Acer Iconia Tab A701 Review: Features in Everyday Use and the Full Specs

The Acer Iconia Tab A701 arrived at a moment when 10-inch tablets were fighting to prove that a big screen could also be a sharp screen. This Acer Iconia Tab A701 review with everyday performance in mind looks at the tablet the way people actually used it in 2012 and the years that followed: reading, watching video, browsing, playing games and carrying a full-size slate from room to room. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 released in July 2012, after an announcement in January of the same year, and it stood out at once for one reason above all others, its screen. For a full picture, this article also gives the Acer Iconia Tab A701 full specifications and features in a single table further down the page, so the numbers sit next to the lived experience instead of replacing it.

It helps to place this tablet in its own era. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 tablet was a large device from Acer at a time when quad-core chips were new in tablets, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was fresh, and a 1920 x 1200 panel on a 10.1-inch slate was genuinely rare. It was, in plain terms, a 10.1-inch tablet built for media, and that single idea explains most of its design choices, from the wide screen to the large battery behind it. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 price at launch sat in premium territory for its class, and the Acer Iconia Tab A701 release in July 2012 put it in front of buyers who wanted the sharpest screen they could carry. What follows keeps that era frame in view: nothing here pretends the tablet is a modern device, and no claim is made about using one hands-on today beyond what its hardware and software allow.

Design and Build in Everyday Use

The Acer Iconia Tab A701 weight and dimensions in hand tell you most of what you need to know about carrying it. At 667 g and 259.8 x 175 x 10.9 mm, it was a substantial slate, heavier than many later 10-inch tablets, and it asked to be held with two hands or rested on a lap, a desk or a cushion. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 dimensions give the screen room to breathe, and the silver finish with its metal-feel back made the tablet look more expensive than the plastic slabs that filled the budget end of the market. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 weight is the trade-off for the screen and the battery inside, and owners who used it as a sofa or travel companion learned to prop it up rather than hold it aloft for long stretches.

Daily handling was helped by the range of add-ons around it. An Acer Iconia Tab A701 tablet case and screen protector options were common in 2012, and a simple folio case turned the heavy slate into a readable stand for films, recipes and video calls. Acer Iconia Tab A701 accessories of the period also included keyboards and docks for the USB port, though the tablet was happiest as a plain media slate. A case remains the single most useful extra for a surviving example today, because it guards the large glass front and gives the tablet a viewing angle without extra hardware. An Acer Iconia Tab A701 case with a folding stand is the most practical extra of all, and as an Acer Iconia tablet from 2012 it was sold with a small range of first-party covers.

Size, Weight and Grip

The wide 16:10 body suits landscape use, with the screen filling most of the front and a bezel broad enough to hold without covering the picture. In portrait the tablet feels tall and narrow, which suits reading, while landscape suits films and games. The 10.9 mm thickness was normal for a high-resolution tablet of its year, and the weight sits low enough in the hand that short sessions feel fine. Long reading sessions are better with the tablet resting on something, which is true of almost every 10-inch slate of this weight.

Ports, Buttons and Speakers

Acer gave the A701 a practical set of connections for its era. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 HDMI output runs through a micro HDMI port, and the Acer Iconia Tab A701 micro HDMI port for TV viewing let owners put films and photos on a larger screen with one cable. A microUSB port handled charging and data, a full-size USB host port took flash drives and peripherals, and a microSDHC slot took care of extra space. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 speakers sit along the body and give clear sound for video and spoken audio at close range, though they cannot match a separate speaker for music. Volume and power controls sit within easy reach, and the headphone jack covers quiet listening.

Display and Media on the Big Screen

The screen is the reason this tablet is still remembered. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 10.1 inch Full HD display packs 1920 x 1200 pixels into a 10.1-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD panel, and the Acer Iconia Tab A701 screen resolution 1920 by 1200 works out to about 224 pixels per inch, which was remarkable for a tablet in 2012. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 display shows text with clean edges, photos with fine detail, and web pages with room for full desktop-style layouts. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 screen keeps colours natural rather than loud, and viewing angles are wide enough for two people to share a film without the picture washing out.

Full HD Sharpness on a 10.1-Inch Panel

Sharpness is where the panel earns its keep. Small text in ebooks stays readable at modest sizes, maps show street names without constant zooming, and high-resolution photos hold detail when you pinch in. The 16:10 shape leaves slim bars on 16:9 video, which is a fair price for a screen that also suits documents and web pages. Brightness is enough for indoor use and shaded outdoor use, while direct sunlight, as with most tablets of the period, washes the picture out. For its year, this was one of the finest tablet screens you could buy.

