As unfortunate as it might sound to some Android fans out there, there’s still no beating the iPad and of course now, the iPad Mini. Sure, Android is a much more flexible OS and the specs are often better than that which comes out of Cupertino. When it comes to popularity though, the iPad Mini is fast becoming the new king of the tablet space. Acer’s thinking here is “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!” and that’s exactly what they’re going to be doing with the Iconia A1-810, if French website, Minimachines is correct. As you’ll have probably noted from the image above, this latest tablet from Acer has all the hallmarks of an iPad Mini. Take a look at the specs below:
- 7.9-inch IPS Display at 1024 x 768 – the same as the iPad Mini
- Quad-Core 1.2 Ghz MT8125 Cortex-A9 CPU from MediaTek
- 1GB of RAM
- 16GB of storage
- micro-HDMI out
- 5MP rear-facing camera, VGA front-facing
- 3,250 mAh battery
- Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
- 208.7 x 145.7 x 10.5 mm
- 460g
A Nexus 7 competitor, this is not, nor is it an iPad Mini competitor. Acer’s build quality has always been questionable when it comes to Android tablets and we’d doubt that anything would be different when it comes to this latest. Honestly, it’s a shame that Acer couldn’t come up with something more original here, aping someone else’s from-factor won’t get you very far, especially when it’s as blatant as this. Sure, Apple didn’t invent screens of 7.9-inches in dimension but, c’mon, this is pretty lazy of Acer.
Pricing is going to be really important here if Acer want the Iconia A1-810 to enjoy even the smallest amount of success. Currently, French retailer Rue Du Commerce are taking orders for the device at €199 which is around $160. That’s not a bad price for something like this, and the extra screen space could be a selling point but, the build quality will always be questionable and let’s not even mention their poor track record of updating their devices.
The question right now is, this or a Nexus 7? Have at it in the comments below.