Acer Iconia tablet tablet. Review and testing of the Acer Iconia Tab A200 tablet

Acer continues its expansion into the tablet market. After the Iconia Tab A200 (an updated version of the A500) and the A510 based on NVIDIA Tegra 3, the company announced the A701 and A700 models. They are of particular interest: these are the first Android tablets with a Full HD screen. Note that here and below, FullHD refers to screens capable of playing video with a full resolution of 1920x1080.

However, we note that these two tablets have not yet gone on sale (at the presentation they talked about July). Therefore, it is possible that Acer will overtake Huawei: the start of sales of Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD with a Full HD screen is also scheduled for July (the manufacturer presented it to journalists in mid-May).

In general, there is no doubt that in the second half of 2012 we will see a number of tablets with Full HD screens. After the release of The New iPad, manufacturers simply have nowhere to go, since in order to compete with Apple they need to produce not just a product of similar quality, but a better one (or the same one, but much cheaper). Now, in fact, it turns out that the New iPad simply has no worthy competitors. However, we repeat, the situation should change in the second half of the year. Acer Iconia Tab A700/701 and Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD are the first of the potential competitors. Moreover, the Chinese will probably put pressure on the price, so Acer will have a hard time. And at the end of summer or autumn (there is no exact information yet) it will appear ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity is the successor to the Eee Pad Transformer Prime, only with a Full HD screen. It will most likely be more expensive than Acer and Huawei, but it will have the ability to connect a docking station that turns the tablet into a laptop and expands its capabilities. In general, the fight is going to be hot.

For clarity, we have included the characteristics of our main competitors in a table. At the same time, we have removed the traditional “Price” column, since of all four models presented in the table, prices are known only for the new iPad.

	Acer Iconia Tab A700/701	The New iPad	Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD	ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity
Screen		IPS, 9.7″, 2048×1536 (264 ppi)	10.1″, IPS, 1920×1200 (224 ppi)	10.1″, Super IPS+, 1920×1200 (224 ppi)
SoC (processor)	NVIDIA Tegra 3 @1.4 GHz (4 cores + 1 auxiliary, ARM Cortex-A9	Apple A5X @1 GHz (2 cores, ARM Cortex-A9)	HiSilicon K3V2 @1.5 GHz (4 cores, ARM Cortex-A9)	NVIDIA Tegra 3 T33 @1.6 GHz (4 cores + 1 auxiliary, ARM Cortex-A9
GPU	GeForce ULP	PowerVR SGX543MP4	unknown	GeForce ULP
Flash memory	32 or 64 GB	from 16 to 64 GB	from 16 to 64 GB	from 16 to 64 GB + cloud storage 8 GB
Connectors	Micro-HDMI, Micro-USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack		dock connector, 3.5 mm headphone jack	Micro-HDMI 1.4a, dock connector, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Memory card support	microSD (up to 32 GB)	No	microSD (up to 32 GB)	microSD (up to 32 GB)
RAM	1 GB	1 GB	2 GB	1 GB
Cameras	front (2 MP) and rear (5 MP)	rear (5 MP; video shooting - 1920×1080), front (0.3 MP)	rear (8 MP), front (1.3 MP)	front (8 MP) and rear (2 MP)
Internet	Wi-Fi on A700, Wi-Fi + 3G on A701		Wi-Fi (optional - 3G and 4G LTE)	Wi-Fi (optional - 3G and 4G LTE)
operating system	Google Android 4.0	Apple iOS 5.1	Google Android 4.0	Google Android 4.0
Dimensions (mm)*	260×175×12.4	241.2×185.7×9.4	unknown	263×180.8×8.5
Weight (g)	675	652	unknown	586

* - according to the manufacturer

So, on the side of the Acer device is the presence of Micro-HDMI and, apparently, a more powerful SoC than that of Huawei, and certainly more universal (the Chinese manufacturer will use a chip of its own design, and this, to put it mildly, is a pig in a poke; it is unknown which movies and games will play on it and which won’t). But Acer's rear camera is worse than all its competitors. Another disadvantage of Acer is the inability to work in 4G networks. To be fair, we note that although the iPad formally has support for 4G (LTE), nevertheless, it will not be able to work in Russian networks, since it is designed for a different frequency range. But Huawei and ASUS will most likely be able to, which will give them some advantage. Acer also loses in comparison in terms of dimensions: it is thicker and heavier than its competitors (unless we can say for sure about the weight of Huawei, but regarding the thickness - I held it in my hands, it is definitely thinner). However, Acer's design has its own appeal. That's exactly what we'll talk about design.

Design

Since the copy that came to us is an engineering sample, not intended for sale, it arrived without a box, but with a Micro-USB - USB-host adapter. According to the manufacturer, commercial models will also be equipped with the same adapter. Thus, Acer compensates for the lack of a full-size USB port in the A700/701 (full-size USB was one of the distinctive features models A500 and A200).

Like the Iconia Tab A200, the tablet is massive and heavy. Apparently, the entire line of Acer tablets in 2012 received approximately the same body (with some differences, of course, but the general trend is obvious).

These are rounded corners and edges, a soft-touch plastic casing, and a rather massive overall appearance (Acer, unlike Samsung and ASUS, clearly does not strive for minimal thickness and weight of the device).

The layout of connectors and buttons differs from the Acer Iconia Tab A200. On the right is Micro-HDMI (this is a big plus!), slots for SIM cards and microSD. Both slots are hidden under a cover that you need to pry off with your fingernail to open. In the engineering sample, this lid did not open as tightly as in the Iconia Tab A200, let's hope that the same will happen in the commercial version.

On the bottom edge we see Micro-USB for connecting to a PC and charging, as well as a Reset hole.

On the left is the Power button and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

At the top there is a volume rocker and a screen lock lever, as well as a microphone hole.

Screen

Obviously, a screen with a resolution of 1920x1200 (WUXGA) is main feature Acer Iconia Tab A701. Previously, we only saw Full HD resolution on the iPad. True, in fairness, it is worth recognizing that the density of dots per inch iPad screen still a little higher, since Acer has a slightly larger diagonal, and the number of dots on each side is smaller. But, however, compared to the 1280x800 resolution that became the standard last year, this is a big step forward.

Detailed examination of the screen using measuring instruments conducted by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his conclusion.

The tablet screen is covered with a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, and judging by the reflection of bright light sources in it, there is no anti-glare filter or it is very weak. A special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating is applied to the outer surface of the screen, so fingerprints can be removed more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was 265 cd/m², minimum - 33 cd/m². As a result, at maximum brightness in bright daylight The screen brightness may not be enough, but the minimum brightness will allow you to comfortably use the tablet even in complete darkness. The backlight brightness is automatically adjusted using the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front camera) - in complete darkness it reduces the brightness to a minimum of 33-57 cd/m² (depending on the background of the brightness value), in a very brightly lit environment it increases it to the maximum value. The automatic brightness adjustment should be considered adequate and fast.

Brightness adjustment is apparently carried out using pulse-width modulation of the LED power supply, but the modulation has a high frequency, and there is apparently an anti-aliasing filter in the backlight power circuit. As a result, the backlight at reduced brightness has modulation with a frequency of about 18 kHz and with an amplitude of less than 100%, so there is no visible flicker. However, if you look closely, you can hardly, but still notice a faint flickering of vertical stripes one pixel thick on halftone fills. Perhaps this effect is caused by the peculiarities of the algorithm for changing the polarity of LCD cells or dynamic color mixing.

This tablet uses an IPS type matrix, as a result the screen has very good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large deviations of the view from perpendicular to the screen. True, as is typical for any IPS matrix, the black field, when deviated diagonally, becomes significantly lighter and, which is no longer found in all IPS-type matrices, acquires a noticeable purple tint.

It is not our rule to make direct comparisons with competitors, since we believe that based on the data presented, the reader is able to draw his own conclusions, but as an exception, we will compare the screen of this tablet with the screen of the new iPad, using new data on viewing angles.

To find out how screen brightness changes when deviated from perpendicular to the screen, we took a series of measurements of black, white and grayscale brightness at the center of the screen over a wide range of angles, deflecting the sensor axis in the horizontal and diagonal (corner to corner) directions. We excluded the vertical direction, since the height of the 10-inch screen does not allow us to measure viewing angles in the used angle range using our setup. Since the properties of the IPS matrix are exactly symmetrical (without taking into account local defects) relative to the vertical axis, to save time, measurements were carried out only with a deviation to the right, but for clarity and ease of comparison, the graphs were completed with a symmetrical reflection of the curves relative to the vertical axis. Visually, at least, the screen of the new iPad is not symmetrical in properties relative to the longitudinal axis, so viewing angles were measured diagonally to the right and down and to the right and up.

