Review Acer Iconia A1-810 Tablet

Name: Acer Iconia A1-810
Brand: Acer

The new tablet icon? Acer's Iconia A1-810 is a 7.9-inch Android tablet with "Uncompromising Performance and Extreme Mobility" – at least according to the manufacturer. We will check if this is true in our review.

Florian Wimmer, ✓ Stefanie Voigt (translated by Andreas Osthoff), Published 07/05/2013 🇩🇪 🇪🇸 ...

Android Tablet

For the original German review, see here.

The notebook market is still the core business for Acer, so the decreasing sales of personal computers are not the best future prospects. It is not surprising that the manufacturer would jump on to the tablet bandwagon, even though the lucrativeness of the Android tablet sector is still in question. The majority of devices are based on Windows 8 while the Iconia A series uses the Android operating system.

The Acer Iconia A1-810 comes in two versions. We review the 16 GB version while an 8 GB version is also available. The performance figures for both storage capacities are identical: 7.9-inch display with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels, quad core processor at 1.2 GHz and 1 GB RAM. Acer's price recommendation is 200 Euros (~$260) but you can get it for around 180 Euros (~$230) on the Internet.

The price is about the same as the very similar Google Nexus 7 or the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7. There are also numerous other devices in this price range or even below like the Asus Fonepad with phone functionality or devices from the many unknown manufacturers like the Bullman Tab 7 Mini with UMTS and TV reception. The Yarvik Xenta 7ic stands out with its unusual appearance and the Ainol Novo 7 with its low price of just 85 Euros (~$110). Inconspicuous but quite solid is the Captiva Pad 8 Pro. Finally there is the 50 Euros (~$65) cheaper Iconia B1-A71 from Acer. There are so many attractive devices having pretty similar features across the board. But we will see if the A1 has the stuff to stand out from the bunch.

Case

Due to the 0.9 inches larger display, the Acer Iconia A1-810 is taller and wider than most of the competition but the tablet could really be a bit thinner: 11.1 millimeters still too big a number even for 8.0-inch tablets. But it does weigh only 410 g which is just about right for this class of device.

The choice of materials of construction leaves a lot to be desired. The white back certainly looks nice but attracts fingerprints very easily. The build quality however is good: no gaps between adjacent panels, convenient material transitions and high torsional stiffness are hallmarks of this device. Only concentrated pressure on the back causes ripples on the display. All in all, the build quality is better than the cheaper Acer Iconia B1-A71.

Connectivity

The front-facing camera is on the shorter edge and the manufacturer recommends using the tablet in the portrait mode. Considering this, we also used the portrait mode to describe the port selection and locations.

Micro USB port and audio jack are at the bottom, which can be annoying if the headphone cable is too short. On the right side is a mini HDMI port - not an exclusive feature anymore but still an advantage over the Google Nexus 7 and the Asus Memo Pad. There is also a micro SD card reader and the usual control elements for standby and volume.

Software

Acer uses the latest Android 4.2 operating system, and users do not have to worry about software updates for now. There are also new features like the improved quick access bar. The operating system is stock Android and Acer does not use a custom user interface.

Acer preinstalls some additional applications but most of them are also available on the Google Play Store for free. Bloatware is no problem apart from an exception. The free cloud services from Acer are interesting. Your data is not stored on the Internet but on a device of your choice that then streams the data to all your other devices.

Weak GPS-module: Other devices find over 20 satellites in this situation.

Communication & GPS

Although there are versions with integrated UMTS on the website, they are not officially distributed by Acer in all countries. Our review unit can only establish an Internet connection via WLAN 802.11 b/g/n. The reception is worse compared to other devices: only 50 % signal strength at a distance of 10 meters and three walls in between. Another wall results in just one bar of the Android reception icon. Bluetooth 4.0 is also integrated. Some less-known manufacturers offer devices with integrated UMTS for around 150 Euros (~$200), and the Asus Fonepad can obviously use the mobile Internet as well.

You will not be satisfied with the Iconia A1-810 if navigation or location based services are important for you. The GPS reception is very weak. It is below average and often insufficient to determine your location. The Google Nexus 7, for instance, is much better in this regard. The Google device also comes with NFC and can be equipped with 3G for an additional charge.

Cameras & Multimedia

Two cameras are still the exception for 7 or 8-inch tablets. It is nice that Acer acts as a role model with the 5.0 megapixels (2560x1920 pixels) main camera at the back and the 0.3 megapixels (640x480 pixels) camera at the front.