Watching Video and Reading

Acer Iconia Tab A701 video playback on Full HD screen quality is the tablet at its best, with 1080p files playing smoothly and detail that cheaper 1280 x 800 tablets of the same year could not match. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 for watching movies on the go made sense because the screen, the battery and the HDMI output worked as a set: watch on the tablet on a journey, then plug into a television at home. Acer Iconia Tab A701 videos in the usual formats of the era, including MP4 and H.264, played through the stock player, and the wide screen kept subtitles readable. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 classic tablet for reading ebooks is an equally fair description, since the sharp panel renders long text without the soft edges that tire the eyes on low-resolution screens.

Text, Photos and Everyday Viewing

For ordinary viewing, the panel rewards the eye in small ways. News articles fit more words per screen, photo galleries show fine textures, and comics and magazines look close to print. The screen is the part of this tablet that has aged best, because resolution does not go out of date the way processors do. A surviving example still shows what Acer was aiming at: a tablet that could stand in for a small television and a large book at the same time.

Performance and Software

The Acer Iconia Tab A701 performance in daily use came from a chip that was new and ambitious for its year. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad core processor runs four Cortex-A9 cores at up to 1.3 GHz, with a fifth low-power companion core for light tasks, and the Acer Iconia Tab A701 processor is paired with an NVIDIA ULP GeForce graphics unit. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 1GB RAM and 32GB storage combination was standard for a premium tablet of 2012, with 16 GB and 64 GB versions also sold, and the Acer Iconia Tab A701 RAM limit of 1 GB is the clearest sign of its age today. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 storage choices leave room for apps, music and offline video, and the card slot adds more when the built-in space runs short.

Tegra 3 in Daily Tasks

In 2012 the Tegra 3 handled the tablet workload with ease: web pages, email, office documents, photo viewing and the games of the period. Acer Iconia Tab A701 games on NVIDIA Tegra 3 graphics included the THD titles that were built to show off the chip, with richer lighting and effects than dual-core tablets could manage. Acer Iconia Tab A701 games from that era still run on the hardware, though modern titles are far beyond its reach. For light use today, such as reading, music and local video, the chip still copes, but heavy modern web pages and current apps will feel slow, and that is an honest limit of a 2012 processor.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

The Acer Iconia Tab A701 Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software was a major step for tablets, bringing a cleaner interface, better multitasking, resizable widgets and a proper tablet layout for apps. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 Android experience on this version covers browsing, mail, maps and media without the need for extra software, and Acer kept its own additions light. No official Acer Iconia Tab A701 update took the tablet past Android 4.0 in most markets, so buyers of a used example should expect the original software, with the app limits that follow. An Acer Iconia Tab A701 factory reset and software update check is still the sensible first step on a second-hand unit: reset the tablet, check for any final system patch, and then judge it on what it can do as it stands.

Cameras and Connectivity: 3G Against Wi-Fi Only

The camera set is modest and honest about it. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 5MP rear camera with LED flash takes acceptable photos in good light, with autofocus to keep subjects sharp, and the Acer Iconia Tab A701 camera on the back records 720p video that suits casual clips and video messages. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 front camera for video calls is a 1 MP unit, plain but good enough for a chat window, and that is where it was used most. Nobody bought this tablet for photography, and the cameras are best seen as tools for video calls, quick notes and the occasional snapshot.

Cameras for Photos and Video Calls

Rear photos in daylight hold fair colour and detail for a 2012 tablet, while indoor shots show noise quickly and the flash only helps at close range. The front camera keeps video calls usable over Wi-Fi or 3G, and the large screen makes the other person easy to see. As a document scanner or a casual camera for a whiteboard, the rear camera still does the job, but a phone of any recent year will beat it easily.

3G Against Wi-Fi Only: A701 and A700

This is the detail that matters most when comparing models. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 3G version versus WiFi only A700 is a simple split: the A701 is the 3G version of the A700, and the A700 is Wi-Fi only, while the two tablets share the same screen, chip, RAM, cameras and battery. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 compared with Acer Iconia Tab A700 therefore comes down to one question, whether you need mobile data away from Wi-Fi, and the answer decides which model to look for. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 3G radio covers GSM and HSPA, so the tablet could browse, check mail and stream at 3G speeds without a hotspot. Acer Iconia Tab A701 browsing the web over 3G was slow by later standards, yet it freed the tablet from Wi-Fi in cars, cafes and hotels, which was the whole point of the model. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 WiFi Bluetooth and GPS connectivity rounds out the set, with 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and GPS with A-GPS support, and that makes it the 3G model in this family for buyers who want the most flexible connection options. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 Bluetooth link pairs with headsets and keyboards of the period, and the Acer Iconia Tab A701 GPS receiver works with offline maps when a data connection is absent.

