The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Acer Android tablets priced

Pre-orders taken too

Cloud based data management

Acer's 7in Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet, the Iconia A100, will be out later this month for 300 quid.

So says Amazon.co.uk, which says that those 300 notes will buy you 8GB of storage, a 1024 x 600 display, Bluetooth and 2.4GHz 802.11n.

Acer Iconia A100 at Amazon.co.uk

The online retailer also lists an A100 at £400, but the listed specification is identical to that of the £300.

The models are different - their product codes are not the same: XE.H6REN.006 and XE.H6TEN.006. We believe the more expensive of the two - the XE.H6TEN.006 - has the 3G connectivity absent from the cheaper one.

For comparison, £300 will also get you a 7in Samsung Galaxy Tab which likewise doesn't have 3G on board and comes with Android 2.2 Froyo, not Honeycomb. But it does have 16GB of storage.

Both A100s go on sale on 20 April, Amazon says. ®

Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery

Confusingly-named tablets doomed to fail?

Me: "I have an iPad 2."

Someone else: "I have an Aspire Iconia Tab A101 XE.H6REN.006."

Another: "I have an Aspire Iconia Tab A101 XE.H6TEN.006."

Apple's marketing strategy is to keep things simple. Call it an iPad and release version 2 about a year later, then iPad 3 a year after that. We know that the iPad 3 will be better than the iPad 2 because Apple's strategy clearly defines it.

Acer will continue to bring out multiple different models with different specs, and no one will be any the wiser about which is better until you compare specs. Just give the product a simple name and you'll get people buying it. The Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Xoom are the only non-Apple tablets I've heard of because they have names that people remember.

Yes, Acer are covering all their bases by offering various models to suit everyone, but the iPad and iPad 2 aren't failing because one size fits all; they are winning because one size fits all. They are winning because your average Joe customer *doesn't care* that it doesn't have a mini-USB port or an SD card slot. They just want something to work, and it does.

Acer won't grab significant market share per model, but the iPad will, and is.

3
0

Think it through

1. Netbooks don't have capacitive touch screens.

2. Netbooks sit on desks or laps, people plug them into the mains.

3. Netbooks are bulkier.

4. Netbooks run existing operating systems.

So to produce a tablet you need a better design (slimmer), more expensive screen and large capacity batteries that are small enough to cram into a smaller tablet casing. You also need a team of software developers to compile and configure Android for the device.

They're more challenging to design and use more expensive parts.

2
0

Overpriced

When these things were netbooks a 7" got £200 max. I don't see why now that the early adopter price gouging has been done by Apple that other companies feel they need to doom their product by doing the same.

1
0

More from The Register

Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Proof the pen is mightier?
Sammy’s iPad Mini killer has a stylus to stab other rivals too
Microsoft lures buy-curious vixens, corduroys with a cheap fondle
Surface slab sales latest: Will no one rid Ballmer of these turbulent tabs?
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
Samsung plans LTE Advanced version of Galaxy S4
1Gbps download capability could stiffen drooping S4 sales forecasts
Apple said to be 'exploring' 5.7-inch iPhone
Who's the copycat this time, Mr. Cook?