The quality of the main camera is decent. Details are sharp when you zoom in, the contours are not blurry and the colors are vibrant. The color accuracy is not very good however. The flowers on the pictures are actually violet. The front camera is really a backup solution for video calls. Pictures are blurry and show no details.

Considering the price, the camera equipment of the Acer Iconia A1-810 is really a class leading. Neither the Google Nexus 7 or the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 or most of the competition have such a good camera.

Reference: Canon EOS 450D, 12 megapixels

Accessories

The tab for "Accessories" on the website is empty but there is one interesting product in the Acer Store. A protective cover for 29.90 Euros (~$40), which is very similar to the iPad cover. The box itself only contains a power supply unit with a separate USB cable.

Warranty

The warranty period is 12 months, although that can differ depending on the country and its laws. You can extend the warranty by up to 3 years via the Acer Store. An international warranty and accident insurance are also available. You have to decide for yourself if prices between 99 and 139 Euros (~$130 - $180) are justified considering the low price of the device.

Input Devices & Handling

Since the operating system is stock, the chances are high that the keyboard is also the standard Google version. Acer really did not change anything but they don't have to. The keyboard is very accurate and intuitive, similar to other Android input options like voice recognition, which was very reliable most of the time.

The capacitive touchscreen works very well in all the peripheral zones and recognizes multi touch inputs of up to ten fingers simultaneously.

Display

The 7.9-inch display of the Acer Iconia A1-810 has a resolution of 1024x768 pixels, which is still okay for this tablet class. Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 and the Asus Fonepad have a slightly higher resolution at 1280x800 pixels. The picture is crisp and quite bright; the measurements are on the same level with the competition.

The average brightness of 283.8 cd/m² cannot compete with the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 but is slightly better than the Google Nexus 7 and is sufficient for daily tasks. The black value on the other hand is higher than the competition at 0.45 cd/m². Black areas appear gray.


306 cd/m²	283 cd/m²	266 cd/m²
305 cd/m²	280 cd/m²	265 cd/m²
291 cd/m²	278 cd/m²	280 cd/m²

Distribution of brightness

X-Rite i1Pro 2

Maximum: 306 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 283.8 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 87 %
Contrast: 622:1 (Black: 0.45 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.95 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.1
ΔE Greyscale 4.37 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
Gamma: 2.48

The contrast ratio of the Acer Iconia A1-810 is average at 622:1. The picture quality is very good. Colors on the IPS panel are quite subdued and if you like vibrant colors of OLED displays you will not be satisfied.

We determined the biggest color deviations with blue tones - a result of our test with colorimeter and CalMan software. Colors generally deviate more from the ideal value at higher brightness levels, especially with blue colors. The grayscale presentation is very accurate by comparison with an average DeltaE of 4.37 (sRGB).

The average brightness and the glossy surface (common in majority of the devices) result in limited outdoor capability. Similar to the competition, you can use the tablet outdoors as long as you avoid direct sunlight or you will only see a reflection. It is generally better for the eyes to use the Acer Iconia A1-810 in the shade or indoors.

The brightness is noticeably reduced when the viewing angle gets smaller. — Brightness is noticeably reduced when the viewing angle gets narrower.

You can see the difference in the direct comparison.

Viewing angle stability is very good due to IPS technology. You can still recognize the content at a viewing angle of around 15 degrees. The brightness however is noticeably reduced. You can hardly see anything viewing such narrow angles.

Performance

The SoC of the Acer Iconia A1-810 is provided by MediaTek and has a quad core CPU clocked at 1.2 GHz. It is also used in the Amoi N828 smartphone, for instance, and performance is pretty good.

The user-experience when using the tablet is good without any delays. Navigating the operating system, launching and running applications is very smooth. The synthetic benchmarks are regularly better than most of the other tablets with only the Google Nexus 7 and the Palit Galapad offering better performance numbers. The low processor clock can be a problem if the application is not optimized for multi core CPU's. The chip offers relatively poor single threaded performance numbers.

