During a press event in New York City, Acer introduced a number of new products spanning mainstream notebooks to convertible Ultrabooks to tablets. The company's new Android tablet assault launched during the event seems focused on Amazon's Kindle Fire HD, sporting a 7.9-inch LED-backlit IPS display, 16 GB of storage and a $199.99 USD pricetag. Called the Iconia A1, it's slated to arrive in June.
The specs show that the tablet is only 0.90 pounds and measures just 0.44-inches thin. The screen has a default resolution of 1024 x 768, an aspect ratio of 4:3, and a 170-degree viewing angle. There's also a 5MP camera mounted on the back capable of capturing 1080p video at 30fps, and a front-facing camera for video calls.
On a connectivity front, the tablet features built-in GPS, Wireless N, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0 and microHDMI output. The tablet will also be offered in both 16 GB and 8 GB option, complimented by a microSD card slot allowing for up to 32 GBG of additional space. All of this is backed by a quad-core SoC from MediaTek clocked at 1.2 GHz.
"Acer's new Touch WakeApp gesture gives customers one-touch express access to their favorite apps directly upon waking from sleep," the company said. "The Iconia A1 delivers the Google experience with services like Google Now, Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, and great content such as magazines, movies, games, books and more than 700,000 apps from the Google Play Store."
The Iconia A1-810 with 16 GB capacity will be available in June for $199.99 USD.
In addition to the new Android tablet, Acer introduced the updated Aspire V5 series of notebooks, and the new Aspire V7 series of Ultrabooks. Between the two, consumers can choose models featuring large 15.6-inch displays, more portable 14-inch displays, or highly transportable models with 11.6-inch displays. They can also choose between touch and non-touch screens, Acer said.
On the V5 front, the updated premium models will include 15.6-inch or 14-inch displays, and resolutions of 1366 x 768 or 1920 x 1080 with IPS. These models will also feature four speakers backed by Dolby Home Theatre, next generation AMD dual core or quad core processors, or the latest Intel CPUs. Select configurations will be equipped with Nvidia GeForce GT7XXM series or AMD Radeon HD8750 discrete graphics.
Acer will also offer V5 notebooks with an 11.6-inch touch screen locked at a 1366 x 768 resolution. The notebooks will weigh just 3 pounds and measure less than an inch thick, packing next generation AMD dual core or quad core CPUs, or the latest Intel CPUs. They will also feature a full size keyboard, while backlit keyboards will also be available in some regions.
"For maximum convenience, all V5 models include an Acer Converter Port, making it easy to connect to an external display, hard drive, router, etc," the company said. "Some models include a converter cable, which supports VGA, USB and RJ45 connections."
As for the new V7 Series of Ultrabooks, the company said they will have the same stylish and thin design found on the V5 models, but adds a "silky touch" finish on the bottom. They'll also feature a variety of the latest Intel processors, solid state drives, Acer Theft Shield, the new Acer converter port and WiDi, Intel's Wireless Display technology.
The Aspire V Series will be available at the end of May with a starting price of $499 USD.
