Acer Launching $99 7-Inch Tablet, Similar To Kindle Fire, Nook Color (PHOTOS)

Dec 26, 2012 10:41 AM EST | Matt Mercuro

Acer is preparing to release a $99 tablet called the Iconia B1, but the company has yet to announce if the device will be released in the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal broke the story this week stating that a source "with direct knowledge of the project" claims Acer will be making a cheap, Android-capable tablet that will be released in early 2013.

"In the past few months, we've made project roadmap changes in response to big changes in the tablet market," the person said. "The launch of the Nexus 10 has changed the outlook for what makes competitive pricing."

Click here to see photos of the new device.

The Iconia is a 7-inch tablet, with a 1.2-GHz dual-core processor, and according to the report its specifications will be similar to the Nook Color and Kindle Fire. Acer is looking to one-up each of those devices however by releasing a similar product for a much affordable price. The Kindle goes for an average $139 currently, where as the Iconia will be almost $40 cheaper.

The Wall Street Journal predicts that the company will be looking to sell the device in China first rather than in the U.S., but if it is successful we could see the device reach America before the end of 2013.

The device has been submitted to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for clearance already however, but they haven't announced when the product will be sold in the U.S.

Acer is determined that they'll be able to compete with the competitive tablet market by offering a device for a much lower price, and by capitalizing in a "rapidly growing China market" according to Christine Wang, a Daiwa Securities analyst.

"Chinese white-box tablet makers are expected to sell some 60 million tablets next year, so it is a really big market," said Wang to The Wall Street Journal. "None of the major PC brands sells a tablet right now priced to compete with them right now."

The market for 7-inch tablets has grown drastically over the past year, with the introduction of devices like the $329 iPad Mini and $199 Google Nexus 7.

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