Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 Review: Acer's offering in low end market

Just a while ago, i’ve already showed you one pretty awesome tablet from Acer.

It was Acer Iconia Tab B1-720, which falls in the cheap budget tablet category or around $100 in price range.

(Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 Specs)


Despite being a cheap budget tablet, Acer Iconia Tab B1-720 amazingly is a pretty good gaming tablet.

It’s actually quite surprising for me given that this Acer’s tablet is a cheap budget tablet that only comes with some low-grade hardware specs - like an “outdated” Mediatek dual-core processor, low-resolution display and low battery capacity.

However, the thing that really makes this tablet interesting is definitely its Mali 400 GPU.


As you may know, Mali 400 GPU is a really widespread mobile GPU on the market, with many tablet manufacturers using it for their devices.

Coincidentally, Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 8-inches is one of those devices.

And i’ve already seen this Samsung’s tablet capable to play many latest graphically demanding games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, Dead Trigger 2, Modern Combat 4 and many other more, all in full graphics and smooth performance.

The same thing happens to Acer Iconia Tab B1-720, as this tablet also has the same great gaming performance just like that Samsung’s tablet, having managed to play Asphalt 8: Airborne also in full graphics and smooth performance.

Acer Iconia Tab B1 actually consists in 3 different models, the one that i’ve just showed you earlier (B1-720), Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 and last but not least, Acer Iconia Tab B1-A71, which is the first-generation model of this series.

I’m actually pretty interested to talk about the second generation model of Acer Iconia Tab B1 given that its specs are not that far different with the last model (B1-720), while the first-gen B1-A71 is a really low-grade tablet.

But maybe, in the future (not now), i’ll probably bring up again the first-gen model on this site.

Who knows.

Okay then, without further ado, if you’re interested to know more about Acer Iconia Tab B1-710, then you can check out my personal review of this model.


As i already mentioned above, Acer has released 3 different models under the same flag - Acer Iconia Tab B1 -, from the first-gen B1-A71, the second-gen B1-710 released in last quarter of 2013 and the last-gen model released in 2014 - Acer Iconia Tab B1-720 -, which i’ve already showed you a while ago.

Talking about Acer Iconia Tab B1-710, this second-gen model is actually not that far different with the latest model, especially in terms of specs.

They both share the same low-resolution display, 1GB of RAM, the same no-rear-facing-camera and some other more.

However, despite using some similar internals, there are some sectors of both devices that set them apart, like the GPU/CPU, the standard amount of internal storage, the battery capacity, the Android version and they both even have different weight, with the latest model being the lighter one.


As i’ve already showed you in my previous review of the last-gen model of this series, Acer Iconia Tab B1-720 amazingly has great gaming performance.

And that’s quite shocking for me (but not that shocking given that i know that Mali-400 GPU is a great GPU) because Acer Iconia Tab B1-720 is actually a cheap budget tablet, priced at just around $100, which is extremely cheap for a tablet with great gaming performance like this one.

And that’s really amazing because i didn’t expect a cheap budget tablet like this could have such a great gaming performance - with game like Asphalt 8: Airborne running smoothly even in full graphics, thanks to its Mali 400 GPU.

On the other hand, the predecessor, Acer Iconia Tab B1-710, despite using some similar internals, i have doubts this tablet will also have the same great gaming performance just like B1-720.

And that’s clearly because this second-gen model only comes with PowerVR SGX531u, which is really outdated and not as powerful as Mali 400 GPU on Acer Iconia Tab B1-720, although it is still a pretty good GPU with a huge rate of adoption on many Android devices, mostly smartphones.

So the question is, with those hardware specs, does Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 have what it takes to be a good gaming tablet in low budget tablet category, just like Acer Iconia Tab B1-720?

Well, we’re about to find out in this review.


In terms of design, Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 is actually not that far different with its siblings, Acer Iconia Tab B1-720 and Acer Iconia Tab B1-A71.

They both share the same thick bezels on the front, dark black plastic finish all over its rear-chassis, blue trim around the side and many other things that make them look similar.

Well, that’s not that surprising given that they all are actually released in the same family - Acer Iconia Tab B1.

So when releasing the next-gen tablets under this series, Acer only bumps up the hardware specs of these tables without touching their original concept design.


Overall, i’m not really amazed with the design of this tablet.

