Image Credit: Acer

It isn't an easy time to introduce a new tablet for $450, given the iPad 2 is now $399, but Acer's pushing full speed ahead with its new Iconia Tab A510.

The new tablet, which is available today for pre-order, is at the upper echelon when it comes to raw specification for an Android tablet. It has a quad-core processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a 10.1-inch display, Google's latest Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" software, and promises 12 hours of battery life. And because Acer is an official sponsor of the 2012 Olympics, it also has Olympic rings logo painted on the back.

"The biggest update here is the Tegra 3 quad-core processor from NVIDIA and the bigger battery. We have also looked into the applications and tried to enhance the interface," Paul Tayar, Acer's Director of Product Marketing, told ABC News.

However, Tayar didn't want to address how the Iconia Tab A510 stacks up against the elephant in the room - the new iPad.

"As every Android manufacturer is trying to position its product against Apple, I don't like to look at it as competing with Apple head to head," Tayar said. "With this product we want to make sure Acer customers, that need an Android proposition, have a great device."

With the decline of netbooks, Acer has struggled to maintain its hold on the mobile market in the last couple of years, and its founder has publicly addressed that the tablet market has been an uphill battle for the Taiwan-based company.

Still Tayar is excited about the potential of Android tablets and is encouraged by the third-party app selection and the "seamless integration with other Google devices."

But Acer is also looking to another operating system for tablets - Windows 8.

"Windows 8 is an interesting variable in the equation. As a hardware maker, having multiple operating systems gives us more perspective to build different products."

Tayar wouldn't answer when Acer's Windows 8 products will be released, but he did say, "We will have products that will cater to the Windows 8 designs and are built around the Windows 8 tablet form factor."