Acer ICONIA TAB A200 Review

Introduction:

Having gotten their feet wet in the whole Android Honeycomb tablet scene already, Acer are back for round two with their second take at the whole 10.1-inch tablet form factor. Rather than putting out something that’s going to be garnered as a cutting-edge model, the Acer ICONIA TAB A200 will instead target the other end of the spectrum by attracting those who are on a budget. Modestly priced at the starting price of $330, it’s obviously higher than some of the budget tablets out there, like the Amazon Kindle and NOOK Tablet, but then again, it packs a larger display and is backed by the full fidelity of the Honeycomb experience.

The package contains:

• microUSB cable
• Wall Charger
• Quick Start Guide
• Product and Safety Information

Design:

Building upon the design style of the A500 from before, this time around it seems that Acer has finally done justice in the design of the A200 because it simply looks better and feels more sturdy in construction. Sharing some similarities, like its tapered top and bottom edges, we’re gladly accepting of its updated styling – though, it packs a wallop in the weight (24.69 oz) department. Nevertheless, we prefer the choice of materials that Acer decided to go with, like the textured rubbery back cover that keeps the tablet clean looking and provides a comfortable hold in the hand. It’s not an out of this world design, but honestly, we’re more grateful that it loses the cheap feel of the A500.



Around the sides of the tablet we find a dedicated power button with an incorporated LED notification light, microUSB port for data transfers, full-sized USB port to accept various USB devices, and a proprietary charging port. Moreover, there’s a microSD card slot and manual reset button that are found beneath the notoriously difficult to remove plastic cover.
 
Turning it around, the only items we’re presented are the notches for the left and right speakers, and the prominent Acer logo smacked right in the middle. There’s no rear camera whatsoever with this guy, but rather, a front-facing 2-megapixel is perched above the display ready for video-chat and the occasional self-portrait snapshot.


Display:

For the money, we’re accepting of the 10.1” WXGA (1280 x 800) LCD display it’s using seeing that it’s likable enough thanks to its neutral color reproduction and sharp details. However, its poor viewing angles make it nearly impossible to view in outdoor usage – and it doesn’t help that its brightness output is on the weak side as well! All in all, we’ve seen better and worse displays, so yeah, you can say that we’re more than content with the offering.

Interface and Functionality:

Initially, it looks as though the Acer ICONIA TAB A200 is sporting a stock Android 3.2.1 Honeycomb experience, but interestingly enough, there are some minor tweaks that give it a unique look of its own. Right at the lock screen, we’re instantly greeted to the most prevalent customization, the Acer Ring. Similar to what we find with the HTC Sense 3.0 lock screen, we like that the Acer Ring presents us with four preset shortcuts – such as launching the browser or camera. Moreover, we can access the Acer Ring at any time by pressing the glowing dot docked in the bottom menu bar. However, with this one, it has a slightly better looking futuristic look to it as we’re given access to a scrollable listing of our bookmarks, the volume control, and four quick shortcuts – with one of them allowing us to take screenshots. Acer’s customization is fairly limited and doesn’t extend past what we’ve mentioned, but nonetheless, it’s fresh enough to warrant some adulation.


Blessed with a generously sized display, typing messages is not a problem at all thanks to the spacious layouts available with the available on-screen keyboards. Not only that, but the responsiveness we see aids in keeping a solid momentum in knocking out long messages with minimal mistakes.


Not surprisingly, the Gmail and standard email apps are appropriately laid out to take advantage of the spacious confines available with the tablet – so organizing emails is a pleasure to handle. Moreover, setup is a breeze seeing it simply requires our email address and password for automatic completion.



Processor and Memory:

A year ago, dual-core processors were regarded as the cream of the crop, but quad-cores are emerging as the dominant force – so yeah, the A200’s 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor is hardly regarded as a pencil pusher nowadays. Typical of any other tablets running the same processor, it exudes a good amount of responsiveness with basic tasks, but when you test it with more processor intensive things, it tends to exhibit some bouts of choppiness with its operation. It’s not terrible per se, but at this point, it’s something that’s commonly expected without being too irritating.

With our review unit, it’s packing 16GB of internal storage, which can be supplemented by throwing in a microSD card of some size. Additionally, Acer also has the tablet in 8GB and 32GB capacities as well.

Internet and Connectivity:

Just like some other similarly spec’d Honeycomb tablets, we’re not all that surprised by the web browsing experience on the A200. Connected via Wi-Fi, complex web pages are able to load relatively quickly, and more importantly, accurately as well thanks to Flash support, thus, giving us that desktop-like experience. Although it’s able to exhibit responsive navigational controls during most occasions, every now and then we experience just some delays with its operation – plus, it tends to have some difficulty rendering items on the go. Regardless of those qualms, we still find the overall experience satisfactory.


With this Wi-Fi only unit, it’s able to retain a solid connection to a nearby hotspot with no major fluctuations in connectivity. Meanwhile, it’s outfitted with the usual set of additional connectivity items – like aGPS and Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR.

Camera:

No doubt we’re bummed by the fact that it lacks a rear camera, but after looking over its pricing, we’re not all that surprised. Rather, with its 2-megapixel front-facing camera, it’s more than adequate for your usual video-chatting session. But even though we’d like to use it for other things, its quality is riddled with graininess, inaccurate colors, and a general hazy appearance – while its VGA (640 x 480) video recording quality results in the same ugly mess.


Multimedia:

Nothing new with the music player interface, since it’s the usual stock one we’re greeted with – albeit, it’s still an appealing looking one with its 3D-like carousel. You’d think two speakers would produce some great tunes, right? Well, its volume output is one of the weakest we’ve ever heard on a tablet, which easily drowns out in even the quietest of environments.


Using our test video that’s encoded in DivX 1920 x 1080 resolution, it seems to play it without much hiccups, but every now and then, it tends to be marred by a sprinkling of choppiness. As a whole though, the issue isn’t prevalent enough to ruin the experience.


Sadly, there’s no wired video-out connection with the Acer ICONIA TAB A200 – so if that’s something you’re looking for, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Well, there’s still consolation in the fact that it offers DLNA functionality out of the box.

Performance:

Using the same sized 3,260 mAh like its older sibling, the A200 is able to achieve easily a solid one day’s worth of juice on normal usage – and in fact, it’s at the 50% mark by the end of the day. In our books, that’s easily more than sufficient, even if you happen to be more strenuous on the tablet.

Conclusion:

Let’s be serious here, the Acer ICONIA TAB A200 isn’t trying to be a cutting-edge tablet, but rather, it’s seeking success in attracting those on a budget – and to tell you the truth, it wins in that front. Sure it’s lacking some of the usual commodities we find on other fully equipped Honeycomb tablets, like a rear camera or a wired video-out functionality, but when a lot of emphasis is placed on what it does offer, we have to say that it concretely comes together in providing a reasonable experience without bottoming out your wallet. Needless to say, its $330 initial price point is by far its biggest attraction, but we’d have to commend Acer on doing well with its second stab at the 10.1” form factor – despite not being a premium offering.

Android Version: 3.2.1
Kernel Version: 2.6.36.3+
Build Number: Acer_AV032_A200_1.027.00_PA_CUS1

Acer ICONIA TAB A200 Video Review: