Apple's New iPad Vs Acer Iconia Tab A510: Tablet Wars Are Only Beginning

The long-awaited tablet that is Apple's next-gen iPad was recently launched. The new tablet features a Retina Display, an A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5-megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics.

Also released in the same month was Acer's first quad-core tablet - the Iconia A510 - powered by the Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and running the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. Acer's new tablet, according to the company, is a special 2012 London Olympics edition and comes with a full suite of Polaris Office 3.5, which is compatible with Microsoft Office.

Check out how the two stack up:

Display: Apple's new iPad features a 9.7-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen multi-touch, high resolution Retina Display screen, along with In-Plane Switching technology. The display runs at a resolution of 2048x1536 pixels. Moreover, the display features fingerprint-resistance oleophobic coating and it supports the display of multiple languages.

Acer's Iconia has a 10.1-inch Active Matrix TFT colour LCD touch-screen, with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels.

Camera: The new iPad has a five megapixel iSight camera, with AutoFocus, Tap-to-Focus and Face Detection, in still images. It can record HD videos at 1080p and up to 30 frames per second, with audio. It also has a Face Time VGA-quality camera.

The Iconia Tab A510 sports a five megapixel rear-facing camera and a single megapixel front-facing camera. The latter has an improved zoom function allowing for clearer video conferencing. The primary camera is auto-focusing and can take photographs while recording HD videos.

Dimensions and Weight:

The new iPad Wi-Fi model measures 9.5x7.31x0.37 inches and it weighs 652g. The Wi-Fi+4G iPad model is 9.5x7.31x0.37 inches and weighs 662g.

The Iconia Tab A510 measures 10.2x6.9x0.43 inches and weighs over 680g.

Wireless:

The new iPad offers Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth version 4.0. The Wi-Fi+4G model can run on both AT&T and Verizon and offers Long Term Evolution (LTE) connectivity.

The Iconia Tab A510 offers Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth version 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate).

Battery:

Both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+4G new iPad models feature a built-in 42.5 watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery which can run up to 10 hours. The battery can be charged via power adapter or USB to computer.

The Iconia Tab A510 runs with a 9800mAh battery, which the company claims shows a battery life up to 12 hours of video playback.

Processor:

The new iPad is powered by a dual-core Apple A5X custom-designed chip with quad-core graphics. The Iconia Tab A510 is powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor.

Storage:

The new iPad Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+4G models come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions. Apple's tablet does not support microSD cards.

Acer's device meanwhile has only 32GB of internal storage but does support a microSD card.

Price:

The new iPad Wi-Fi model is available at a retail price of £314.78 for 16GB, £377.87 for 32GB and £440.95 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi+4G is available at a retail price of £396.79 for 16GB, £459.87 for 32GB and £522.96 for 64GB.

The Iconia Tab A510 is available for pre-order in the US and Canada at a retail price of £315.41. The two models of the tablets are the Acer A510-10s32 (silver) and Acer A510-10k32 (black).

Operating System:

The new iPad runs on iOS 5.1. A redesigned camera app with video stabilization technology, the ability to delete photos from Photo Stream, support for dictation in English, French, German and Japanese and Personal Hotspots are few of the key features of the new software.

The Iconia Tab A510 is powered by the Android 4.0 operating system and should deliver faster browsing, enhanced app and folder management options, more intuitive navigation and enhanced holographic effects.