Amoi N828

In comparison to its predecessor, the case was only changed in details: It has grown slightly in all dimensions. This is rather uncommon since successors of smartphones usually try to be at least thinner than their predecessor. Apart from that, the established chassis with its removable and rubberized back and very good case stability stayed the same: Pressure on the back cannot be detected on the display and the phone cannot be twisted. The slightly roughened back is very handy and resistant to fingerprints.

Only a few optical highlights can be found: Rounded edges, a thin chrome strip around the case and the angular layout of the camera sensor, which is strongly reminiscent of Samsung smartphones. All in all the design is not very conspicuous, which should not be a problem for anybody, though.

Connectivity

The installed SoC from Mediatek bears the name MT 6589 and performs in the upper mid-range. Due to its four Cortex A7 cores and a clock rate of 1.2 GHz it should be fast enough for every common task. In addition to that is the PowerVR SGX544, a graphics card that should provide enough power for most of the applications. Like its predecessor, it was fitted with 1 GB RAM. Data can be saved on the 4 GB flash memory now and the storage capacity can be extended up to 32 GB via micro-SD.

The USB-port was placed in a very unusual spot at the top. If the device is connected to a computer or the power grid, the cable can get in the way because it is right next to the standby key. Besides that, it has a 3.5 millimeter audio output and, as mentioned before, the possibility to install two SIM-cards simultaneously and to switch between the two. This works without turning the device off.

The management of the SIM-cards is fast and simple via a menu in Android's settings, from where you can also assign contacts to certain SIM-cards by deactivating the SIM-cards individually and so on. The telephone-app allows fast and easy switching between the two SIM-cards in the notification bar. The active card is underlined.

Software

The Amoi N828 ships with the most current version of Google's Android operating system: 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The changes compared to its previous version are only small. It now offers a quick access to the often used functions in the pull-down menu at the top of the screen and also has a few new features like "turning on and off via schedule". Not much has changed on the whole, though. At least the user interface is in English so you do not have to rummage through the Chinese menu first to finally reach the language settings.

Only a few additional apps are installed: One app is in Chinese, which does not make much sense for Western users. Apart from that, it has a notebook-app and an equalizer as well as sound improvements for the speaker and headset.

Communication & GPS

Quad-band-GSM and Dual-Band-UMTS are common for mid-range smartphones. The Amoi N828 offers both. The manufacturer also installed WLAN 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. The WLAN module only reaches average values in the range test: At a distance of 10 meters (~33 feet) and through 3 walls only 3/4 of the reception power are still available. If a fourth wall is added, it only has half of the reception power.

A GPS-module is also installed. Even though it receives the satellite signals less clearly than other devices, it still determines the location surprisingly precisely: The discrepancy was only a little less than four meters (~13 feet). Even in enclosed spaces, a determination is possible up to a few meters.

Telephone functions

Amoi does not change the integrated telephone-app by Google. This is not necessary since it works quite intuitively and reliably. Merely one error has slipped in; Even in German language settings, the message, if you want to add a number to the contacts, is displayed in English.

Cameras & Multimedia

Concerning the camera, the Amoi N828 can keep up with current top models thanks to its 8-megapixel camera (3264x2488 pixels resolution) at the back. At the front is a 3-megapixel camera(2016x1512 pixels resolution). None of the reference devices is equally equipped, even the front camera of the Google Nexus 4 has a lower resolution.

What it comes down to though is the image quality. Both of the cameras of the Amoi N828 do a pretty good job: The rear camera delivers sharp images with strong colors. However, smaller details, like the blossoms in our example image, seem a little bit mushy. Even the front camera takes decent pictures, although the contrast is too high and the colors seem unnatural.

Speech quality

The sound on our end is a little bit dull. The call partner confirmed a very good speech quality, though. There were no background noises during the test call. The sound quality of the built-in loudspeaker of the Amoi N828 is very good, but could be slightly higher.

Accessories

Apart from a power supply and the appropriate USB-cable, the Amoi N828 is shipped with a rather simple headset. The packaging of other mobile phone manufacturers does not include more. Those who speak Chinese can order additional official accessories from the website of Amoi, for example, colorful batteries or a practical battery charging station, which increases the flexibility during travels significantly when combined with a second battery.

Warranty

The warranty of Chinese producers, which do not have a branch in your country, is heavily dependent on the seller. However, the legal warranty for manufacturing defects always applies, for example 24 months when purchased in Germany. Additionally, shops like http://www.cect-shop.com, which provided us with the test device, grant a one-year guarantee. The phone is repaired at the manufacturer and therefore has to be sent to China and back to you, which can take a long time and cause additional costs at customs.

Input Devices & Operation

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The built-in capacitive touchscreen can handle the input of up to five fingers simultaneously. The surface of the monitor has very low friction and the smartphone can be operated reliably in nearly every situation.

For text input, the Amoi N828 completely relies on the standard Android keyboard. Apart from auto-correct and the suggestion of words, the Amoi N828 comes with a dictation function, which works very reliably. As usual, the input via touchscreen also works very well. Those who are used to writing on a smartphone should only rarely mistype. The Google Play Store provides numerous alternatives for those who dislike the keyboard.

