Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone (updated)

Posted on 03/11/2012 by Jon Fingas

See the end of the editorial for an important update.

When Google unveiled the Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and a refreshed Nexus 7 in October, the moment was arguably the crescendo of a change in the Android ecosystem that had been building ever since Amazon's Kindle Fire first braved the marketplace in 2011. Along with a widely expanded Amazon lineup that includes multiple Kindle Fire HD models and a price-cut tweak to the original Fire, two of the largest players in the mobile world now have top-to-bottom device businesses built around selling at break-even prices and recouping their money through content. That might sound good on the surface, but it's a bad omen for competitors that genuinely can't respond in kind -- and it could erode some of the values of diversity and innovation that we're supposed to hold dear as technology fans.

Continue reading Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone (updated)

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, ASUS, Google, Amazon, LG, RIM

Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Nov 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Iconia Tab A110 reaches North America on October 30th for $230, faces a tough fight

Posted on 18/10/2012 by Jon Fingas

Acer hasn't had an easy mid-year: it trotted out the Iconia Tab A110 at Computex as a budget Android tablet that could still claim Tegra 3 speeds, only to watch the Nexus 7 arrive and leave virtually every other comparable tablet in a tight spot. It's North America's turn at the A110 this month, and the side-by-side looks aren't getting much easier. When the 7-inch Jelly Bean slate ships to the continent on October 30th, it will cost $230 in both the US and Canada for the lone 8GB version -- a better value than we see in Europe, but still a slightly awkward middle ground between an 8GB Nexus 7 at $199 and its $249, 16GB edition. We're guessing that Acer is counting on the microSD and micro-HDMI expansion to tempt would-be North American buyers away from a less flexible (if Google-blessed) rival.

Gallery: Acer Iconia Tab A110 for North America

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A110 reaches North America on October 30th for $230, faces a tough fight

Filed under: Tablets, Acer

Acer Iconia Tab A110 reaches North America on October 30th for $230, faces a tough fight originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Iconia Tab A110 comes to Europe this fall with Jelly Bean, £180 UK price

Posted on 19/09/2012 by Jon Fingas

Acer missed its summer launch target for the Iconia Tab A110, but it's making amends for its timing. The 7-inch, quad-core tablet is now reaching Europe in the fall, but it's also carrying that rumored upgrade to Jelly Bean -- including the same mini-tablet interface that we know best from the A110's arch-rival, the Nexus 7. Hardware hasn't moved on since then, however, so you'll still have to cope with a lower 1,024 x 600 resolution and likely the same 8GB of storage, even with a 2-megapixel front camera offering a slight upgrade. That feature loadout may make the sales prospects difficult, at least in the UK: Brits will have to pay £180 ($292) versus the £159 ($258) Nexus 7. Let's hope that any US plans involve a price slash.

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A110 comes to Europe this fall with Jelly Bean, £180 UK price

Filed under: Tablets

Acer Iconia Tab A110 comes to Europe this fall with Jelly Bean, £180 UK price originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Iconia Tab A110 allegedly caught brandishing Jelly Bean in press shots

Posted on 14/08/2012 by Jon Fingas

When we last left Acer's Iconia Tab A110, it was going to be yet another 7-inch Android 4.0 tablet. No big deal. The proposition just became a little more intriguing now that online shop Ebuyer has posted what might be formal press shots of the A110 sporting a fresh coat of Jelly Bean, making it one of the first third-party Android 4.1 tablets that we've seen. Assuming the gallery isn't just a clever attempt to whip customers into a frenzy, the posting suggests Acer's design will follow the Nexus 7 formula all the way through to the stock interface. About the only differences are that empty home screen and incredibly generic wallpaper. Where it goes awry is the timing: without any hint of a release date, we don't know if a Jelly Bean update would push the A110 beyond its original summer launch target. Any truth to the story, however, can only mean good things for the tablet's larger A210 sibling.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Acer Iconia Tab A110 allegedly caught brandishing Jelly Bean in press shots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 01:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netbooknews, Tabletblog.de | source

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7-inch Acer Iconia Tab A110 lands at the FCC

Posted on 19/07/2012 by Sarah Silbert

We knew Acer had some new tablets in the pipeline -- heck, we got our hands on them at Computex last month -- but the company still hasn't officially announced the Iconia Tabs A210 and A110. Still, following in the footsteps of the 10-inch A210, which hit the FCC earlier this month, the Tab A110 just cleared that all-important obstacle for hitting the US market. The filing doesn't shed too much light on the Tegra 3-powered 7-incher (you'll find the standard test reports and RT exposure info in the source link below), but then again we already got a good look at the slate in Taipei, and we imagine Acer's unveiling date can't be too far off.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

7-inch Acer Iconia Tab A110 lands at the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer shows off next-gen Iconia Tab A210 and A110 at Computex, we go hands-on (video)

Posted on 06/06/2012 by Dana Wollman

Acer shows off nextgen Iconia Tab A210 and A110 at Computex, we go handson video

No press release, no media alert, not even a splashy press conference with Adele blasting in the background. The only reason we know these two tablets exist is because we happened to catch them on display here at Computex. What we have here are the Acer Iconia Tab A210 and A110, presumably the successors to the 10-inch A200 and the 7-inch A100. Apart from a wholesale redesign, which we'll walk you through after the break, both tablets have been upgraded to quad-core Tegra 3 processors and will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich. An Acer rep staffing the event said both are scheduled to go on sale sometime in Q3. No word on pricing or regional availability just yet, but if you accompany us past the break we've got impressions, two hands-on videos and a run-down of tentative specs.

Gallery: Acer Iconia A110 hands-on