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MagyarAcer Iconia Talk S A1-724 Tablet Review
For the original German review, see here.
The Taiwanese manufacturer Acer is broadening their portfolio of tablets with what is now their fifth line, the Iconia Talk S. The line is aimed at both private users and business clients. The 7-inch device unites an HD display with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels and a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 quad-core SoC with 16 GB of storage space (expandable by up to 64 GB via microSD card). The package, worth 230 Euros (~$246), comes with dual-SIM functionality and LTE - neither of which are standard in this price class, as of yet.
A glance at the competition reveals that the Iconia Talk S is indeed unique in this regard. In this review, the Acer tablet steps up to bat against the HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab, the Lenovo Tab S8, the Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG and the Medion Lifetab S8311.
Case
The case of the Acer Iconia Talk S is constructed of stable polycarbonate. Thanks to its slightly roughened surface, the tablet is grippy, and fingerprints and dirt don't quickly begrime the high-gloss finish. The tablet's feel also benefits from the rounded edges and corners. The case can only be warped slightly under pressure, and its gap dimensions are even. The phablet's simple design doesn't really distinguish it from the masses - and it's only available in blue.
In terms of thickness, at 8.5 mm (~0.33 inches), of the competitors only the Lenovo Tab S8 is thinner. The back side of the Iconia Talk S is not removable - the two micro-SIM card slots and the microSD card slot are located on the sides of the tablet.
Connectivity
Acer outfitted their 7-inch tablet with a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 quad-core SoC, including an integrated Qualcomm Adreno 306 graphics card and 1 GB of working memory. At 16 GB, the internal flash storage is standard for this price class and can be expanded by up to 64 GB via microSD card. In terms of connections, the Iconia Talk S offers a micro-USB 2.0 port and a 3.5 mm audio jack - also standard for this class.
Software
Acer selected the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system for their phablet and made very few changes to the UI. Thanks to the 64-bit SoC, the tablet is well-prepared for an upgrade to Google's newest 64-bit operating system, Android 5.0 Lollipop. An update, however, has yet to be announced.
Acer preinstalled a variety of their own apps, including an office suite and cloud apps. Acer's familiar Float UI allows the user to run applications like the notepad, calculator, calendar or even Google Maps on top of a playing video. The customary Google app package is also on board.
Communication & GPS
Neither NFC nor dual-band WLAN are available on the Acer Iconia Talk S - but alongside WLAN b/g/n, the tablet offers the fast data standard 4G/LTE. Bluetooth 4.0 is also part of the package. In our test, at a distance of about 10 meters from the router and through three walls, the device's WLAN reception was still good and always stable. The GPS module was especially speedy in determining our position, even indoors. Outdoors, the module is even more precise and located us with an accuracy of 3 meters (~10 feet).
Telephone & Speech Quality
The Iconia Talk S uses Google's standard telephone app. As such, all the important functions, like call lists, favorites and groups are included.
During our test conversation, the phablet sounded reasonably good, though our conversation partner heard a few bothersome noises. All in all, however, the tablet did well here. Thanks to the device's high maximum volume, the speakerphone function is definitely useable - though the louder the voice, the tinnier the sound.
Cameras & Multimedia
The main camera on the back side of the Iconia Talk S has a resolution of 5 megapixels (maximum 2595x1944 pixels), which is reasonable for its class. Of the competition, only the Lenovo Tab S8 offers a higher resolution. Auto-focus is also on board, but flash is a no-show. In bright environments, the back camera takes reasonably good pictures, though they suffer from a lack of sharpness and sometimes muddy colors. The lens' low-light performance certainly leaves something to be desired. Directly compared to the tablet's competitors, we see that there is unquestionably room for improvement in this area.
The front camera offers a resolution of 2.0 MP, which is sufficient for the occasional selfie or groupie. With the exception of the Lenovo Tab S8 with its 1.6 MP, the rest of the competition is on par with our test device here.
The 2 MP lens' images are plagued with a lot of image noise and a lack of sharpness. In adverse lighting conditions, the pictures are no longer worth the effort.
Accessories
In the tablet's packaging, Acer includes a USB charger, a standard stereo headset and a few quick start guides. To date there are no optional accessories designed specifically for the Iconia Talk S.
Warranty
Acer chose to outfit their phablet with a 12-month carry-in warranty.
Input Devices & Operation
The capacitive multi-touch screen allows the user to operate the device smoothly and proves to be highly sensitive, even in the corners. The three Android function keys are integrated into the screen, which somewhat reduces the size of the useable area. Some apps, however, like videos or various games, mask these keys and take advantage of that space.