Display

In the price range of the Amoi N828, a resolution of 960x540 pixels is quite a statement. Even the more expensive Samsung Galaxy Express has a lower resolution of 800x480 pixels, and the Xperia E dual with only 480x320 pixels is significantly lower. The Jiayu G3 provides a higher resolution in this price range, namely 1280x720 pixels.

In terms of maximum brightness, the phone is a sensation. The Amoi N828 has one of the brightest smartphone displays we have ever tested: The screen has a brightness of up to 540 cd/m² and 501.4 cd/m² on average. These values even beat high-end devices, like the iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S4. On maximum brightness the white areas so dazzle the user we recommend using the automatic brightness settings or choosing a medium level.

The illumination of the display is at 85%, less consistent than those of the competitors. Darkening in big white areas is quite possible due to a difference in brightness of 80 cd/m² between the brightest and the darkest spot.

The black value is mediocre: 0.41 cd/m². Some of the competitors are better, some are worse. Due to its high brightness, the contrast of the display is at 1,317:1, which is still higher than the brightness of most of the devices in this price range. Only the AMOLED-display of the Samsung Galaxy Express can exceed it. In practice the color black seems rather grayish depending on the level of brightness and white, as described above, is sometimes so bright that it dazzles the user. Colors are displayed vibrantly. The image sharpness is acceptable, but because of the 720p or even Full HD displays of superior smartphones we are used to better by now.

Via the software CalMAN and the colorimeter, we have a look at more measurements of the display. You find the screenshots below. The color accuracy and color saturation have a blue cast, which is very common for LCD-displays. The gray shades have a light blue cast, as well. In practice, this should only be visible to the trained eye, though.

Under bright, direct sunlight, it is difficult to recognize something on the bright display of the Amoi N828. On cloudy days, in the shade, or inside it is no problem to detect the content of the screen at any time.

The viewing angles of the IPS-display are very good, to the left and right - when used upright - but slightly lower upwards and downwards. However the viewing angles to the sides without change in brightness is still above 70 degrees, which is considerably more than for other devices with LCD-TFT-displays, for example the Sony Xperia E dual.

Performance

The one-chip system Mediatek MT6589, which has a CPU with four Cortex-A7-cores and a clock rate of 1.2 GHz, is supposed to deliver high performance in the mid-range smartphone N828. Moreover, a GPU called PowerVR SGX544 with 2 cores and 2,048 MB RAM is built in.

Indeed, the specifications suffice to position the smartphone at one of the top places in our synthetic benchmarks: Only the Samsung Galaxy Express and the Google Nexus 4 are far ahead in most of the benchmarks. All other reference devices have to admit defeat.

In practice, this means that with the Amoi N828 you can navigate smoothly through the Android interface and most of the apps. For example, simple image editing in the "Gallery"-app works smoothly and without latency.

Games

The dual-core graphics card of the Amoi N828 manages to display most of the games from the Google Play Store effortlessly. Graphically complex games like Real Racing 3 or Iron Man 3 run just as smoothly as casual games à la Angry Birds: Star Wars.

The position sensor, which is used to play games like Real Racing 3, works impeccably and converts the tilt of the phone flawlessly and quickly into car movements.

Emissions

Temperature

The surface temperature does not suffer from the performance of the smartphone: Under load, the Amoi N828 stays cooler than the Samsung Galaxy S Duos or the Jiayu G3. Although there are smartphones that stay even cooler, for example the Huawei Ascend W1, the Amoi N828 ranks at the top concerning heat.

In detail the maximum heating amounts to only 36.1 degrees Celsius (96.98 Fahrenheit), during idle it is only 33 degrees (91.4 Fahrenheit). Our overall assessment of the heat generation is "Very good".

Speakers

The speaker of the Amoi N828 is located at the bottom of the back of the device. Although the positioning appears suboptimal, the sound is very convincing: The sound is very loud, very full and well balanced. The case of the body is designed to amplify the sound.

The maximum volume even suffices to fill a medium-sized room with sound. The sound is not distorted but clear and well differentiated. It is possible to get more out of it via headphones or a sound system, but considering the low price of the speakers, they are of surprisingly high quality.

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Energy Management

Power Consumption

The power consumption of the Amoi N828 is exemplary during standby or when turned off: A consumption of 0 to 0.1 Watts is very good. However, the power consumption during idle rises unnaturally strongly: We measure a maximum of 2.4 Watts, twice as much as what the Huawei Ascend W1 consumes.

An average consumption of 2.5 Watts under load is in the standard range, but other devices like the Sony Xperia E dual and the Huawei Ascend W1 need considerably less energy.

Battery Life

Despite its generously dimensioned 7.6 Watt-hour battery, the Amoi N828 can in fact only reach moderate runtimes in the practical WLAN-test: 5:26 hours are nearly doubled by the Sony Xperia E. The powerful battery can only reveal its potential under full load and achieves a good runtime of 4:05 hours.

