Apple iPads ushered in the era of new mobile devices. But a little later, iPad mini with a diagonal of 8 "and an aspect ratio of 4: 3 came out, followed by other manufacturers. The new format has become a trend for" pocket "tablets. Today we have just such a tablet from Acer in our laboratory - Iconia A1 -810 In our review, we will try to identify its advantages and disadvantages.

Characteristics Acer Iconia A1-810 (manufacturer information)
Products webpage	Official page Acer Iconia A1-810
Retail price
Screen	8 "IPS
Permission	1024x768
CPU	Quad Core MediaTek MT8389W, 1.2GHz
Graphics core	PowerVR SGX 544MP
RAM	DDR3 1GB
Built-in flash memory	8/16 GB
Expansion cards	micro-SD, up to 32 GB
Front-camera	0.3MP
Rear camera	5 megapixels
Dimensions (edit)	209 x 146 x 11 mm
The weight	410 g
Battery	4960 mAh
PC communication	micro-USB
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
External interfaces	Micro-HDMI, 3.5 mm mini-jack, microphone, micro SD card slot, micro-USB, OTG-USB
OS	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

Below are screenshots of CPU-Z

We have received the 810 version of the Acer Iconia A1. There is also an 811 version. It differs in that it is equipped with a 3G module.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Design and appearance

There is nothing remarkable about the design of the Acer Iconia A1, the appearance can be called standard.

Most of the front side is occupied by an 8 ”screen, which is covered with glass. The distance from the screen to the edge of the top and bottom in portrait orientation is about 2.3 cm. On the sides - 1 cm. At the top in the center there is a peephole of the front camera.

On the sides, the border around the screen seems to be wide enough for a finger to enter it, but the finger constantly moves out and the screen is triggered. The edge was reduced, but not enough. On iPad mini, the edge is not so wide, the brain does not even think to put a finger on it. And in another way, holding the Acer Iconia A1 is inconvenient. If he were a little narrower, it would be convenient to hold him with one hand. And so the question constantly arises about how to use the tablet. All of this is true for portrait orientation. Everything is convenient in landscape.

The side edge and back cover are made of plastic. The edge is stylized like metal and protrudes slightly above the glass. Thanks to this protrusion, the plastic will crumple when dropped, and not crack the glass. The back cover is white. White looks beautiful, fingerprints are not visible on it, but scratches are better visible.

On the upper right side there is a power / lock button. On the right (top to bottom): volume rocker, micro-SD card slot, microphone, reset button (recessed into the case, pressed with a needle), micro-HDMI output. On the lower edge on the right is a micro-USB connector and a headphone jack. There is nothing on the left side.

On the rear surface there are: the main camera eye - in the upper left corner, the speaker grill - in the lower left corner, the Acer logo in the center and stickers with the serial number and additional information in the lower part.

In general, the Acer Iconia A1 is built with high quality - there are no backlashes and gaps. But the tablet does not seem to have a frame: the tablet bends strongly when bent or twisted by the edges. The structure lacks rigidity.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Contents of delivery

The Acer Iconia A1 comes in an eco-friendly thick cardboard box. The box is stylized outside of a tree. Inside the box is the tablet itself, a multilingual manual, a warranty booklet, a USB cable and a charger.
Software and settings

The Acer Iconia A1 runs Android 4.2.2. This is a good thing since many manufacturers are still making tablets with Android 4.1. The tablet has standard Android 4.2.2 with a standard shell.

Here we note additional programs added by Acer.

As with the 2012 Iconia Tabs (see), the volume rocker button assignments change based on orientation. Volume up is always right (landscape) or up (portrait). Decreasing the volume, respectively, is the opposite. It is very convenient. By accidentally taking the tablet upside down, you can change the volume just as intuitively.

Various applications are preinstalled:

• AccuWeather - weather, weather widgets 16,17,18,19
• 7digital - music store 21
• Acer Cloud - cloud storage
• WildTangent Games - game store 22
• Acer Life Image - create collages from photos and videos acerlifeimage
• Office Suite - a program for reading office files
• Simeji - Japanese keyboard 25
• Tunelin - 24 online radio & podcasts
• Zinio - magazine store 26
• McAfee Mobile Security - Antivirus 23

The pre-installed apps are good. The manufacturer makes sure that the user can start working with the tablet right out of the box. But this time, Acer went a little too far. Not everyone needs a paid antivirus, app and music stores, or a Japanese keyboard. Here, even the problem is not that there are unnecessary applications, but that they cannot be removed by regular means. Preinstalled apps can only be disabled.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Video

Since April 2013, we have been using a new testing methodology for testing multimedia devices. It is split into several parts.

• Popular formats- common video formats and codecs. It is recommended that their support be evaluated first.
• DVD and Blu-ray Disc Images- check playback of full DVD / Blu-ray images, including menus. Recommended if you store your media library as images
• Rare formats- less common formats, but still relevant
• Ultra HD 2K and 4K- formats with an eye to the future. In 2013, ultra-high definition video will gain popularity

