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Acer Iconia Tab A510 (32GB review: Acer Iconia Tab A510 (32GB

Acer's first quad-core tablet enters the market with a suspect price.

Headshot of Eric Franklin
Headshot of Eric Franklin
Eric Franklin Former Editorial Director
Eric Franklin led the CNET Tech team as Editorial Director. A 20-plus-year industry veteran, Eric began his tech journey testing computers in the CNET Labs. When not at work he can usually be found at the gym, chauffeuring his kids around town, or absorbing every motivational book he can get his hands on.
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  • Once wrote 50 articles in one month.
Eric Franklin
7 min read
2012

The first quad-core tablet, the Asus Transformer Prime, launched in December 2011, but the adoption rate of quad-core on tablets since then has been disappointingly slow. The new Acer Iconia Tab A510 marks only the third tablet to use a full quad-core CPU and is actually the first made by a company other than Asus.

7.0

Acer Iconia Tab A510 (32GB

The Good

The <b>Acer Iconia Tab A510</b> may be the most comfortable tablet I’ve ever held, with a sturdy build and a grip-y texture on its backside. The quad-core tablet delivers fast performance in games, navigation, and Wi-Fi. The expandable storage option and Micro-HDMI are appreciated extras.

The Bad

The A510 is a bit expensive compared with other tablets and its camera performance is unimpressive. The A510’s LCD screen has narrow viewing angles and tends to wash out color. Also, the screen isn’t as responsive as those of other top-tier tablets. Acer Ring feels limited in its usefulness, and the tablet’s aesthetic quality is nothing to get jazzed about.

The Bottom Line

The Acer Iconia Tab A510 is a well-designed, comfortable tablet that’s a bit too expensive for what it offers versus the competition.

But with the Transformer Pad TF300 currently priced $50 cheaper than the Acer, is there any reason to even consider the A510?

Design
The Acer Iconia Tab A510 looks and feels a lot like the A200 before it. The left and right edges are adorned with silver plating; the back feels like a mixture of rubber and leather (in a good way), making the tablet easy to grip; the corners are well-rounded, and the tablet just feels comfortable to hold. In fact it's one of the most comfortable tablets I've ever had the pleasure of holding, with the leathery back (available in either silver or black) reducing the likelihood it'll accidentally slip from my hands. The A510 is thicker and slightly heavier than the Asus Transformer Pad TF300, and feels stronger and sturdier. However, from a purely aesthetic standpoint, the A510 looks dull and sort of boxy, compared with more stylish tablets.

If I had to choose the one thing I appreciated most about the A510, it would be how comfortable it is to hold. This is made possible by a solid, sturdy design and the leathery back side. Josh Miller/CNET

7.0

Acer Iconia Tab A510 (32GB

Score Breakdown

Design 7Features 7Performance 7