$99 Tablet In Development By Acer, Slated For Early 2013 Arrival?
A new report by The Wall Street Journal stated that Acer is developing a tablet that will sell for a low price of $99.
The report published on Monday cited a "person with direct knowledge of the project" who said the new tablet, known as the Iconia B1, would launch early 2013. The Iconia B1 will run on an Android platform and measures in at 7-inches.
The tablet market is flooded with devices built by big brand names like Google and Apple who sell their products at much higher costs. The development of a $99 tablet by Acer is a major slash in price when compared to existing tablets from competition like Amazon's Kindle Fire that sells for $159.
The 7-inch Iconia B1 will have specs that mirror devices like the Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook Color. It will also feature a 1,024-by-600 display and a 1.2-GHz dual-core processor, according to PC Mag.
"In the past few months, we've made project roadmap changes in response to big changes in the tablet market," the person close to the Acer project said to The Journal. "The launch of the Nexus 10 has changed the outlook for what makes competitive pricing."
Acer submitted the new tablet to the Federal Communications Commission for clearance to sell the product in the United States.
The company is reportedly in the process of also developing Windows 8 tablets based on Intel, which will be priced lower than the current versions. The Iconia W510 ranges in price starting from around $549, while Iconia W700 starts as low as $800.
Acers move to create a very affordable tablet may start a price war with competitors. It is possible that consumers will see a variety of tablet prices dropping in late 2013 as a result of Iconia B1.
