CES: Acer gives a sneak peek of 10.1in Tegra 3 tablet with Ice Cream Sandwich

Firm also debuts AcerCloud service

LAS VEGAS: Acer gave a sneak peek of its forthcoming Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet ahead of CES 2012.

The firm is set to add an as yet unnamed 10.1in model to its existing Iconia Tab range and has confirmed that it will ship with a quad-core processor and Android 4.0.

Although no details were given during the press conference, an Acer spokesperson confirmed the specifications of the device to V3.

The tablet will have a 10.1in display with full HD 1920x1200 resolution and 224ppi density. The device will be powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad-core 1.3GHz processor, with 1GB of RAM.

Acer will offer the device with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of memory and connectivity is set to come in the form of HDMI, micro USB and micro SD slots. The tablet is set to weigh 650g, making it slightly heavier than the iPad 2.

The Iconia tablet will also be compatible with the firm's newly announced AcerCloud service.

This will allow users to connect their tablet to an Acer PC or ultrabook to retrieve multimedia and data files remotely, even allowing users to wake up their PC remotely from sleep mode. Acer is the latest manufacturer to offer a cloud service following in the footsteps of Motorola's Motocast app and Apple's iCloud service.

AcerCloud will be built into all Acer consumer PCs starting from the second quarter of 2012. It will support Android devices, with support for Windows Phone in the pipeline. The service will initially be available in the US, Europe, Asia and China.

There are no details yet on pricing, but the latest addition to the Iconia Tab family is expected to be released in the second quarter.

If the device is priced competitively it could make an impact in the market, but with numerous Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablets set to drop around the same time, Acer could struggle to compete, especially against the likes of Samsung.

V3 has posted a hands-on review of the Acer tablet.