Review Acer Iconia A1-830 Tablet
For the original German review, see here.
We tested the precursor about nine months ago: Acer's Iconia A1-810. That was a decent tablet, but it had a few weaknesses in form of a low resolution, faulty GPS, and seemingly cheap feel. Now the successor, Iconia A1-830, wants to improve a few things.
Not much has changed in terms of screen, but the successor is slimmer and lighter. Besides that, a faster SoC from Intel is installed, and the battery is stronger.
Acer's Iconia A1-830, in fact, has to make some improvements. The competition has not been idle over the past nine months. The newest Google Nexus 7 set the example, Apple followed with its iPad Mini, and even Amazon launched the Kindle Fire HDX 7 on the market. The Gigaset QV830 is a newcomer, and Samsung with its Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 Lite is more established. Huawei introduced the MediaPad 7 Vogue, Lenovo the S5000-F, and Asus the Fonepad to the market.
Case
Acer's Iconia A1-830 has advanced on the outside and now has a higher-quality look than its precursor. The back is also less susceptible to fingerprints. Acer has very obviously peeked at Apple's iPad Mini in terms of design. It would be difficult to tell them apart if it was not for the Acer logo on the front or the Apple on the back.
It has a considerably higher quality feel than the Iconia A1-810, which is also due to the roughened metal back. Our review sample cannot compete with the first-rate build of an Apple iPad Mini, but the single parts are cleanly assembled. The tablet can only be warped slightly, and higher pressure from the back becomes visible on the screen. The Iconia A1-830 is also lighter and thinner than its precursor, but it does not come close to the much pricier iPad Mini.
Connectivity
The USB port and headset jack are quite close to each other on the upper edge. Normally, that would not be a problem, but it can get tight when angled audio plugs and unwieldy USB cords are connected. A micro-SD slot is certainly an advantage of the Iconia A1-830 over the iPad Mini and enables expanding the 16 GB of storage easily and cost-efficiently.
Software
Android 4.2 is pre-loaded on the tablet, and an update is announced soon after turning on the tablet. This installs Android 4.2.2. An update to Android 4.4 has not yet been publicly announced, but it is planned according to rumors. The installed version runs stably, but there might be some restriction with apps. Acer also delivers some unnecessary bloatware, such as superfluous adware. For example, we found many Amazon apps on the tablet. The Taiwanese manufacturer also installs Acer Cloud, free storage on DropBox, and the photo manager "Life Image" as noteworthy, small add-ons.
Communication & GPS
At least the up-to-date 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi standards are used, though the latest and high-speed 802.11 ac is not supported. However, none of the comparison devices offer that, particularly since it is not yet widespread, and 802.11 n is usually fast enough for current Internet access. There was an Iconia A1-810 version with a 3G module, but a comparable model has not yet been announced for the German market.
The Wi-Fi module is thus the main source for Internet access, and the reception quality should be decent. In fact, three-quarters of the signal was still displayed at a distance of ten meters and through three walls. It dropped to a half with another wall.
The GPS module is not very accurate, as we found out on our excursion with a mountain bike. The measured route was almost 800 meters shorter in comparison with the Garmin Edge 500 navigation system. The ascertained points were quite inaccurate and usually off-route when riding under a bridge.
Cameras & Multimedia
As for the webcams, Acer has made considerable improvements compared with the Iconia A1-810. The rear-facing camera now has a resolution of 5 megapixels, and the front-facing unit has 2 megapixels. Both cameras shoot good pictures; the colors look natural and details are displayed well. Neither camera can compete with the detail richness of a reflex camera (for example, compare the structure of the balcony railing in the background). Nevertheless, the cameras' quality is very good for a 7.9-inch tablet from this price range.
Accessories
Apart from the charger and USB cord, there are no special accessories in the box. Matching accessories are not found on the website either.
Warranty
Acer's tablets only come with a 12-month warranty.
Input Devices & Handling
Acer does not tinker with the onscreen keyboard. After all, the original from Google's Android is tried and tested, and functions well. The keys are big enough in both portrait and landscape mode, and easy to tap. The touchscreen is not quite as sleek as we would have hoped for, and the finger occasionally snags.
Unusual, but quite handy actually: The volume control is linked to the position sensor. That means that the rocker's lower or left area reduces the volume depending on how the tablet is held.
Display
Compared with the precursor, the screen has not been modified much. It still has a resolution of 1024x768 pixels, is still based on IPS technology and still measures 7.9-inches. The relatively low resolution causes a somewhat blurrier reproduction than, for example, in the Nexus 7. The brightness is higher now. An average of 356 cd/m² is over 70 cd/m² higher than the average of the Iconia A1-810. Both Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX 7 and Google's Nexus 7 have even brighter screens. Otherwise, the brightness of the Iconia A1-830 is in the upper range of the test field. The illumination of 90% is also quite homogeneous.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 371 cd/m²
Contrast: 757:1 (Black: 0.49 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.95 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91
ΔE Greyscale 4.37 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
Gamma: 2.48
Both the black level and contrast are decent, and they lead to a good color reproduction. They ensure that black areas are really quite dark and largely prevent a visible grayish cast.
A more precise color analysis using the special software CalMAN and the colorimeter show an intense over-saturation of blue colors. That is particularly visible on white surfaces; white does not look pure, but light blue. The reproduction of most other colors is relatively close to the reference color space so that the average DeltaE shift is only 3.95.
The glossy screen makes outdoor use a dubious adventure. On the one hand, the content can still be recognized fairly well in the shade using maximum brightness, and on the other hand, the reflections are too strong to still work comfortably with the tablet in daylight.
The viewing angles are not quite perfect despite the IPS screen. Although it is still possible to recognize the content from very acute angles, the contrast is no longer fully available, and dark or bright color levels bleed into each other.