The virtual keyboard is simply the standard Android version. There are a number of options available, and the keyboard operates reliably. Thanks to the 7-inch display, the keys are of a comfortable size for quick typing. The physical power and volume keys also function reliably and have a clear click point.
Display
The Acer Iconia Talk S's 7-inch LCD display with IPS technology has a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. This resolution is lower than that of the competition, especially the Lenovo Tab S8 and the Medion Lifetab S8311, both of which offer a considerably higher resolution.
At a maximum of 370 cd/m², the screen's brightness is satisfactorily high and lies more or less on par with the competition. Only the Lenovo Tab S8 glows substantially more brightly. At an 88% similarity across the screen, the display's brightness distribution is very even - more even than most of the tablet's competitors. Only the Medion Lifetab S8311 glows more homogeneously.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 348 cd/m²
Contrast: 561:1 (Black: 0.62 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.2 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 4.74 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.19
| Acer Talk S A1-724 Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 16 GB eMMC Flash | HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab Vivante GC1000+ Dual-Core, PXA1088, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG PowerVR G6430, Z3560, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Lenovo Tab S8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3745, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Medion Lifetab S8311 Mali-450 MP4, MT6592, 16 GB iNAND Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | -6% | 8% | 49% | 5% | |
| Brightness middle | 348 | 370 6% | 376 8% | 418 20% | 323 -7% |
| Brightness | 349 | 338 -3% | 353 1% | 401 15% | 328 -6% |
| Brightness Distribution | 88 | 84 -5% | 86 -2% | 85 -3% | 92 5% |
| Black Level * | 0.62 | 0.59 5% | 0.61 2% | 0.22 65% | 0.53 15% |
| Contrast | 561 | 627 12% | 616 10% | 1900 239% | 609 9% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.2 | 5.43 -29% | 3.67 13% | 4.19 -0% | 4.93 -17% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 4.74 | 6.08 -28% | 3.48 27% | 4.26 10% | 3.1 35% |
| Gamma | 2.19 100% | 2.44 90% | 2.3 96% | 2.41 91% | 2.69 82% |
| CCT | 6710 97% | 7805 83% | 6910 94% | 6246 104% | 6654 98% |
* ... smaller is better
With a black value of 0.62 cd/m² and a contrast ratio of 561:1, the Iconia Talk S proves to offer slightly better numbers than the competition here. Only the Lenovo Tab S8 belongs to a class of its own in this discipline. Subjectively, the screen content looks very good.
Our analysis of the display with the CalMAN software revealed substantial deviations from the sRGB color space. This is especially visible in the yellow-green area. The display's color accuracy is reasonably good, but the color brightness is a little too low. Even in the darker section, the grayscale has a slight green cast. The color temperature, however, comes very close to the ideal. In everyday use, these color-related shortfalls aren't particularly noticeable - subjectively, the color representation is good.
The Acer Iconia Talk S can be used outdoors, with some limitations. Due to the highly reflective display surface, the screen content is almost entirely obscured under direct sunlight. In shadowy environments, however, the tablet's brightness is fully adequate.
Thanks to the IPS technology at work in the Iconia Talk S's display, the tablet offers good viewing-angle stability. Still, when observed from extreme angles, the screen's brightness begins to fade and bright colors grow slightly distorted.
Performance
The 64-bit Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 quad-core SoC at work in the Acer Iconia Talk S clocks at 1.2 GHz and has an integrated Qualcomm Adreno 306 graphics card as well as 1 GB of working memory. This team guarantees sufficient performance for almost any application.
The results from our benchmark tests are mixed. In Geekbench 3, the Acer Iconia Talk S is mostly able to leave the Medion Lifetab S8311 and the HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab pulling up the rear, but it falls substantially behind the other competitors. In the synthetic benchmarks 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited and GFXBench 3.0, only the HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab's performance is weaker. The Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG and the Lenovo Tab S8 offer very strong performance here.
| Geekbench 3 | |
| 32 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| 32 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| 3DMark | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
In the browser benchmarks, our test device is more or less on par with the Medion Lifetab S8311. In the somewhat older SunSpider 1.0 benchmark, however, only the HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab surpasses the Iconia Talk S, though our tablet beats the HP device in the Octane V2 benchmark. In the Kraken 1.1 benchmark, our test device is only able to eclipse the Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG. Due to the fact that the Acer tablet lacks an Android browser, we ran our tests using the preinstalled Google Chrome browser. In everyday use, this browser reliably loads websites at a high speed.