Linpack Android / IOS
Single Thread (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	34.22 MFLOPS ∼3%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	39.28 MFLOPS ∼4% +15%
Palit Galapad 7	37.16 MFLOPS ∼4% +9%
Google Nexus 7	47.15 MFLOPS ∼5% +38%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	44.38 MFLOPS ∼4% +30%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	42.56 MFLOPS ∼4% +24%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	28.8 MFLOPS ∼3% -16%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	72.4 MFLOPS ∼7% +112%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	57.2 MFLOPS ∼6% +67%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	37.5 MFLOPS ∼4% +10%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	50 MFLOPS ∼5% +46%
Multi Thread (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	95.1 MFLOPS ∼3%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	37.33 MFLOPS ∼1% -61%
Palit Galapad 7	130 MFLOPS ∼4% +37%
Google Nexus 7	69.3 MFLOPS ∼2% -27%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	73.8 MFLOPS ∼2% -22%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	67.7 MFLOPS ∼2% -29%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	70.2 MFLOPS ∼2% -26%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	72.8 MFLOPS ∼2% -23%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	73.4 MFLOPS ∼2% -23%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	30.8 MFLOPS ∼1% -68%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	70.9 MFLOPS ∼2% -25%

Smartbench 2012 - Productivity Index (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	3455 points ∼18%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	2478 points ∼13% -28%
Palit Galapad 7	3931 points ∼21% +14%
Google Nexus 7	3840 points ∼20% +11%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	2418 points ∼13% -30%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	2654 points ∼14% -23%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	1564 points ∼8% -55%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	1260 points ∼7% -64%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	2570 points ∼14% -26%

AnTuTu v3 - Total Score (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	12452 Points ∼35%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	6847 Points ∼19% -45%
Palit Galapad 7	13332 Points ∼37% +7%
Google Nexus 7	12703 Points ∼36% +2%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	6670 Points ∼19% -46%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	7930 Points ∼22% -36%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	11834 Points ∼33% -5%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	4525 Points ∼13% -64%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	10083 Points ∼28% -19%

Geekbench 2 - 32 Bit - Total Score (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	1322 Points ∼3%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	833 Points ∼2% -37%
Palit Galapad 7	1402 Points ∼3% +6%
Google Nexus 7	1599 Points ∼4% +21%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	1137 Points ∼3% -14%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	993 Points ∼2% -25%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	474 Points ∼1% -64%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	573 Points ∼1% -57%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	1187 Points ∼3% -10%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	754 Points ∼2% -43%

Legend

Acer Iconia A1-810 Mediatek MT6589, PowerVR SGX544, 16 GB iNAND Flash

Acer Iconia B1-A71 MediaTek MT8317T, PowerVR SGX531, 8 GB SSD

Palit Galapad 7 NVIDIA Tegra 3, NVIDIA GeForce ULP (Tegra 3), 8 GB SSD

Google Nexus 7 NVIDIA Tegra 3, NVIDIA GeForce ULP (Tegra 3), 8 GB SSD

Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch Texas Instruments OMAP 4460, PowerVR SGX540, 16 GB SSD

Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2 MediaTek MT8377, PowerVR SGX531, 8 GB SSD

ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core Actions ACT-ATM7029, Vivante GC1000+ Dual-Core, 8 GB SSD

Asus Fonepad ME371MG Intel Atom Z2420, PowerVR SGX540, 16 GB iNAND Flash

Yarvik Xenta 7ic Rockchip RK3066 1.5 GHz, ARM Mali-400 MP4, 8 GB SSD

Asus Memo Pad ME172V WonderMedia PRIZM WM8950, ARM Mali-400 MP, 16 GB iNAND Flash

Captiva PAD 8 Pro Rockchip RK3066 1.5 GHz, ARM Mali-400 MP, 8 GB SSD

Graphics are handled by the PowerVR SGX544-GPU. The Iconia A1-810 offers average 3D performance. The Google Nexus 7 is superior with an advantage of 15 %. However, we would have been surprised if the result was different since the SoC in Google's tablet is provided by graphics specialist Nvidia.

