By Among the first to bat at CES was Acer as it wasted no time announcing its latest wares at the trade show. The OEM announced the Acer Iconia Tab B1-A71, and as unattractive as its name is it definitely makes up for it in price tag. This thing will come in at $150, but you’re probably wondering what Acer had to do to get that price down so low.
This 7-inch tablet comes with a MediaTek 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1,024×600 resolution, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a VGA front-facing camera, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and more. It’s not the most exciting tale of the tape we’ve seen, but at $150 there’s not much more to ask for. Heck, even Acer knows this thing won’t be particularly attractive to the techie crowd — the OEM has targeted new users and families looking for tablets for their children in its own press release.
We’re not sure when to expect the 7 inch device but the feeling is that we’ll see it by the time early Spring rolls around. It’ll be facing stiff competition as all sorts of companies look to go the 7-inch tablet route. Google’s Nexus 7 brings a fantastic suite of features for starting at just $50, and offerings from Samsung, ASUS and more look to threaten the domain Acer’s looking to attack. Be sure to read on for full press details.
Acer Tablet Family Welcomes New Arrival For New Users
Acer expands tablet portfolio with its 7″ Acer Iconia B1-A71
Ideal for new users or families opting for a 2nd tablet for their children
Also easy to carry, read and explore, and powerful enough for fast media consumption – it is an excellent mobile companion for the busy executiveTAIPEI (Jan. 7, 2013) – Acer today announced the Iconia B1-A71 tablet targeted at young or new users or families looking for an additional tablet for their children. The Iconia B1 is also ideal for busy individuals seeking a convenient mobile companion. At 7 inches – the same size as a standard book page – the display is comfortable for e-reading, web browsing, playing games and watching videos.
Super Portable: The Iconia B1 is easy to hold and use in one hand, a triangular corner grip on the lower left side improves single-hand usage even more. It’s also easy to tote around in a bag or jacket at a feather-light 320 grams, making it one of the lightest 7-inch tablets in the market.
Highly Responsive Fun: To take your experience to the next level, this tablet combines a 1.2GHz dual-core processor for fast and smooth gaming, web browsing and video watching
with Android’s Jelly Bean operating system to get quickly precise answers to your search
queries and seamless browsing. For many search queries performed through VoiceSearch, you can now hear a spoken answer quickly.Fast and Free Media: Over 500 free online magazines from hundreds of publishers and top web sites are always at your fingertips thanks to Google Currents. The recently updated smart mobile app allows you to discover, read, and share your favorite new outlets, blogs and online magazine on the 7-inch WSVGA (1,024 x 600) capacitive display – even when offline. If you are into playing, you have more than 700,000 games and apps from the Play Store to choose from.
News releaseCapture and Share More: To top off the rich experience, the Iconia B1 comes with a frontfacing camera to engage in live chats with your friends. The camera is on the top right corner and works also when in landscape mode, allowing your friends to get into the picture during a video chat.
The Iconia B1 is an affordable entry level device to the wide family of Acer products and is designed for the everyday usage of Modern Day Explorers – in this case young explorers or busy mobile explorers. The Iconia B1 is, like its Acer family products, a device which provides the most premium experience at its price point. Available as 8GB version with the option to expand via microSD™ slot, the Iconia B1 is the ideal easy companion for tablet newbies or children while adults use their own.
The new Iconia B1 expands the Acer tablet family now offering three 10-inch Android, two 7-inch Android, one 11″ Windows 8 and one 10-inch Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets.
Pricing, Availability and Warranty
The Acer Iconia B1-A71 will be available with a starting price less than $150.Acer Iconia B1-A71 features and specs:
-Android JellyBean operating system
– Mediatek dual-core 1.2GHz processor (MTK 8317T)
-7-inch diagonal WSVGA capacitive multitouch screen with 1,024 x 600 resolution display
-8GB(1) of internal storage and 512MB DDR3 memory
-Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n -Bluetooth® wireless technology 4.0 -GPS
-3.5mm headset/headphone/microphone jack
-internal speaker
-microSD™ expansion slot with up to 32GB support
-front-facing 0.3-megapixel webcam
-Rechargeable 2,710 mAh battery
-micro-USB (charging and PC connect) with USB 2.0
-Dimensions: 197.4 mm x 128.5 mm x 11.3 mm
-Weight: 320 g
Android 4.0 jelly bean?
Lol get your android straight
Looks like it’s worth the money. That being said, I’ll stick with my Nexus 7. But I can see this thing selling pretty well. $50 is significant at this price range, and Acer does put out a good product. I’d take this over one of the no names, or an old Nook Color, or an Archos any day of the week.
Not bad, especially with MicroSD expansion. Still, I give it 6 months before Google put out a far superior Nexus in this price class (maybe even this week?).
Would rather find a used Nexus 7 16gb for around $150-175.
512MB of ram. Yikes… I guess it’ll be okay for kid’s games.
For the extra $50, I’d rather get the dev support that a device deserves (Nexus 7).
Looks like an HTC 8X to me.
This is tailor made for the Walmart crowd (it’s a big freaking crowd). You have no idea what these people will do to save $50. Sometimes it’s so annoying you can’t even imagine.
This thing will fly off the shelf.
Race ya to the bottom! GO!
Not super-duper, but at least it has external storage.
nexus 7 still the winner. nexus 7 2.0 will be too amazing with T4..I hope
Who would pay $150 for this junk. Your better off buying the Nexus 7. They might would have had something if this was $99, but at this price point, forget about it.
Exactly what I think too.
Amazon has sweet deals for tablets at http://amzn.to/VjF03f
xo
Jenny