Acer Iconia Tab A100 review

Well, folks, dog years later it's finally here. Say hello to the acer iconia a100 Tab A100, the business's first 7-inch tablet, as well as first 7-inch tablet to perform Android 3.2. Aside from its OS, its specs are fairly run-of-the-mill: a Tegra 2 SoC, five- and two-megapixel cameras, and micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports. And rejoice, geeks, because that's vanilla Honeycomb loaded on there -- you won't find any custom skins or proprietary widgets clogging your property screens. As much promise because these vitals likely have for nerds, though, Acer is see-through the tablet is for mainstream consumers ("moms," among others, while using press release). We're not sure how your mother would experience the precious pattern for the back, but itrrrs likely she'd appreciate the bargain factor: the 8GB version costs $329.99 even though the 16GB number rings in at a reasonable $349.99, undercutting the 16GB HTC Flyer by $150. We've been lucky to obtain some quality time while using A100 recent years days, and let's just say we're coming away with mixed feelings. But can we think itrrrs great enough that any of us feel this little guy was well worth the wait? Which is a toughie, guys.

At 0.92 pounds, the A100 is heavier than the 0.83-pound Samsung Galaxy Tab as well as on par using the 0.9-pound BlackBerry PlayBook and 0.93-pound HTC Flyer. Initially, it looks thinner than average, due to its nearly flat surfaces plus the proven fact that it's a shade slimmer versus 0.52-inch -thick HTC Flyer. ; however , you decide on up a PlayBook, just four tenths of an inch thick, plus the A100 suddenly is like really a weight.

But due to its more e-reader-like shape, it feels deceptively lighter than the Flyer. At 4.6 inches tall, it's narrower in portrait mode, turning it into much better to cradle with two hands and pound out emails using both thumbs. Though with a width of 7.68 inches, it stretches farther in landscape mode, which suggests, conversely, that based on the scale the hands, you could possibly feel more of any stretch inside your fingers while tapping onscreen objects. Also, the bezel is larger within the two short sides, this means if you're holding the A100 in panoramic mode, you will have more place flanking the display than in the event you held it in portrait.

Aesthetically, the A100 generally seems to try taking some design cues from laptops -- some slightly outdated ones, as well. A corner cover incorporates a navy finish with a pattern of thin, golden ribbons stretching from edge to edge. The rear side is usually stamped with Acer's logo, though we think it may well have looked more elegant without it. There is also the 5 megapixel main camera to the back, together with an LED flash alongside it.

Tablet PCs
Acer Iconia Tab A100 review
By Dana Wollman posted Aug 12th 2011 8:00AM
Review
It's been nine months -- nine months! -- since Acer first announced it had been getting into the tablet game, which has a promise of both 7- and 10-inch slates. Well, the 10-inch Iconia Tab A500 have been to the picture for months, but until recently we have been tapping our feet impatiently waiting for the opposite tab to lower. Acer arrived on the scene and said it wouldn't be here till the lover of the year, and meanwhile we'd heard rumors it will arrive in September and the that it was delayed because of "Honeycomb compatibility issues".

Well, folks, dog years later it's finally here. Say hello to the acer iconia a100, send out first 7-inch tablet, along with the first 7-inch tablet to perform Android 3.2. Aside from its OS, its specs are fairly run-of-the-mill: a Tegra 2 SoC, five- and two-megapixel cameras, and micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports. And rejoice, geeks, because that's vanilla Honeycomb loaded on the website -- you may not find any custom skins or proprietary widgets clogging your house screens. Just as much promise because they vitals probably have for nerds, though, Acer is apparent the tablet may be for mainstream consumers ("moms," among others, good press release). We are really not sure how your mother would feel about the precious pattern within the back, but itrrrs likely that she'd appreciate the bargain factor: the 8GB version costs $329.99 while 16GB number rings in in the reasonable $349.99, undercutting the 16GB HTC Flyer by $150. We have been lucky to obtain some quality time while using the A100 recent days, and let's just say we're coming away with a few mixed feelings. But can we like it enough we feel this little guy was definitely worth the wait? This is a toughie, guys.
acer iconia a100
Look and feel
At 0.92 pounds, the A100 is heavier as opposed to 0.83-pound Samsung Galaxy Tab and also on par with all the 0.9-pound BlackBerry PlayBook and 0.93-pound HTC Flyer. When you're beginning, it looks thinner than average, due to its nearly flat surfaces as well as incontrovertible fact that it is a shade slimmer compared to the 0.52-inch -thick HTC Flyer. Even so you choose up a PlayBook, just four tenths inch thick, and also the A100 suddenly feels like even more of a burden.

But due to its more e-reader-like shape, it feels deceptively lighter compared to Flyer. At 4.6 inches tall, it's narrower in portrait mode, turning it into that much much better to cradle with two hands and pound out emails using both thumbs. However a width of 7.68 inches, it stretches farther in landscape mode, which implies, conversely, that based on the size the hands, you could possibly feel a bit more of any stretch with your fingers while tapping onscreen objects. Also, the bezel is greater about the two short sides, which implies for anyone who is holding the A100 in landscape mode, you may have more place flanking the display than if you ever held it in portrait.

Aesthetically, the A100 may seem to try taking some design cues from laptops -- some slightly outdated ones, as well. The back cover incorporates a navy finish that has a pattern of thin, golden ribbons stretching from edge to edge. The spine side is also stamped with's logo, though the world thinks it may have looked more elegant without it. There is also the 5 megapixel main camera to the back, coupled with an LED flash beside it.


The other hand for the A100's clean lines and squared-off corners is there isn't much to carry onto. As dense for the reason that Flyer is, we've always been endeared through the rubberized panels for the back, while they result in the tablet all to easy to grip. The A100 includes a glossy plastic back cover having a subtle contour that puffs out ever-so slightly inside center and tapers nearby the edges. Make no mistake: this is simply not really a concern of ergonomics -- you just aren't more likely to drop the A100 to a untimely death. There's just something for being said for that tactile experience of resting your fingers on rubber or cold aluminum instead of warm, slippery plastic.

About the front, you will find the 2 megapixel secondary camera up top, with a home button constructed into the fewer bezel. That button is not a physical key, by itself, inside the sense you do not push it, but tap it. Still, your house icon doesn't glow, but is instead painted so it is usually visible. Then there's no haptic feedback, therefore it doesn't feel that can compare with getting together with the most common variety of keys on an Android device. People that know their way around Honeycomb will dsicover this addition redundant, but we very often thought it was handy considering the tab in landscape mode.

Completing our tour, there's a glowing power / lock button on a single edge as the front-facing camera, so if you were holding the tablet in portrait mode these would be sitting at the top. There's also a 3.5mm headphone jack up there. Within the opposite edge, below your property button, there are two small speakers on either end, having a micro-HDMI port, docking connector, and also a micro-USB socket concerning. (That docking connector, through the by, blends with exactly the same optional dock that had been released around the time the Iconia Tab A500 came out.) Finally, if you cradle the slate in panoramic mode, you'd see a lever to lock the screen orientation, a volume rocker, along with a door hiding microSD slot. There's another slot next to it, but it's covered, and although simple fact is that perfect area for a Sim, Acer just will not comment. We do wish that Acer labeled those volume buttons, though when you finally utilize them enough times you'll know which can be which. Around the good side, we appreciate which the company made the secondary storage so ea