Dependence of the brightness of halftones (0% - black, 100% - white) in the center of the screen on the deviation of the sensor axis (negative values ​​- to the left, positive values ​​- to the right) from the normal to the screen in the horizontal plane:

Dependence of the brightness of halftones (0% - black, 100% - white) in the center of the screen on the deviation of the sensor axis (negative values ​​- to the left, positive values ​​- to the right) from the normal to the screen in the diagonal plane:

Dependence of contrast (brightness ratio white field to black brightness) in the center of the screen from the deviation of the sensor axis from the normal to the screen in the horizontal and diagonal planes:

Black field brightness:

Reducing brightness by 50% of maximum value:

We note a smooth decrease in brightness when deviating from the perpendicular to the screen in the horizontal direction, while the graphs do not intersect over the entire range of measured angles. When deviating in the diagonal direction, the behavior of the brightness of the shades has a similar character. In terms of brightness reduction, the viewing angles of The New iPad are slightly better, since in the case of this tablet the brightness drops to 50% of the maximum value at slightly larger angles. In the diagonal direction, the brightness of the black field begins to increase sharply when deviating from the perpendicular to the screen, already at 20 degrees in the case of the Acer Iconia Tab A701 and at only 45 degrees in the case of The New iPad. Since the brightness of tablets varies, for clarity, we present graphs of the brightness of the black field as a percentage of the maximum brightness:

These graphs confirm what is seen when visual comparison- when you deviate your gaze diagonally, the black field is highlighted to a much lesser extent on the new iPad. As a result, the contrast in the angle range of ±82 degrees for the diagonal direction in the case of the Acer Iconia Tab A701 becomes below 10:1 when the deviation is more than 72 degrees, and in the case of The New iPad it does not fall below 50:1.

To quantitatively characterize the change in color rendering, we carried out colorimetric measurements for white, red, green and blue fields in the entire screen. Measurements were carried out in the angle range from 0 (the sensor is directed perpendicular to the screen) to 45 degrees in increments of 5 degrees. The obtained intensity values ​​were recalculated into delta E deviation relative to the measurement of each field at a perpendicular position of the sensor relative to the screen. The results are presented below:

It follows from the graphs that only in the case of the Acer Iconia Tab A701 and only the blue color undergoes a significant hue shift upon diagonal deviation. At the same time, the color shift of the screen of The New iPad as a whole is slightly less than that of the Acer Iconia Tab A701.

As a result, at least from viewing angles Acer screen The Iconia Tab A701 has a slightly worse screen than the new iPad.

This is where we will complete the comparison of screens, since the data presented below is also available in the article about the new iPad.

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is good. Black-white-black response time is 53.1 ms (45.7 ms on + 7.4 ms off). The transition between halftones of 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) takes a total of 30 ms.

The gamma curve constructed using 32 points did not reveal a significant roll in either the highlights or the shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is 2.26, which is quite close to the standard value of 2.2, but the real gamma curve deviates from the power-law dependence:

The contrast is high - 970:1. The color gamut is very close to sRGB:

The spectra are typical for devices with LED backlight view:

The balance in color temperature is good - shades of gray are color temperature not much different from 6500 K (the range close to black can be ignored, since color rendition is not so important in it, and the error in measuring color characteristics is high.). Although the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is relatively large due to the excess of the green component. This helps to increase brightness at the expense of some deterioration in color rendering:

However, color temperature and ΔE change little over the entire relevant area of ​​the gray scale, so visually the color balance does not raise any complaints. Overall, the screen definitely deserves a very high rating.

I’ll add on my own that I personally like the New iPad’s screen more. But it is possible that the problem here is in the software part. Apple has optimized iOS and all pre-installed applications for high resolution. And third-party application developers tried to release updated versions with resolution for Retina Display as quickly as possible. Was there the same careful optimization in the case of Android? Not sure. However, we will talk about software later.

The screen recognizes ten-finger multitouch.

The actual size of the sides of the usable screen area is 21.7 × 13.6 cm. Diagonal is 25.7 cm (10.1 inches).

Platform

The tablet runs on the already familiar NVIDIA Tegra 3. And although this is not even the second tablet on this SoC, Tegra 3 is still perceived as a highly relevant new product.

Previously, we tested the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime and the HTC One X smartphone on Tegra 3. It probably doesn’t make sense to compare the performance of an Acer tablet with a smartphone, but with an ASUS tablet it certainly does. Well, it also makes sense to compare with the Acer Iconia Tab A200 (on Tegra 2) for clarity. So these are the ones that will appear in the table. But before we start testing, let’s make a reservation that we had an engineering sample with preliminary firmware, so we should take the results with a grain of salt. Perhaps a commercial copy will be more productive.

So, in Quadrant Standard the tablet scored 3603 points. This is one of the best results, although the Trasformer Prime record could not be broken.

The result in SunSpider 0.9.1 upset us: 2504.6 ms is less than even the Iconia Tab A200. However, we will repeat the repeatedly expressed idea that SunSpider is not entirely indicative of modern powerful tablets.

* Here and below for ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime are test results for latest version firmware (the operating system has been updated to Android ICS). The results of this tablet on the original firmware with Android 3.2 were slightly better in most tests.

But in the processor test, the Super Pi performed even better than the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime on the same SoC. This is a record so far.

The table below shows the results of all three tablets, rounded to the nearest 1 second.

In the comprehensive AnTuTu Benchmark 2.7.3, the tablet scored 10165 points, which is almost identical to the results demonstrated by the ASUS flagship.

But here the difference with Tegra 2 tablets is clearly visible (A701 and Transformer Prime outperform them by more than twice).

And finally, the results of the graphics subsystem performance in NenaMark2 (v2.2).

They just turned out to be very strange. For comparison, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime in Nenamark 2 achieves 47.1 fps. And this is much more plausible, because graphic capabilities the new NVIDIA chip is the main advantage compared to Tegra 2. Therefore, the relatively low result of the Acer Iconia Tab A701 should be attributed to imperfections preliminary firmware. As well as slight lags in other tests.

Operating system and applications

The tablet will come with Android 4.0 pre-installed, like all other Acer 2012 Android tablet models.

We will not write in detail about the pre-installed software, because, we repeat, we had an engineering sample with test firmware, and the set of software may change in the final version. However, one application is still worth mentioning. This is a very nice file manager.

I hope it will be present in the final version too.

However, speaking about software, we cannot ignore the question of how optimized the Adnroid software is for high resolution. Here the impressions are twofold. On the one hand, everything looks quite correct: the icons do not seem blurry, the fonts both in the OS interface and in programs (both pre-installed and taken from Google Play Store) look fine. On the other hand, we cannot yet talk about any special software optimization for high resolution. That is, simply put, the number visual information does not increase, no new details appear. Of course, programs and games that were originally created for high resolution will gradually appear. But the process of filling with such Google apps Play Store will obviously be slower than in the case of the iPad and the App Store.

Autonomous operation

Unfortunately, the sample did not reflect the real situation with autonomous operation. Therefore, we omit this question. But perhaps we’ll return to it after the product hits the market. The tablet will be sold with a 9800 mAh battery.

Camera

Unlike the Acer Iconia Tab A200, the new product is equipped with two cameras. True, the resolution of the rear camera is small: 5 megapixels. For flagship model this is not enough (all competitors of a similar level are equipped with 8 megapixel cameras). On the other hand, if this allows you to reduce the cost even a little, then perhaps it will be completely justified.

The main thing is that the quality of the resulting images is very decent (by the standards of mobile devices). Of course, the detail is not as high as we would like, but there is almost no digital noise and dirt. This can be clearly seen in the fragment of the image presented above.

The tablet can take panoramas, but the resolution of the panoramas is very low (the original image below is available by clicking).

We also tried to shoot a sheet of text (magazine page) using the tablet's rear camera. The magazine was placed on a table standing by the window so that daylight fell on it (this is a condition necessary for the repeatability and verifiability of the test). The original photo can be seen by clicking on the fragment below.

The quality is not bad, all the symbols are distinguishable, but some dirt is still present.

Despite the low quality of photographs, the rear camera shoots video with Full HD resolution and very decent quality. The 30-second video, shot with the rear camera of the Acer iconia Tab A701, can be downloaded (3GPP format, size 75.9 MB).

Conclusions

Acer Iconia Tab A701 is the first Android tablet with a Full HD screen that we tested. And, I must say, on the whole it pleased us and strengthened our opinion that Acer’s market share in the tablet segment will be not only no less, but more than before in the second half of the year. Acer can only be praised for being one of the first to introduce new technologies and present them to the user at a reasonable price. At least that's how it used to be. How fair the price will be for the A701 remains to be seen. And, note, this will be a key factor. Because this model will have to compete with two very serious competitors: Full HD tablets from ASUS and Huawei. If Acer can set a price lower than ASUS and roughly on par with Huawei, then the A701 (and its twin brother the A700) will emerge victorious from this battle.

