Acer has announced two new Android tablets, the Acer Iconia 8 and 10, that it claims offer “the most accurate touch experience, ever … you can even use thin-tipped objects like pencils to make notes!” Other specifications for both models are fairly standard, with Intel quad-core CPUs and both running Android 5.0 Lollipop, but it’s the screen technology that sets them apart, if it lives up to the hype.

Acer Precision Plus, as detailed in a video here, involves fitting the tablets with a greater density of touch sensors. “When using your fingertips, you can select with greater accuracy and experience fewer mistakes. It also lets you use finer-tipped writing tools, down to just 2 mm, so you can draw and write finer lines and letters.” I’d be interested then to know how this gets around the issue of using a non-conducting medium like a pencil to draw onscreen, if the sensors are capacitive rather than resistive, but apparently it works. In any case, they certainly don’t have active digitizer screens.

For certain types of usage, above all, onscreen writing, I can see this being very attractive. Acer is reportedly positioning at least the 8-inch model for the schools market, with a range of colors. Debut prices quoted for the two models are $149 and $299 respectively.

 

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