Report: Acer Prepping $99 7-Inch Tablet

Acer is reportedly prepping a $99 tablet, dubbed the Iconia B1, but it remains to be seen whether it will actually show up stateside.

Citing "a person with direct knowledge of the project," the Wall Street Journal reported today that the cheaper, Android-based Acer tablet will make its debut in early 2013.

The gadget will sport a 7-inch, 1,024-by-600 display and a 1.2-GHz dual-core processor, the Journal said. Specs will be similar to the Kindle Fire or Nook Color.

Acer, however, is likely eyeing Chinese consumers rather than those in the U.S. The Journal said the Taiwan-based Acer needs to go up against the no-name Android tablets that are much more popular in China than they are in the states.

Still, the device has been submitted to the Federal Communications Commission for approval.

Photos of the device that showed up on a Serbian forum are apparently legitimate, according to the Journal's source.

Last week, a report out of Taiwan indicated that Google is planning to of its Android-based Nexus 7 tablet next year.

Acer's "pocket-size" Iconia A110 tablet running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean debuted in the fall for $230. In , PCMag found that the A110 is a formidable 7-inch Android , but it didn't quite measure up to competitors like the and . For more, see the slideshow below.