What especially caught our eye during the test was that the Amoi N828 needs so little energy during standby: Thus lasting up to a week when it is not in use. In real-life operation the battery runs out of juice all the quicker though. Due to the long standby time and the good runtime under load, we rate it as "very good" concerning battery runtimes.

Verdict

Those who decide to get a rather exotic device like the Amoi N828 should know what they are in for: In a warranty case, the device possibly has to be sent back to China, after doing a reset you have to deal with a Chinese user interface, which makes it difficult to find the language settings, in addition to it not being very prestigious.

Additionally, there is the memory problem:

• Even though it was possible to connect the device as a USB memory to a computer, the computer does not display a folder without a micro-SD card
• Numerous, especially big apps cannot be installed without a micro-SD card
• Screenshots are not saved without a micro-SD card
• The data manager does not display any directories without a micro-SD card

These problems could not be fixed by resetting the phone. Thus, we depreciate the impression rating by 20%, because we experienced considerable restrictions for everyday use without a micro-SD card and there is no mention of it anywhere. If you use the device with a micro-SD card, you can add two percentage points to the overall rating.

Why should you even want to accept those restrictions, anyway? Apart from those weaknesses, the Amoi N828 is a really good device. For its features and quality, you can easily spend twice the amount for a smartphone from the established brands: A system performance that is typical for mid-range smartphones, a bright screen with high viewing angle stability, solid processing, a pleasant look and feel, good battery runtimes, and a dual-SIM option.

For 180 Euros (~$234) the Amoi N828 is a real bargain, whose weaknesses can be overlooked. Those who are looking for a prestigious device that is flawless right down to the last detail should look for something else.

iOcean X7

The iOcean X7 is yet another smartphone from the People's Republic of China which reaches the European market. The seemingly high-end device has an RRP of 249 Euros (~$317).

Performance is delivered by a SoC made by MediaTek, which is powered by a Cortex A7 processor with four cores. Like most other smartphones from China, the X7 has room for two SIM cards. The device is visually simple and is made entirely of plastic.

There is a wide range of competitors, because based on the hardware the X7 must compete with high-end devices, but price-wise it is positioned between the entry and middle level. Therefore the Google Nexus is one rival and so is the Amoi N828. But other dual SIM phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S DUOS and the Sony Xperia E dual are also in this price range.

Case

At 141 mm length, 68.7 mm width and 8.9 mm height, the iOcean X7 has dimensions similar to other devices of this price range. The 5.0-inch screen takes up most of the space, while the usual three Android touch buttons are located below. Above the display are the ambient light and proximity sensors, the front camera, and the ear speaker. The case is made completely out of plastic and does not seem to be of high quality, but it appears to be largely resistant to fingerprints. Due to the weight of 147 grams it sits well in the hand and even weighs less than indicated. Other 5-inch devices, such as the Sony Xperia Z (146 g) and the HTC One (143 g), are similarly heavy.

The design of the X7 is unremarkable. The lens of the main camera is decorated by a chrome ring. In addition to that, the two physical buttons (power and volume) also come with a metal look. The workmanship seems neat, but pressing on the back of the device leads to visible changes on the display. In addition, the display backlight shines through the thin gap between the screen and the housing. Otherwise the gaps are even.

The thin battery cover is attached to the housing by 15 plastic hooks. Thanks to the recess at the bottom left corner, the cover can be easily opened. Below is located the 2000 mAh battery, which is replaceable. The two SIM slots and the card reader are easy to reach.

Connectivity

The iOcean X7 is equipped with the MT6589 SoC by MediaTek and also features 1 GB of RAM. In addition we have 4 GB of flash memory, of which 1.22 GB is available. This can be expanded up to 32 GB via the microSD card reader. During the review, we noticed that some larger applications could not be installed. One possible cause could be missing access rights to the memory. However, even after extensive research, we could not resolve the problem, which seems to not be associated with intervention into the system.

The interfaces are quite spartan. The case only has one 3.5 mm audio jack and one micro USB port. The audio jack worked satisfactorily, but the plug of the supplied headset could not be fully inserted.

The SIM slots were a small surprise. Here we did not find two standard SIM card slots (mini SIM), but one. The other is a micro SIM slot. Both can be easily managed via the Google operating system.

Software

The operating system is Google's Android version 4.2.1. This is a pure Android, without any additional software. Most of the preinstalled apps are not usable by most Europeans because these are Chinese applications. More understandable applications can be downloaded via the Play Store.

The Asian language is quite a problem for Android newbies, because the default system language is also factory set to Chinese. We have therefore created a small photo gallery with the steps needed to change the language. After the selection, the device must be restarted in order for it to be able to fully display the chosen language. Unfortunately, this build of Android 4.2 is not completely translated, but still includes several English texts.

Communication & GPS

Good news first: the GPS receiver works. The exact position was locked in after about two minutes, but only under open skies. Even in the vicinity of buildings, this took considerably more time. In rooms, even right next to the window, we did not get any signal.

The WLAN module supports the IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standards and transmits in the 2.4 GHz bandwidth. Even outdoors, at a distance of 25 meters to the router, the X7 had good reception and loaded websites quickly. A good performance.