3DMark
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	3148 Points ∼1%
Palit Galapad 7	3641 Points ∼1% +16%
Google Nexus 7	3523 Points ∼1% +12%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	1931 Points ∼1% -39%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	2235 Points ∼1% -29%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	2531 Points ∼1% -20%
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Graphics (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	2694 Points ∼0%
Palit Galapad 7	3225 Points ∼0% +20%
Google Nexus 7	3118 Points ∼0% +16%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	1912 Points ∼0% -29%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	2042 Points ∼0% -24%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	2237 Points ∼0% -17%
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Physics (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	7673 Points ∼6%
Palit Galapad 7	6639 Points ∼5% -13%
Google Nexus 7	6466 Points ∼5% -16%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	2001 Points ∼2% -74%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	3335 Points ∼3% -57%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	4687 Points ∼4% -39%

AnTuTu 3DRating
--- (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	3134 Points ∼28%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	1262 Points ∼11% -60%
Palit Galapad 7	3794 Points ∼33% +21%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	1423 Points ∼13% -55%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	2477 Points ∼22% -21%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	4307 Points ∼38% +37%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	1891 Points ∼17% -40%
1024x2048 Off-screen (sort by value)
Acer Iconia B1-A71	544 Points ∼19%
Palit Galapad 7	1802 Points ∼63%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	745 Points ∼26%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	1462 Points ∼51%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	1213 Points ∼42%

NenaMark2 - --- (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	51 fps ∼76%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	20.5 fps ∼30% -60%
Palit Galapad 7	59.7 fps ∼89% +17%
Google Nexus 7	55.6 fps ∼83% +9%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	27.8 fps ∼41% -45%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	20.8 fps ∼31% -59%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	58 fps ∼86% +14%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	35.9 fps ∼53% -30%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	62.6 fps ∼93% +23%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	21.6 fps ∼32% -58%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	55.6 fps ∼83% +9%

GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	5.3 fps ∼0%
Palit Galapad 7	6.2 fps ∼0% +17%
Google Nexus 7	5.3 fps ∼0% 0%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	1.1 fps ∼0% -79%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	6.7 fps ∼0% +26%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	0 fps ∼0% -100%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	2.6 fps ∼0%
Palit Galapad 7	2.1 fps ∼0% -19%
Google Nexus 7	3.2 fps ∼0% +23%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	0 fps ∼0% -100%

Basemark ES 2.0 - Taiji Free (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	17.1 fps ∼28%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	6.99 fps ∼12% -59%
Palit Galapad 7	18.21 fps ∼30% +6%
Google Nexus 7	17.93 fps ∼30% +5%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	8.94 fps ∼15% -48%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	7.41 fps ∼12% -57%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	12.37 fps ∼20% -28%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	47.1 fps ∼78% +175%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	8.45 fps ∼14% -51%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	35.56 fps ∼59% +108%

Basemark X 1.0
On-Screen (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	5.337 fps ∼16%
Palit Galapad 7	9.073 fps ∼28% +70%
Off-Screen (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	2.268 fps ∼11%
Palit Galapad 7	3.184 fps ∼15% +40%

How does the Iconia A1-810 handle one of the most important tasks for a tablet - Web browsing? Once again the performance of the tablet is average; the Asus Fonepad is ahead of the competition with very good results. The numbers are low but the web-browsing experience is fast and fluid.

Octane V1 - Total Score (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	1247 Points ∼3%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	1389 Points ∼4% +11%
Palit Galapad 7	1571 Points ∼4% +26%
Google Nexus 7	1313 Points ∼3% +5%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	999 Points ∼3% -20%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	617 Points ∼2% -51%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	1607 Points ∼4% +29%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	1367 Points ∼3% +10%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	1096 Points ∼3% -12%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	1232 Points ∼3% -1%

Google V8 Ver. 7 - Google V8 Ver. 7 Score (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	1205 Points ∼6%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	1384 Points ∼7% +15%
Palit Galapad 7	1777 Points ∼9% +47%
Google Nexus 7	1236 Points ∼6% +3%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	1383 Points ∼7% +15%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	1183 Points ∼6% -2%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	690 Points ∼4% -43%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	1647 Points ∼8% +37%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	1349 Points ∼7% +12%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	1090 Points ∼6% -10%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	1282 Points ∼7% +6%

Peacekeeper - --- (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	572 Points ∼9%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	457 Points ∼7% -20%
Palit Galapad 7	496 Points ∼8% -13%
Google Nexus 7	468 Points ∼8% -18%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	480 Points ∼8% -16%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	183 Points ∼3% -68%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	0 Points ∼0% -100%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	325 Points ∼5% -43%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	436 Points ∼7% -24%

Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	1498 ms * ∼16%
Palit Galapad 7	1438 ms * ∼16% +4%

Mozilla Kraken 1.0 - Total Score (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	18593 ms * ∼11%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	24499 ms * ∼14% -32%
Palit Galapad 7	22141 ms * ∼13% -19%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	44400 ms * ∼26% -139%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	18646 ms * ∼11% -0%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	32050 ms * ∼19% -72%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	30169 ms * ∼18% -62%

* ... smaller is better

We have already mentioned that applications launch very quickly on the Acer Iconia A1-810, which is a result of the excellent performance of the storage. The 16 GB flash memory even beats the fast storage of the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 in three of the four Androbench categories.