Popular formats
Film / video	Notes (edit)	Test result
Borat / Borat (XVID AVI)	video MPEG-4 Visual (XviD Advanced [email protected]) 1095 kbps 608 × 336 25 fps, MP3 audio 2 channels, no subtitles	Refusal
Back to the Future 3 / Back to the Future 3 (XVID AVI)	video MPEG-4 Visual (XviD Advanced [email protected]), 4.5 Mbps 1280 × 720 23.976 fps, Dolby Digital (AC3) audio 6 channels, no subtitles	Refusal
Donald Duck (FLV)	Flash Video, video Sorenson Spark 303 kbps 400 × 300 29 fps, MP3 audio 2 channels, no subtitles	Refusal
Once Upon a Time in a Bakery (Yeralash) (FLV)	Flash Video, H.264 / AVC video ( [email protected]) 640 × 360 25 fps 487 kbps, audio 2 channel AAC (LC), no subtitles	Success
Smeshariki. New Adventures (FLV)	Flash Video, H.264 / AVC video ( [email protected]) 854 × 480 25 fps 566 kbps, audio 2 channel AAC (LC), no subtitles	Success
Mamma Mia! (MKV)	AVC / H.264 video ( [email protected]), 13 Mbps 1920 × 800 23.976 fps, audio 6 channels Dolby Digital (AC3), DTS, subtitles	Success
Movie Despicable Me 2 (MKV)	WebM, video VP8 1920x1056 23.9 fps 1.9 Mbps, audio 2 channels Vorbis	Success
Pixar - For the Birds (MKV)	WebM, video VP8 640 × 344 23.2 fps 504 kbps, audio 2 channels Vorbis, no subtitles	Success
Space Station (MOV)	AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 1.5 Mbps 854 × 480 25 fps, audio 2 channel AAC (LC), no subtitles. Checking MOV playback	Success
Roller Cars 2 / Cars 2 (MOV)	AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]) 8.4 Mbps 1920 × 800 23.976 fps, audio 2ch AAC (LC)	Success
Disney Nature (MP4)	MPEG-4 video AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]) 1920 × 800 23.976 fps 4.4 Mbps, audio 2ch AAC (LC)	Success
History of Violence (MP4)	MPEG-4 video AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]) 720 × 408 1390 kbps 25 fps, AAC audio (HE-AAC) 2 channels, no subtitles	Success
Movie Transformers Dark of the Moon (WEBM)	WebM, video VP8 1920 × 1080 25.0 fps 5.6 Mbps, audio 2 channels Vorbis	Success
Union is strength (WEBM)	WebM, video VP8 640 × 360 29.0 fps 379 kbps, audio 2 channels Vorbis, no subtitles	Success
DVD and Blu-ray Disc Images
BBC: The Private Life of Plants (DVD)	MPEG-2, 720 × 576, Dolby Digital audio 6 channels, subtitles Checking DVD Playback from ISO Image	Refusal
House of Sand and Fog (DVD)	MPEG-2, 7.6 Mbps, 720 × 576, DTS audio 6 channels, Dolby Digital 6 channels, subtitles Check DVD playback from a folder on a disc. Checking Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. Checking menus and chapter navigation. Checking subtitles.	Refusal
Book of Masters (Blu-ray AVC / H.264)	0005.m2ts, AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]) 1920 × 1080, up to 39 Mbps 23.976 fps, DTS MA audio, Dolby Digital (AC3)	Refusal
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Blu-ray, VC-1)	0000.m2ts, VC-1 ( [email protected]) 1920 × 1080 23.976 fps, 15.1 Mbps, Dolby Digital (AC3), DTS, subtitle	Refusal
Sky Captain (Blu-ray, MPEG2)	00002.m2ts, MPEG2 ( [email protected]) 1920 × 1080 18.9 Mbps 23.976 fps, Dolby Digital, DTS, subtitle	Refusal
Rare formats
Harry Potter Parody (AVI DX50)	MPEG-4 Visial (DivX 5) 998 kbps 640 × 480 29.97 fps, MP3 audio 2 channels, no subtitles	Refusal
Nuclear Explosion (AVI DIVX)	MPEG-4 Visial (DivX 4) 798 kbps 352 × 240 25 fps, no sound, no subtitles	Refusal
Movie from Nikon D300s camera (AVI M-JPEG)	M-JPEG 1280 × 720 (16: 9) 22.7 Mbps 24 fps, mono PCM audio, no subtitles	Refusal
Movie from a Fujifilm camera (AVI M-JPEG)	M-JPEG 640 × 360 (16: 9) 6.9 Mbps 30 fps, mono PCM audio, no subtitles	Refusal
Movie from miniDV SONY camera (AVI DVCPRO)	DVCPRO 720 × 576 (16: 9) 24.4 Mbps 25 fps, PCM audio 2 channels	Refusal
The Resident / Trap (MKV)	AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 6 Mbps 1280 × 544 23.976 fps, audio 6 channels Dolby Digital (AC3), subtitles. Checking header compression (Header Stripping). ReFrames high level check (12)	Refusal
The Avatar (extract) (1080p 60 fps MKV)	AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 43.4 Mbps 1920 × 1080 59.88 fps, audio 6 DTS channels, subtitles. Checking playback of 1080p 60fps clips	Refusal
Monsters on Vacation (1080p High 10 MKV)	AVC / H.264 (High [email protected]) 4.4 Mbps 1920 × 1058 23.976 fps, Dolby Digital audio (AC3), subtitles. Checking playback of Hi10p clips	Refusal
Movie from HDV-camera SONY (MOV)	HDV 1080i (MPEG2 HD [email protected] 1440) 1440 × 1080, 25Mbps 25 fps, 2ch PCM audio	Refusal
Roller Kharkiv (MPEG2)	MPEG Video (Version 1, BVOP) 384 × 288 2.800 Mbps 25 fps, MPEG Audio (Version 1), no subtitles	Refusal
Nevzorov "Hell" (MP4)	MPEG-4 Visual ( [email protected]) 352 × 288 25 fps, AAC audio (Version 4) 2 channels, no subtitles	Success
Video from the Sanyo HD2000 camera (1080p 60fps MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 24.1 Mbps 1920 × 1080 59.94 fps, 2ch AAC audio. Checking playback of 1080p 60fps clips	Success
Video clip from AVCHD-camera SONY (MTS)	AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 17 Mbps 1920 × 1080 25 fps, audio 6 channels Dolby Digital (AC3), subtitles. Checking support for AVCHD MTS files	Success
TV show (RM)	RealMedia, video RealVideo 4 320 × 200 386 kbps, 29.9 fps, audio 1 channel 64.1 kbps Cooker	Refusal
Crash Manga (RMVB)	RealMedia VBR, video RealVideo 4 640x480 408 kbps, 29.9 fps, audio 2 channels 96.5 kbps Cooker	Refusal
TV commercial about the love of sweets (WMV)	WMV3 / VC-1 350 kbps 360 × 288 23 fps, WMA audio (version 2) 1 channel, no subtitles	Refusal
Ultra HD 2K and 4K
Further Up Yonder (MOV)	MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 14.8 Mbps 2048 × 1152 25 fps, 2 ch AAC audio. Checking playback of MOV 1152p 2K clips	Refusal
576 Megapixels by Philip Bloom (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 25.3 Mbps 2048 × 1080 23.976 fps, 2ch AAC audio. Checking playback of 1080p 2K clips	Refusal
Further Up Yonder (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 32.0 Mbps 2048 × 1152 25 fps, 2ch AAC audio. Checking playback of 1152p 2K clips	Refusal
TimeScapes (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 33.1 Mbps 2560 × 1440 23.976 fps, 2ch AAC audio. Checking playback of 1440p 2K clips	Refusal
Italy (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 41.3 Mbps 3840x2160 23.976 fps, 2ch AAC audio. Verify Playback of 2160p 4K Ultra HD Clips	Refusal
New Zealand (MP4)	MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 ( [email protected]), 40.5 Mbps 4096 × 2304 23.976 fps, 2ch AAC audio. Verify Playback of 2160p 4K Ultra HD Clips	Refusal

Acer Iconia A1-810 did not open quite a few files with the standard player. Mainly only popular formats are supported, and even then not all of our test files. However, the problem is solved by installing a third-party media player, but we are testing the pre-installed ones.

Keep in mind that the aspect ratio of the screen is 4: 3, so when watching movies, you will most often get quite wide black bars at the top and bottom.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Camera

The Acer Iconia A1-810 has two cameras. Front for video chat and back for photos. The front camera is of average quality, but it is definitely enough for conversations - the image is not very blurry when moving, and noise appears only in low light. The main thing is that it is located conveniently - in the center above the screen, and not in the corner, as in many tablets.

The 5MP rear camera shoots well in sufficient light. There is a lot of noise in the dark. But this is excusable. The main thing is that the test with text, even in low light, the camera passes well. It's still a tablet, not a camera phone.

Below are test shots. Click on the picture to view the full size version.

The camera shoots video in Full-HD resolution. The quality is average, as you can see in the following video.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Performance

CPU performance

We tested the performance of the 4-core Cortex A7 processor on the Acer Iconia A1 using Linpack. Results are reported in millions of floating point operations per second (MFLOPS).

The Acer Iconia A1 scores high, typical of its quad-core processor. The results are higher than the similar processor y.

Overall system performance

We used Smartbench 2012 1.0 benchmark to assess overall system performance. This benchmark is very similar to the 3DMark and SysMark packages in that it provides simple and convenient performance indices for two categories: productivity applications and games. On the other hand, the synthetic benchmark may not accurately reflect the real performance of applications and games.

You can compare tablet results with other smartphones and tablets at http://smartphonebenchmarks.com/

The results are high thanks to good hardware and low screen resolution. We get performance at about the same level.

JavaScript performance

SunSpider is a JavaScript benchmark that demonstrates both the performance of a tablet's JavaScript engine and the processing power of (to a lesser extent) hardware. Poor JavaScript implementation on a very fast tablet can blur the entire platform's performance. And at the same time, the great JavaScript implementation will make it possible to efficiently use even slow systems. However, today the main implementations of JavaScript engines are getting closer to each other, developers are borrowing all the best ideas. JavaScript tests are single threaded due to the nature of browsers. SunSpider correctly evaluates CPU-sensitive tasks found in real web applications.

Below are the SunSpider 1.0 results on Android tablets and phones. Android devices use the Google V8 JavaScript engine.

The smaller the result, the better. The result of the Acer Iconia A1 is good. Only a tablet on a full-fledged Windows 8 turns out to be significantly faster.

AnTuTu

Below we have provided the results of the popular AnTuTu benchmark. It has been updated to version 4.1.

The results are high. They are comparable to.

Relative Benchmark

This test was created "for growth", no existing Android-based devices can show really high results. The graphics level is much higher than the gaming average, so even if the results are not impressive here, in real games the performance can be quite good. 60 fps in this test is already the Xbox 360.

In the Relative test of the Acer Iconia A1 we get an average result. It is even slightly smaller than the MSI Primo 76. In different tests, the Acer and MSI tablets compete with each other with varying success.

Network bandwidth

We tested network performance using the IxChariot benchmark as well as an 802.11 b / g / n router with 1 Gbps ports. The tablet was at a distance of about 1 meter from the access point. We tested the maximum available network mode (802.11g or 802.11n), at this time there were no other active transmissions, no pronounced interference was found in the network coverage area either.

The results are great. The Wi-Fi module transmits more than 50 Mbps. The page loading speed will depend on the speed of the network, and not on the capabilities of the tablet.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Game tests

The test results do not always correspond to real performance, so we decided to carry out tests in real conditions.

In games, frames per second (fps) are an important factor. The higher it is, the smoother the game will feel. Frame rates below 30 fps can lead to jerks and other unpleasant consequences. The frame rate below 15 fps turns the game into a slideshow, you can hardly enjoy it. We took the average frame rate during the test run in the selected game.