For data transmissions over mobile networks, the devices relies on the HSPA+ standard and reaches download speeds of 21 Mbps and upload speeds of 11 Mbps. Faster data transfers or LTE are not supported. Bluetooth version 4.0 is also on board.

Telephone function

The iOcean X7 works with Google's integrated telephone function, without any changes. The latter is not absolutely necessary, since the software is intuitive and reliable enough. The integrated proximity sensor works well and deactivates the touchscreen at a distance of about ten millimeters.

Cameras & Multimedia

The iOcean X7 wants to impress, just as the big players do, not only with the display size, but also with the 12.6 megapixel (4096x3072) main camera (including image stabilizer). But the X7 loses painfully to the high-class competition such as Apple, Google and Nokia. Although the photos are quite good-looking for a cell phone camera in this price range, they are somewhat too dark. The sensor is overburdened especially when shooting against the light.

In our scene comparison, one can easily recognize overexposure. The pictures look blurred, especially at a closer inspection. They are simply missing more depth of field. The iPhone 5 and the Lumia 920 are very good in this area. The X7 shows visible image noise in low light, even with the LED flash. So, despite its good specifications, the camera remains only mediocre.

The front camera is used mainly for video calls and has a relatively good resolution of 1752x1168 pixels. The webcam can record videos in 720p (1280x720 pixels) and the main camera can do this in Full HD (1920x1080 pixels).

Accessories

The accessories of the iOcean X7 are mostly standard. In addition to the AC adapter and a data cable, there are the 2000 mAh battery and the screen protector. The supplied headset is not exactly high quality, but it does a solid job. If you purchase the phone from the CECT-Shop, you will also get a second 2000 mAh battery as well as a black case, which should protect the smartphone.

Further optional accessories by the manufacturer include a case with a 3000 mAh battery (from 30.35 Euros, ~$38) as well as another cover in blue and orange (each from 12.14 Euros, ~$15).

Warranty

The manufacturer supplies the phone with one year warranty. In some countries the obligatory 24 month warranty applies. But should it come to actually using it, the X7 must be sent to China for repairs. This not only takes a long time, but additional customs fees may apply.

Input Devices & Controls

The capacitive touchscreen has good gliding properties and responds to inputs quickly and precisely. Occasionally, when using the Play Store, a button would require repeated tapping until it finally reacted. The display recognizes up to five fingers simultaneously and works reliably even at its edges.

The virtual keyboard is the standard Android one, which is equipped with automatic correction and a dictionary. Further features and alternatives can be downloaded from the app store.

Display

Not only is the 5-inch IPS display unusual for this price range, but also the resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The Full HD panel in the 16:9 format has a pixel density of 440 PPI. The Amoi N828 (960x540 pixels) does not have an HD resolution and even the somewhat older Nexus 4 (1280x768 pixels) cannot compete here. In order to find a comparable smartphone, we need to take a look at the current flagship devices, such as the HTC One, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Sony Xperia Z.

The display's average brightness of 330 cd/m² is quite good and beats the Google phone (275.3 cd/m²). But neither of them can reach the superior brightness of the Amoi (501.4 cd/m²). The illumination of 86% is also a very good value for the X7.

The black level of the iOcean X7 is 0.55 cd/m² - a mediocre value and is slightly worse than the competitors Amoi and Google. The contrast ratio of 651:1 is also far behind the N828 (1317:1) and the Nexus 4 (1648:1). Nonetheless, in reality it is quite sufficient.

We measured color accuracy with CalMAN 5 and observed strong deviations from target in the white, cyan and red colors. The DeltaE for these three is just below 10. We got the same impression from the color saturation, but here red showed the largest deviations and was presented more as dark orange. In reality, the color reproduction of the X7 seems full and the deviations can be noticed only by a trained eye.

In terms of outdoor use, the iOcean X7 delivered a solid performance. In shady areas or under a cloudy sky, the display is easy to read. Only in direct sunlight is the user forced to try harder to recognize anything. The ambient light sensor does not function perfectly and therefore one must manually set the display at maximum brightness when travelling.

The viewing angle stability of the iOcean X7 is very good, because of the IPS display, and confirms our high expectations of a panel of this type. Even at extremely flat angles there are no color inversions.

Unfortunately, we noticed small bright patches when black images are displayed. Also, the backlighting along the edges of the display is visible at any time. This is unfortunate, since we were expecting better quality here.

Performance

The MT6589 SoC by MediaTek is a quad-core processor based on the Cortex A7, which can clock each core between 497 MHz and 1201 MHz. If the processing power of one core is not needed, it is quickly turned off in order to save energy. The processor is supported by 1 GB LPDDR2-RAM, working at 533 MHz. In terms of GPU we have a PowerVR SGX544, similar to the one in the Samsung Galaxy S4, although the model in the X7 is significantly slower (286 MHz).

Despite the relatively cheap SoCs from Taiwan, the iOcean X7 reached good results in the synthetic benchmarks, although not on par with the top smartphones. This clearly separates the wheat from the chaff. In everyday use though it is hard to notice. The Android operating system runs smoothly and loading times for smaller applications are fast.

