{"id":656009,"date":"2013-05-03T12:21:56","date_gmt":"2013-05-03T16:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=641999"},"modified":"2013-05-03T12:21:56","modified_gmt":"2013-05-03T16:21:56","slug":"acer-teases-a-169-aspire-a1-android-tablet-debuts-the-p3-convertible-ultrabook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/656009","title":{"rendered":"Acer teases a $169 Aspire A1 Android tablet, debuts the P3 convertible Ultrabook"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a press event in New York City on Friday, Acer announced new mobile products running Google Android and Microsoft Windows 8. The company showed off the $169 Aspire A1<\/a>, which runs Android and is meant for one-handed use. The new Aspire P3 is a convertible Windows 8 Ultrabook that works as a tablet or laptop due to a unique hinged dock with keyboard.<\/p>\n

\"Iconia<\/a>The new A1 is targeted to budget-conscious shoppers. Similar to the HP Slate 7 at the same price<\/a>, the A1 cuts corners that keeps it from using premium components. Acer is keeping costs down with a 1.2 GHz quad-core chip from\u00a0MediaTek and includes only 8 GB of internal storage capacity. Customers can expand storage through a micro SD card or spend $50 more for a 16 GB model. The 7.9-inch display uses the same 1024 x 768 resolution of Apple’s iPad mini; it also has the same 4:3 aspect ratio.<\/p>\n

Even with a lower range of specs, the A1 has all the features you’d expect in almost any useful Android tablet: Wi-Fi 802.11 b\/g\/n, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, a\u00a05MP rear-facing camera that can capture 1080p video at 30fps, a front-facing camera,\u00a0micro USB 2.0 and microHDMI ports. Acer says the battery is rated for seven hours of use, which is a little light for this category, but not awful either.<\/p>\n

I’m more intrigued by the Aspire P3, partially because I liked the Acer Aspire W510 Windows 8 tablet<\/a>. That was powered by an Intel Atom, but the new P3 has your choice of either an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor for improved performance. Of course, there’s a hit in battery life — I saw a good 12 hours from the Atom-based units; more with the keyboard dock — but Acer says six hours of run-time is possible. I expect that will rise a bit when the next-generation of Core chips, called Haswell, arrives in June.<\/p>\n

\"Acer<\/a><\/p>\n

The 3.06-pound Aspire P3 has an 11.6-inch IPS display with HD resolution.\u00a0Instead of a traditional keyboard dock, the slate slides into a hinged case. That allows the screen to be propped up while also offering a standard chiclet keyboard. Unlike the dock of the W510, there’s no secondary battery in the P3 dock. Overall, the device looks like a large iPad in a keyboard case.<\/p>\n

Acer says the price of the new P3 is $799.99 for the Core i3 model, which is available now.<\/p>\n

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