Epic citadel

We have added the Epic Citadel gaming test, which is a demonstration of the capabilities of Infinity Blade's Unreal engine for Android OS. The test has different .apk and cache for different GPUs, so you need to take your versions for the test. The test was carried out only in High Quality mode. We excluded the High Performance mode from the tests, since the results differ insignificantly, and we are interested in the performance of the tablet relative to other models. You can see the results below.

Epic Citadel is a pretty serious gaming test with "heavy" graphics. The result is just great. In almost all scenes in High Performance and High Quality modes, our Acer Iconia A1 produces frame rates close to the maximum 60 fps. Only in Ultra High Quality mode does the frame rate drop. And then up to 26.9 fps. This is the best result in the Epic Citadel test of all tablets that have been in our lab.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Battery life

The battery with a capacity of almost 5000 mAh allows you to watch a movie at maximum brightness for 5 hours. But, unlike most tablets, the Acer Iconia A1 has a low maximum brightness. Therefore, in real conditions, when watching a movie, you will get about the same time. The results are poor. But it is worth noting that in this case the power consumption is mainly directed not to the screen, but to the hardware. Therefore, you can read a book on the Acer Iconia A1 for a long time. Also, in a locked sleep state, the tablet consumes almost no energy.

Charging, despite the 2 A power supply, takes a relatively long time. Slightly less runtime. In this aspect, the Acer Iconia A1 is not as strong as we would like.

Acer Iconia A1-810 | Conclusion

Acer has got a solid tablet. The popular 8 "format is good for mobile use. But, unlike the iPad mini, the Acer Iconia A1-810 turned out to be quite large both in thickness and in length and width. Compactness is not felt. It is not so convenient to hold the tablet in one hand.

The 8 "screen with a resolution of 1024x768 is no longer impressive, even the phones come with Full-HD resolution. The same ASUS recently released the 7 ″ Nexus (2013) with Full-HD resolution, so Acer would like a similar step. As a result, we get not the highest pixel density. They become noticeable almost at a distance of use. The brightness of the tablet screen also "pumped up". The range is very small. The maximum brightness is not enough outdoors even on a cloudy day, and the minimum brightness "hurts" your eyes in the dark.

The Acer Iconia A1 is perfect for gaming. Both simple casual and heavy ones. Good hardware coupled with a low screen resolution lead to high frame rates in games. The tablet is also good for reading - in this mode the tablet is discharged slowly.

We recommend purchasing the A1-811 version, that is, with a 3G module. It costs a couple of thousand more, but you will be able to use the Internet at any time and not depend on Wi-Fi points. Moreover, the Acer Iconia A1 has an aspect ratio of 4: 3, which makes it easy to browse the web.

Advantages of Acer Iconia A1-810

• IPS screen with wide viewing angles
• High performance
• Android 4.2.2, regular firmware updates
• Micro-HDMI output
• Expandable memory using micro-SD cards
• Availability on sale of versions with 3G module (A1-811)

Disadvantages of Acer Iconia A1-810

• Large weight and dimensions
• Small brightness range
• Long-term charging

There is a tablet computer in almost every home, as once in every home you could find a system unit with a monitor. Tablet PCs managed to take over most of the market, since no one wants big and noisy machines when much more compact devices cover the bulk of their needs.

At the same time, like computers, tablets quickly lost popularity, they no longer inspire delight and are bought as bedside gadgets (watch a movie in the evening or let a child play). As a result, expensive and advanced devices like the iPad gradually loosen their grip. Most budget devices are enough. One of these tablets will be discussed in this review - Acer Iconia Tab A1 811.

Equipment

In the box from under the device, in addition to the gadget itself, there is a small brochure. In fact, an instruction that is suitable only for those who have never used such gadgets at all, and even then it is unlikely to come in handy.

Also included are: a charger (a block for connecting to the mains) and a USB cable (for charging and synchronizing with a computer).

Unfortunately, the box was not found: no covers, no headphones, no other accessories.

Fortunately, all this stuff is easy to find on the web. The tablet was quite popular at the time, and hardworking Chinese riveted a lot of accessories suitable for it. Covers, protective films, all kinds of stands, styluses - in general, whatever your heart desires.

Device design

Dimensions: 209 x 147 x 11 mm.

The Acer Iconia Tab A1 811 has a classic design. The body is made of ordinary "soft-touch" plastic. The case is not too strong, prone to dirt, slightly backlash.

The gadget turned out to be quite thick, almost 12 millimeters, and its weight is 430 grams, which is not bad for a device of this size. The bezels around the display are a little disappointing, they are too massive in comparison with what users of modern devices are used to seeing. The same iPad mini looks much more compact. At the same time, the frames are saved from accidental clicks and have a positive effect on the grip, thanks to which the tablet lies in the hands more confidently.

Device display

The front panel of the Acer Iconia Tab A1 811 has a 7.9-inch display panel. The display is not of high quality, despite the fact that it uses an IPS-matrix. The picture is not calibrated, the color rendition suffers greatly, the resolution is not impressive either, only 1024 x 768 pixels (the number of dots per inch is 160).

The display is covered with glossy glass, which is in no way protected from glare (on a bright sunny day it will be almost impossible to see something on the device, not to mention direct sunlight).

The touchscreen 811 cannot be called “wooden”, but at the same time it often confuses positioning, reacts with a delay or does not react at all, which is especially noticeable when typing and playing games. Reduces contamination of the display panel and allows you to easily remove fingerprints from it.

Device performance and memory

The heart of the device is the famous Chinese chip from MediaTek - MT8389. The processor works with four cores, two of which are efficient, used in games and complex programs, and the other two are energy efficient, used in light applications and in standby mode. The clock speed of the processor reaches acceleration up to 1200 Megahertz.

Also, under the cover of the gadget, 1 gigabyte of RAM and 8 gigabytes of main memory (in the version of Acer Iconia Tab A1 811 8gb) are squeezed in. Most of the main memory is occupied by the operating system, since the situation is smoothed out by the presence of support for microSDHC memory cards up to 32 gigabytes. It is important to note that the work with memory cards has not yet been established in “Android” version 4, so only documents, photos, music can be stored on it, but software cannot be installed.

Responsible for graphics processing is the PowerVR SGX554, which has proven itself in premium devices such as the iPhone.

Overall performance should be sufficient for most simple tasks. Trying to play complex games on this tablet is not worth it, they either will not start at all, or they will work with an extremely low frame rate and frequent freezes. Such a small amount of RAM greatly contributes to the unloading of programs, which means that each time they will be restarted (this process takes time, therefore, the tablet will work very slowly).

Device autonomy

The Acer Iconia Tab A1 811 3g is equipped with a rather modest battery. The battery capacity was only 4960 milliamperes / hour, which can provide no more than 7 hours of operation (with an average load).

The operating time depends entirely on how the gadget is used, on the network coverage (if a cellular module is used), on running applications, on the use of geolocation services (GPS).

Image quality

The camera is far from the most important aspect in a tablet computer, and it makes no sense to hope for gorgeous photos in it. The Acer Iconia Tab A1 811 has two cameras. Main (rear) with a resolution of 5 megapixels and secondary (front) with a resolution of 0.3 megapixels. Both cameras perform, rather, a utilitarian function.

Using the main camera, you can take a photo for a notebook or scan a document. The front camera is suitable for video calls (there is nothing to do with it for selfie fans). There is no autofocus. For some reason, the developers decided not to add such a function, which significantly aggravates the situation and greatly spoils the impression of using the camera.

Operating system

The entire line, including the Acer Iconia Tab 811 and others, is powered by the 4th generation Android, named after the KitKat chocolate bars. Today the platform is outdated and significantly inferior to more modern versions. Some applications are not supported (both regular and sold in the Play Store), but the supported versions can be downloaded on the Internet and from other repositories.

This version of the software has made a significant leap in terms of performance, which allows the tablet to run smoothly and quickly, despite not having the most powerful hardware under the hood. Another important point is the adaptation of the interface for large displays. Also, in this version, power consumption is significantly reduced, which has a positive effect on the operating time of the device.

The system has a set of pre-installed "software" from Google, as well as from partners. The first is good news, as the software from Google is of good quality and pleases with its functionality. The second is very upsetting, since third-party, preinstalled "software" only takes up space and is rarely useful (considering that most of it is demo versions of low-grade games).

Wireless and wired interfaces

The device has a number of standard wireless interfaces. These include: Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth version 4.0, as well as support for 3G mobile networks. Unfortunately, the tablet does not work with 4th generation (LTE) networks, which for many can be a decisive factor due to the large difference in speed between 3rd and 4th generation networks.

Another important feature of the device is support for microHDMI, which significantly expands the multimedia capabilities for the subject of this review. It is possible to seamlessly transfer the image from the tablet to a TV or display with HDMI support.