Games

The integrated PowerVR SGX544MP provides sufficient power, in order to play most games on the iOcean X7 without problem. 3D shooters like Dead Trigger run as smoothly as Minion Rush and the classic Angry Birds.

The good touchscreen works well. The gyroscope and the accelerometer also do their job flawlessly and contribute to the uninterrupted fun.

Voice Quality

We clearly understood our conversation partner, though the volume could be a bit louder. We were also well understood on the other side. Calls via the loudspeaker were similar - voice quality was good, but the microphone was regularly missing some of our words and the call was therefore choppy. The supplied headset should best be used just as headphones, because the microphone turned out to be useless. The other party could hardly understand us.

Emissions

Temperature

The surface temperature of the iOcean X7 never exceeded the 38 °C mark. Even under full load the CPU and the GPU remained relatively cool. The more powerful Nexus 4 is about five degrees warmer (maximum 43.2 °C). In idle use the X7 is not even lukewarm at 35.9 °C, only the Amoi N828 (33 °C) is slightly cooler.

The manufacturer has managed to find a good balance between performance and heat dissipation. There are certainly smartphones that emit less heat, but those also have lower performance.

Speaker

The speaker, integrated on the back side, offers 3D sound. In fact, it does its job quite well. Sound is a little tinny at high volume and the bass and lows are barely there. However, the small speaker can be really loud, so that playback is audible when travelling or in a noisy environment. We weren't expecting wonders and we did not get any, but the X7 does offer a good sound quality. The audio jack also performs its job well.

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The energy consumption of the iOcean X7 is relatively moderate. The biggest consumer is the 5-inch IPS screen, so even in idle use, with maximum brightness and activated WLAN, the energy consumption reaches up to 3.3 W. The Amoi N828 consumes 2.4 W in this scenario and the Nexus 4 just 1.4 W.

With the help of the  Stability Test application, the CPU and the GPU were pushed to their limits, the wireless modules were activated, and we measured a maximum consumption under full load of up to 4.9 W. Here, the X7 is positioned between its rivals. The similarly equipped N828 draws only 2.6 W and the powerful Nexus 4 (6.5 W) consumes almost as much as the two devices together.

In standby mode and when turned off, our test device still consumes 1.5 W. This is definitely too much. In addition, the 4 W AC adapter is slightly undersized.

Battery Life

With its 7.6 Wh battery, the iOcean X7 can only reach mediocre runtimes. In idle use the battery lasted almost 13 hours. The device surprised us positively with its minimum runtime. Here it lasted three hours and 20 minutes before the lights went out. This is far from a record breaking value, but considering the display size and the high consumption it is acceptable.

Our WLAN test is closest to a real situation. The display brightness is set at 150 cd/m² and various websites are loaded via WLAN. The phone lasted seven and a half hours without AC power - a decent value.

If that is not enough, you can opt for an optional battery with 3000 mAh capacity, which should provide about 50% longer battery life. 

Verdict

Is the iOcean X7 a high-end smartphone? Definitely not. But it is a good mid-range mobile phone with spectacular features. A 5-inch Full HD IPS panel in a device that costs less than 200 Euros (~$255) is a pretty strong purchase argument. The current Android version and the good quad-core SoC provide the system with a good performance and future-proof base.

One could almost ignore the workmanship flaws, if it wasn't for the installation problems of the already small 4 GB flash memory. Without a memory card, the user could face significant restrictions in the use of the X7. Especially since a reset of the device did not fix the problem. Because of this issue, we have lowered our impression rating.

If you do not use memory-intensive application and are looking for smartphone with a large display, to mainly use for browsing, calls and emails, the X7 could be a inexpensive option. Technical enthusiasts and gamers would not enjoy the device. It features the more powerful SoC MT6589T, whose CPU works at 1.5 GHz and the GPU at 357 MHz. In addition the RAM is doubled to 2 GB and the internal memory is increased to 32 GB. The X7 Elite costs only 50 Euros (~$63) more.

Acer Iconia Tab A100

Best Price: Rs.23,508

Acer extends the Iconia range with the A100 – a tablet with a 7 inch screen. Thus, Acer now also has a smaller tablet in its range. Until now, Acer only offered the A500 (10 inch with Android 3.0) and the W500 (Windows 7). As the letter in the product name (A100) already indicates, Android 3.2(Honeycomb) is used in this device. Alike the 10 inch model (A500), the A100 is based on Nvidia'sTegra 2 processor, which can process with a maximum clock rate of 1000 MHz.

An 8 GB SSD memory, GPS receiver and wireless LAN belong to the basic equipment. Thecapacitive screen in the Iconia Tab A100 has a resolution of 1024x600 pixels.

Case

Like many other tablets, the Acer Iconia Tab A100 has been completely made of black plastic with exception of the screen. The four corners are slightly beveled and give the tablet a distinct design. The A100 is comfortable to hold with its dimensions of 195 x 13.1 x 117mm (7.7" x 0.5" x 4.6") and a weight of 450g (0.99 lbs). It can even be stowed in the jacket or pants pocket in contrast to the Iconia Tab A500. You always needed a bag for the tablet if you wanted to use it on the go due to its bigger size (260 x 13 x 177mm / 10.2" x 0.5" x 6.9").