But what all Android tablets with Full HD screens are losing to is new iPad(by the way, recently admitted to official sale on the territory of Russia). On the iPad side there is not only a better screen ( we're talking about and about the density of dots per inch and viewing angles), but, more importantly, applications (including games) that make full use of high resolution. It is clear that most applications in the App Store have not yet received optimization for Retina Display. But, at the same time, there are already wonderful games with high-resolution graphics, and the process of replacing old versions of applications with new ones will go very quickly. On Android everything will be much slower - precisely because of the large fragmentation of the platform.

Therefore, you need to clearly understand why exactly you are buying an Android tablet with a Full HD screen right now (that is, this summer or fall, until Full HD becomes the general standard for tablets). I see the following options here. First of all, watching movies - and just for this application the same Acer Iconia Tab A701 is better suited than the iPad, since the screen has an aspect ratio of 16:10, which fits well with the “cinematic” aspect ratio of 16:9, and movies are not requires recoding (even without hardware acceleration Tegra 3 plays Full HD video). In addition, this, of course, is a foundation for the future. In the end, such an expensive toy is bought not for a year, but for at least two or three, so if you are aiming at buying a 10-inch Android tablet and are not very constrained by funds, then looking at standard resolution models is, by and large, already an option. doesn't make sense. But which model to choose from those with a Full HD screen is a question that we cannot answer yet (since, we repeat, the Acer Iconia Tab A701 is the first such tablet in our testing). But we can say for sure that high resolution is the future.

In 2014, Acer was not very active in the tablet market. They released literally two or three models on Android, and they were inferior to some competitors. But, apparently, in September the company plans to compete with market leaders in the budget and mid-range segments. The A1-713HD being reviewed today is just the first sign.

Specifications:

• Class: budget
• Form factor: monoblock
• Case materials: aluminum and two plastic inserts.
• Operating system: Android 4.4.2
• Network: GSM/EDGE, WCDMA (miniSIM), voice calls supported
• Platform: MediaTek MT8382
• Processor: Quad-core, 1.3 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Data storage memory: 16 GB, card slot microSD memory(32 GB cards supported)
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0 (A2DP, EDR), microUSB connector (USB 2.0) for charging/synchronization, 3.5 mm for headset,
• Screen: 7’’, capacitive, IPS matrix, 1280x800 pixels (HD), automatic backlight level adjustment, has oleophobic coating
• Camera: 5 MP, Video recording in 1080p
• Front camera: 0.3 MP
• Navigation: GPS/GLONASS (A-GPS support)
• Sensors: accelerometer, spatial position sensor,
• Gyroscope, light sensor
• Battery: non-removable, Li-Ion, capacity 3400 mAh

Equipment

• Tablet
• Charger
• PC cable (also part of the charger)
• Documentation

The equipment is standard for major brands, there are no headphones or a complete case.

Appearance, materials, control elements, assembly

I have already for a long time I complain that in the presence of such a beautiful ultrabook as Acer Aspire Acer's S7 tablet design is not very interesting. However, this is gradually starting to change, and the Iconia Tab 7 is a great example of this. And don't be fooled by the white front and rounded edges reminiscent of the look of Samsung tablets.

As soon as you turn the tablet over, all comparisons will disappear by themselves, because rear end The device is made of aluminum, with two plastic inserts on the top and bottom (it may seem that they are also aluminum, but they are not).

The upper insert is removed; to do this, you need to pry it into a special groove located on the left. Hidden under the insert are slots for a standard format SIM card and a microSD memory card. By the way, I was surprised that Acer decided to use a standard SIM card and not a microSIM.

Most of the front side is occupied by a seven-inch display; above it there is a speaker mesh, a front camera, as well as an LED and light/proximity sensors. The LED turns red while charging, blinks for notifications, and turns green when the tablet is charged.

On the left side there is a volume rocker and a power button. Both keys have a short, hard stroke with a characteristic click, making them comfortable to use.

At the bottom there is a microUSB connector and a microphone hole, and at the top there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

On the back cover, in addition to the main camera, you can also see the mesh of the external speaker. It has an excellent volume reserve and good sound quality (for budget tablet), however, at maximum volume it barely wheezes, so I recommend listening to music on the Iconia Tab 7 at a volume of 60-70%.

The tablet is perfectly assembled, all parts fit tightly together. Nothing creaks, does not play, does not wobble.

Dimensions

The dimensions of the Iconia Tab 7 are typical for seven-inch tablets. There is no great thickness and weight, or, conversely, thin frames around the screen.

The tablet is comfortable to hold with one or two hands for a long time, however, this is true for most seven-inch models.

Screen

First, let's take a quick look at the display's specifications.

I am very pleased that Acer decided to bring back the oleophobic coating for its tablets, since it was absent in previous budget models. In fact, this is a significant benefit and a significant increase in convenience for the end user.

If we talk about the screen itself, I really liked it. It can be seen that a good IPS matrix is ​​used, pixelation is almost invisible. The display has good viewing angles, a high level of maximum brightness and natural color reproduction. In the sun the image fades, but remains readable.

Overall, the Iconia Tab 7 has a very good display for a budget device.

operating system

The device operates under Android control 4.4.2 with a minimum number of additions from Acer. Let's talk about them in a little more detail.

Lock screen. Three shortcuts were placed on the lockscreen; they cannot be changed (in any case, I did not find such an option).

Notification curtain. When you swipe down in the upper right corner, a panel with wireless interface switches opens. A short press turns on/off a specific module, a long press opens its settings.

Browser. Acer decided, in addition to Chrome, to keep its own browser from Android 4.0, and also added a very convenient function to automatically adjust text to the screen size when it is enlarged.

Easy mode. In this mode, all icons become larger, fonts are larger, and a number of functions are limited. Apparently, it is designed for the elderly and children.

Otherwise, we have before us “pure” Android 4.4.2 with all its inherent functions and features.

Performance

First, let's take a look at the characteristics of the chipset and memory.

Traditionally, I’ll start with scrolling through desktops; it’s not as smooth here as in the Nexus 7 2013, this is due to the developers’ decision to make scrolling wallpaper. As we all remember, with such a function, few tablets work without stuttering. Therefore, I recommend installing a third-party launcher, such as Nova Launcher. Another confirmation of my words is that there are no lags in the application menu.

Most games also run great on this tablet, but Asphalt 8 only runs on medium settings.

Autonomous operation

The tablet demonstrates good results in terms of battery life. Based on our tests, its results are on average 20% higher than those of similar devices from B-brands.

Wireless interfaces

In addition to the usual set of modules, the manufacturer also added the ability to make calls from the tablet. And although holding such a device near your ear is not very convenient, in an emergency you can make a call or send an SMS from it.

Conclusion

The recommended retail price for the Acer Iconia Tab 7 is 7,000 rubles, for this money you get an excellent compact tablet with a high-quality display, the presence of an oleophobic coating (this is really very important in a budget device!), an aluminum case, good battery life and a 3G module with support for voice calls. The only disadvantages I would consider are slight slowdowns when scrolling through desktops; the problem can be solved by installing another launcher.

As for competitors, only two models from well-known brands come to mind.

In terms of characteristics and price, these two models have parity, the only difference is in the chipset used and the fact that the Fonepad 7 does not have an oleophobic coating (and this is its significant drawback). And this tablet has been out for quite some time.

The updated Tab 7.0 finally has HD resolution, thin frames and small dimensions (especially weight and thickness). I assume that it will also have higher autonomy. However, it costs 2,000 rubles more.

To summarize: for 7,000 rubles, the Acer Iconia Tab 7 is an excellent option for those looking for a compact tablet in an aluminum case with a good screen, oleophobic coating and 3G support.

By the way, for those who want to save money, Acer also has a simpler version of this tablet with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels and a price of 6,000 rubles. But I still recommend paying an extra thousand rubles and taking the older model.

Acer is no longer a newcomer to the tablet market and is one of the top three sales leaders in our country, along with Samsung and Apple. In this review, we are going to look at the company's flagship device - the Iconia Tab A701 model, which has a Full HD screen, runs on NVIDIA Tegra 3 and costs quite a reasonable amount of money.

Specifications Acer Iconia Tab A701:

• Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA/HSPA 21 Mbit/s (850/900/1900/2100 MHz)
• Platform (at time of announcement): Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• Display: touch, capacitive, 10.1", 1920 x 1200 pixels, TFT IPS, 224 ppi, Gorilla Glass, 10 multi-touch
• Front camera: 1 MP
• Rear camera: 5 MP, Full HD video recording@30fps
• Processor: quad-core, 1.3 GHz, NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30S
• Graphics chip: 520 MHz ULP GeForce
• RAM: 1 GB
• Built-in memory: 32 GB/64 GB
• Memory card: microSD (32GB)
• A-GPS, GLONASS
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 3.5mm audio jack
• microUSB 2.0
• microHDMI
• Accelerometer, light sensor, gyroscope, magnetometer
• Battery: Li-ion, 9800 mAh
• Dimensions: 260 x 155 x 11 mm
• Weight: 680 g
• Form factor: monoblock with touchscreen
• Type: tablet
• Announcement date: May 2012 July
• Release date: July 2012

Video review

Design, construction and equipment

The tablet comes in branded packaging, on which you can see all the main characteristics. Inside, everything is not so rosy, the set is quite meager - only charger, several different pieces of paper with instructions and an adapter for connecting USB flash drives. There is no cable for synchronizing with a PC, and the charger is not detachable. Despite the fact that now everyone probably has a cable for synchronizing with a computer (luckily all the connectors are standard), such an accessory would clearly not be superfluous. But let's move on to the most interesting thing - the tablet.

