Acer and Archos each announced new 8-inch Android tablets this month. Acer unveiled the Iconia A1, the company’s first 7.9-inch tablet, while Archos announced the latest addition to its Elements range of tablets, the Archos 80 Xenon, an 8-inch tablet with built-in 3G and WiFi.
Each of the tablets offers the now-average 1024×768 resolution display, which are “Full HD” but slightly less pixel-packed than Google’s 1280×800 Nexus 7. Both tablets will also be competing against the 7.9-inch iPad Mini and Samsung’s new Note 8.0 (Engadget review).
Acer Iconia A1
Acer’s Iconia A1 has a LED-backlit IPS display, but unlike most Android tablets, it has a 4:3 aspect ratio. It’s powered by MediaTek’s latest quad-core processor running at 1.2 GHz, and has a 5MP rear camera, GPS. The tablet weighs in at 0.9 pounds and measures 0.44 inches (11.1mm) thick. The Iconia A1 runs Android 4.2 “Jelly Bean”, and Acer has added its own “Touch WakeApp” gesture that lets you launch into your favorite apps directly on waking the tablet from sleep.
For wireless connectivity it’s got the usual 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 for connecting to other devices. The front-facing camera pairs with the enhanced microphone to capture video and audio clearly for video chats and recording. A micro USB 2.0 port and microHDMI port enable transfer or sharing of media and other content.
The Acer Iconia A1 goes on sale in June for $170 USD for the 8GB model or $200 (€160) for the 16GB version. There’s also the option to add an additonal 32GB via microSD.
The Iconia A1 was introduced along with other new products, including the Acer Aspire R7 15″ notebook, Aspire P3 Ultrabook, and Aspire V Series touch notebooks.
Archos 80 Xenon with 3G
Archos’ 80 Xenon features a Qualcomm quad-core CPU running at 1.2 GHz, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Like Acer’s Iconia A1, Archos’ 80 Xenon comes has a 1024×768 IPS screen, quad-core 1.2 GHz CPU (this one’s from Qualcomm), 1GB RAM, an expandable microSD slot (up to 64GB), GPS, and Bluetooth. The 80 Xenon skimps a bit in the camera department though, offering only 2 megapixels.
The 80 Xenon is bundled with some potentially useful Archos Media Center applications that enable metadata scraping, auto-subtitles, wireless media sharing and format and codec support including HD video decoding.
Unlike its Acer rival, Archos’ 80 Xenon packs a 3G wireless chip, so you can insert an operator’s SIM card when you are without a Wi-Fi network.
The Archos 80 xenon will go on sale in June starting at $199 USD (€159) for the 8GB model.