If you have an OTG cable, you can connect all kinds of peripherals to the tablet. For example, if you like to type on a full-size physical keyboard, you can easily connect it to this tablet. The same goes for gamepads, they also work great with this model.

Acer Iconia Tab A1 811: reviews

The main advantage of the device is the price. Users rate the tablet based on its cost, which makes the assessment less objective.

Of the advantages of the device, a properly functioning GPS is distinguished, since many users purchase such gadgets as a replacement for navigation ones.

Many people like to use a tablet as a phone. It can actually receive calls and send SMS, which makes it even more functional.

They also speak positively about the battery, which can withstand a full working day (of course, it all depends on the individual user, but the fact remains).

The gadget also had unexpected flaws, such as a very weak signal of Wi-Fi and mobile networks. In comparison with similar devices, the Acer Iconia Tab A1 811 keeps the connection much worse, often losing it altogether.

Well, a common problem for all is a weak camera, incapable of creating more or less decent photographs.

Another major problem is the existing batch of tablets with broken power controllers capable of destroying the battery (discharging it to full zero, without the ability to recharge itself).

Some users managed to connect a USB modem with a SIM card to the tablet.

Interestingly, for this device, it is not at all difficult to find spare parts, including the display. In the event of a breakdown, most of the spare parts can be easily purchased on the Internet and replaced on their own (such work should only be carried out with complete confidence in your competence, otherwise you should contact the professionals).

Prices

The gadget belongs to the category of budget devices, therefore it pleases with its cost. The tablet can be purchased for less than 8 thousand rubles. The last price in the Svyaznoy store for the Acer Iconia Tab A1 811 8gb 3G stopped at 6250 rubles.

Instead of a conclusion

This product from Acer seems completely nondescript and rather boring, but it is a good home tablet, a tool for solving life problems and should not be too colorful. The company focused on user experience for the largest possible audience and device availability.

In fact, this is the perfect device for those who want to own a tablet computer, use it for work or school, but have a modest budget.

Acer Iconia Tab A1-810 8 "Tablet Review: A Future Hit?

Actually, there are many different tablets. Frankly low-quality ones - in terms of design features or assembly - do not stay on the market for a long time. Prices for devices with similar technical characteristics are kept in approximately the same range. And when choosing a tablet for yourself, it remains only to correlate these characteristics (at least in any well-known search engine for an expanded selection of parameters). In terms of screen size (diagonal, aspect ratio), the choice is also large. Here, it would seem, there should be a clear differentiation, because this is production - standards, matrices, some kind of machine tools. That is, if they have set up the production of a display of a certain size, then they will rivet it until the buyer buys everything. But it seems that displays are now being cut as you want, like window glass. Nevertheless, if you do not go into particular, then usually there are two main segments: large tablets, with a diagonal of 9-10 inches, and small tablets, seven-inch.

Interest in eight-inch tablets and their separation into a separate segment is undoubtedly fueled by the appearance of the iPad mini. Suddenly it turned out that eight inches is convenient, and a tablet with a 7.9 "display and an aspect ratio of 4: 3 is not big, not small, but just the way it should be. It is convenient to hold it with one hand, and the image on the screen is large enough and the screen format is great. suitable for use, both in horizontal and vertical orientation - and for games, and for web surfing, and for reading, and for working with documents.

(The fact that the iPad mini, in turn, appeared in response to the joint development of ASUS and Google of the Nexus 7 tablet, is a separate conversation. The "arms race" between manufacturers always plays into the hands of the buyer.)

Tablet Acer Iconia Tab A1

Outwardly, it does not produce any special knocking effect from the feet. Yes, it seems to be not bad, neat, without annoying design excesses, even a little bit fat. Display 7.9 "? Of course, Apple iPad mini and ASUS / Google Nexus 7 are not a bad company, but visually the eight-inch screen is not particularly larger than the seven-inch one. So - the advantages of the Acer Iconia Tab A1 tablet format become clear in the process of use. And gradually you become convinced that that “this is it”, made for people, made for me, for my size (easy to hold, manage, comfortable to read).

Design

The dimensions of the Acer Iconia Tab A1 tablet are 209 by 146 mm, the thickness of the case is 11 mm, and the weight is 410 g. Thick, yes. And the weight is also not record low. To what extent this can serve as a decisive factor for the buyer to purchase or refuse it, it is difficult to say. The Acer Iconia Tab A1 is very comfortable to hold in your hands.

The dimensions of the device, of course, are determined by the dimensions of the display, but if the body of the Acer Iconia Tab A1 repeated the screen ratio, it would be more square. In fact, the body is slightly elongated. The dimensions of the screen are 16 by 12 cm. Around the screen there is a frame, the thickness of which is not the same on all sides: on the long side the frame thickness is 1 cm, on the short side - 2 cm. Plus a small metal edging-frame. Could the tablet be more compact with such a screen? Undoubtedly, there is room for the body to shrink. But now, in the process of use, it turns out that with a fully touch-sensitive front panel, it's nice when you have 2 centimeters of non-touch surface on the right and left. They are sufficient to accommodate a thumb at such a width without fear of accidentally pressing something.

Acer Iconia Tab A1 without cover

By the way, if we pay attention to the entire line of tablets from Acer, then we will not find a case thinner than a centimeter in any one, basically all the same 11-13 mm. And looking under the cover of the Acer Iconia Tab A1 tablet, we see that two centimeters to the right and left of the display are empty inside. That is, they were left not because all the details did not fit into the smaller case, but deliberately. Of course, we can assume that all Acer designers have big hands, but it seems more reasonable to assume that Acer specialists base their designs on more solid foundations, including ergonomic research and analysis of customer preferences. And it will not be a sin to repeat that the Acer Iconia Tab A1 is really comfortable to hold in your hands.

The plastic mounting plate is securely mounted in the metal frame

There is a metal frame on the side faces of the case. If you again look at the internal structure, then the motherboard, and indeed all the elements in general, are fixed on a plastic mounting plate, which is simply soldered from the inside into this metal edging. The design is lightweight and reliable.

Front camera is located in the middle of the short side

The bezel around the display is black. The front camera lens is located exactly in the middle of the short side of the tablet. This design is designed for the vertical position of the Acer Iconia Tab A1 during video calls (for which the front 0.3 Mpix camera is intended), and with a screen size of 7.9 "and an aspect ratio of 4: 3, working with tablets in a vertical orientation is quite comfortable.

The back cover is white, plastic, absolutely not easily soiled.

Main camera Acer Iconia Tab A1

The main camera of Acer Iconia Tab A1 is 5-megamixel with support for Full HD video recording, it is located in the corner of the back cover, so you can take pictures in both vertical and horizontal orientation, there will be no problems with that. On the side faces, next to the lens of the main camera, there are mechanical buttons: on the short side there is a power button, on the long key of the volume control. In addition to these buttons, the tablet does not have any additional mechanical controls.

Decorative speaker grill

In addition to the camera, on the back of the tablet is the only speaker Acer Iconia Tab A1. Of course, not god knows what kind of audio system, but for the built-in tablet sound, the power is sufficient for everyday use. For listening to music through headphones or external audio equipment, next to the speaker on the short side of the case, there is an audio output 3.5 mm minijack. On the same edge of the case, next to the audio output, the user will find a microUSB 2.0 connector.

Acer Iconia Tab A1 Connectors

The rest of the connectors are located on the long side edge. Next to the already mentioned volume key is a memory card slot, a microphone, a reset button in the middle, and a micro HDMI port a little further. As you can see, there are few connectors. There is no separate DC in input for the power adapter, the charger is connected to the microUSB port, and the microphone and reset button are two small holes.

The model, which has been in our editorial office, has a modification marking A1-810. On the Acer website, it is designated as A1-810-81251G01nw - the first four digits indicate the MTK MT8125 processor, the fifth digit for 1GB of RAM, the letter "G", possibly indicates the presence of a GPS module, then illegible, "w", apparently, "White body". The label does not indicate the amount of internal memory, optional 8 or 16GB. And this particular modification, the A1-810, does not support 3G networks, therefore, there is no SIM card slot either. In the technical descriptions on some sites and online stores where the sale of the Acer Iconia Tab A1-810 has already been announced, the option of 3G support is sometimes indicated, but the manufacturer's website only says that “the configurations of all products presented on the site can be changed without prior notice ”.