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Talk S A1-724 | |
| Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG | |
| HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
* ... smaller is better
The internal mass storage in our test device is very quick and offers 16 GB of storage space. Most of the competition has to admit defeat here - only the Medion Lifetab S8311 can keep up.
Games
Most current games are no problem for the Acer Iconia Talk S. Only titles with high hardware demands that are hungry for RAM can sometimes be too much for the tablet. Overall, gaming on our test device is fun. The movement sensors react quickly and precisely, adding to the entertainment.
Emissions
Temperature
In our test, the Acer Iconia Talk S's case warmed up to a maximum of 31.9 °C (89.42 °F) during a prolonged period under full load. We measured an average of just 28.8 °C (83.84 °F) on the underside.
The test device remains cool in idle mode as well. On average, the temperatures reached 25.6 °C (78.08 °F) on the back side and 27.4 °C (81.32 °F) on the front.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 31.8 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F, ranging from 20.7 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 31.9 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 33.3 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.4 °C / 81 F, compared to the device average of 30 °C / 86 F.
Speaker
The mono speaker located on the front of the tablet is sufficiently loud, but it generates a thin, tinny sound. The 3.5 mm jack, however, offers a clean connection to external speakers or headphones with very little noise.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The Acer Iconia Talk S requires between 1.2 and 2.2 Watts in idle mode. Under full load, the device consumes a maximum of 5.5 Watts. These numbers are somewhat lower than those of the competition, which is a good omen as we turn to the question of battery life.
| Off / Standby |   0 / 0.1 Watt |
| Idle |  1.2 / 2.1 / 2.2 Watt |
| Load |
4 / 5.5 Watt |
    
| |
Battery Life
At 14 Watt hours and 3780 mAh, the Acer Iconia Talk S's battery is smaller than the rest of the competition's energy stores. Even so, our test device outshines its rivals here.
With a battery runtime of 5:28 hours under full load, the Acer Iconia Talk S keeps chugging along considerably longer than its closest competitor, the HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab. In our WLAN surf test, which is designed to simulate practical, everyday use, we set the display brightness to 40% (about 150 cd/m²) and run a script that loads a new webpage at 40-second intervals. The Iconia Talk S only ran out of steam after a full 12 hours and 2 minutes. Not even the Lenovo Tab S8 endurance-runner is able to keep up with that time - even with its bigger battery (16.3 Wh), the Lenovo device lost its vital signs almost two hours sooner. Our test shows that Acer's promised 12 hours of battery life wasn't an exaggeration. The tablet will easily last through a whole workday, as long as the user sets the display to a moderate level of brightness.
| Acer Talk S A1-724 Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 16 GB eMMC Flash | HP Slate 7 6100en VoiceTab Vivante GC1000+ Dual-Core, PXA1088, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CG PowerVR G6430, Z3560, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Medion Lifetab S8311 Mali-450 MP4, MT6592, 16 GB iNAND Flash | Lenovo Tab S8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3745, 16 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -43% | -24% | -17% | -10% | |
| WiFi | 722 | 458 -37% | 513 -29% | 535 -26% | 610 -16% |
| Load | 328 | 169 -48% | 270 -18% | 305 -7% | 315 -4% |
| H.264 | 535 |
Verdict
The Acer Iconia Talk S is a good tablet with many strong points, but also a few deficits. Strengths of the Taiwanese 7-incher include the IPS display with homogeneous brightness distribution and a reasonably high maximum brightness, as well as the energy-efficient SoC with enough performance power to handle future software, including Android 5.0, thanks to its 64-bit architecture. The device also invariably keeps its cool and has a fast flash storage medium at its command. The good surf performance and great GPS module also add to the fun. The LTE and dual-SIM functionality, which aren't a given in this price class, complete the well-equipped package. The tablet's very good battery life is the cherry on top.
We weren't such fans of the tablet's application performance, but it is wholly sufficient for everyday use. The fact that neither NFC nor dual-band WLAN is on board is bearable. Weightier negatives include the lousy speaker and the cameras that lack the ability to take sharp pictures.
For about 230 Euros (~$246), you'll get a well-rounded overall package that does a lot right. Those who can do without the LTE and telephone function might want to take a closer look at the well-designed and somewhat cheaper Lenovo Tab S8. But if you do in fact want to replace your smartphone with a tablet, the Acer Iconia Talk S is an interesting option.
