As smartphones get larger, is there
still a market for midsize tablets? Acer's 8-inch Iconia Tab 8 tries to make
the case for this category. This $199 Intel-powered slate has a full-HD
display, unique touch controls and a micro HDMI port that will let you connect
it to your large-screen TV. But even if you're in the market for a tablet this
size, there are a few reasons the Iconia Tab 8 isn't the one you should get
Design
The
Acer Iconia Tab 8 sports a fairly attractive white-and-silver plastic frame. A
2-megapixel camera sits just off-center on the top right of the white bezel
that surrounds the 8-inch display on the front.
When
you flip the tablet over, you'll notice the 5-MP camera that protrudes from the
top center. A speaker row lines the bottom back. Along the right, curved edge,
you'll find the power button and a volume rocker, and the left houses a microSD
card slot that can support up to 32GB.
Micro
HDMI and micro USB ports oddly sit next to the headphone jack on the top edge,
instead of the more common bottom placement. It was refreshing to see a micro
HDMI port, as you don't often see that as an option on a tablet at this price.
At
12.6 ounces, the Tab 8 also has a bit of a weight problem, when you compare it
against other 8-inch slates. I felt strain on my arm during long sessions of
play. In comparison, the Dell Venue 8 measures 8.5 x 5.1 x 0.35 inches and
weighs 11.8 ounces, while the Asus MeMO Pad 8 sports slimmer dimensions of 8.3
x 4.9 x 0.33 inches and weighs 11.34 ounces.
Display
The
8-inch 1920 x 1200-pixel IPS screen on the Iconia Tab 8 isn't the brightest
bulb in the box, nor is it the most color accurate. The red and orange of Bryce
Dallas Howard's hair in an 1080p trailer for Jurassic World wasn't as deep or
fiery as it could have been, and left an overall dusty and flat feeling. But I
could still make out the yellow eyes of the Velociraptors that run with Chris
Pratt.
We
measured 290 nits of brightness on the Tab 8, which is quite a bit dimmer than
the tablet average of 336 nits. The Dell Venue 8 (1920 x 1200p) measured 352
nits, and the MeMO Pad 8 (1280 x 800p) registered 376 nits.
Using
a colorimeter, we measured a Delta-E rating of 8.7 on the Iconia Tab 8 (0 is
perfect), which is terribly inaccurate and too far above the category average
of 5.8. The Venue 8's 3.8 would definitely be preferable, and the MeMO Pad 8
(7.2) also fared better.
Acer's
new 8-inch tablet displays 78.8 percent of the sRGB color gamut, which is lower
than the tablet average of 85 percent, but still beats out the Dell (73.4
percent) and the Asus (72 percent) in terms of color accuracy.
Indoors,
viewing angles on the Iconia Tab 8 were very good, with clear images coming
through at nearly 90 degrees to the side. However, when viewed in direct
sunlight, the screen was indistinguishable from a black slate mirror.
Audio
The
stereo speakers on the bottom backside of the Acer Iconia Tab 8 barely filled
our small conference room with sound. Plus, what we could hear sounded as if it
were coming from a transistor radio.
When
listening to "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson, I heard odd static
during pauses in the music. The pervasive bass in "Turn Down for
What" by DJ Snake and Lil Jon sounded like a light tap on a doorframe.
On
our audio test, in which we measure the volume of a tone played from 13 inches
away, the Tab 8 registered 79 decibels. That's lower than the 80 dB tablet
average. The Asus MeMO Pad 8 notched 80 dB, while the Dell Venue 8 pumped out a
loud 83 dB.
User Interface
The
Iconia Tab 8 runs a nearly clean version of Android 4.4.2 KitKat. The icon
shortcuts lining the bottom of the screen -- as well as the touch back, home
and apps buttons -- will be familiar to any Android fan.
Dragging
down from the top left reveals a slightly customized quick settings drawer,
mostly for the Acer Touch WakeApp settings. Here, you can configure the tablet
so that putting both thumbs on the screen will wake it from sleep, as will
touching the screen with all five fingertips. I found both options quick and
easy to use, and intuitive enough that I wish this feature were available on
more tablets.
Swiping
down from the top left reveals your notifications, while dragging up from the
bottom launches Google Now. You also get the stock Android keyboard, which
supports trace typing.