Acer has left a lot of room beside the 7 inch screen for holding the tablet. A Home button is located on the right and a webcam on the left in this area.

Acer didn't do a good job in the choice of materials because you can see every fingerprint not only on the screen, but also on the black plastic. A polishing cloth should be a part of your basic equipment for on the go. Acer regrettably doesn't include one.

Connectivity

As appropriate for a tablet, the Iconia A100 also has a few interfaces to offer. However, Acer hasn't made any changes compared to the 10 inch devices. Thus, the A100 also has a microUSB port for connecting the tablet to the PC and transferring data. Special drivers aren't needed for Window computers (Vista/Win7). Moreover, the A100 has a mini HDMI port for connecting external flat screens or compatible monitors with a resolution of 720p.

There is a socket over which the A100 can be connected to the power adapter for charging thebattery. Besides that, the Iconia Tab has a 40 pin socket on its right. This interface enables you to connect the tablet to an optionally available docking station. It costs about 70€.

A headphone out is found on the left, and Acer has placed a volume rocker as well as special slider on the top (landscape mode). The screen orientation can be locked with this slider. It works for both positions (landscape / portrait). This particularly comes in handy in games and apps that use the tablet's orientation for inputs.

We found an implied SIM card slot underneath a cover (can't be used in this model) and a microSD card slot.

Communication

The Acer Iconia Tab A100 has both wireless LAN (b/g/n standards) and Bluetooth 2.1. You would have to opt for the Iconia Tab A100's 3G model for more mobility. It has a 3G/UMTS compatiblemodem and supports GSM, 3G and HSPA in the frequency ranges 850, 900, 1800 and 1900.

WLAN access happens either automatically or manually. It's even easier with additional apps from the AppStore. For example, Wifi Connect enables you to locate hotspots in your vicinity easily and use it with the Acer tablet (and other Android devices). The Acer Iconia Tab A100 doesn't make any exceptions here. The login works without any additional apps in both free access and secured WLANs without problems. The connection first broke off when we left the range of reception.

GPS

A GPS receiver is also built into the A100 so that the tablet can also be used as a navigation system. The GPS data can be used with Google Maps or Latitude among others. There is no dedicatednavigation software installed on the Acer A100.

Receiving GPS data was always possible and the accuracy of localization was consistent with the terrestrial site. Google Maps' route calculation offers everything that navigation devices have to offer..

Supplies

The scope of delivery includes the matching power adapter, a USB data cable and documentation for the device besides the tablet. Acer has wrapped everything up in a stylish box. They have included a few manuals (DIN A7/8 format) for reading – but not the matching magnifying glass to read the extremely small script.

Warranty

Acer grants a 12 month manufacturer warranty that can be extended through various packages: A bring in service for a period of 3 years, including a 12 month travelers insurance, which adds up to an extra charge of 79€. Besides that, Acer offers a 36 month bring in service for 99€ (Advantage) with an accident insurance and international travelers insurance - both insurances for a full 3 years.

Input Devices

Keyboard

A virtual QWERTY keyboard is faded in should text input be necessary. It covers about half of the visible screen. The preinstalled keyboard doesn't support swipe inputs. The omission of swipe support can be remedied by downloading a special app from the AppStore – if need be.

The Acer Iconia Tab A100's screen partly responds very sluggish so that typos are made while typing. Voice entry, which recognizes speech well, helps in this case. All words and even whole sentences as well as Internet addresses were identified correctly in the test.

Sensors

Eight sensors work in the Iconia Tab A100 and can be used for the most various applications. The tablet's exact location is detected via the GPS receiver and can thus be used in various apps, such as navigation. Three directions (X, Y and Z axis orientation) are detected by the motion sensor (gyroscope). The built-in webcam determines the lighting conditions.

It is possible to adjust the screen brightness automatically with this sensor. Other sensors are used to determine the magnetic field, acceleration and battery state (charge level, temperature). The sound level can also be determined via the built-in microphone.

Webcam

Acer has placed a 2 MP webcam on the screen's outer right. The placement is very impractical because the camera lens is quickly covered by a hand, when the device is held in the left hand.

Digicam

There is a digicam with a resolution of 5 MP on the Iconia Tab A100's flipside. The camera also has a flash function besides digital zoom. Not only pictures, but video sequences can also be made with the digicam. The quality of the picture is rather mediocre though, and colors are slightly misrepresented. Nevertheless, the pictures are satisfactory for snapshots made on a Sunday walk.

The pictures and videos are stored on the internal memory that only has a capacity of 8 GBs in this model. One picture needs about 2 MBs. In return, a 10 second video sequence needs ~7 MBs. Projected onto a three minute video sequence, that would be 105 MBs and 30 minutes add up to about 1 GB. The flash can be used as a continuous light source in video mode. However, the light "gnaws" at battery life.

