The Acer Iconia Tab B1, which was leaked by the FCC back in December 2012, has surfaced online just hours ahead of its official unveiling at CES 2013 in Las Vegas. The budget slate is expected to go up against devices like the Google Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, but does it have the specifications to compete?

On paper, no. Although its specifications are yet to be confirmed by Acer, reports suggest the Iconia Tab B1 will boast a 7-inch display with a 1024×600 resolution, resulting in 170 pixels-per-inch. While that may be close to what Apple’s iPad mini is offering, it’s nowhere near the 1280×800 resolution (216ppi) offered by the Nexus 7.

According to an early review of the Iconia Tab B1 from Bulgarian website Tablet.bg, its display also has issues with brightness and poor viewing angles.

Furthermore, the slate’s dual-core Cortex-A9 processor is likely to be no match for the quad-core Tegra 3 offered by the Nexus 7, while its 512MB of RAM is just half that inside Google’s device. The Iconia Tab B1 is around the same thickness as the Nexus 7 at 10.78mm. It weighs 308 grams.

There’s no rear-facing camera, but it does offer a front-facing camera capable of shooting 720p video. It also comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean pre-installed.

The Iconia Tab B1 may compete in price. While it cannot match the Nexus 7 with specifications, it could be a great deal cheaper, making it a nice alternative to the budget conscious. Some reports suggest it could be priced at just $99 in the United States — that’s $100 cheaper than the Nexus 7.

• SourceTablet.bg
• ViaPocket-lint