Performance
Sporting
a 1.33-GHz Intel Atom quad-core CPU with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage space,
I experienced mostly smooth performance from the Iconia Tab 8. I had no
problems when using Chrome, Gmail, Maps and YouTube. There was a slight lag,
however, when I switched from landscape to portrait modes, and N.O.V.A. 3
crashed on me twice after about 5 minutes of gameplay.
On
the VidTrim test, in which we transcode a 204MB, 1080p video to 480p, the Tab 8
took 5 minutes and 27 seconds. That's considerably speedier than the tablet
average of 9:12. The Acer is a hair faster than the MeMO Pad 8 (5:22) and beats
the Venue 8 (6:33).
In
synthetic benchmark tests, the Iconia Tab 8 delivered middle-of-the-road
performance. On Geekbench 3, which measures multicore performance, the Iconia
Tab 8 notched 2,260. While that's better than the 1,470 on the Venue 8, it's
less than the MeMO Pad 8's 2,398 score and the tablet average of 2,400.
To
gauge graphics performance, we ran 3DMark Ice Store Unlimited on the Tab 8. Its
score of 16,729 beats the average of 13,046, as well as the Venue 8 (9,666) and
MeMO Pad 8 (13,754).
Camera
Similar
to the Dell Venue 8 and MeMO Pad 8, the Acer Iconia Tab 8 has a 5-MP rear
camera and a 2-MP front camera. Sadly, neither shooters is up to snuff.
Orange
and red bushes shot with the 5-MP rear camera on a very sunny day looked
pretty, but the reds and whites were overly saturated. Plus, the edges of the
leaves looked soft and a bit fuzzy. Similarly, the blue of the New York City
skyline appeared almost white.
The
selfie I took with the 2-MP front camera made me look like I had rosacea, and
as though my hair were little more than a mess of fuzz surrounding my face. I
probably wouldn't Skype with this camera.
Apps
Acer
bundles a handful of its own software on the Iconia Tab 8, including its basic
camera app and Acer Portal. Through the Portal, you can "build your own
cloud" using Acer-branded apps for photos, documents, music and files.
The
abPhoto app auto-archives pictures you take with the tablet onto your home PC,
and it has no file-size limits. Through the abMusic app, you can stream your
home music collection from your PC to your tablet, and download the tunes onto
the Iconia Tab 8 if you want. The abFiles and abDocuments apps do pretty much
the same thing, but with your nonaudio files.
You
also get the standard set of Android apps, such as Chrome, Gmail, Hangouts,
Drive and Google+. Third-party titles include Kindle, Evernote, Booking.com
Hotels, Astro File Manager and a free trial of MobiSystems OfficeSuite 7 Pro.
More
than 1 million apps and games are available on the Iconia Tab 8 through the
Google Play store. Also on this tablet is the Amazon App Store, which is a more
curated list of many of the same Android apps.
Battery Life
On
our Laptop Mag Battery Test, which involves continuous Web surfing on 150 nits
of brightness over Wi-Fi, the Iconia Tab 8 lasted 6 hours and 53 minutes.
That's
a woefully short amount of time, considering the tablet average is 8:37. The
Dell Venue 8 lasted 7:57, and the ASUS MeMO Pad 8 endured for 9:02.
Bottom Line
At
$199, the Iconia Tab 8 looks, on paper, like it would be a decent deal for an
8-inch Android tablet. However, it doesn't last long enough on a charge, and
the screen is too dim. While not as powerful, the Dell Venue 8 offers a
brighter display and much longer battery life for the same price. If you can
live with a lower-resolution screen, try the ASUS MeMO Pad 8, which lasts even
longer on a charge. Ultimately, the Acer Iconia Tab 8 simply doesn't offer enough
for the money.
Via LaptopMag
As
smartphones get larger, is there still a market for midsize tablets?
Acer's 8-inch Iconia Tab 8 tries to make the case for this category.
This $199 Intel-powered slate has a full-HD display, unique touch
controls and a micro HDMI port that will let you connect it to your
large-screen TV. But even if you're in the market for a tablet this
size, there are a few reasons the Iconia Tab 8 isn't the one you should
get - See more at:
http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/tablets/acer-iconia-tab-8-a1-840fhd#sthash.2Hw3XfO9.dpuf
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