Earlier it was announced that Acer is preparing with 3G support, a model with 3G will be more expensive than Acer Iconia Tab A1-810, presumably by a couple of thousand rubles. And, what is interesting, in the "Quick User Guide" that comes with the tablet, there are three modifications of this model - A1-810 / A1-811 / A1-812, and in the diagram of the device placed there there is a SIM card slot, located it is between the microphone and the reset button (that is, this "User's Guide" immediately to the three modifications of the A1 model). From this we can conclude that the Acer Iconia Tab A1-810 model does not have any option with 3G, but with a 100% guarantee we can say that some of the following modifications of the A1 model (A1-811 or A1-812) support 3G will be, and if for someone this option is important, then you just need to wait a little.

Contents of delivery

The Acer Iconia Tab A1 comes in a package large enough for such a device. The box is reinforced, the top lid is double, and a cassette-pallet made of hard pressed cardboard is inserted inside.

Packaging Acer Iconia Tab A1

The contents of the box can be said to be minimal. These are: (1) the device itself in additional plastic packaging, (2) a microUSB-USB cable, (3) a charger with an output voltage of 5.35V and a current of 2A, (4) a plug fastened to the charger, (5) documentation ...

Package Contents Acer Iconia Tab A1

Actually, nothing superfluous, everything you need is in place. An additional microUSB-USB adapter, such as "male-female", would be useful - the USB port of the tablet supports the connection of external devices, and the presence of such an adapter in the Acer Iconia Tab A1 package would only please the user.

Software

At the first launch, the user will be prompted to go through several formal procedures, for example, enter the Acer ID and register (can be postponed), after which the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean desktop opens.

Desktop Acer Iconia Tab A1

The default wallpaper is not for everybody, but this is not the most important thing in the Acer Iconia Tab A1.

Preinstalled Apps

On the tablet, in addition to the obligatory Google applications for mail, access to the Google Play market and playback of various content (movies, books), several programs from Acer and friendly companies are preinstalled. For example, the 7digital online music catalog application, the AcerCloud cloud service, games from WildTargent, the TuneIn online radio application, the Zinio digital magazine store. There are not many such additional preinstalled programs and, perhaps, they will seem interesting to the user. And the rest is all on Google Play.

Technical specifications Acer Iconia Tab A1-810 16Gb

Display	7.9 "(20 cm), 1024x768, 162ppi, TFT IPS, glossy, capacitive, multitouch
CPU	MediaTek MT8125, Cortex A7 1.2GHz, 4x
Video processor	PowerVR SGX544
RAM	1024 MB, DDR3
Built-in memory	16 GB
Memory card	microSDHC, up to 32 GB
Wireless connection	WiFi 802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.0
Built-in GPS module	there is
Sensors	gyro sensor, accelerometer
Main camera	5 megapixels
Front-camera	0.3 megapixels
Interfaces	3.5mm audio-out, microUSB, micro-HDMI
Battery	Li-Ion, 5280 mAh
Dimensions (edit)	209x146x11 mm
The weight	410 g

AnTuTu Benchmark v3.3.2 data

Testing

The hardware of the Acer Iconia Tab A1 is based on the MT8125 single-chip platform from the Taiwanese company MediaTek Inc. Quad-core Cortex-A7 (ARMv7) processor with a maximum possible frequency of 1.5 GHz (in the Acer Iconia Tab A1, the maximum frequency is artificially lowered to 1.2 GHz). PowerVR SGX544 video processor. Built-in support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM radio and GPS, optionally a 3G modem can be built into the platform.

AnTuTu Benchmark v3.3.2 test results

In the AnTuTu Benchmark v3.3.2 test, the Acer Iconia Tab A1 tablet scored 12881 points.

The indicators are good, and in the summary comparative histogram it takes a worthy place, it does not reach the top smartphones, but the indicators are comparable to the ASUS / Google Nexus 7 and Asus Transformer Prime.

Comparison of results with Google Nexus 7 and Asus Transformer Prime

In a separate 3D test also from AnTuTu Benchmark v3.3.2, the Acer Iconia Tab A1 tablet is noticeably ahead of its classmates.

3D test results

As we can see, in the tests the Acer Iconia Tab A1 shows the results quite at the level, but in comparison with the same ASUS / Google Nexus 7, our subject is practically "head to head". And then - while passing the battery test - something unimaginable happened. Recall that the AnTuTu Tester test takes place in three stages under increased load, until the device's battery is burned to

Battery test results

The AnTuTu Tester test lasted 6 hours. Six o'clock! To be precise, 5 hours 55 minutes. And the score on the test results exceeded a thousand. These are absolutely record figures. Usually, in the AnTuTu Tester test, the batteries barely last up to 4 hours, which is considered a pretty decent result.

After such amazing accomplishments demonstrated to us by the Acer Iconia Tab A1, it was decided to go through a tough field test. For this, a set of video samples was compiled - 720p, 1080p in mp4 and mkv (with which TVs, media players and other devices, more serious than a tablet, are usually tested). And this whole set is launched on the video player of the tablet in an endless replay mode with a random selection of videos. The result is unexpected, but quite consistent with the performance of the AnTuTu Tester test, with such a constant serious load, the Acer Iconia Tab A1 worked for 9 hours and 5 minutes.

But here a tiny drop of ointment awaits us. The fact is that on the manufacturer's website in the technical specifications, the battery capacity is indicated as 4960 mAh, we see the same on Yandex.Market (in some online stores, even less - 3250 mAh). But an autopsy shows that the sample we had on our test had a battery capacity of 5020 mAh.

Battery Acer Iconia Tab A1

In this case, let's hope that it is not in our test sample that some kind of "non-native" battery is installed, but that Acer specialists decided to increase the battery characteristics in the process of direct preparation of the tablet for market launch, while the data on the website is outdated. In any case, when buying, it is advisable to inquire about the actual capacity of the battery.

Here, in fact, are all the tests. You can also look at the work of GPS.

Test GPS tablet Acer Iconia Tab A1

The test was carried out in an open area in a typical urban environment. Even when the GPS function was turned on for the first time, satellites were found very quickly. If necessary, after installing additional navigation programs, the Acer Iconia Tab A1 is quite suitable for the role of an auto navigator. By default, Google maps and a navigation application are preinstalled in the tablet, they will still fit for everyday needs, but for auto-navigation it would be necessary to install something more serious.

Competitors Acer Iconia Tab A1-810

			RAM	1 GB	1 GB	512 MB
			File memory	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB
			Wireless interfaces	GPRS; Wi-Fi 802.11 n; Bluetooth v4.0	GPRS; Wi-Fi 802.11 n; Bluetooth 3.0 HS; NFC	GPRS; Wi-Fi 802.11n; Bluetooth 4.0
			Rear camera	5 megapixels	5 megapixels	5 megapixels
			Front-camera	0.3 megapixels	1.2 megapixels	1.2 megapixels
Battery	5280 mAh	4325 mAh	2100 mAh
Dimensions and weight	209x146x11 mm, 410 g	199x120x11 mm, 340 g	200x135x7, mm 308 g
Price	8 600 rub	RUB 9,000	12 500 rub

Total

Before us is a wonderful tablet with excellent performance and a great battery. Acer Iconia Tab A1 will be compared primarily with iPad mini and ASUS / Google Nexus 7. Apple's tablet is thinner and lighter, but otherwise the characteristics are comparable, although the comparison of these devices on different OS is purely speculative and, in general, does not have much meaning. The display of the Google Nexus 7, although it has a higher resolution of 1280x800, is smaller in diagonal by an inch, which is a lot.

The Acer Iconia Tab A1 is simply beautiful

But in any case, even without these comparisons, the Acer Iconia Tab A1 is ergonomic, easy to use, efficient and durable. The average price for a model with built-in 8GB memory is 7550 rubles, for a model with 16 GB - 8600 rubles. The price of the upcoming 3G tablet is still unknown.

Intel Bay Trail SoC with Full HD display

We have been waiting for the appearance of Android tablets based on processors of the Intel Bay Trail family, which replaced the not young but still relevant Clover Trail + for a long time. When Windows tablets on new SoCs had already flooded the market, we got our hands on the hybrid Ramos i10 Pro, which left only bewilderment behind. And finally, we got an Android tablet from a well-known manufacturer on Intel Bay Trail - Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD).

