Acer Iconia Tab A110 - Tegra 3 with HDMI and SD

[Eug]

Anyone hear anything about this in the last little while?

It magically appeared about a month ago at Computex and then I haven't heard anything since. I can't find anything on it at all besides those hands on previews at the beginning of June.

Differences with Nexus 7:

Slightly heavier
Smaller battery size
micro-HDMI
microSD
ICS
1024x600 display
Display may have poorer viewing angles
No info on NTFS support but other Acers do support it

So, while I haven't ruled it out yet, it seems Acer has made lots of compromises on this thing to keep its price down while still making a profit and providing those geek features of micro-HDMI and microSD (which I want).

All of that would be OK for me, but I had a look at the current A100 and the viewing angles are indeed less than stellar. It's way better than those cheap Chinese tablets but those cost just over a hundred bucks. It's actually similar to my Acer 1810TZ 11" laptop, but with that it's easier to deal with because you can just put the screen the way you want it and it will stay there, since its a laptop.

Actually on the A100 (just like my Acer laptop) the side to side viewing angles in landscape orientation are actually quite good, but vertically it leaves something to be desired. I guess in portrait mode it's good vertically, but for reading websites you'd more often use landscape mode on a 7" tablet, esp. one that is 1024x600. I'm guessing the screen on the A110 will be about the same, unfortunately.

 

[ponyo]

If you must have HDMI and SD slot, I guess it's ok. Personally I wouldn't touch it. 1024x600 is 2010 resolution and that's automatic deal killer for me. It's the same reason I wouldn't buy Galaxy Tab 7 2.0. You can find Tab 7 2.0 for $200 now and I would rather buy that than A110.

You're giving up things you'll notice and use everyday for two features you might use occasionally. 1280x800 IPS display (this is a big deal), 4.1 Jelly Bean (equally important), good battery life (somewhat important).

The higher res display and the OS is something you'll see and notice everytime you use the tablet. You're trading those two important features for HDMI and SD slot you might use once in blue moon. Not to mention timely updates directly from Google for the life of the tablet and what's sure to be the largest community rom/development suppport of any Android tablet.

 

[psych2]

good points by ponyo, I want hdmi and sd card access too so I'm getting a nexus 7 for portable reading and waiting for the nexus 10 or transformer infinity to use as a media hub

 

[s44]

I've used the 10*6 7" OG Tab and it's fine, though the panel itself is a nice IPS. Resolution isn't as annoying as 12*8 or lower on a big tablet.

I assume Samsung will release a Tab 7 3.0 though.

 

[Eug]

I'm not as worried about the 1024x600 as I am about the viewing angles. I have a 1024x768 iBook, and the resolution doesn't bother me for surfing the net. Most of the net is still built for 1024, although I do agree some are now pushing 1280.

 

[Eug]

And now refurb A100s are up for sale on eBay for $140 shipped.

Maybe the A110 is coming real soon. I note the FCC approval was June 2011 for the A100. I wonder when the approval was for the A110.

 

[kaerflog]

The importance of a 1280x800 resolution on a 7" tablet for me is that on a normal website, I can see the text clearly without zooming in.
As oppose to a 1024x600, browsing the net involves zooming in and out.

 

[Eug]

PC Advisor review:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/tablets/3409889/acer-iconia-tab-a110-review/

Poor screen, cheap build quality. Battery decent but not as good as Nexus 7's battery. But has microSD slot and micro HDMI, and comes with a very clean version of 4.1 Jelly Bean with only very minor tweaks like different power saving settings (something I'd like to see in the stock Android).

Overall verdict is to skip it, and buy the Nexus 7.