It looks really generic with other Android tablets out there, especially the cheap budget ones, and it doesn’t look attractive either.

But then again, we must always remember that Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 is a cheap budget tablet, released in $100 low-end tablet market.

So we just cannot expect its design to be as premium as other mid-end devices, let alone iPad.

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• No SIM
• Released November2013
• TFT capacitive touchscreen 7.0 inches 600 x 1024 pixels (~170 ppi pixel density)
• microSD Memory card slot, for up to 32 GB
• 8 GB Internal storage
• 1 GB RAM
• No GPRS
• No EDGE
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth
• USB
• No rear-facing camera
• Front-facing camera
• Android OS
• Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 Mediatek MT8317T Chipset
• PowerVR SGX531u GPU
• Accelerometer
• No Radio
• GPS
• Java
• Li-Ion 2640 mAh battery (Non-removable)
• Up to 3 h 30 min for Multimedia and talk time

Similar just like the sequel model of this tablet (B1-720), there is not much difference found on this tablet, especially its specs compared to the last-gen model.

Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 still has the same low-resolution 1024x600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, dual-core Mediatek processor, no rear-facing camera and some other more.

However, given that Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 is the second-generation model in this series, then it’s obvious that its hardware specs will not be as great as the latest-gen model (Acer Iconia Tab B1-720).

The most prominent differences between these 2 models are their processor, internal storage, battery capacity and the most importantly, their GPU.

Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 comes with a 7-inch display sporting the resolution of 1024x600 pixels, a dual-core Mediatek MT8317t (as opposed to the Mediatek MT8111 on the sequel), PowerVR SGX531u GPU (compared to the Mali 400 GPU on the sequel), 1GB of RAM, 2640mAh battery (compared to 2955mAh on the sequel), 8GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, front-facing camera, no-rear-facing camera and many more.

Overall, the specs of Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 are actually not very far different with the sequel - Acer Iconia Tab B1-720.

However, it’s worth noting that the last-gen model, based on my personal review, is just a much much better tablet than this predecessor, especially in gaming performance - with games like Asphalt 8: Airborne running smoothly even in full high graphics.

So if you’re planning to get this tablet, i suggest you to buy the last-gen model Acer Iconia Tab B1-720 with Mali 400 GPU as this is really important in ensuring its great gaming performance.


One of the best things found on this tablet is definitely its low-resolution screen.

Okay – don’t get me wrong -, i know that with this low-resolution display, this tablet will lack of sharpness, and the results can be seen clearly when used to read eBooks or browsing the web.

Text can’t be read clearly in normal mode and you will always need to do the pinch to zoom gesture all the time.

However, what makes this display great on this tablet is, given its low-grade hardware and especially low battery capacity, then this tablet might not need that higher resolution screen (e.g., 720p or 1080p display).

In fact, i think 1024x600 pixel display on this tablet is just a perfect match to the internal hardware of this device, ensuring the processor to work seamlessly without any hiccups or lags.

As a result, by using this low-resolution display, it could give a huge impact to the overall performance and experience of using this tablet, thus making the overall performance perform much faster and smoother, plus making the battery life last much longer than expected.


The overall performance of Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 is probably gonna be similar with the predecessor given that they both share almost the same exact type of specs - from the same exact Mediatek MT8317u dual-core CPU, the same PowerVR SGX531u GPU, the same low-resolution 1024x600 pixel display and the similar Android build and features.

However, it’s worth noting that this second-gen model comes with bigger 1GB of RAM, as opposed to the smaller 512MB of RAM on the predecessor - the first-gen Acer Iconia B1-A71.

So it definitely would help a lot in the fluidity and experience of this tablet, especially when opening many apps at once - with Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 having the much faster performance.

Besides, thanks to that bigger 1GB of RAM, there will be much bigger space in the memory for the preloaded apps and system in the background.

So they won’t inundate the whole RAM on this tablet, thus making this tablet perform much smoother and faster overall.

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When it comes to, then this tablet definitely will not be as great as the last-third model of this series (Acer Iconia Tab B1-720).

The reason is obviously because, Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 is only packing PowerVR SGX531u GPU, similar just like the predecessor - which is already considered as “outdated” given that most of PowerVR-SGX-armed tablets already adopt the latest generation PowerVR SGX 544 or 554 MP4 GPU.

Meanwhile, PowerVR SGX 531u is mostly used on older-gen devices released in 2012, mostly cheap budget smartphones.