Technical specifications Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD)

• Model Number: A1-840FHD
• Single Chip: Intel Atom Z3745
• Central Processing Unit: 4 cores @ 1.86 GHz (1.33 GHz base frequency), 64 bits
• GPU: Intel HD Graphics @ 778 MHz (311 MHz base frequency)
• Display: IPS, 8 ″, 1920 × 1200, 283 ppi
• RAM: 2 GB
• Internal memory: 16 GB
• MicroSD card support
• Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n (2.4 + 5 GHz)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• GPS / A-GPS / Glonass
• Cameras: 2 MP front, 5 MP rear
• Micro-USB (with OTG support), Micro-HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Battery capacity: 4600 mAh
• Operating system: Google Android 4.4.2
• Size: 215 x 130 x 8.5mm
• Weight: 360 g

		Xiaomi MiPad	Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4	LG G Pad 8.3	Apple iPad mini Retina
Screen	IPS, 8 ″, 1920 × 1200 (283 ppi)		IPS, 8.4 ″, 2560 × 1600 (359 ppi)	IPS, 8.3 ″, 1920 × 1200 (273 ppi)	IPS, 7.9 ″, 2048 × 1536 (326 ppi)
SoC (processor)	Intel Atom Z3745 @ 1.86 GHz (4 cores x64)	Nvidia Tegra K1 @ 2.22 GHz ("4 + 1" Cortex-A15 core)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (8974) @ 2.3 GHz (4 Krait 400 cores)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 @ 1.7 GHz (4 Krait 300 cores)	Apple A7 @ 1.3 GHz (2 Cyclone cores, 64 bits)
GPU	Intel HD Graphics	Nvidia GK20A	Adreno 330	Adreno 320 (overclocked)	PowerVR G6430
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	1 GB
Flash memory	16 GB	16 or 64 GB	16 GB	16 GB	from 16 to 128 GB
Connectors		Micro-USB, 3.5mm headphone jack	Micro-USB, 3.5mm headphone jack	Micro-USB, 3.5mm headphone jack	Lightning, 3.5mm headphone jack
Memory card support	microSD	microSD (up to 128GB)	microSD (up to 64 GB)	microSD (up to 64 GB)	No
Cameras	front (2 Mp) and rear (5 Mp)	front (5 Mp) and rear (8 Mp)	front (2 Mp) and rear (8 Mp, with flash)	front (1.3 Mp), rear (5 Mp)	front (1.2 Mp) and rear (5 Mp)
Internet	Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi		Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi (optional - 3G and LTE)
Wireless Modules	Bluetooth, GPS / Glonass	Bluetooth	Bluetooth, GPS / Glonass, IrDA	Bluetooth, GPS, infrared	Bluetooth, GPS
Operating system*	Google Android 4.4.2	Google Android 4.4.2	Google Android 4.4.2	Google Android 4.2.2	Apple iOS 7
Battery capacity (mAh)	4600	6700	4800	4600	6471
Dimensions (mm)	215 × 130 × 8.5	202 x 135 x 8.5	219 x 129 x 7.2	216 × 126 × 8	200 × 134 × 7.5
Weight (g)	360	360	331	338	339
average price	T-11002315	T-10970803	T-10673484	T-10547274	T-10546224
Acer Iconia Tab 8 offers	L-11002315-10

* - at the time of the publication of the corresponding article

In terms of weight and dimensions, the new Acer is very close to the Xiaomi MiPad (adjusted for the aspect ratio), but its battery capacity is almost one and a half times less, the same as that of the LG G Pad 8.3. The rest of the characteristics do not stand out in any way, the manufacturer did not go further experiments with the platform.

Equipment

In the box with the Acer Iconia Tab 8, only a Micro-USB cable, a network adapter (5.35 V, 2 A) and an instruction were found.

Acer is not inclined to accompany its tablets with a wide range of accessories.

Design

The most notable design feature of the Iconia Tab 8 is the thickness of the bezels. In width, it is four millimeters larger than the LG G Pad 8.3, although the diagonal of the latter is 0.3 inches larger! But on either side, the Acer tablet can be firmly held with one hand.

On the front panel, we see the manufacturer's logo and the front camera lens. The light sensor is not provided.

The rear panel consists of three parts, adjacent to the display closely, without a frame around the perimeter. Their color is the same, but the materials are different: aluminum in the middle, and plastic at the edges.

The camera lens protrudes in the center of the rear panel, and the speaker grill is located at the bottom along the entire width. Its sound quality is average, typical for tablets. The volume is noticeably reduced when the Iconia Tab is placed on the table.

All tablet connectors are closely concentrated on the top edge. On the left is a 3.5 mm headphone jack, to the right, apparently, a microphone, then Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB ports.

On the left side we see an open slot for a memory card. Considering the sloping shape of the tablet, there was no need to count on a plug here.

On the contrary, there are subtle mechanical Android buttons, with a short and clear stroke. But not particularly comfortable to use due to its angled position. In this tablet, they have an annoying feature: depending on the orientation, the volume up and down buttons are swapped. This is annoying.

When creating the Iconia Tab 8 A1-840FHD tablet, Acer reacted to the design, apparently the same way as Xiaomi did when developing the MiPad: according to the principle "the main thing is to work normally." When assessing the quality of the assembly, the manufacturer can only be blamed for the imperfect fit of the parts to each other. This shortcoming becomes noticeable only with careful study.

Screen

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the brightness of the reflected objects, anti-glare properties of the screen are not worse than that of Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the turned off screens of both tablets (Acer Iconia Tab 8 is on the left, then they can be distinguished by size, since it has a larger screen, and in all the following comparative photos the tested tablet is located under the Nexus 7) :

The screen of the Acer Iconia Tab 8 is slightly lighter - the brightness in the photo is 112 versus 110 for the Nexus 7. The tripling of reflected objects in the screen of the Acer Iconia Tab 8 is very weak, this indicates that between the external glass (aka the touch sensor) and the surface matrix no air gap ( screen type OGS - One Glass Solution). Due to the smaller number of borders with strongly differing refractive indices (glass-to-air type), such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked outer glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. On the outside of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, but slightly worse than the Nexus 7), therefore, fingerprints are removed much more easily, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 320 cd / m², and the minimum is 14 cd / m²... The maximum value is not very high, but given the good anti-glare properties, the image on the screen should be more or less distinguishable in bright daylight. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. There is no automatic brightness control by the light sensor. At any brightness level, there is modulation of the backlight (rectangular pulses with an amplitude of 100%), but its frequency is high - 503 Hz - which reduces the likelihood of a possible negative impact, however, in some situations, the presence of flickering can be determined visually by the emerging stroboscopic effect.

This tablet uses matrix type IPS... The micrographs show the typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of photomicrographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting tints and without significant color shift even with large deviations from the perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are some photos showing the same images on the screens of the Nexus 7 and the tested tablet, with the brightness of both screens set to about 200 cd / m2, and the color balance on the camera forcibly switched to 6500 K. Perpendicular to the screens is the test picture:

The color rendition is good on both screens, the color balance differs slightly, but the colors on the screen of the Acer Iconia Tab 8 are slightly less saturated (note the tomatoes and the blue napkin). And white box:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone. Now at an angle of approximately 45 ° to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors and brightness balance have not changed much for both tablets, but in the Acer Iconia Tab 8, the contrast has decreased to a large extent due to the highlighting of the black. Then a white box:

The brightness at an angle for both tablets has noticeably decreased (at least 5 times, based on the difference in exposure), but in the case of the Acer Iconia Tab 8, the screen brightness at this angle is still slightly higher. When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened very strongly, and acquires a slight violet or red-violet hue. The photo from the Nexus 7 for comparison shows this (the brightness of the white areas in the perpendicular direction for both tablets is about the same!):

And from a different angle:

When viewed from a perpendicular view, the black uniformity is imperfect, as there are areas of slightly increased black brightness along the edge (why the screen is so dark is explained below):

Contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) high - 915:1 ... The response time for the transition black-white-black is 21 ms (11 ms on + 10 ms off). The transition between gray tones of 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes 37 ms in total. The gamma curve, plotted using 32 points with equal intervals in terms of the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal a blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power-law function is 2.31, which is higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve noticeably deviates from the power-law dependence:

Due to the dynamic adjustment of the brightness of the backlight in accordance with the nature of the displayed image (in dark images in the middle image, the brightness decreases, therefore the black field in the photo above is so dark) the obtained dependence of brightness on the hue (gamma curve) may not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image , since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of shades of gray almost on the entire screen. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining the contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates with invariably average brightness, and not single-color fields across the entire screen. In general, such and non-switchable brightness correction does nothing but harm, since in the case of dark images in ambient light conditions, on the contrary, you want to raise the brightness a little in order to improve the detail in the shadows. But in this case, it goes down ...

