Meet Acer Iconia One 7 and Tab 7, the latest budget Android tablets

Acer has two new 7-inch Android tablets: one metal, one colorful. Can either of them capture a crowded market?

The Acer Iconia One 7 and Tab 7 are similar enough products, both of them debuting at Acer’s New York press event, but one a little more premium than the other. But both are budget tablets, aiming at the lower end of the market.

Acer Iconia One 7, up close (photos)
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The oddly-named Acer Iconia One 7 comes in six different colors, and has a solid, kid-friendly feel. It’s also reminiscent of a Kindle Fire. The One 7 runs off an Intel Atom Z2560 1.6 GHz dual-core processor, has 1GB of RAM, and either 8 or 16GB of on-board storage, plus a Micro SD card slot. It runs Android 4.2, but is upgradable to 4.4.

The One 7 is bare-bones: a 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera and 2-megapixel rear camera, and a 1,200×800 display that at least has IPS. But the price is nice: $129.99 to start (or 139 Euros) when it launches sometime this May in Pan American markets, and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in June.

Acer Iconia Tab 7: the phone-tablet (photos)
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The Iconia Tab 7 has the same 1,200×800 7-inch display, but slightly upgraded specs: a quad-core 1.3 GHz Media Tek MT8382 processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and onboard 3G support for wireless data and even phone calls. The aluminum design feels a little sleeker. But, the estimated six hours of battery life per Acer’s spec sheet sounds like it leaves a lot to be desired. The Iconia Tab 7 will launch in Latin America at the end of June starting at 1,990 MX Peso, and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa starting at €149. No US price or release has been set.

Both of these tablets may sound unexciting, but could be really solid and seriously affordable picks for anyone looking for a small Android tablet.