Acer Iconia A1-810 tablet. (Image courtesy: Acer)
Into a market that is full of tablets, Acer has jumped in with its Iconia A1-810. The play is on price (low budget), but there are a few tweaks that sets it apart from the rest.
If you were thinking the Acer Iconia A1-810 is an iPad Mini replacement for Android fans, you'd be wrong. Sure, on the surface, the A1-810 aims to replicate the iPad Mini's appeal, but in reality, it is a budget Android tablet.
Both tablets share the same 7.9-inch screen size, 4:3 aspect ratio, and subpar resolution (by today's standards), but that's kind of where the similarities end. The A1-810 is noticeably thicker than the iPad Mini and aesthetically, while it's not homely, it probably won't be winning any design awards.
And while Android has seen massive improvements to its app ecosystem, it's still no iOS. So a more apt comparison would be Google's Nexus 7. Both tablets run the latest version of Android (4.2.2), but the A1-810 has a Micro-HDMI port and its storage can be expanded using a microSD card.
However, Google's 7-incher sports a more comfortable build and a sharper screen, and since it's made by the people who built the operating system it's running on, it will get updates a lot quicker.
Having said that, the Iconia A1-810 isn't a bad tablet, just one that fails to stand out in any meaningful way. However, its low - as 8-inch tablets go - street price ($200 for 16GB of storage; $170 for 8GB) makes some of its shortcomings easier to swallow.
Design
For a small tablet, the Iconia A1-810 is chunky, and it feels hollow despite its weight and girth. Taking a cue from the Nexus 7's design rather than the iPad Mini's, the top and bottom bezels are thicker than the left and right ones, adding to its overall robust build. The tablet would look sleeker with thinner bezels, but it is apparent that thin is not in with this model. So far from being an Android version of the iPad Mini, its clunky design turns it into a bloated knockoff.
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