Color gamut narrower than sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix filters mix the components together. The spectra confirm this:

This technique allows you to increase the brightness of the screen with the same energy consumption for the backlight. As a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and there are the overwhelming majority of them) have a slightly reduced saturation. Therefore, the napkin and tomatoes have a less saturated shade.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is good, since the color temperature does not differ much from the standard 6500 K. True, the deviation from the spectrum of a completely black body (ΔE) is greater than 10, which is considered not a very good indicator for a consumer device, however, the variation in color temperature and ΔE very small, which has a positive effect on the visual perception of color balance. The dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring the color characteristics at low brightness is large.

Let's summarize. The screen has not the lowest maximum brightness and has good anti-reflective properties, so the device can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable value. The advantages include an effective oleophobic coating, no air gap in the layers of the screen, and good - visually - color balance. Significant disadvantages - low stability of black to deviation of the gaze from the perpendicular to the surface of the screen and narrowed color gamut. The presence of non-switchable dynamic adjustment of the brightness of the backlight in accordance with the nature of the displayed image, we also cannot add to the pluses. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of properties for this class of devices, the screen quality should be recognized as high.

Operating system

Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD) has Google Android operating system 4.4.2. During testing, we did not receive any updates to the basic firmware version. Of the 16 GB of internal memory, only 9.59 GB is available to the user, which is very strange, given that nothing large is installed on the tablet. Perhaps the fault is a poor-quality drive, the real volume of which is much inferior to the declared one.

The list of basic applications has been expanded with several Acer utilities and free partner applications. A couple of proprietary technologies of the manufacturer have been implemented. Acer Touch WakeApp lets you wake up your tablet with five fingers of one hand or, in landscape orientation, the thumbs of both hands. Acer IntelliSpin tracks and reorients the display when the tablet is placed on a level surface. These tools are, of course, useful, but they do not particularly affect the use. There is also support for Intel Smart Video.

The operating system works very smoothly, although it does not do without problems. The tablet does not erase remote application shortcuts on its own. And besides, sometimes it makes a mistake in estimating free space, not allowing because of this to install applications. It takes approximately 35 seconds for the tablet to turn on.

Platform and performance

Let's move on to what attracted us to the new Acer Iconia Tab 8 - its hardware platform, which belongs to the Bay Trail-T tablet family. This single chip system was introduced in May this year.

Its characteristics are as follows:

• Architecture: Intel Silvermont, 22 nm
• Bit depth: 64 bits
• Number of cores / threads: 4/4
• Clock frequency: 1.33-1.86 GHz
• L2 cache size: 2 MB
• SDP: 2W
• Supported memory: LPDDR3-1066, up to 4 GB, dual channel mode
• Maximum memory bandwidth: 17.1 GB / s
• Graphics system: Intel HD Graphics
• Graphics Clock: 311-778 MHz

The middle part of the new line was immediately thrown by us into the very thick of it, to powerful competitors (except for the LG G Pad 8.3). To assess the progress of the Intel SoC, we also compared the results of testing the Iconbit Thor iZ tablet, based on the most powerful Intel Clover Trail + SoC, Z2580, for comparison, and having a resolution similar to ours. Let's start with browser tests.

The Intel Atom Z3745 processor effortlessly outperforms the Snapdragon 800, overtakes the Clover Trail +, and even surpasses the Apple A7 in the Mozilla benchmark. An impressive result; perhaps the older Bay Trail-T processors will already be able to measure their strengths here with the Tegra K1.

And in MobileXPRT, our hero was able to reach the level of Tegra K1, both in terms of performance and the work of the Android interface. In Antutu, the Xiaomi tablet is farther from the Iconia Tab than the Galaxy TabPro 8.4, but you shouldn't really count on these results, since the tests were carried out in different versions of the benchmark.

Let's move on to the group of processor and memory tests.

Here the Acer tablet performs on a par with Samsung, although in browser tests it easily bypassed it. Let's move on to gaming benchmarks.

	Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD)	Xiaomi MiPad	Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4	Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4	Apple iPad mini Retina
Basemark X (High Quality Mode)	6965	23880	7634	10905	13258
Bonsai benchmark	2633 (37.6 fps)	3998 (57.1 fps)	2623 (37.4 fps)	2699 (38.5 fps)	3953 (56.4 fps)

In two benchmarks on the Unity engine, our hero is inferior to almost everyone (except for the Galaxy Tab S in Bonsai). Perhaps the point is the compatibility of Bay Trail-T with the Unity engine, but most likely the problem is in the instability of benchmarks, which we have noticed not for the first time.

	Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD)	Xiaomi MiPad	Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4	Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4	LG G Pad 8.3	Apple iPad mini Retina
Epic Citadel Ultra High Quality	37.9 fps	54.4 fps	46.4 fps	33.0 fps	35.1 fps	-
3DMark (Ice Storm Ultimate Mode)	16837	26745	13079	15441	9694	14353
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	19.3 fps	56.6 fps	22.9 fps	26 fps	14 fps	26.2 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen)	18.4 fps	30.1 fps	14.1 fps	17 fps	13 fps	21.2 fps
GFXBenchmark Manhattan HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	9.7 fps	28.0 fps	5.6 fps	11 fps	-	13.0 fps
GFXBenchmark Manhattan (C24Z16 Onscreen)	9.0 fps	19.2 fps	2.9 fps	5.8 fps	-	8.8 fps

In terms of the sum of all the components of the benchmarks, the Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD) turned out to be about the level of the Samsung Galaxy TabPro 8.4. And Intel Atom Z3745, accordingly, is slightly inferior to Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (here the difference in resolution is already taken into account). Let's evaluate the compatibility with games now.

Modern Combat 5 did not show up in the Play Market, and Need for Speed ​​had significant audio problems. Asphalt 8 was partially obscured by the Android panel, which could not be hidden, and you had to click on the bottom menu buttons at random. As a result, only half of the games in our set work as expected, so at the moment the Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD) cannot be called a gaming tablet.

Video playback

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Native video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD, 720x400, 2200 Kbps, MP3 + AC3	reproduced normally	reproduced normally, no subtitles
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD, 720 × 400, 1400 Kbps, MP3 + AC3	reproduced normally	reproduced normally, no subtitles
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264, 1280 × 720, 3000 Kbps, AC3	reproduced normally	played without sound
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264, 1280 × 720, 4000 Kbps, AC3	reproduced normally	played without sound
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264, 1920 × 1080, 8000 Kbps, AC3	reproduced normally	played without sound

The decoding capabilities of Intel SoCs have leaped forward in the next generation. Now everything works out of the box - only AC3 tracks are not decoded.

Additionally, the HDMI interface was tested. Note that the device is equipped with a micro-HDMI connector. This connector is tiny (narrower than micro-USB), but has 19 pins. HDMI cables for such a connector are usually quite stiff, which, during use, often causes a skew of the plug in the jack and a failure in image transmission. After some time, this connector becomes loose, and it becomes impossible to use it. In general, the performance characteristics of this method of connecting to an external screen are extremely low. The use of the micro-HDMI connector is somehow justified in the case of miniature devices such as phones, but in tablets it is necessary to use more reliable options such as mini-HDMI, mini-DisplayPort, or even full-size HDMI.

To test the HDMI output, we used an LG IPS237L monitor. The output mode can be specified in the settings menu, we chose 1080p @ 60fps. With an active HDMI connection, the image output to the screens of the tablet and monitor is carried out only in landscape orientation (the HDMI connector is on the left of the tablet). An exact copy of the tablet screen is displayed on an external device, while the image on the monitor is inscribed within the boundaries of its screen, which leads to distortion of the proportions:

Using the tablet settings, you can slightly tighten the picture from the sides, so as to restore the proportions on the connected monitor, but the clarity of the image is only further reduced due to interpolation along two axes:

The sound is output via HDMI (in this case, the sounds were heard through the headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of very good quality. In this case, the speakers of the tablet are turned off, and the volume is not regulated by the buttons on the tablet, the sound is only turned on and off.

Then, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Testing methods for video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"), we checked how the video is displayed on the tablet itself. Screenshots with an exposure of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied - 1280 × 720 (720p), 1920 × 1080 (1080p) and 3840 × 2160 (4K) pixels - and the frame rate - 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps. In our tests, we used the MX Player video player in the "Hardware +" mode. The results of this (block labeled "Tablet Screen") and the following test are tabulated:

File	Uniformity	Skips
Tablet screen
4K / 30p	Great	No
4K / 25p	OK	No
4K / 24p	Great	No
1080 / 60p	Great	No
1080 / 50p	OK	No
1080 / 30p	Great	No
1080 / 25p	OK	No
1080 / 24p	Great	No
	Great	No
720 / 25p	Great	No
720 / 24p	OK	No

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Skips green ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and skipping of frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.