However, it doesn’t mean that this GPU sucks and won’t deliver good gaming performance to this tablet.

Yes - it can deliver a pretty good gaming performance to this tablet, but it just will suffer a lot when handling the latest graphically demanding games in 2013 or 2014, like Asphalt 8, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Modern Combat 4, Dead Trigger 2 or GTA San Andreas.

Even so, there are still many games that will definitely run well on this device, mostly the ones released in 2012, like Gangstar Miami Vindication, N.O.V.A 1, Modern Combat 1 (probably 2), Asphalt 5, ShadowGun, PES 2012, Need for Speed Undercover & Shift, GTA III, Samurai Showdown and many other older games. As for the latest games, they probably can be played on this tablet, but definitely not in full graphics.

But if you’re really planning to get this cheap budget tablet in the near future, maybe for your kids or even yourself, i strongly suggest you to pick up the latest-third-gen-model instead (Acer Iconia Tab B1-720).

You wanna know why?

Well, that’s because the last-gen model - Acer Iconia Tab B1-720 - which was released a couple of months ago in January 2014, is already packing the Mali 400 GPU (compared to the “outdated” PowerVR SGX 531u GPU on the first and second-gen models).

And this GPU is still considered as good even in today’s tablet market – of course, if not great – as Samsung still makes use of this GPU on its latest Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 8-inches, which proved to have great gaming performance.

So even if you get this tablet at cheap price point, at least you know that it still has good gaming performance as Samsung’s slate.


Similar just like the other 2 models in this series, it’s too bad Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 is not equipped with the rear-facing camera.

You can only have the front-facing snapper on this tablet. But then again, you just cannot complain on this issue given that this tablet is priced at really cheap price point – probably around $100.

So with that price point, no wonder if Acer decides to sacrifice some of the sectors on this tablet in order to keep the cost low.

So if you’re into tablet photography, then you will be left disappointed if you decide to buy this tablet. The good thing is, Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 still comes with that front-facing camera.

So you can still have your chance to show off your selfie photos in front of your Twitter or Instagram followers.


Interestingly, unlike the other 2 models that use Li-po battery, Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 is packing a Lithium ion battery, which is 2640mAh.

However, when it comes to battery life, there’s no huge difference between this second-gen model and the other 1st and 3rd models.

So if you’re using this tablet for doing some basic tasks, in combined screen on/off usage, you probably would still get around a full day in one full charge.

However, if you’re type of power users and are gonna use this tablet for doing some heavy intense tasks without resting the screen - like watching movies in marathon or playing games in the row - then you can expect this tablet to last probably around 3 to 5 hours the longest, which is not that great given that most of today’s tablets already adopt more than 4000mAh power battery and have stronger battery life.

But you should always remember that this Acer’s tablet is only as a cheap budget tablet.

So you just cannot complain anything about this device, including its battery life.


So my final conclusion about this tablet is, similar just like the first-gen model (Acer Iconia Tab B1-A71), i don’t think this tablet has a great gaming performance, especially compared to the last-third-gen model - Acer Iconia Tab B1-720.

The reason is actually really simple.

Despite having some similar internal hardware just like the last-gen model, Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 unfortunately is only packing PowerVR SGX531u GPU, which is already considered as outdated in today’s standards.

So as a result, there are many latest games that probably won’t run perfectly – even can’t be played – on this device.

I always mention about this issue because the last-gen model of this series (Acer Iconia Tab B1-720) is probably priced at the same price point just like Acer Iconia Tab B1-710.

So i think it’s not wise if you buy this second-gen model, whereas you can get a much better option at the same price.

I mean, it would such a waste of money if you buy the old-gen model whereas you have the other option to pick up the last-gen model instead, which has a good gaming performance just like Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 8-inches.

This tablet is definitely suitable to buy for you kids given its low price point.

However, you - as an adult - can also use this tablet given that Acer Iconia Tab B1-710 is originally intended by Acer as a serious Android tablet, not a tablet for kids.

But if you’re really serious about getting this tablet in the near future, i strongly suggest you to pick up the last-gen model of this series. - Acer Iconia Tab B1-720 with Mali 400 GPU -, not this Acer Iconia B1-710 or even B1-A71.

Besides having a good gaming performance, this tablet also has a bit better specs than the predecessors.

Have any question? Leave your comment here!