Though Google can afford to offer the ASUS-built Nexus 7 tablet at or below cost in hopes of recouping the lost revenues on ecosystem sales, other would-be tablet manufacturers continue to need to turn a profit in order to support the business. Acer announced the comparable 7″ Iconia A110 back at Computex in June, complete with Tegra 3 processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 8GB of on board storage, and microSD and micro-HDMI support. Today, Acer announced they will bring the A110 to the US market for $230 starting October 30th.
The A110 will retail for $30 higher than the comparable 8GB Nexus 7 tablet, though that differential will likely grow a day before the A110 is released. Google is holding an event on October 29th, where it is expected to launch a 32GB Nexus 7 tablet for $250, likely followed by a discounting of the 8 and 16GB variants. While both the A110 and Nexus 7 run the Jelly Bean operating system, consumers looking for a budget-friendly Android slate will likely flock to the Google approved slate instead of a similar but more expensive model from Acer, despite the A110’s microSD and micro-HDMI support.
And that’s only if they haven’t already lined up for the iPad Mini, which Apple will unveil on October 23rd. It’s a tough time to launch a budget tablet in the market, and Acer’s A110 will likely get left behind.