important detail considering recent rumors of a $99 Nexus 7. Given their hardware differences though, this is as expected.
It's difficult to deny the B1's existence with this preponderance of evidence; however, bear in mind the only link we have between the B1 and its rumored $99 price tag are just that: rumors. The real question here is the price.
One possible caveat, the WSJ's source notes, is the $99 Iconia B1 may not be sold in the United States. Rather, it's suggested that Acer may have its sights set on emerging markets.
More info on that ultra budget tablet from Acer that made a sketchy FCC appearance roughly a week or so ago: The Wall Street Journal's been chatting with a "person with direct knowledge," who offered up an intriguing price tag of "around $99" for the Iconia B1. The slate is said to feature similar specs as older Amazon and Barnes & Noble devices, including a 7-inch 1,024 x 600 display and a 1.2GHz processor. As for availability, the device will apparently be targeted at developing nations, with no word on whether it will make it to the US.
Filed under: Tablets, Acer
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Source: The Wall Street Journal
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posted Nov 9th 2012 9:03AM 
Device testing site GLBenchmark has a knack for sniffing out real products before manufacturers are ready to parade them, so our ears perked up when we saw a certain Acer Iconia Tab A220 pop up on its list. According to system and test specs, the alleged slate of unknown dimensions would flaunt Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, along with a 1280 x 752 screen resolution and quad-core, 1.3GHz Tegra CPU. If such a device proved to have a 7-inch screen or so, that would make it a possible Nexus 7 wannabe, giving a zippier, higher-res option to the A110. Of course, benchmarks are easy enough to fake, so we'll keep our eyes peeled for any clues of the more concrete variety.
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