Battery Life and Charging

The battery is the other half of the tablet appeal. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 9800mAh battery life in use gave long sessions for its year, with video playback running for many hours and mixed use stretching across a day of reading and browsing. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 battery is a non-removable Li-Po unit, and its size is what lets the bright Full HD screen run without constant charging. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 charger is a standard mains adapter for the microUSB port, and charging a battery this large takes several hours from empty, so overnight charging was the normal habit.

Battery in Daily Use

For a tablet used at home, the battery meant a full evening of films or a day of light reading without hunting for a socket. On the move, the 3G radio draws more power than Wi-Fi, so heavy mobile browsing shortens the run time, while local video and reading stretch it. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 charging time and battery care that owners learned in 2012 still applies to surviving examples: charge fully before a trip, avoid leaving the tablet flat for months, and expect a battery of this age to hold less than it did when new. Battery wear sits at the top of Acer Iconia Tab A701 problems reported by owners of used examples, ahead of tired screens and loose ports, and it is the first thing to test before buying one second-hand. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 common problems and simple fixes that owners report most often are an ageing battery, slow charging from a weak adapter, and apps that no longer update, and the simple fixes are a proper mains charger, a reset, and a realistic choice of apps that suit Android 4.0. It is, all the same, a large battery for its time, and that capacity is why so many of these tablets stayed in use long after their software had dated.

Full Specifications

The Acer Iconia Tab A701 specs below give the full hardware picture in one place, checked against the release record for this model. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 10.1 inch Full HD display, the Tegra 3 chip and the 9800 mAh battery are the three numbers that define the tablet, and the rest of the table fills in the detail around them.

Pros and Cons

What Works Well

• Sharp 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 Full HD display that was rare for a tablet in 2012.
• Large 9800 mAh battery for long video and reading sessions.
• Quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip with graphics that suited the games of its era.
• 3G mobile data on the A701, unlike the Wi-Fi only A700.
• Useful ports, including micro HDMI, USB host and a microSDHC card slot.

What Falls Short

• Heavy at 667 g, so it suits two hands or a stand rather than long one-hand use.
• Only 1 GB of RAM, which limits modern apps and heavy web pages.
• Android 4.0 software with no official path to later versions in most markets.
• Basic cameras that suit video calls more than photography.
• Old 3G speeds and Bluetooth 2.1, far behind later tablets.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the Acer Iconia Tab A701 and the Acer Iconia Tab A700?

The A701 is the 3G version and the A700 is Wi-Fi only. Both share the same 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 screen, NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip, 1 GB of RAM, 5 MP rear camera and 9800 mAh battery, so the choice is only about mobile data. If you need internet away from Wi-Fi, look for the A701; if you always have Wi-Fi, the A700 gives the same tablet experience.

How long does the Acer Iconia Tab A701 battery last?

When new, the 9800 mAh battery gave many hours of video playback and a full day of light mixed use. A surviving example today will hold less charge, and 3G use drains it faster than Wi-Fi or local video, so test the battery on a used tablet before you rely on it for a trip.

Can the Acer Iconia Tab A701 still run apps today?

It runs the apps that suit Android 4.0, including reading, music, local video and older games, but most current apps need later Android versions and will not install or update. Treat it as a classic media and reading tablet rather than a daily modern device, and it still has a clear role.

Does the Acer Iconia Tab A701 have a microSD card slot?

Yes. The tablet has a dedicated microSDHC slot, and the Acer Iconia Tab A701 microSD card expansion up to 32GB gives room for extra music, photos and offline video beyond the 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of built-in space. A card is the cheapest way to add room on a used example.

Is the Acer Iconia Tab A701 good for watching videos?

Yes, video is one of its strongest uses. The sharp Full HD screen, wide viewing angles and large battery suit films and shows, and the micro HDMI port lets you move the picture to a television. It is best with local files and older streaming apps that still run on Android 4.0.

Verdict

The Acer Iconia Tab A701 is best remembered as a screen-first tablet from 2012, and that is a fair way to judge it today. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 price and availability in 2012 put it at the premium end of its class, and buyers paid for the Full HD panel, the Tegra 3 chip and the large battery rather than for cameras or thinness. As a classic device, the Acer Iconia Tab A701 old tablet still useful today in a narrow but real sense: reading, local video, music and light browsing all work, and the screen still looks good. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 best uses for students and travellers in its era were notes, reading, films and maps, and those same uses suit a surviving example now, provided you accept Android 4.0 and its app limits. The Acer Iconia Tab A701 second hand buying guide and checks are simple: test the battery, check the screen for dead pixels, confirm the 3G model is the one you want, and check the card slot and ports. For collectors and for anyone who wants a sharp, simple media slate from the early tablet years, the A701 remains an interesting piece of Acer history, and the 3G model is the one to choose if you want the most complete version of it.

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