All in all, the Acer Iconia A1-810 shows quite impressive performance figures and is at the top of the charts for 7-inch tablets with regard to the system performance. Only 3D performance cannot really keep up with the competition. We use real gaming tests to determine if the weaker GPU has an impact in games.

AndroBench 3-5
Random Write 4KB (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	0.63 MB/s ∼0%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	0.28 MB/s ∼0% -56%
Palit Galapad 7	0.17 MB/s ∼0% -73%
Google Nexus 7	0.28 MB/s ∼0% -56%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	0.59 MB/s ∼0% -6%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	0.21 MB/s ∼0% -67%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	0.39 MB/s ∼0% -38%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	0.22 MB/s ∼0% -65%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	0.43 MB/s ∼0% -32%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	0.56 MB/s ∼0% -11%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	0.13 MB/s ∼0% -79%
Random Read 4KB (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	12.29 MB/s ∼2%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	7.9 MB/s ∼1% -36%
Palit Galapad 7	8.32 MB/s ∼2% -32%
Google Nexus 7	4.76 MB/s ∼1% -61%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	12.11 MB/s ∼2% -1%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	8.71 MB/s ∼2% -29%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	1.32 MB/s ∼0% -89%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	7.55 MB/s ∼1% -39%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	13.56 MB/s ∼2% +10%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	8.85 MB/s ∼2% -28%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	8.46 MB/s ∼2% -31%
Sequential Write 256KB (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	10.41 MB/s ∼0%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	6.23 MB/s ∼0% -40%
Palit Galapad 7	5.77 MB/s ∼0% -45%
Google Nexus 7	5.22 MB/s ∼0% -50%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	12.3 MB/s ∼0% +18%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	5.31 MB/s ∼0% -49%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	6.41 MB/s ∼0% -38%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	6.51 MB/s ∼0% -37%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	30.66 MB/s ∼1% +195%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	10.09 MB/s ∼0% -3%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	24.61 MB/s ∼1% +136%
Sequential Read 256KB (sort by value)
Acer Iconia A1-810	46.43 MB/s ∼1%
Acer Iconia B1-A71	29.94 MB/s ∼1% -36%
Palit Galapad 7	28.85 MB/s ∼1% -38%
Google Nexus 7	16.87 MB/s ∼0% -64%
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 inch	42.73 MB/s ∼1% -8%
Bullman Tab 7 Mini UMTS GPS v2	21.94 MB/s ∼0% -53%
ainol Novo7 Crystal Quad Core	12.16 MB/s ∼0% -74%
Asus Fonepad ME371MG	37.46 MB/s ∼1% -19%
Yarvik Xenta 7ic	16.71 MB/s ∼0% -64%
Asus Memo Pad ME172V	26.87 MB/s ∼1% -42%
Captiva PAD 8 Pro	8.77 MB/s ∼0% -81%

Games

We already determined the average 3D performance of the Acer Iconia A1-810 with respect to the competition. However, that does not mean that the tablet has problems with latest games from the Google Play Store. Iron Man 3 with its 3D graphics as well as Zombiewood with large groups of enemies are no problem for our review unit. The performance is obviously sufficient for casual games like Angry Birds: Star Wars. The touchscreen and the position sensor reacted very precisely and executed our inputs without delays.

Large zombie hordes in Zombiewood are no problem for the SoC either.

Emissions

Temperature

High performance often results in a higher heat development which has to be dissipated by the case. Tablets usually have no fan so the case is used as a heat sink. The Acer Iconia A1-810 warms up during idle and we determined a surface temperature of up to 34.5 degrees Celsius at the right side on the front.

Under load, the warming can be felt on the whole case. However the maximum temperature is just slightly raised to 35.3 degrees. Overall, the heat development is modest but can be felt all the time. There should not be any restrictions during operation.

