A smooth operator that's easy on the pocket

Acer’s Iconia Tab A200 Wi-Fi is a powerful tablet computer with a large 10.1 screen, fast processor and a reasonable price tag. 

It is, however, fatter than an iPad at 12.4 mm thick and weightier at 700 grams.

And as the name implies, the A200 Wi-Fi does not have 3G connection. You’ll need to use a Wi-Fi connection either through public hotspots like True Wi-Fi or your home Wi-Fi router.

A200 has a full-size USB 2.0 port so that you could add files from your flash drive to the table without the need of an adapter. But the full-size USB port adds to the thickness and weight of the tablet.

A200 is powered by nVIDIA Tegra 250 Dual-Core 1Ghz and runs on Android “Ice-cream Sandwich” 4.0.3 operating system with Acer UI for Tablet.

It has one 1 gigabyte of active memory that adds to its smooth operation and the model I was given to test had 16 GB of storage.

Its TFT LCD screen has 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and is good for watching video and viewing photos. And the screen is protected with Gorilla Glass so you don’t have to worry about scratches.

The A200 does not have a back camera. Its front camera has two megapixel resolution and is capable of recording 720p HD video at 30 frames per second.

The A200 can be used to make Internet-based video calls thanks to a built-in microphone and stereo speakers. A 3.5mm stereo jack is also provided.

The A200 supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connection and 2.1 Bluetooth connection and has a built-in GPS connection.

The A200 comes in an all-plastic body, with a soft-touch, rubberised back. The tiny dimples on the back cover make for a grippy and tactile feel. The one I tested came with a metallic red back cover, which I thought looked very nice.

As part of Acer UI, there is an Acer Ring that you can touch and rotate to easily access various applications. You bring up the Acer Ring by tapping a spot at the middle bottom of the screen. The Acer Ring also provides a function for you to easily capture tablet screens.

The A200 is preloaded with all the applications you need to make life on the go convenient. It has Documents to Go for reading and editing Microsoft Office documents.

There’s Acer Clear.fi application for playing video and music and viewing photos. And if your LCD TV supports DLNA wireless setting, you can play videos from your A200 to the TV wirelessly.

The A200 also comes with Acer SocialJogger that allows you to integrate feeds and updates from your Facebook and Twitter accounts into one place.

The preloaded AUPEO! application lets you listen to music from several Internet radio stations and Evernote application allows you create an account and write and store your notes on a cloud server.

If you love reading, you will love the LumiRead application that allows you to download free e-books or purchase e-books to read on the tablet. The e-books comes in a beautiful format and are easy to read.

I found the A200 performed smoothly. The applications started up fast and ran well, the menus were responsive and pages scrolled fast. HD-resolution games also ran fast and without any glitches as did HD video.

Despite not having 3G connection, the A200 synchronized my Gmail and Facebook contact lists effectively.

Another nice thing with the Android OS 4 is that having installed applications on a Android OS 4 tablet during a previous test, Google’s cloud servers remembered which apps I’d downloaded and installed. When I logged on to the A200 for the first time using my Gmail account, Google promptly downloaded and installed those same applications automatically.

Iconia Tab A200 Wi-Fi has a suggested retail price of Bt12,900.

 

      Key specs

_ OS: Android ICS 4.0.3 with Acer UI for Tablet 

_ CPU: nVIDIA Tegra 250 Dual-Core 1Ghz, nVIDIA Geforce ULP

_ RAM/Storage: RAM 1Gb / Internal Storage 16GB, expandable with microSD card with up to 32GB

_ Display: 10.1-inch 1280x800 pixel TFT LCD with Gorilla Glass

_ Sensor: G-Sensor / Gyro Meter

_ Sound: Dolby Mobile

_ Camera: 2MP front camera for Video Call (Skype, Gtalk), 720p video recording

_ Connectivity: GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi b/g/n, USB Host 2.0 and Micro USB

_ Battery: Li-ion 24.1Wh 6,520mAh

_ Size: 260 x 175 x 12.4 mm

_ Weight: 700g