When you take the device in your hand for the first time, you immediately notice its considerable weight (as much as 685 grams) and the very practical design of the case. The back panel is made of pleasant perforated soft-touch plastic, which does not slip at all in the hand and is not very susceptible to scratches (hello Samsung tablets!). On the same side we can see the company logo, the Dolby Digital Plus marking, which means that the device has everything in order with sound, a microphone hole and a peephole of a 5-megapixel camera without a flash. On the front side there is a 10.1” Full HD screen, front camera and logos. On the left side there is a power button and a headphone jack. The right side is equipped with slots for a SIM card, microSD with a cover and a microHDMI connector. It seems that both ends are covered with metal plates, but it is just plastic painted to look like metal. On the top side we can see metal volume controls and a screen locker, as well as a microphone. At the bottom there are stereo speakers, a microUSB connector for connecting a charger and a synchronization cable, and a hole for an emergency reboot.

The build quality of the tablet is excellent, although a small gap in the plug on the right side can slightly spoil the impression. Overall, this is a tough, practical, heavy and business tablet. It doesn't look like a plastic toy and inspires a feeling of reliability, as if hinting that only it can become an ideal workhorse.

Software

The device runs Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. Almost before us pure android dream a large number interesting and useful improvements from the company, as well as a large amount of proprietary pre-installed software. But first things first.

Immediately after switching on, the device prompts you to register with Acer to receive various up-to-date information and support. The desktop is absolutely the same as on all similar tablets, but the status bar is unusual. In the center of the line you will notice a green dot - it is responsible for launching the proprietary interface designed for quick access to functions and bookmarks. The drop-down window has been slightly modified. The lock screen has also been slightly improved.

There are several proprietary items in the Settings menu. Dolby Mobile is responsible for improving the sound; there are several settings. In the Ring item, you can configure your favorite functions for the proprietary ring interface. The Lock Screen Applications section speaks for itself. Acer Print offers to add your devices to the list of printers and simplify the process of printing documents.

I will not list the entire standard set of applications, but will focus on the programs pre-installed by the company, since there is something to look at.

First of all, I would like to note three branded applications, combined into a folder with the strange name clear.fi - these are Photos, Videos and Music. The photo is a gallery with the ability to view a timeline and connect to nearby wireless devices. Music and Video are made in the same style, but functionally they are not very different.

The Files application is a file manager (which is logical). It is quite convenient and visual, so it will completely relieve the potential tablet owner from having to search for a file manager on Google Play.

7 Digital is a music store and player at the same time. Here you can listen to song previews, check out new releases and buy songs to listen to on your tablet. There is a built-in scrobbler on Last.FM.

There is an Amazon Kindle client, so you can purchase literature if you wish.

Aupeo! is an Internet radio with easy controls, a nice design and some proprietary features like your musical DNA, a selection of music to suit your mood, and the ability to purchase songs. The only negative is that it is a little slow.

EquiView, as I understand it, is designed to connect to wireless projectors and demonstrate all your goodness. Unfortunately, I don’t have such things, so I couldn’t test the program.

The pre-installed Barcode Scanner will help you recognize barcodes, and Virus Scan from McAfee will protect your tablet from viruses (which, we can say, are not there, if you don’t install something out of nowhere and allow dubious programs to do whatever they want with your device).

With Zinio you can buy various magazines. Russian editions are available, which is very pleasing. It's also nice to see Polaris Office and Evernote on the list. The first is for reading and editing documents, and the second is for creating and storing notes.

You can also note the presence of pre-installed games - Real Racing 2, Monopoly and HW Solitaire SE. Everything is done at a high level, it’s a pleasure to play. And if that's not enough for you, other high-quality toys can be found in TegraZone and Google Play.

The rest of the programs are standard for all Android tablets, so I suggest you familiarize yourself with them using the screenshots.

Camera

Taking pictures with a tablet is an activity for perverts, but nevertheless, the A701 copes with this task perfectly. The photos are so-so, but the video is quite good.

User experience and performance

The tablet boasts a quad-core processor and a powerful video system – Tegra 3 rules the roost here. Accordingly, there are practically no brakes. Practically - because we must take into account that the screen resolution here is 1920x1200 (not 1920x1080 pixels, please note), and not always everything can be perfectly smooth and fast. But the screen is really gorgeous. After this, I don’t really want to look at 10” tablets with HD panels; the ladder and unclear fonts immediately catch my eye. But the response speed of the screen is not the highest, this is noticeable in comparison with Galaxy Note 10.1, for example. Just like the yellowish white color of an Acer TFT IPS screen compared to a Samsung TFT PLS screen, but these are features of different display technologies. However, if you do not compare directly, the screen will satisfy most users; it is really very good, and in terms of clarity it is generally one of the best.

As for performance, the tablet copes well with all everyday tasks, however, problems may arise with the compatibility of applications or games, since not all developers have yet added support for Full HD screens to their creations. In my opinion, the more serious problem is the heating of the right side of the device. As soon as, for example, you launch about 12 program updates on Google Play, start playing something heavy, or even just start Internet radio, your right side turns into a red-hot piece of plastic. Only some kind of cover will save you here. Well, or a habit. However, this is not the only tablet on the market that suffers from a similar problem. Suffice it to recall at least the same new iPad.

The benchmark results, I think, speak for themselves. Having a screen with such a high resolution, the Acer A701 shows results comparable to its classmates (but with lower resolution screens). In NenaMark1 the tablet showed a result of 59 fps, in NenaMark2 – 36.6 fps, in AnTuTu – 10,787 points, in Vellamo – 1322, in Quadrant – 3081.

Regarding toys, everything is as it should be - the device will handle any modern games, be it Dark Meadow, Dead Trigger or Real Racing 2.

The battery here is quite impressive, almost 10,000 mAh, which certainly has a positive effect on operating time. With moderate use, you can safely count on two to three days. Playback test Full HD video The tablet passed with a result of 6.5 hours.

The advantage of this particular copy is SIM support, which means that you will not be left without the Internet at the wrong time and can even write an SMS to someone. You won't be able to call, though. In general, working with messages did not cause any complaints.

In general, the device works very quickly, slight stutters or slowdowns can be attributed to the high resolution and low response speed of the screen, which, according to rumors, should be fixed in the new update, since there is supposedly some kind of software bug. No software malfunctions were detected, the tablet did not reboot and did not complain about a lack of RAM.

Bottom line

Acer has made a good tablet with an excellent price-quality ratio, which, moreover, has no competitors. You can recall ASUS Transformer Pad 300 32Gb 3G and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 P5100 32Gb, but the first has a lower screen resolution, and the second also has weaker hardware, and their prices are comparable. If we close our eyes to minor shortcomings, of which there are nothing at all, then we have before us the best representative of Android tablets in price category up to 25 thousand rubles (the version with 64 GB of memory and 3G will cost 23), offering maximum performance, an excellent screen and a practical, well-built body.

Not very expensive, but with full Windows 8

More and more Windows 8 tablets continue to enter the market. Moreover, almost all models are not just a tablet, but a hybrid of a tablet and a laptop. At the end of last year, we got acquainted with ASUS VivoTab, and now it’s our turn to look at a similar (in concept) Acer model - Iconia Tab W510.

Let us remind you that the Iconia Tab W510 is not the only Windows 8 model in the Acer catalog. In addition to it, the company released the Iconia Tab W700 - a tablet that, thanks to a stationary docking station, turns into a candy bar (we told you about this model and).

Before we begin a detailed study of the Iconia Tab W510, we will traditionally study the characteristics and compare them with the specifications of competitors. The main competitor of this model is, of course, the ASUS VivoTab TF810C. In addition to it, we included in the table the Sony tablet laptop on Windows 8, as well as the Acer Iconia Tab W700.