Max. Load

Idle


31.9 °C 89 F	32.8 °C 91 F	35.3 °C 96 F
31.6 °C 89 F	32.5 °C 91 F	35.4 °C 96 F
30.7 °C 87 F	31.5 °C 89 F	34.4 °C 94 F

Maximum: 35.4 °C = 96 F
Average: 32.9 °C = 91 F


34.5 °C 94 F	34.6 °C 94 F	32.9 °C 91 F
33.3 °C 92 F	33.8 °C 93 F	32.2 °C 90 F
32.3 °C 90 F	32.7 °C 91 F	29.8 °C 86 F

Maximum: 34.6 °C = 94 F
Average: 32.9 °C = 91 F

Power Supply (max.) 49.2 °C = 121 F | Room Temperature 23 °C = 73 F | Voltcraft IR-350

(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 32.9 °C / 91 F, compared to the average of 30.2 °C / 86 F for the devices in the class Tablet.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.4 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 34.1 °C / 93 F, ranging from 21.2 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 34.6 °C / 94 F, compared to the average of 33.6 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 31.3 °C / 88 F, compared to the device average of 30.2 °C / 86 F.

Speaker

The small speaker is at the lower right side on the back in portrait mode and is located behind a metal cover. The location is not ideal. If you put the tablet on a flat surface or cover the speaker with your fingers the sound is clearly muffled.

Otherwise, the small speaker shows a good performance: Maximum volume is decent and there are no distortions. Music sounds very balanced - obviously bass is missing but medium and high tones produce rich sound. It is certainly sufficient for casual music playback. For the best music experience you should still use good headphones or external speakers.

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Unfortunately the Acer Iconia A1-810 is not a very frugal tablet. Even when the device is turned off, it consumes 0.9 W. It pulls 1.2 W from the socket or the battery during standby. These results are very high compared to the competition. It is the same situation under load with only the Captiva Pad 8 Pro consuming more energy than our review unit.

Power Consumption

Off / Standby	0.9 / 1.2 Watt
Idle	3.1 / 5.2 / 5.8 Watt
Load	6.2 / 7.8 Watt


Key: min: , med: , max: Voltcraft VC 940 Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Battery Runtime

The battery runtimes of the Acer Iconia A1-810 are good. The 18.6 Wh battery keeps the tablet running for almost 11 hours during idle. The more realistic WLAN scenario, where we browse the web until the battery is empty, results in 6 hours and 14 minutes of runtime. The Google Nexus 7 lasts a few minutes longer and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 lasts more than 9 hours. The runtimes of the Iconia A1-810 are very decent when compared to the competition.

Battery Runtime

Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)		10h 47min
WiFi Surfing		6h 14min
Load (maximum brightness)		2h 42min

Verdict

Acer offers a well-balanced tablet with the Iconia A1-810 that can compete with big competitors like the Google Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 with regard to performance, price and features. Photography enthusiasts will be happy with the performance of the 5 MP main camera - finally a decent camera in a small tablet. The speaker convinces us, the latest Android version is reassuring and the heat development is not alarming.

However, it might be the smaller details that will result in a purchase of the competition from Google or Amazon. The 3G version is currently not available in all countries and the competition has higher resolution screens. The weak GPS module, the slightly shorter battery runtimes and the cheap haptics are additional arguments against the Acer.

You should also consider that the brand new Google Nexus 7 2.0 is soon to be released, at least according to the rumors. If you do not want to wait that long and want a tablet with high system performance, but do not need GPS and some other details, then you will be happy with the Acer Iconia A1-810.

In Review: Acer Iconia A1-810. Review unit courtesy of Acer.

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Editor of the original article: Florian Schmitt - Managing Editor Mobile - 1043 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2009

I initially wrote about gaming laptops when I joined Notebookcheck in 2009. I was then involved with the setup of the comparison portal Notebookinfo and worked with social media concepts for large companies like BMW and Adidas, while also returning to work for Notebookcheck in 2012. Nowadays, I focus on smartphones, tablets, and future technologies. Since 2018 I have been Managing Editor for mobile device reviews, working alongside my colleague Daniel Schmidt.