Display

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Acer uses a capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels. This is a lot less than in the Iconia A500 (1280x800). The touchscreen can reproduce 16.7 million colors at a pixel density of 166 dpi. The screen's surface is glossy, typical for this device category.Reflections of the surroundings are seen on the screen in almost every position and almost all lighting conditions. The reflections only cease in dimmed rooms or at night.

The screen's content can be displayed on an external monitor via the laterally positioned HDMI port (720p = 1280x720 pixels).

The graphics card embedded in the Tegra 2 chip is responsible for graphic calculations.

The Iconia Tab A100's colors look very vivid. Our measurements revealed a maximum brightnessof 227 cd/m². The brightness clearly decreases toward the upper left corner (30 cd/m²). The screen's illumination is 83%. This screen's average is 205.8 cd/m².

We measured a black value of 0.33 Candela per square meter. The measurement in the screen's center showed a contrast ratio of 688:1.

Because our colorimeter doesn't support Android, we could not execute our standard color gamut measurement.

The Iconia Tab A100's glossy 7 inch screen not only reflects a lot of its surroundings indoors. We could see more of our environment than of the displayed content during outdoor use. This effect was also perceived in shade and increased to such an extent in direct sunlight that the content wasn't visible at all in the end. Looking at websites, videos or simply reading emails become a torment. Apart from the legibility, the contrast and colors also suffer in bright ambient light conditions. They faded even faster than was the case indoors.

The LC screen's content was only well visible in an optimal viewing angle on the Acer tablet. The colors and contrasts were still all game in lateral viewing angles. When we increased the viewing angle (+ / - in every direction), the content could only be seen to an extent as of 45 degrees. Details as well as colors inverted (+ degrees) or over-illuminated (- degrees), whereby an evident difference between plus and minus angles were visible. The picture inverted well after a minus of 45 degrees in a tilted state. The content remained visible far beyond 45 degrees when the tablet was tilted toward the front. The otherwise usual fading effect first turned up at an tilt angle of 60 degrees.

Performance

As previously in its bigger brother (Iconia Tab A500), a Tegra 2 (ARM v7) from Nvidia works inside the Iconia Tab A100 with a maximum clock frequency of 1 GHz. In the Tegra 2 module, a so-called system-on-a-chip, a dual core ARM Cortex A9 CPU is united with a GeForce graphics (ULP GPU), a 1 GB RAM, the video processor and the sound card.

Currently, the successor – the world's first mobile quad core SoC, code named Kal-El – is still being worked on. Nvidia has announced its launch for this year.

The dual core CPU supports real multitasking. That means several applications can run simultaneously. The running apps can be opened via the task manager (third icon in the toolbar).

The Tegra 2 processor has a maximum clock rate of 1000 MHz. This clock is only implemented when the application requires it. The clock of 1000 was needed in graphic-intensive games ("Angry Birds Rio" or "GRave Defense") or when playing an H.264 file. We measured clock rates between216 and 608 MHz in the other applications with the app "CPU Spy", whereas the tablet preferred 216 MHz.

In the benchmarks, the Iconia Tab is almost on a par with 10 inch tablets that we have tested at Notebookcheck.com in the last few weeks and months. The A100 surpassed all 7 inch devices inBrowsermark and clearly left the tablets Dell Streak, HTC Flyer and Ziio Creative behind. Even the Asus Transformer (10.1 inch) was beaten by the Iconia Tab A100.

The Acer tablet drew level with the HTC Flyer in Google V8 (difference: 7 points) and lined up behind the LG Optimus V900, Motorola Xoom and Asus Transformer TF101 with a score of 600 points.

The A100 had to let almost all tested tablets overtake in the Linpack Pro test and achieved the second last place in the chart with 29951 points.

The 1789 points in the Quadrant benchmark (default) is only enough to put the Iconia Tab A100 in the last place. All previous tablets were a lot faster in this benchmark. Acer's Iconia Tab A500achieved a score of 2087 here.

The A100 again lines up among the big tablets in Smartbench 2011. Merely the Streak 7" from Dell was faster in this benchmark compared to the 7" tablets. The 2388, respectively 2626 points in this benchmark is on the level of an LG Optimus V900.

In the test run of the Sunspider benchmark, Acer's test device again was among the better tablets(2234ms), clearly before all 7 inch tablets and only slightly behind the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v(8.9 inch). The Iconia Tab A500 with a 10.1 inch screen needed 1908 ms in this benchmark.

This tablet has an SSD module with a capacity of 8 GB as the hard disk. The A100's memory can only be expanded up to 40 GB via the microSD card reader (with a 32 GB card). Acer doesn't offer any alternative upgrades for the A100 model.

Android

The Android 3.2 interface only shows minor differences when compared to the previous version. Acer hasn't made any special modifications here. We didn't notice any compatibility problems that may lead to a delayed launch of the A100 during the test.

Apps

A lot of apps are preinstalled on the Iconia Tab A100. Among them: Aupeo (Internet radio), clear.fi (a wifi based media server), Docs to Go (display app for PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files), an email client (POP3, IMAP, Exchange), an eBook reader and various organizers.

