The Acer Iconia Tab 510 is never going to win an award for looks. Its styling differs little from previous Acer tablets, particularly the Iconia Tab A200. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the A200 retails for just $349, significantly less than the A510. Weighing a hefty 680g and measuring 10.2mm thick, the A510 does little to grab your attention. In fact, it initially seems very easy to overlook for thinner, lighter and more attractive alternatives.
Acer claims the Iconia Tab A510’s huge 9800mAh battery provides up to 15 hours of standby time. We experienced less than that in real world use, but the nine and a half hours of battery life we managed means the Iconia Tab A510 is on par with the excellent iPad when it comes to power efficiency.
The Acer Iconia Tab A510 has 32GB of internal memory but the microSD card slot means you can expand that significantly. Acer uses a regular micro-USB port for charging and synchronising, but the AC adapter included only fits the Iconia Tab A510 due to its slightly larger than normal size.
The Iconia Tab A510’s two built-in speakers may be well positioned but they produce very poor quality sound. The speakers sit on the angled, bottom edge of the tablet so sound isn’t muffled when the device is sitting on a desk or table. However, the volume is low even at its highest setting, sound distorts at high levels and bass is almost non-existent.
The Iconia Tab A510’s dual-camera’s are also barely worth mentioning. The rear-facing 5-megapixel camera produces shots lacking in detail, while the front-facing camera works well enough to provide passable video for third-party apps like Skype and Tango but little more.
The Acer Iconia Tab A510 is priced at $549.