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Specifications

Acer Iconia A1-810 (Iconia Tab Series)

Processor

Mediatek MT6589 4 x 1.2 GHz, Cortex-A7

Graphics adapter

PowerVR SGX544

Memory

1024 MB

Display

7.90 inch 4:3, 1024 x 768 pixel, capacitive multi touch screen , IPS, glossy: yes

Storage

16 GB iNAND Flash, 16 GB

, 10.81 GB free

Connections

1 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combined audio jack, Card Reader: micro SD card reader up to 32 GB, Sensors: Accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS

Networking

802.11 b/g/n (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0

Size

height x width x depth (in mm): 11.1 x 208.7 x 145.7 ( = 0.44 x 8.22 x 5.74 in)

Battery

19 Wh Lithium-Ion, 5280 mAh

Operating System

Android 4.2

Camera

Webcam: Rear: 5 Megapixel (2560 × 1920 Pixel), Front: 0.3 Megapixel (640 x 480 Pixel)

Additional features

Speakers: Mono speaker at the back, Keyboard: virtual keyboard, Acer Cloud, Astro-File Manager, McAfee Security, TuneIn Radio, 12 Months Warranty

Weight

410 g ( = 14.46 oz / 0.9 pounds), Power Supply: 126 g ( = 4.44 oz / 0.28 pounds)

Price

200 Euro

Links

Acer homepage
Acer notebook section

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Box in wood design is the new trend: Samsung does it and now Acer too.

Inside is the Acer Iconia A1-810, which is doing well against the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7. — Inside is the Acer Iconia A1-810, which does well against the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7.

Acer delivers a tablet with very good performance figures.

It is well equipped with a 5 MP camera and GPS.

Only the haptics cannot keep up. — Only the haptics is weak.

The latest Android 4.2.2 comes preinstalled.

Acer did not customize the operating system.

Some Japanese applications are also preinstalled - we don't know why.

One new feature of Android 4.2: You can install a kind of screen saver with Daydream.

It could look like this if you choose the option "Colors".

TuneIn-Radio is a very good radio app but you can already get it for free on the Google Play Store

12.5 GB of the 16 GB can be used. — 12.5 GB of the 16 GB is available to the user.

There is a small 0.3 MP camera at the front.

It is okay for video calls but you should not expect too much.

The 5 MP camera at the back is much better.

Acer integrates an SoC with a quad core CPU...

...and a GPU with an average 3D performance. — ...and a GPU with average 3D performance.

Even more demanding games are very smooth. — Demanding games run smoothly.

But you do not necessarily need it: The speaker does a good job.

You will use the PSU quite often, even if the device is in standby:

Then it draws too much energy from the battery. — It draws too much energy from the battery.

Otherwise the battery runtimes are decent.

All in all Acer delivers a good tablet with many advantages and a good price-performance ratio. — All in all, Acer delivers a good tablet with many advantages and good price-performance ratio.

But the new generation of competitors is soon to be released... — But the new generation of competition is soon to be released...

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Review Lenovo S5000-F Tablet
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Review Asus Memo Pad HD 7 Tablet
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Price Comparison

Pros
+	Very good system performance
+	Decent camera at the back
+	Good build quality
+	Low system noise
+	Good speaker
+	Latest Android version
Cons
-	High energy consumption during idle
-	Inconvenient haptics
-	Weak GPS module
-	Comparatively low resolution

Shortcut

What we like

The good performance results and the decent camera.

What we miss

A higher resolution display and better haptics feedback.

What surprises us

Acer does not try very hard to improve the performance and features of the current generation. New competitors will launch soon.

The competition

Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7, Asus Memo Pad, Asus Fonepad, Bullman Tab 7 Mini, Yarvik Xenta 7ic, ainol Novo 7, Captiva Pad 8 Pro, Acer Iconia B1-A71, Palit Galapad 7

Rating

Acer Iconia A1-810 - 2013-08-05 08/05/2013 v3^(old)
Florian Wimmer

Chassis

75%

Keyboard

61%

Pointing Device

82%

Connectivity

43%

Weight

99%

Battery

92%

Display

81%

Games Performance

30%

Application Performance

44%

Temperature

89%

Noise

100%

Add Points

78%

Average

73%

84%

Tablet - Weighted Average

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> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > Reviews > Archive of our own reviews > Review Acer Iconia A1-810 Tablet

Florian Wimmer, 2013-07- 5 (Update: 2018-05-15)

Review Acer Iconia A1-810 Tablet

Case

Connectivity

Software

Communication & GPS

Cameras & Multimedia

Accessories

Warranty

Input Devices & Handling

Display

Performance

Games

Emissions

Temperature

Speaker

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Battery Runtime

Verdict

Specifications

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Pros

Cons

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Rating