Acer first unveiled its new Iconia Tab A110 in June at Computex, touting a promising tablet running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Now, the company has officially announced that the A110 will start shipping soon, but it will pack the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, Android Jelly Bean. 4.1.

The Acer Iconia A110 will come with a 7-inch capacitive multi-touch screen with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, a quad-core 1.2GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats, and microSD support for expandable memory. Other features include micro HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, and a 3,420 mAh battery.

Acer's new Android tablet will join a crowded market for 7-inch slates, currently buzzing around Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's new Kindle Fires. While it is too early to say much about the Iconia A110, it looks like a powerful contender to challenge both the Nexus 7 and the Fire.

"If you are looking for a tablet that you can easily hold in one hand and still lets you enjoy web browsing, multimedia, or even work if you need to, you have found your dream tablet," Acer touts in its press release. "The new Acer ICONIA TAB A110, with a 7" display and less than 390 g of weight, is compact to carry and comfortable to browse, taking your mobile experience to the next level."

Acer still has not offered details on exact price or release date, other than saying it will start shipping soon. Earlier this year various rumors indicated the tablet could sell for roughly $200. Google, however, has introduced its Asus-made Nexus 7 in the meantime, and that slate is priced starting at $199.

If Acer wants its 7-inch Iconia Tab A110 to be competitive, it may work to offer a better price. Acer's tablet has the same operating system and processor as the Nexus 7, and it adds microSD and microHDMI ports. On the other hand, the Iconia A110 has a lower resolution display compared to the Nexus 7. Google's tablet has a 1280 x 800 pixel display, while the A110 has a 1024 x 600 pixel screen.