Acer’s New Iconia A1-830 Tablet Is A $180 iPad Mini Clone

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Acer has today announced two new Android-powered tablets that it will introduce at CES in Las Vegas next week, one of which is a $180 iPad mini clone. It’s called the Iconia A1-830 and it sports a “premium aluminum” chassis that houses a 7.9-inch display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, and 1GB of RAM.

Acer also announced the Iconia B1-720, an entry-level device with a $129 price tag that looks a lot like the 2012 Nexus 7, and has a 7-inch display and a 1.3GHz dual-core processor.

Iconia A1-830

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No matter which was you look at it, the Iconia A1-830 looks just like an iPad mini — but without the physical home button.

It sports a minimalistic design with relatively narrow bezels that measures just 5.3mm thick — 2.2mm less than the Retina iPad mini — and an all-aluminum back. Its front- and rear-facing cameras are in exactly the same places as the iPad’s, and even its antenna is identical.

Here’s the full list of specifications:

  • 7.9-inch 1024×768 display
  • 1.6GHz Intel Atom Clovertrail+ processor
  • 1GB of RAM
  • 16GB internal storage
  • microSD card slot
  • 1080p rear-facing camera
  • 720p front-facing camera
  • Bluetooth 3.0
  • 7.5-hour battery life

The A1-830 runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean that’s mostly stock aside from a few Acer tweaks here and there. The device will be priced at $180 in the U.S. and $200 in Canada and it’ll be available in mid-January.

“Our fundamental goal when creating the Acer Iconia A1-830 was to provide our customers with an optimized Android tablet that stands out from other devices,” said Acer’s Paul Tayar, director of product marketing for connected devices. Maybe he hasn’t seen the iPad mini yet, then.

Iconia B1-720

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If $180 is a little more than you’d like to spend on a tablet, then maybe Acer’s Iconia B1-720 tablet will be a little more suitable. Carrying a design similar to that of the 2012 Nexus 7 — which was also manufactured by Acer — this device is aimed at budget-conscious consumers who don’t need high-end looks or specifications.

Acer-Iconia-B1-720-left-facing_iron-gray-520x474Specifications include:

  • 7-inch display
  • 1.3GHz dual-core processor
  • 1GB of RAM
  • 16GB of internal storage
  • 3G (optional)
  • 5-hour battery life

The B1-720 also runs Android 4.2.1, and it’ll also be available in mid-January, priced at $129 in the U.S.