Acer Intros 7-inch Iconia B1 Android Tablet For Under $150

By Kevin Parrish
published

Acer's upcoming 7-inch dual-core Iconia B1 will sell for less than $150.

Acer announced on Monday a new 7-inch tablet called the Iconia B1-A71 (opens in new tab). The company says it's ideal for families looking for a cheaper, second "can I play Angry Birds on your tablet" tablet (parents know what I'm talking about), and the busy executive looking for a mobile companion without all the bulk associated with a 10-inch form factor.

"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," the company said. "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."

According to the spec list, the tablet sports a Mediatek MTK 8317T dual-core SoC clocked at 1.2 GHz, backing a 7-inch WSVGA capacitive multi-touch screen (1024 x 600). Other specs include 8 GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for an extra 32 GB of storage, 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, a front-facing 0.3MP camera, and an internal speaker.

"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 company said. "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 spec list also reveals the tablet to have 512 MB of RAM, a rechargeable 2,710 mAh battery, GPS, a microUSB port for charging and peripheral connectivity, and a 3.5-mm headset/headphone/microphone jack. The OS of choice is Google's Android "Jelly Bean" although the company doesn't specify if it's v4.1 or v4.2. Users will presumably have access to Google services like Google Maps and Google Play.

The Acer Iconia B1-A71 will be available on an unspecified date with a starting price less than $150, joining the company's three 10-inch Android, two 7-inch Android, one 11-inch Windows 8 and one 10-inch Windows 8 Hybrid tablets. We'll take a look at what this 7-inch tablet has to offer this week during CES 2013.

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Kevin Parrish
16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • back_by_demand
    Acer Intros yet another Android Tablet identical to every other Android Tablet For Under $150
    Fixed!
    Reply
  • joytech22
    back_by_demandBroke!Fixed!

    Anyway, this is pretty fantastic. Very competitively priced and cheap enough that it isn't a huge burden to buy the whole family one so they don't have to come into my room while I'm sleeping.

    Seriously Acer, good job.
    Reply
  • LordConrad
    There's a difference between inexpensive and cheap. I'd rather save up an extra fifty bucks and get the Nexus 7.
    Reply
  • joytech22
    LordConradThere's a difference between inexpensive and cheap. I'd rather save up an extra fifty bucks and get the Nexus 7.
    Nexus 7 here is $300 for lowest-end model.
    Reply
  • kinggraves
    Good job Acer, you beat Asus to getting out a tablet identical to the chinese knockoffs I can buy off Newegg for ~$70 on special.

    -slowclap-
    Reply
  • pacomac
    The Nexus 7 struggles to run Android smoothly enough at times so a device like this with lesser specs is definitely going to struggle. Lets hope Google get their finger out and keep optimising the OS to iOS levels before adding shed loads of new features. At times my Nexus 7 is so slow its practically unusable, even desktop scrolling with no apps running can crawl... So much for project butter!
    Reply
  • Creepintom
    10428822 said:
    The Nexus 7 struggles to run Android smoothly enough at times so a device like this with lesser specs is definitely going to struggle. Lets hope Google get their finger out and keep optimising the OS to iOS levels before adding shed loads of new features. At times my Nexus 7 is so slow its practically unusable, even desktop scrolling with no apps running can crawl... So much for project butter!

    Your post is laughable at best.

    My nexus 7 is plenty fast and extremely smooth.


    Besides, even if there was "desktop scrolling" lag, who in their right mind has nothing better to do than sit on their tablets desktop all day just scrolling back and forth staring at the screen to see if it lags so you can go off on it rooting about how much better your friends I pad 2 is.


    I have 3 different emulators that run perfectly. Even watching .avi or .mkv movies online is a cinch.


    By the way, the only reason the iOS desktop runs as smooth as you claim, is because that is one of the key things they designed, since you know all them brain dead zombies are going to just be sitting in their home screen sliding back and forth not understanding how to use the tablet. So yes I can understand why iOS would want to hammer out any glitches. ROFL.
    Reply
  • Creepintom
    On that note, I just tested your "theory" of scroll lag, sat here for a good minute sliding the screen as fast and as slow as I could yet not even a hint of lag.

    Posted on my Nexus 7
    Reply
  • razor512
    why not get rid of the front facing camera and use that money to get an extra 512MB of RAM?

    The problem with the nexus 7 and lagging is because of the lower quality NAND used. Android does not have any garbage collection or TRIM so after a while the flash cells get used up and write speeds take a 50-60% performance hit.

    512MB is the bare minimum for android 4.x and at that point, there is only around 100-150MB of usable memory left over after the OS takes it's share.

    Furthermore, even with 1GB the OS will frequently swap data between the NAND and RAM and that causes the slow you experience after a while of not rebooting the device. That is why you are starting to see more devices coming out with 2GB of RAM, it allows you to run more apps at one time (without android auto closing them) and it helps prevent the issue of android slowing a lot after a few days to a week+ of frequent use with no rebooting.
    Reply
  • hapotter1000
    Next week the Novo 7 VENUS launchs -- a 7 inch tablet with QUAD CORE processor for only $149 at a site called TabletSprint -- made by Ainol Electronics, which won "runner up" status last year as "Best Tablet of the Year" at CES 2012.

    This new tablet runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS and offers a high resolution 1280x800 IPS screen, 8GB memory, a 4000 mAH battery, front and rear cameras, a MicroSD memory card slot with unlimited storage, Google Play with access to 400K+ Apps, a MicroUSB port for connection to printers and other electronic devices, HDMI - to view personal videos and to download movies and watch in full 1080p (HD) on to a large screen TV, WiFi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and an option for 3G/4G connection.

    TabletSprint includes $25 in Bonus Apps with all tablets available through their site; and also bundles in free 3G/4G wireless service, with a free 3G/4G USB adapter and 500MB of free data every month with full internet access & VoIP voice calling --
    Reply