	Acer Iconia Tab W510	ASUS VivoTab TF810C	Acer Iconia W700	Sony VAIO Duo 11
Screen	10.1″, IPS, 1366×768 (155 ppi)	11.6″, Super IPS+, 1366×768 (135 ppi)		11.6″, IPS, 1920×1080 (190 ppi)
CPU		Intel Atom Z2760 @1.8 GHz (2 cores, HT and TB support)	Intel Core i3-2365M @1.4 GHz (2 cores, HT support) / Intel Core i5-3317U @1.7 GHz (2 cores, HT and TB support)	Intel Core i3-2365M @1.4 GHz (2 cores, HT support) / Intel Core i7-3517U @1.9 GHz (2 cores, HT and TB support)
GPU	Imagination SGX545	Imagination SGX545	Intel HD 3000/4000	Intel HD 3000/4000
Flash memory	32 or 64 GB	32 or 64 GB + 32 GB cloud storage (for 3 years)	64/128 GB SSD	128 / 256 SSD
Connectors	Micro-HDMI, 3.5mm headset jack, Micro-USB, USB 2.0 (on dock)	Micro-HDMI, 3.5 mm headset jack, two USB 2.0 (on dock)	Micro-HDMI (comes with an adapter to VGA), 3.5 mm headset jack, one USB 3.0 (on the tablet, not available when installed in the docking station) and three USB 3.0 (on the docking station)	HDMI, 3.5 mm headset jack, two USB 3.0, Ethernet, VGA
Memory card support	microSD/SDHC (up to 64 GB)	microSD/SDHC (up to 64 GB)	No	SD/SDHC (up to 64 GB)
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	4 GB	6/8 GB
Cameras		rear (8 MP) and front (2 MP)	rear (photo - 5 MP, video - 1080p) and front (photo - 0.9 MP, video - 720p)	rear (photo - 2.4 MP, video - 1920×1080), front (2.4 MP)
Internet	WiFi	WiFi	WiFi	Wi-Fi, Ethernet
operating system	Microsoft Windows 8	Microsoft Windows 8	Microsoft Windows 8	Microsoft Windows 8
Dimensions* (mm)	259×187×9.9	294×189×8.7	295×191×11.9	320×199×17.9
Weight without and with docking station (g)	567/1267	675/1340	940	1300

* - according to the manufacturer; in the case of ASUS and Acer devices, the thickness is indicated without a docking station.

As we can see, in most respects the Acer Iconia Tab W510 and ASUS VivoTab TF810C are twin brothers. The main difference between the Acer tablet is its smaller diagonal with the same screen resolution. As a result - a smaller mass of the device. In general, among all four models, the characteristics of which are listed in the table, the Acer Iconia Tab W510 is the most compact and affordable (its cost in Russian retail ranges around 24,500 rubles). However, unlike the Sony VAIO Duo 11 and Acer Iconia Tab W700, the W510 is closer to a portable netbook than a full-fledged work computer.

Packaging and equipment

The tablet arrived to us in a massive box that inspires respect for the product.

Inside it are located: the tablet itself, a keyboard dock, a charger, a Micro-USB - USB-host adapter, a cloth for cleaning the screen, as well as a number of user manuals and other paper products (both in the form of booklets and in the form of various leaflets).

For complete happiness, all that is missing is some kind of cover.

Design

Acer Iconia Tab W510 is a representative of the increasingly popular class of “transformable tablet” devices today. Like the ASUS Vivo Tab we recently reviewed, the Acer Iconia Tab W510 consists of two parts: the tablet itself and a keyboard dock equipped with a touchpad, additional connectors and a separate battery.

Let's look at these two components separately.

Tablet

The tablet is quite weighty, but it does not look massive (unlike the ASUS Vivo Tab - however, it has a larger screen diagonal). And when you take the device in your hands, you immediately notice that it has its own style.

Acer designers managed to do what many other manufacturers fail to do - create a tablet that looks quite original. True, for this we had to go against newfangled trends: the tablet body is not thinner towards the edges, and plastic was chosen as the material, not metal.

The back of the device is painted metallic silver. The front edge of the tablet is white. The style of the Acer Iconia Tab W510 is based on a combination of white and silver-metallic colors.

Most of the connectors are located on the right side of the device. These are Micro-HDMI, Micro-USB, a slot for microSD memory cards, a built-in microphone hole and a speaker grille. In addition, on the right side we see a volume rocker.

The second speaker is located on the left side. And on the top edge there is a Power button, a screen auto-rotate lock lever and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

The bottom edge is occupied by grooves for connecting to a keyboard dock. This includes a connector for connecting a charger.

Docking station

The design of the docking station harmonizes well with the design of the tablet. Its entire body is made of silver-metallic plastic, and the tablet cradle and keyboard buttons are white.

From the connectors on the docking station we see USB 2.0 (on the right) and a connector for connecting a charger.

The keyboard is netbook type. The keys are small - smaller than those of a laptop, and about the same as those of a netbook. Mandatory for Windows 8/RT devices Windows button, as well as the top row of auxiliary keys.

When you connect the tablet to the docking station, the distance between the bottom edge of the tablet and the main part of the docking station body catches your eye: it’s about half a centimeter. It’s a pity that the designers didn’t think of making the cradle transparent: then the effect would have been as if the tablet was floating above the keyboard. But the chosen option is not bad - at least in that it does not try to seem too similar to a regular netbook.

An important feature is the ability to tilt the tablet back (at an angle of 295 degrees) and install it so that the keyboard does not fall into view. In this form it can be used, for example, to watch movies.

Overall, the design of the Acer Iconia Tab W510 made a good impression on us. It cannot be said that the appearance of the device causes delight, but there is certainly no rejection. And the functionality is in order.

Screen

The tablet is equipped with a 10.1-inch diagonal screen with a resolution of 1366×768. As we remember, the ASUS VivoTab has a screen with the same resolution large diagonal, and therefore a lower density of dots per inch. But how does Acer fare with other screen parameters?

A detailed examination of the screen using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his conclusion.

The tablet's screen is covered with a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface and, judging by the reflection of bright light sources in it, has a weak anti-glare filter. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) and quite effective coating, so fingerprints do not appear as quickly as with regular glass, but are removed more easily.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was 270 cd/m², minimum - 16 cd/m². The maximum brightness is not very high, so to use this tablet outdoors in bright daylight you will have to look for a well-shaded corner. The minimum brightness will allow you to comfortably work with the tablet even in complete darkness. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located in the upper right corner on the screen frame). In complete darkness, the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to a minimum of 120 cd/m² (too much), in an artificially lit office it sets the brightness to 200 cd/m² (acceptable), in a very bright environment it increases to a maximum of 270 cd/m² (as and necessary). At lower brightness, there is no flickering of the backlight.

This tablet uses an IPS matrix, as a result the screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large deviations of the view from perpendicular to the screen. True, when the black field deviates diagonally, it brightens greatly and acquires a noticeable purple tint. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field over most of the screen area is good, but in the corners and close to the edge in several places it is visible local increase brightness of the black field. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 31 ms (18 ms on + 13 ms off). The transition between halftones 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 42 ms.

The contrast is typical for IPS matrices - about 750:1. The gamma curve constructed using 32 points did not reveal any blockage in either highlights or shadows, and the approximating power function index is 1.76, which is less than the standard value of 2.2, so images on the screen of this device will generally look a little lighter, in compared to screens that have a standard gamma curve. In this case, the real gamma curve deviates somewhat from the power-law dependence:

Color gamut narrower than sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix’s light filters mix the components with each other. The spectra confirm this:

This technique allows you to increase the brightness of the screen with the same energy consumption for backlighting. The color temperature balance is good - shades of gray have a color temperature close to 6500 K. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is less than 10 units, which is very good for a consumer device, in addition, delta E changes little over the entire significant part of the scale gray (dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the measurement error at low brightness is large):

In summary, the screen has a good color balance, but this is where its advantages end, since the maximum brightness is not very high, the gamma curve differs from the standard one, the color gamut is narrow and the stability of black in relation to the deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen is low.

Hardware Configuration Features

The Acer Iconia W510 is based on the same Intel Atom Z2760 chip that we saw in our recent review of the ASUS VivoTab tablet. So it is possible and necessary to compare these devices in terms of implementation details. As you remember, this 32-nanometer chip is not just a processor, but a full-fledged single-chip platform for creating compact and low-power devices with relatively low (for x86 solutions) performance. On the one hand, it has a fully x86-compatible architecture, but on the other hand, it is significantly limited in terms of peripheral buses and controllers, which has a noticeable impact on the products created on its basis.

The Z2760 has two cores and Hyper-Threading support, resulting in four threads. The cores have dynamic frequency operation - from 600 MHz when there is no load, to 1.8 GHz (Intel Burst mode) when there are resource-intensive tasks. Let us remind you that there is no support for 64-bit extensions and virtualization in this processor model. The tablet's RAM capacity is 2 GB, which is the maximum for this platform. In this model, when loading operating system without any applications, there is about 1400 MB free, which is probably not bad. However, it’s probably not worth considering the solution to be similar to entry-level desktop systems in terms of performance.