There are also a few games installed on the Acer Iconia Tab A100. The AppStore access is linked to the Android market. A registered account is necessary for using the AppStore and for almost every other app (e.g.: Google Mail account).

With the installed YouTube app, you have direct access to a variety of short movies up to free trailers and series episodes. All of them worked, some even in high definition (HD).

HD movies can also be played with the installed video player - and that without recoding. When copying via the USB port, the Iconia tab indicates if a file that is to be transferred, is incompatible with the player via a system message. Alternative apps from the AppStore can remedy the WMV file incompatibility. The preinstalled video player has all basic functions, but crashed frequently in the test. The tablet also soon found its limits in fast forward.

Gaming Verdict

Apart from a few exceptions, the games we installed all ran without problems, whereby even games with the suffix "HD" only used a part of the screen.

Many – even free – games can be installed via the installed AppStore. In TegraZone – a special store from Nvidia for tablets based on Tegra II – you can find optimized games for your Android device.

A few areas of the touchscreen responded only jerkily or sometimes not at all to finger inputs in a few games, such as "GRave Defense" where speed is required from both the gamer and the screen. We also noticed this effect in "Plants vs. Zombies".

This is unlikely a problem of the game, but sooner caused by the Iconia Tab A100's screen. These games run on other tablets without "contact fears".

Emissions

System Noise

Since the Iconia Tab A100 has no fan, this tablet works absolutely silent.

Temperature

We only measured slight temperature fluctuations on the tablet in idle mode. They were between 22.2 and 24.7 degrees Celsius (71.9F/76.5F) on the flipside of the device. We could even measure 25 degrees Celsius (77F) on the front. Acer's A100 gets a lot warmer during load. The measurable temperature partly rose to over 28.7 degrees Celsius (83.7F) on the entire flipside. This rate was surpassed with 29 degrees Celsius (84.2F). The hottest spot was in the center above the screen.

The small adapter only got a few degrees warmer than in idle mode during load.

Speakers

The Iconia A100 has two little speakers located on the case's right (landscape mode) for sound output. The quality isn't very satisfactory because the sound isn't very convincing. Only a corresponding headphone would provide a considerably better sound quality. But that's not included in the scope of delivery.

The volume is controlled either directly on the tablet via the sound rocker or in the Android operating system's settings.

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Battery Life

The power consumption is minimal during charging and 4.8 watts were also measured during load. In comparison to other tablets, the Acer tablet is in the midfield.

Our measurements also show that the power adapter hardly consumes any power when the tablet is turned off (0.3 watts). The adapter also hardly uses any power in standby mode either (0.1 watts).

The 6 cell lithium ion battery has a charge capacity of 11.3 Wh. The battery had to prove itself in various test scenarios because the Acer Iconia Tab A100 is a portable device that wants to be used without permanently being in AC mode.

In the first test scenario, surfing via WLAN, the display brightness was set so that the content on the screen was well visible (afternoon). Various websites were loaded alternately in the test. The battery lasted for 5 hours and 8 minutes.

An H.264 video was looped in maximum display brightness in the second scenario. All wireless modules were disabled at this time. We could measure a runtime of 292 minutes.

The tablet and its battery were put under load with games in the third test. The display brightness was set to maximum and wifi was enabled. The battery lasted for 3:45h in this scenario.

For the last test, the tablet didn't have much to do: all wireless modules and GPS were disabled and the display was set to minimum. In this idle mode, the battery lasted for exactly 8 hours and 10 minutes.

In comparison to the Iconia Tab A500, the little brother shows that it doesn't have anything to be ashamed of. The Iconia A100's battery lasted for 7 minutes more in load (3:45 vs. 3:38).

Verdict

All good things are worth waiting for: Acer has done a good job on the Iconia Tab A100, with a few exceptions, and it merges seamlessly into the existing tablet family. The launch was postponed due to compatibility problems, but the result is impressive. The Iconia Tab A100 has everything that you can expect from a modern tablet. Merely the built-in hard disk could be a bit bigger. The device is only equipped with 8 GBs which is definitely too little in the long run.

Wireless LAN (b/g/n standard) and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR take care of mobility. Moreover, the Iconia Tab A100 has a GPS receiver and can thus be used with Google Maps among others. The tablet doesn't have dedicated navigation software installed on it, but it can be retrofitted via the Android market.

The used hardware, Nvidia's Tegra 2, has shown its high performance in other devices, such as the Iconia Tab A500. This system-on-a-chip solution also manages its tasks quite fast in the Iconia Tab A100.

The glossy 7 inch screen reflects a lot of the surroundings. Sometimes too much and the content can hardly be discerned in unfavorable lighting conditions. The capacitive touchscreen had the odd "dropout" and partly didn't respond like it should. The viewing angle stability also lagged a bit behind our expectations.

With 299€ (wifi-only), the Iconia tab A100 is on a quiet low price level. Similar devices, for example the Dell Streak 7", still cost 35€ more. In return, the Streak 7" has a 16 rather than 8 GB SSD hard disk, but it is based on Android 2.2 until now.
The current street price is only slightly below Acer's retail price. The Tab A100 costs about 100€ (399€) with wifi and 3G