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CES 2013 | Acer showcases Iconia B1 tablet for 119 Euros

Teaser
The Taiwanese manufacturer is ready to launch its least expensive 7-inch tablet yet with a dual-core Mediatek processor and 512 MB RAM for 119 Euros

December rumors regarding a new Acer tablet proved to be spot on as the Taiwanese manufacturer has revealed a new Iconia B1-A71 tablet this week at CES.

According to Acer, the budget-oriented Iconia B1 will be perfect for families, children, and other first-time tablet users. The 7-inch form factor will be competing against other similarly sized tablets such as Google's Nexus 7, the MultiPad 7.0, and the Kindle Fire HD 7.

Internal specifications are also similar to those of the tablets mentioned above. The 1024x600 resolution display provides approximately 170 dpi, lower than that of the Nexus 7. Subjectively, the brightness, sharpness, and contrast also appeared to be inferior to the Google tablet based on our hands-on preview of the device.

The chassis is mostly plastic, which seems appropriate for the price point. Weight and dimensions are equally low at 320 grams and 11.3 mm thick, respectively. This is about 20 grams lighter and two-tenths of a mm thinner than a Nexus 7. The Prestigio Multipad Prime 7.0 and Apple iPad Mini each weigh just over 300 grams in comparison.

Under the hood of the Iconia B1 lies a dual-core 1.2 GHz Mediatek (MTK 8317T) CPU, 512 MB RAM, and an 8 GB SSD. This is significantly below that of the Nexus 7 (Tegra 3, 1 GB RAM), although the Acer tablet will make use of expandable storage via a microSD slot. The integrated battery is also significantly smaller than the Nexus 7 (2710 mAh vs. 4325 mAh). Even so, the Iconia B1 should last for about 7 hours of wireless browsing.

Wireless connectivity includes 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, and Bluetooth 4.0. There will be no other model with WWAN options. A front-facing 0.3MP camera is available for conference calls, but there are no rear cameras or video-out ports to speak of.

Acer expects to launch the Iconia B1 with Android Jelly Bean before the end of January for a low price of only 119 Euros (~$150).

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J. Simon Leitner/Allen Ngo, 2013-01-10 (Update: 2013-01-10)