The graphics core is interesting, first of all, because it supports decoding modern video formats and the ability to use a second monitor connected via Micro-HDMI (in modes up to 1080p60). The disadvantages of the core include the lack of support for a frame frequency of 23.976 Hz on the external output, like other Intel processors. When working with external display output can be realized via HDMI digital audio. According to the Windows control panel, this output does not support HDCP and is not capable of outputting multi-channel audio tracks, but stereo is quite functional. For presentations and other mobile applications this will be enough.

From the point of view of 3D graphics, this core should not be taken seriously, although it does support DirectX 9.3, OpenGLES 2.0 and OpenGL 2.1 interfaces. Let us remind you that the chip also has a built-in special unit for working with cameras. The modules installed in the tablet support 8 MP for the rear camera and 2 MP for the front camera. Video recording can be done in FullHD format on any camera (camera tests will be below).

The version of the tablet in question uses a 64 GB eMMC drive as the main system storage. At the same time, it also has a hidden partition for restoring the OS. Taking into account the operating system and the software installed in the basic package, the user is left with about 26 GB. If necessary, you can create a USB disk to restore the OS and delete the corresponding partition (about 11 GB) from the built-in drive. Please note that this tablet has certain restrictions for loading from external drives. Firstly, only UEFI mode is supported, and secondly, “Secure Boot” mode is enabled by default. So just grab your favorite universal one from the shelf bootable USB flash drive and for example do backup copy system disk or it will be more difficult to restore the system after a failure. The speed of the system drive, according to the CrystalDiskMark test, is about 80 MB/s for reading and 20 MB/s for writing. Interestingly, the competitor’s write speed was noticeably higher - about 30 MB/s.

The Acer Iconia W510 also has a microSDHC memory card slot, which allows you to expand the user's data storage capacity. However, the speed of working with cards is not very high - we got figures of 23/12 MB/s for read/write with a SanDisk Ultra 32 GB card. This is another example of the compromise that Intel engineers had to make.

To connect peripheral devices, the SoC has a built-in USB bus controller with two ports. The tablet itself does not have a standard output, only microUSB with OTG support. But the docking station has a regular USB 2.0 port. More precisely, a USB hub is used, to which the keyboard, touchpad and this port are connected. Speed ​​of work with external drives lower than on a modern PC with Intel chipset- 25/22 MB/s for reading and writing versus 35/31 MB/s.

The audio system has basic capabilities In terms of working with sound, nothing special can be said about it. The tablet is equipped with two speakers, a built-in microphone on the right side and the ability to connect a headset.

For wireless connection The answer is a Broadcom chip with an SDIO interface, similar to that used in the previously tested tablet. However, in the Acer Iconia W510 it is capable of operating in two bands - both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, which can certainly be considered an advantage of the device. Unfortunately, the speed characteristics remained the same and the maximum that can be obtained from it is a connection of 65 Mbit/s and a real speed of up to 35 Mbit/s with a good relationship between the tablet and the router (ASUS RT-N66U was used in the test). So let us once again complain that for such a high-performance device, the wireless controller is clearly downright weak. The same chip implements a Bluetooth 4.0 controller.

The tablet model in question has a built-in NFC controller on the I2S bus, which is based on a Broadcom chip. There is also a TPM 1.2 module.

In general, in terms of configuration, we see that there are practically no differences from the previously discussed model. It seems that Intel has provided its partners with a basic platform for developing their models and the first devices will be very similar to each other. However, some points are worth paying attention to. Firstly, this is the presence USB port on the tablet itself. True, it is made in Micro-USB format and requires an additional cable to connect devices. In our opinion, it was still worth trying and installing a “regular” USB. The thickness of the case allows this quite well. Secondly, there is a modification of the device with a built-in 3G module, which can be considered an advantage among similar models. Thirdly, the device’s wireless controller is capable of operating at a frequency of 5 GHz. But let’s not forget about other differences - the screen of the Acer W510 is smaller, it has a “regular” touch module (ASUS has a Wacom with support for a stylus with pressure control), and in addition, the tablet does not have a GPS module.

Performance

Today, tablets with Windows 8 on specially designed SoCs are just beginning to appear, so it is still difficult to assess the prospects of this class of solutions and find competitors for them. In our opinion, the main reason for choosing this option will be the use of “familiar” Windows, and not any speed characteristics. On the other hand, if we try to exclude the OS factor from consideration (although this is almost impossible with complete solutions for end consumers), then we can already try to compare products on some popular tasks for tablets.

Considering that, in terms of its technical characteristics, the Acer W510 can be considered another representative of the basic platform, its performance should not differ much from the previously reviewed ASUS VivoTab TF810C. In particular, the GeekBench 2 multi-platform processor and RAM test on this tablet showed a result of 1387 points (Integer 1560, Floating Point 1392, Memory 1149, Stream 1245). This is slightly lower than the ASUS VivoTab. Unfortunately, the latter was not available to us to double-check the figures, so it is not possible to accurately determine the reasons for this behavior. Options include updated drivers or other settings for the processor frequency control system. As we remember from ultrabooks, to estimate the speed it is not enough to know the name of the processor model, since manufacturers configure its operating modes depending on their implementation of the cooling system and power consumption parameters. So, according to this test, the device is similar to nettops and loses in the overall standings to the best representatives on Android and iOS. In the first case, this is due to the quad-core nature of top-end ARM devices, and in the second - with significantly more high speed working with floating point numbers and memory on the Apple A6X.

Testing at SunSpider confirmed that among the "tablet" Intel platforms Atom Z2760 looks great. The result at 700 ms is the best among them. But Peacekeeper still gives preference to other solutions - the Z2760 gets only 422 points in it.

The PCMark 7 and 3DMark06 tests (in a resolution of 1280×720), traditional for the Windows/x86 platform, showed results of 1303 and 455 points on the Acer Iconia W510. The first figure practically coincides with that obtained for ASUS VivoTab TF810C, but the second is noticeably higher. In this case, we could again encounter platform optimization or driver updates. Let us recall that these results are at the level of nettops with other Intel models Atom, and ultrabooks have several times higher performance in these tests.

The device copes with “tablet” hits such as Angry Bidrs or Cut the Rope without any problems. The 3D boat racing game Hydro Thunder Hurricane, like the previous model, has obvious performance issues, in addition to low frames per second, sometimes the entire system freezes for a split second. But in Reckless Racing and Riptide GP there were no such situations and the picture can be considered ideal.

Let us remind you that the graphics core supports a maximum of DirectX 9.3, so games that require version 10 or 11 cannot be run on it. To evaluate speed in games, we tested a couple of older projects. Need for Speed: Underground (2003) in 1024x768 on standard settings produces about 20 fps, but sometimes the speed drops to 13-15 fps, and Worms 3D (also from 2003) shows about 40 fps in matrix resolution.

As for video playback, the standard Windows 8 player can work with H.264 in hardware, which allows the processor to reduce the frequency to 1 GHz in this scenario, but for some reason it cannot handle VC-1 and MPEG2 (this applies to both Windows Media Player , and the player for the Metro interface). At the same time, MPC-HC easily copes with the “acceleration” of these two formats (up to 25% load at 1.4 GHz), but produces a “broken” picture on H.264. So a user who requires versatility will have to spend time selecting and configuring players. Although this of course does not apply to the tablet in question, but current version platforms.

Concluding this section, let's summarize the testing results. The Acer Iconia W510 tablet is comparable in performance to nettops and other devices based on Intel Atom chips. You can use a wide range of x86 Windows programs on it, but you still need to take into account the limited resources of the device. So the Internet, office, casual games - all this is quite workable. However, for professional photo processing, computing tasks, modern 3D games and other resource-intensive programs, it is better to look at more powerful devices.

Comparing the model with tablets on other software platforms is quite difficult. But overall we see that the W510 is clearly no worse than the best representatives Android world In terms of performance, it implements both iOS and typical scenarios for using a tablet very well.

Operating system and applications

The tablet has the Windows 8 operating system installed. We told you in detail our impressions of this OS in the review of ASUS VivoTab TF810C, so we will not repeat ourselves. We only note that all claims remain valid. Windows 8 still gives the impression of being a largely experimental OS - primarily due to the meager selection of applications in the Store, as well as the imperfections of the pre-installed applications. For example, there are practically no settings in the Video application. Moreover, it does not support MKV files.

And the problem with games is still the same: in the four months since the announcement of Windows 8, Microsoft has not been able to ensure that any serious number of really cool gaming hits are available in the Store. And it’s unlikely that it will be very comfortable to play regular games for Windows 7 on a configuration like the Acer Iconia Tab W510.

As a plus, we note that Acer, firstly, designed the OS desktop in its corporate style, and secondly, pre-installed the Acer Explorer application, which is designed to help manage other applications. It also contains a user manual and a list of recommended applications. In general, the presence of Acer Explorer should make it easier for its owner, who is encountering Windows 8 for the first time, to get acquainted with the new device.

