Software and Operating System
The Acer Iconia Tab A100 runs the latest version of Google’s Android 3 (“Honeycomb”) OS, 3.2. While Android 4.0 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”) is already out, Honeycomb is still widely used on tablets. In fact, Honeycomb was made specifically for tablets, and was never used on any phones. Honeycomb includes many improvements over Android 2 (the latest version of which is Gingerbread 2.3), including a completely redesigned stock launcher, a better Browser with a new user interface, and optimization for tablets. It’s fast, and uses resources efficiently. However, some apps simply don’t work with Android 3.2, and unfortunately either immediately or after light use get the evil Force Close dialog. Apps that don’t behave include Dolphin Browser For Pad, which is unfortunate because it’s really a great browser. It Force Closes almost immediately after opening. It’s not such a big deal, since the re-done stock Browser is quite good, but it still shows that Android 3.2 isn’t perfect. Angry Birds, the included browser, and a few other apps have the random (and rare) Force Close but it happens little enough not to be an issue. My HTC Inspire 4G was much more stable (at stock, with Gingerbread 2.3).
Thankfully, Acer didn’t stick any special user interface on there, like HTC’s Sense, Samsung’s TouchWiz, or Motorola’s Motoblur. Acer did bundle some un-installable apps, but they are at least partially useful. Bundled apps include Acer Media, Acer Registration, Acer Sync, AUPEO!, clear.fi, Docs to Go, eReading*, Facebook Web, Games*, HW Solitaire SE, Media Server, Multimedia*, MusicA, Planner, Social*, SocialJogger, and TegraZone Games. The apps I marked with * are really just category lists of other apps, for example, the Multimedia app simply contains shortcuts of Acer Media, MusicA, AUPEO!, YouTube, and clear.fi.
Performance
Even though the Acer Iconia Tab A100 isn’t the most powerful tablet out there, the dual-core processor and nVidia SoC give it impressive performance. While my (rooted with Android 4.0 installed) HTC Inspire 4G, with it’s 1GHz single-core CPU and Qualcomm graphics gets an overall score of 2817, the Acer tablet gets a total score of 4643, using the latest version (at the time) of AnTuTu Benchmark 2.6.
So you can compare to your own Android device, the Acer Iconia Tab A100 gets a score of 735 for RAM, 1204 of CPU integer, 895 of CPU float-point, 312 points in 2D graphics, 1045 in 3D graphic, and a database IO score of 315. I’ve decided not to include SD card speeds in this review, because this varies widely.
Now that I’ve flashed my tablet with the leaked pre-release of Acer’s Android 4.0 update, (along with an update to AnTuTu 2.7.2), the A100 achieved a total score of 4973! In the RAM category it got 780, 1355 of CPU integer, 1040 in CPU float-point, 320 in 2D graphics, 1072 in 3D graphics, and a database IO score of 265. While the score did decrease in some areas, it looks like the new drivers in Android 4.0 really helped the nVidia Tegra 2 SoC shine! And, given that this is a leaked pre-release version of the system, the final version will likely increase that performance even more!
General tasks like browsing the web, switching between apps, using the Facebook app, etc. are smooth and responsive. Playing games, like Fruit Slice, Angry Birds, and Minecraft Pocket Edition, are a joy, with great, lag-free performance. I have yet to test Dead Space on my tablet yet, but I’ll update this review with the information on the performance of that if I do end up testing it.
Using the YouTube app, I was able to successfully play both 720P and 1080P true-HD videos. There was slight stuttering in the playback of the 1080P videos but the 720P played extremely smoothly.
The tablet was able to display an online Web Cam thing of Yellowstone Geysers (which runs on Flash), with better performance than the Pentium 4 PC running Windows XP I was comparing it to. For the record, my friend wanted me to prove that it could do it, since the Flash content wouldn’t run on his iPod Touch and he was considering purchasing an Android tablet. And he’s now the proud owner of one of the more budget Lenovo tablets…
Overall, the Acer tablet has got great performance for the price. And once the update to Android 4.0 arrives, you’ll get more “bang for the buck” due to system optimizations, updated drivers from nVidia, and higher version numbers. (Fine, we’re kidding about that last one)…
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