According to the criterion for outputting frames, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the tablet itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without frame drops. The tablet can even display 4K files up to and including 30fps. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels (1080p), the image of the video file itself is displayed one-to-one, precisely across the wide screen edge and in true Full HD resolution. The luminance range displayed on the screen corresponds rather to the extended range (i.e., 0-255 range). At the same time, most video files are encoded in the video brightness range of 16-235, so the white color of such video files on the screen of this smartphone is displayed as light light gray, and black as dark dark gray, which clearly does not improve the image quality.

When video is played back on a monitor connected via HDMI, the displayed brightness range corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - all shades of shade are displayed in the shadows and highlights - which is required for correct playback of typical video files. The results of the monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the "HDMI (monitor output)" section. The quality is good, only with 50 fps files there are some minor problems - frames are dropped at regular intervals. When working with an external monitor and when playing video in hardware decoding mode, the tablet screen turns off a few seconds after the start of playback, and turns on when the user is active. Again, it is during video playback that the frame rate of the video signal is adjusted to the frame rate, that is, 60 Hz is turned on for 24, 30 and 60 fps, and 50 Hz for 25 and 50 fps. This automatically improves the possible smoothness of the video display.

It turns out that HDMI connections to external monitors, TVs and projectors can be used to play games, watch movies, display web pages, and other activities that benefit from the exponential increase in screen size. Roughness only in some distortion of proportions and / or a slight decrease in clarity.

Wireless support and OTG mode

Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD) supports Internet access via Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, but is not always stable: some networks that work perfectly with all other devices cause the tablet has a stupor. GPS also works imperfectly. The device supports both A-GPS and Glonass, locating satellites in less than a minute. But the connection takes about four minutes. From time to time, the tablet loses this connection and then restores it again. Completes the set of wireless communication standards Bluetooth 4.0.

Supports connection of external drives. The average speed of copying from a flash drive to internal memory reaches approximately 9.1 MB / s; in the opposite direction is slower, with a speed of 6.8 MB / s.

Cameras

The Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD) is equipped with two cameras. The front one has a resolution of 2 megapixels, the rear one - 5 megapixels. But the real resolution of her images is 4 megapixels (2560 × 1440). Their quality is low; the camera is suitable only for undemanding general shots.

The text of the book spread, captured by the camera, is not easily legible, the focusing does not do well.

The tablet can shoot video in 1080p resolution. In the test video (MPEG-4 3GPP Media Release 4, 1920 × 1080, 14.7 Mbps, 30,000 fps, audio - 96 Kbps, 48 ​​kHz, 2 channels, AAC (LC)), you can even distinguish the license plates of passing cars , and the frame rate remains at an excellent level.

Autonomous work

The battery capacity of the Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840 ARV) is 4600 mAh, which is still not enough compared to competitors. According to the OS readings, the battery consumption is not entirely uniform, but close to the following:

There are no power saving modes in the tablet settings.

	Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD)	Xiaomi MiPad	Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4	LG G Pad 8.3	iPad mini Retina
Battery capacity, mAh	4600	6700	4800	4600	6471
Reading mode (brightness 100 cd / m²)	9 h 9 min (Moon + Reader, auto scrolling)	14 h 58 min (Moon + Reader, auto scrolling)	13 h 46 min (Moon + Reader, auto scrolling)	8 h 3 min (Moon + Reader, auto scrolling)	11 h 30 min
720p online video playback (100 cd / m² brightness)	6 h 21 min (direct link, MX Player)	8 h 8 min (direct link, MX Player)	12h 55min (direct link, MX Player)	4 h 43 min (direct link, MX Player)	10 h 30 min (Youtube)
Epic Citadel Guided Tour (100 cd / m² brightness)	2 h 57 min	5 h 32 min	5 h 18 min	3 h 28 min	about 7 hours

In terms of energy efficiency, the new Iconia Tab is seriously inferior to the Galaxy Tab 8.4 and can only compete with the LG G Pad 8.3. Acer tablet is definitely not a long-playing tablet. Iconia Tab 8 is capable of charging from a computer via USB. Charging from the supplied adapter takes only two hours (however, this is not much less than the operating time of the device under heavy load).

conclusions

If we consider Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD) as a “first pancake” with Android on Intel Bay Trail, then, of course, something can be forgiven for the tablet. But for an end device released into the wild jungle of the consumer market, the list of weaknesses is too long. Here are problems with the operation of the firmware, and a small amount of internal memory, and unimpressive compatibility with games, and a short battery life. The design of the tablet will not be to everyone's taste, since its dimensions significantly exceed the usual standards for eight-inch devices. The Acer Iconia Tab 8 (A1-840FHD) can only have a high quality display, good video recording and 4K video support. This is clearly not enough for success. Especially considering the current price of the tablet, comparable to the prices of good ten-inch models.

Apparently, the Taiwanese giant Acer found itself in the tablet PC market in the production of budget "tablets". Not so long ago, the company released a very modest Iconia B1, the price of which, by the way, has already dropped to. This is a tablet, which, with all its appearance, seemed to hint that it belongs to the category of cheap ones. What was the TN display alone worth! Yes, it cost a mere penny to the manufacturer.

Acer Iconia A1 - our guest today - is a device of a different class. It is more expensive - on the Internet the prices for this tablet start from, which, in general, is also quite divine. Judging by the technical characteristics, this price looks very attractive. Why are they asking for a little money for the Iconia A1? Let's try to figure it out.

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

The low cost of the device is given even by its exterior. The Acer Iconia A1 looks quite standard, the body of the device is devoid of any interesting solutions. However, you can close your eyes to this. The main drawback of the case is its large thickness (just over 11 mm). The tablet is made entirely of plastic. When the corners are squeezed, the body of the device crunches, and characteristic colored stains appear on the screen. In general, the gadget should be handled carefully.

Acer Iconia A1 full face

The tablet was designed and assembled without due reverence. On the left side, there is a small millimeter-long gap between the bezel and the display, which is not on the right. The screen is installed slightly to the right of the center, which breaks the symmetry. It would seem a trifle, but it is not difficult to notice it, and subsequently the eye will cling to this flaw all the time. At first, we attributed this drawback to the peculiarities of our test sample. However, according to thematic forums, at least the entire first batch of tablets has such a defect.

Acer Iconia A1 - bezel

The layout of the controls for the Acer Iconia A1 is standard. The front panel of the tablet is free of any hardware keys. On it, except for the front camera lens, there is nothing at all. All main buttons are on-screen buttons.

Acer Iconia A1 - right side edge

The tablet power key is located on the top end. The universal audio jack and microUSB interface are placed on the bottom edge, which is not very convenient when watching a movie in headphones - the left hand strives to touch the wire. Volume control buttons, microSD card slot, microphone and micro-HDMI video output are placed on the right side. The left side of the case is empty. The sides of the tablet are decorated with the now popular silver edging.

Acer Iconia A1 - back panel and sides

The rear panel of the device is not removable. It is made of glossy plastic, pleasant to the touch. The snow-white "back" of the device quickly becomes covered with fingerprints and other dirt, losing its pristine beauty. The rear panel contains the lens of the main 5-megapixel camera and stickers with technical information. In general, the tablet looks a bit cumbersome - due to the excess thickness and wide bezel around the screen. But in terms of usability, the design of the Acer Iconia A1 is quite good.

⇡ Specifications

Acer Iconia A1
Display	7.9 inches, 1024x768, IPS
Touch screen	Capacitive, up to ten points, without the possibility of working with gloves
Air gap	There is
Oleophobic coating	Absent
Polarizing filter	Absent
CPU	MediaTek MT8125: four cores ARM Cortex-A7 (ARMv7), frequency 1.2 GHz; process technology 28 nm
Graphics controller	PowerVR SGX544
RAM	1024 MB
Flash memory	16 GB + microSD
Connectors	1 x Micro-USB 2.0 1 x Micro-HDMI 1 x 3.5mm universal audio jack
cellular	No built-in modem Support for external 3G / 4G modems
Infrared port	Absent
Bluetooth	4.0
Wi-Fi	802.11a / b / g / n
Gps	There is
NFC	Absent
Sensors	Accelerometer / gyroscope
Main camera	5.0 MP (2560x1920), no autofocus, no flash
Front-camera	0.3 MP (640x480), no autofocus
Battery	Non-removable, capacity 18.3 W * h (4960 mA * h, 3.7 V)
The size	209x146x11 mm
Weight	410 g
Operating system	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Average retail price