Autonomous operation

As we remember, ASUS VivoTab turned out to be a real record holder for battery life. The Acer Iconia Tab W510 doesn't break any records, but it demonstrates a very decent level of autonomy. Let us remind you that this tablet has two batteries: one in the tablet itself, the second in the keyboard dock. The battery in the tablet itself is about twice as capacious as in the docking station. Its charge lasts for approximately 7 hours of YouTube video playback via a browser. Internet Explorer- at maximum screen brightness. Connecting the dock with a fully charged battery will provide approximately three and a half more hours of video playback. Thus, in total the tablet will last about 10.5 hours, which is very good.

True, the main “battery eater” is the screen. Therefore, even if you just leave the tablet turned on (of course, automatic screen shutdown when inactive should be disabled) and don’t run anything on it, the battery life will not increase very much: you can count on a maximum of 11 and a half hours. If you reduce the brightness to a medium value, then the tablet with a keyboard dock can last up to 14 hours.

The remaining battery life is indicated in the lower right corner, and there is both information separately for each battery and the overall percentage of charge.

Camera

As befits a top-end tablet, the new product is equipped with two cameras. The front one is designed for video communication and has a resolution of 2 megapixels. The rear camera - with a resolution of 8 megapixels - is designed for taking photos and videos. Let's look at examples of photographs taken by her.

In the smaller version, the photo looks very decent, the colors are natural, and the clarity is sufficient.

However, if you look at the original in 100% form, you will have to admit that clarity is still lost in the background. This is clearly visible in the fragment presented above.

The tablet coped with shooting a page of text under daylight - text and numbers are visible everywhere, although we have seen much better results from cameras of similar resolution.

The rear camera shoots video with Full HD resolution and very decent, almost flawless (for devices of this type) quality. The 31-second video, shot on the rear camera of the Acer iconia Tab W510, can be downloaded (MP4 format, size 57.7 MB).

Note that by default the video is shot at 720p resolution, so to get Full HD, you need to go to the application settings in advance. It’s the same with photos (they are taken by default with a ridiculous resolution of 0.9 megapixels).

Conclusions

Acer Iconia Tab W510 is a nice hybrid tablet and netbook on Windows based 8, main ASUS competitor VivoTab TF810C. Moreover, despite the significantly lower cost (less than 20 thousand rubles for a model with 32 GB of memory and a docking station included), it cannot be said that the Acer Iconia Tab W510 is fundamentally worse than the ASUS model. Yes, it has shorter battery life and a smaller screen, but the screen resolution is the same (which means the dots per inch density is higher), and the built-in Wi-Fi modem can operate at 5 GHz, unlike ASUS. As for the hardware platform, here both devices are on par.

Of course, ASUS VivoTab is more aimed at professionals: this is evidenced not only by a more capacious battery and O larger diagonal of the device, but also such a specific feature as support for Wacom pen input technology, which makes this device interesting for designers, artists, architects. The Acer tablet is more focused on mobile and non-professional use: it is lighter, more compact, and more affordable.

At the same time, we still note that Windows 8 still requires some work in terms of applications for the new tiled interface. But on the other hand, you can safely use the usual programs for Windows 7, work in Microsoft Office (which, however, is not included in the package) and do other things that people used to do on netbooks.

The tablet arrived to us in a huge, dense, light gray package, the dimensions of which (440x235x125 mm) would make many shoe boxes jealous. But before I tell you what is included in the complete kit, it is necessary to explain what options and specifications there are.

The most affordable version of the Acer Iconia Tab W700 will cost 25,000 rubles. For this money you buy a tablet for Intel processor Core i3 and with 64 GB SSD storage, and you get a cover as a gift. A complete tablet with a Core i3+64 GB SSD will cost 28,000 rubles, and for 35,000 a tablet version with a Core i5+128 GB SSD and a complete set is available.

The complete set includes:

• Tablet
• AC charger
• HDMI-VGA adapter
• Docking station with stand
• Bluetooth keyboard
• Case
• Several DVDs (!?) for system recovery

Each item is neatly packed into cardboard compartments. However, after unpacking the entire box, I could not find a place for the leg from the docking station, since it has a curved shape and therefore practically does not fit anywhere with ease. Memories surfaced: as a child, I disassembled the telescope, but could not put it back together correctly. I think everyone has had such situations :)

Positioning

After the release of the eighth Microsoft versions Windows, almost all companies related to the production of tablets and laptops rushed to release their devices on this operating system. It seems to me that this is absolutely the right step, since there are more and more gadgets with touch screens: laptops are gradually being replaced by ultrabooks, and those, in turn, by tablets, on which “Win8” looks more logical than on desktops and non-touch “laptops”. Using Windows on tablets has become much more comfortable, since you can’t miss the huge and bright tiles, and to close the application, you no longer have to be a sniper, hitting a tiny cross.

Unfortunately, it is still difficult to determine the audience that will benefit from a tablet computer: Android or iOS tablets are suitable for home use - they are lighter in weight, smaller in size, practically do not heat up and do not make noise. You won’t be able to play on the “Win-tablet” either – the fillings are still very weak. Offices typically have desktop computers. As an option, use a Windows 8 tablet while traveling to perform specific tasks. Or, for example, for students who do not need to edit documents often, but would prefer to have applications such as AutoCAD, MathCAD and other unique programs compatible only with Microsoft OS. However, the question of the cost of such “pills” arises. Students need something cheap and cheerful, and for most students in universities, 25–35 thousand rubles is a lot of money.

In general, I think that currently the positioning of such gadgets is somewhat blurred.

Design, dimensions, control elements

Network adapter . It consists of a cable with a plug (length - 100 mm, diameter - 6.5 mm) and an adapter itself (dimensions 88x65x21 mm) with a one and a half meter cable (diameter 3.5 mm) for connecting to the device. Input – 100-240 V, 1.6 A, output – 19 V, 3.42 A. Model: PA-1650-80.

Keyboard. Made from silver painted plastic. Dimensions – 286x130x7 mm (at the thickest point – 16 mm). There are only 66 keys. Made of white plastic. Each size is 9x9x2 mm. They are spaced 3 mm apart. They have a clear click and a short stroke. Together with batteries, the device weighs about 400 grams.

On the top of the front panel there are two indicators: battery charge and operation. A little to the right is a mechanical on/off switch. On the back side there are four black rubberized feet, a “Connect” button (used to reconnect the keyboard) and a compartment for two AAA batteries.

Function buttons F1, F2, F3 ..., F12 are called by the combinations FN+Q, FN+W, FN+E..., FN+“]”.

Docking station. It is a plastic box with dimensions 300x270x30 mm. The model is called V1JV1. The inside and back are white, the front side is silver. On the left inside there are special connectors for power and USB. Additionally, there are three USB ports. At the bottom there are two cutouts for speakers. The tablet is inserted from right to left until it locks into place. To ensure a stable position of the docking station on a horizontal surface, you must insert a plastic foot at the back.

Tablet. Frankly speaking, I didn’t expect that Acer could make such a cool and stylish case for an ordinary tablet. It is made almost entirely of unpainted aluminum with a slightly rough matte surface. The feeling is very pleasant. The shape is familiar - a rectangle with slightly rounded edges. On the back there is a milky plastic insert. Behind it, apparently, there are antennas for wireless interfaces.

Since the body design is monolithic (“unibody”), there are no complaints about the assembly: nothing plays, does not creak, and does not crunch even when twisted strongly. After using the W700 for a month, only a few shallow scratches appeared on its surface. The screen is protected by durable glass (according to some information – Gorilla Glass 2). By the way, there is a thin black rubberized strip running along the edge of the display. As far as I understand, it has two important functions: first, since it is slightly raised, it protects the front side from damage; the second is shock-absorbing properties, i.e. when hitting the body, it reduces the impact of contact between metal and glass. Fingerprints remain on the screen and are difficult to erase, and due to the fact that the surface is mirrored, the marks are very noticeable.

The dimensions of the Acer Iconia Tab W700 tablet are 295 x 192 x 12 mm, and the weight is 940 grams. That is, you need to understand that the device is not small and not at all light, you can’t just read books or documents on the subway, and after 10-15 minutes your hand gets tired. The W700 cannot be called a bedside device either: I personally find it more convenient to use it in similar situation 650 g “tablet” from Apple or some even lighter plastic Samsung.

On the front panel there is a peephole for the front camera and a small indicator of its operation, at the bottom there is a mechanical “Start” button (dimensions 20x6x1mm). It is quite tight, so you have to press hard. Designed to return to the start screen or launch the previous application.

On the bottom edge there are two speakers, hidden under six holes on each side and covered with a red metal grille. In the center is a hardware reset button for the device.

Standard 3.5 mm audio output for headphones, volume rocker key and power button with indicator. They rise slightly above the body, are easy to feel with your fingers, and the movement is small.

On the upper edge there are two grilles for removing warm air (active cooling system) and a non-fixed (moves to the side and returns to its original position) mechanical screen orientation lock.

