Acer Iconia A1 Review - Battery Life, Camera and Verdict Review
Battery Life, Camera and Verdict
A £150 tablet that melds the design of the iPad mini with the Nexus 7's low cost
Sections
- Page 1 Acer Iconia A1 Review
- Page 2 Screen, Software and Performance Review
- Page 3 Battery Life, Camera and Verdict Review
Acer Iconia A1 – Camera
Unlike many budget tablets, the Acer Iconia A1 has two cameras. There’s a 5-megapixel sensor on its rear, and a basic VGA sensor slap-bang in the middle of the screen surround.
Both cameras are – predictably – charitably described as basic. The main camera has no flash, and uses a fixed-focus lens. That means you have no control over the subject of your photo, and can’t take in-focus snaps of anything close-up.
Images are grainy and feature limited detail. These images are good for frivolous sharing over Twitter or Facebook, at a push.
Acer Iconia A1 – Battery life
What’s much more important for a tablet is battery life. The Acer Iconia A1 has a 4,960mAh battery, which is roughly comparable with the Nexus 7 4,325mAh unit and the iPad mini‘s 4,490 mAh battery.
Given this limited spec cred, its stamina is good. It will last for around eight hours of SD-quality video playback with a natively supported codec.
We wouldn’t recommend relying on the internal speaker for any movie-watching, though, as it’s a piddly mono job with little clout. Just like the Nexus 7, speaker quality isn’t something the Iconia A1 focuses on.
Should I buy the Acer Iconia A1?
The Acer Iconia A1 is riddled with compromises. Its screen isn’t great, the internal speaker is mediocre, it’s a touch weighty and some of the most challenging games are a little too much for the MTK quad-core processor.
However, while they are too significant to forget with a wave of the hand, they don’t amount to a game-ending set of drawbacks. It’s well-made, its approach to software is just right and the 4:3 aspect ratio is great. It’s the screen shape that makes the Iconia A1 a solid alternative to the slightly more capable Asus Fonepad, as a 4:3 7.9-inch screen does seem a lot larger – and more comfortable on the eyes – than a 7-inch widescreen one. Although the Fonepad’s built-in 3G is a tempting addition.
In reality, though, at this size and price you’re choosing between the Nexus 7 and the Iconia A1. If you prefer the iPad-like screen aspect, the A1 is your best bet. It’s a very capable tablet at a great price. But if that doesn’t matter to you the Nexus 7 still edges it. It’s the same price and has a higher capacity battery, two key things in its favour.
Verdict
The Acer Iconia A1 has a bunch of minor problems. Its entry-level IPS screen is ageing badly, it doesn’t have as much power on tap as its ‘quad-core’ processor may suggest and it’s a bit heavy. But all this proves is that this £150 is not magic. There are compromises involved in a tablet this cheap, but weigh them up against the savings made and this fun, accessible little Acer makes a lot of sense.
How we test tablets
We test every tablet we review thoroughly. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly and we use the tablet as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Trusted Score
Score in detail
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Performance 7
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Value 9
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Design 7
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Screen Quality 7
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Features 8
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Battery Life 7