Performance
"Intel Inside" is found on the Iconia A1-830's metal back and refers to the Intel Atom Z2560 SoC that does its job under the hood. The base clock of the dual-core processor is 933 MHz, but the clock can be boosted up to 1.6 GHz. It is also possible to process four tasks simultaneously via Hyper-Threading.
The processor is considerably stronger than the MediaTek MT6589 in the precursor. This quickly becomes evident in the benchmarks: It has a lead of 58% in Linpack Multi-Core. Google's Nexus 7 barely has an advantage in the processor benchmark; the iPad Mini is approximately four times as strong, but it is also significantly more expensive.
The graphics card is the same as found in the former Iconia A1-810. The PowerVR SGX544 with 400 MHz still does its job. Nevertheless, our review sample takes the lead on the precursor in 3DMark owing to its overall faster system. However, performance-oriented users should preferably take Google's Nexus 7. Google's tablet has a lead of 74% in 3DMark.
Our review sample did well in the browser tests, and the storage's speed is slightly above class average. Google's Nexus 7, the iPad Mini and Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX 7 all surpass it here.
Smooth operation is possible in routine use; demanding games also run smoothly. However, they sometimes need a bit longer to load.
| AnTuTu v4 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia A1-830 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 inch | |
| Gigaset QV830 | |
| Asus Fonepad ME372CG | |
| 3DMark | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia A1-830 | |
| Acer Iconia A1-810 | |
| Google Nexus 7 2013 | |
| Gigaset QV830 | |
| Lenovo S5000-F | |
| Asus Fonepad ME372CG | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Graphics (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia A1-830 | |
| Acer Iconia A1-810 | |
| Google Nexus 7 2013 | |
| Gigaset QV830 | |
| Lenovo S5000-F | |
| Asus Fonepad ME372CG | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Physics (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia A1-830 | |
| Acer Iconia A1-810 | |
| Google Nexus 7 2013 | |
| Gigaset QV830 | |
| Lenovo S5000-F | |
| Asus Fonepad ME372CG | |
| Peacekeeper - --- (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia A1-830 | |
| Acer Iconia A1-810 | |
| Google Nexus 7 2013 | |
| Apple iPad mini Retina | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 inch | |
| Gigaset QV830 | |
| Lenovo S5000-F | |
| Asus Fonepad ME372CG | |
Emissions
Temperature
Like the precursor, the temperatures remain within a very acceptable range and are even slightly lower on the whole. The absolute maximum temperature is 36.1 °C on the front. Although that is noticed, it should not cause any restrictions in routine use. The area around the front-facing camera is barely cooler in idle. We ascertained 35 °C here.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.1 °C / 97 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F, ranging from 20.7 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 29.5 °C / 85 F, compared to the average of 33.2 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.9 °C / 86 F, compared to the device average of 30 °C / 86 F.
Speakers
Acer places both speakers on the back's lower edge. Thus, a real stereo effect is thwarted because both speakers are located quite close to each other. However, the speakers are sufficiently loud. Trebles and mids are well-defined, and the sound is clear even in maximum volume. Although low ranges are missing, the speakers are overall good for a tablet from this price range.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Acer's Iconia A1-830 is more energy-efficient than the precursor. For example, it consumes an average of 3.9 watts in idle. The absolute maximum is 7.3 watts, which is 0.5 watt lower than that of the Iconia A1-810 but also 1 watt more than from the iPad Mini. It is good that our review sample does not drain power from the charger when it is turned off. The Iconia A1-810 had a very high consumption rate here.
| Off / Standby |   0.01 / 0.4 Watt |
| Idle |  1 / 3.9 / 4.1 Watt |
| Load |
5.7 / 7.3 Watt |
    
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Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Voltcraft VC 940 | |
Battery Runtime
The battery supplies 21.4 watt hours and thus has a higher capacity than both Google's Nexus 7 (16 watt hours) and the iPad Mini (16.3 watt hours). Consequently, Acer's Iconia A1-830 has a slight advantage in the runtimes. 7:26 hours is a good performance for the Wi-Fi test; Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX 7 are both drained approximately half an hour earlier.
Although Apple's iPad Mini clearly lasts longer with 12 hours, it cannot render any flash content, so that the test results are a bit distorted here. Generally, Acer's Iconia A1-830 lasts a bit longer than many equally priced comparable tablets.
Verdict
With its Iconia A1-830, Acer shows that it might not have as much experience with tablets as with laptops, but that it is able and willing to continuously develop its product.
Thus, the Iconia A1-830 is clearly an evolution compared with the A1-810. It features a significantly better casing, is lighter, slimmer, more energy efficient in higher performance, presents better runtimes, and really good cameras. Now, the Iconia A1-830 does not have to fear a comparison with Google's Nexus 7, particularly since our review sample offers a micro-SD slot that is still not available in Google's tablet or the considerably pricier iPad Mini.
The screen's low resolution of 1024x768 pixels is still noticed adversely, which simply does not seem contemporary and lets content look blurry. Acer could gradually update the installed Android version. The manufacturer could also be a bit more self-confident in terms of design; there's no need to follow the leader.
On the whole, there is agreeably little to complain about. Acer has taken a lesson from the feedback of the first tablet and has launched a considerably more sophisticated tablet on the market with its Iconia A1-830. That will please everyone looking for a tablet equal with Google's Nexus 7 but want an expandable storage and a better camera.
Although the Iconia A1-830 does a better job than its precursor in many fields, it receives a slightly lower rating. This is due to our new test system that equalizes the rankings, particularly among mobile devices. The direct comparability with former ratings is thus no longer given. More information about this can be found here.