The power socket, full-size USB port, microHDMI and a second microphone are on the left side.

On the back side on the left there is a camera eye and a small LED indicating its operation.

Overall, the Acer W700 has a very nice ergonomic design, presentable appearance and classy body materials.

Acer W700 and Samsung Note II

Display

The display diagonal of the Acer Iconia Tab W700 tablet is 11.6 inches. Its physical size is 256x144 mm, aspect ratio is 16x9, the resolution is quite high for such a diagonal - 1920x1080 pixels, while the density is 189 pixels per inch. It uses a high-quality CineCrystal IPS matrix. The sensitivity and accuracy of calibration are at a high level, the touch layer handles up to 10 simultaneous touches.

The viewing angles are maximum, the picture is not distorted at all, the brightness remains almost unchanged even at significant tilts of the screen. Brightness is adjustable over a wide range: from approximately 30 cd/m2 to 340 cd/m2. Naturally, there is a light sensor that adjusts the brightness quite smoothly and quickly. The contrast is approximately 950:1.

All screen settings are familiar to Windows.

Acer W700 display viewing angles

Battery

The tablet has a 3-cell lithium polymer (Li-Pol) battery with a capacity of 4850 mAh. Maximum power power supply – 65 W. The developer does not provide any data on autonomy. I used the tablet in various modes with different screen brightness. On average, the tablet “lived” for about 10 hours: brightness at 50%, synchronization of mail and Twitter turned on, every hour I browsed websites for 20-30 minutes, used the menu, launched office documents. In Internet surfing mode, the device worked for about 8 hours - this is approximately 40% of the screen brightness, and all synchronization was turned on. If you want to watch a movie (HD 720p, sound output to headphones), then count on 5 hours at maximum brightness and about two hours if you are stuck with not the most resource-intensive toys. However, I tested the W700 on Need For Speed Most Wanted. With NFS, the battery died after 1.5 hours (maximum brightness, sound output to speakers).

The most interesting thing is that the W700 stayed in “sleep” mode for about two weeks and did not discharge one percent.

I can’t say that the figures are amazing, but almost all Android tablets often have shorter battery life. I would compare the autonomy of the Acer Iconia Tab W700 with Apple iPad 4, of course, if you don’t “stress” the first one 100%.

Communication capabilities

The device is equipped wireless technologies Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 / 5 GHz) and Bluetooth 4.0. Both controllers operate on a Qualcomm Atheros chip (AR5BMD222) with a PCIe x1 interface.

During testing, no glitches were observed: the Internet via Wi-Fi reliably reached the tablet, and the keyboard via Bluetooth functioned without problems.

Memory

Unfortunately, the Acer W700 was not equipped with a card reader, and USB input just one. Those. Having connected a USB flash drive, you will have to wait with other devices.

The storage device is a high-speed 128 GB SSD from Toshiba. The model is called THNSNS128GMCP. 24-nanometer flash memory is used, interface SATA-III 6 Gbit/s, consumption – 3.9 W. Brief technical characteristics:

• Maximum speed read: just over 400 MB/s
• Maximum write speed: just over 230 MB/s

Crystal Disk Mark test

HD Tune Pro test

RAM The device has 4 GB (dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM, 1333 MHz).

Camera

The device was equipped with two camera modules: the main one is 5 MP, the front one is 0.9 MP. The maximum photo resolution is 2592x1944 pixels, video is 1920x1080 pixels at 10 frames per second.

The photo quality is mediocre, comparable to budget phones. There is automatic focusing and there is manual focusing. The minimum distance to the object is 30 mm. The W700 does not record video any better: it zooms in a lot, the number of frames is only 10, the sound is gurgling and like coming from a barrel.

But I liked the front camera. It is quite suitable for communication on Skype.

There are few camera settings:

• Permission
• Stabilization
• Brightness
• Contrast
• Focus (auto, manual)
• Exposition

Video camera settings:

• Resolution (from 240p to 1080p)
• Stabilization
• Brightness
• Contrast
• Focus (auto, manual)
• Exposition

Video file characteristics:

• File Format: 3GP
• Video codec: AVC, 10 Mbit/s
• Resolution: 1920x1080, 10 fps
• Audio codec: AAC, 132 Kbps
• Channels: 2 channel, 44 kHz

Number of cores	2
Number of threads	4
Clock frequency	1.7 GHz
Maximum clock frequency with Turbo Boost technology	2.6 GHz
Intel® Smart Cache Technology	3 MB
Core to Bus Ratio	17
DMI	5 GT/s
Command set	64-bit
Command Set Extensions	AVX
Available options for embedded systems	No
Lithography	22 nm
Max. calc. power	17 W

The performance index gives the device 5.4 points, the minimum value, which, naturally, is scored by the graphics accelerator. The processor is rated at 6.9 points, memory - 5.9, graphics in games - 6.3, and hard drive - 8.1.

CPU-Z data

The graphics accelerator is also the familiar integrated graphics of the Ivy Bridge processor line - Intel HD Graphics 4000. Compared to the Intel HD Graphics 3000, the HD4000 has been redesigned and offers DirectX 11 capabilities. Theoretically, it can show performance 60% higher than the HD3000.

I think that neither the processor nor the video card really needs a wide introduction. For those who are interested, the following data: game Mass Effect 3 (low quality) at a resolution of 1366x768 produces 23 - 33 frames per second, Dirt 3 (low quality) - 22 - 28 fps, Deus EX HR - 19 - 31 fps, Battlefield 3 - about 25 fps. In general, you can play the game, in principle, but at minimum settings and low resolution.

There are no problems when decoding FullHD video: videos are played back smoothly without the slightest lag.

As for noise, frankly speaking, even in the heaviest applications the coolers were not overclocked enough to be audible. Well, yes, there was a warm breeze.

Performance Test CPU

Performance Test 2D

Performance Test 3D

Performance Test Memory

Performance Test SSD

PCMark 7 test

Software platform

The Acer Iconia Tab W700 tablet runs on the Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit operating system. I will not express my impression of the OS, since this is a purely subjective opinion. Overall, pretty and nimble, but not always intuitive and logical.

An additional interesting feature was the branded original graphic design to view photos, videos, documents and manage wireless interfaces. In order to launch this interface, you need to touch the screen with all fingers of one hand.

I would rate the volume of the built-in speakers as 4 out of 5: at a distance of two meters you can hear it well, you don’t have to strain your ears. The quality is adequate, considering that this is a tablet.

Conclusion

Regular bulky laptops are gradually being replaced by lightweight ultrabooks with the same hardware, and over time they will be replaced by even lighter tablets. I like the current trend of simplifying the use of mobile devices, and the use touch screens played a big role in this. However, now the turning point has come, when we already have powerful tablet computers, but they are still relatively large for comfortable use in any situation. Therefore, I believe that such devices are difficult to classify and clearly define the circle of consumers.

I liked the Acer Iconia Tab W700 gadget, first of all, appearance, case materials and high-quality screen. There are probably no negative aspects. If you think otherwise, please leave a comment, I’ll be happy to read it.

Specifications
Operating system
Operating system	Windows 8
Processor and chipset
CPU Manufacturer	Intel
Processor type	Core i5
Processor model	i5-3317U
CPU frequency	1.70 GHz
CPU core	Dual core (2 cores)
Cache	3 MB
64-bit processing	Yes
Hyper-Threading	Yes
Chipset Manufacturer	Intel
Chipset model	HM77 Express
Memory
Standard memory	4 GB
Memory module technology	DDR3 SDRAM
Memory card reader	No
Data storage
SSD Capacity	128 GB
SSD Interface	SATA/300
Optical drive type	No
Screen and graphics adapter
Screen type	Active Matrix TFT Color LCD Screen
Screen technology	CineCrystal
Screen Format	16:9
Screen mode	Full HD
Screen resolution	1920 x 1080
Matrix backlight technology	LED
Touch screen	Yes
Multi-touch screen	Yes
Graphics controller manufacturer	Intel
Graphics controller model	HD 4000
Graphics memory technology	DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics memory availability	General
TV card	No
Network and communications
WiFi	Yes
Manufacturer Wi-Fi adapter	Atheros
Wi-Fi standard	IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n
Bluetooth	Yes
Interfaces/ports
HDMI	Yes
Input devices
Keyboard type	Touch keyboard
Keyboard	Yes
Positioning device type	TouchPad
Embedded devices
Microphone	Yes
Fingerprint reader	No
Software
operating system	Windows 8
Operating system architecture	64-bit
Battery information
Number of sections	3-section
Battery chemistry	Lithium-Polymer
Battery capacity	4850 mAh
Power supply
Maximum supply voltage	65 W
Physical characteristics
Form factor	Hybrid tablet
Height	11.9 mm
Width	295.0 mm
Depth	191.0 mm

Roman Belykh (