Acer Iconia Tab A500

[DreamWriter]

One of the replacement models for the Acer Iconia A500 is supposed to be available starting today—the 10.1" Acer Iconia A200. The 16GB version is featured in this week's Best Buy ad for $349.99 (the retail price), but Best Buy's website still states "coming soon" so I'm not sure if it's actually available in stores yet. Here's a link to Acer's press release.

And there's yet another Acer 10.1" tablet on the horizon. It's the A700 model, which features a 1920 x 1200 resolution screen and quad-core 1.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor. Obviously, that model will be priced higher.

The new A200 seems to have the same features as the A500, except that there is no rear camera. The styling is a bit different (no metal strips top and bottom in the front). Personally, I like the new design better, although I'm a happy A500 owner and I have grown to like that design.

Here are the specs for the Acer Iconia A200:

1.0GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor
1GB DDR2 memory
Android 3.2 Honeycomb (upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich coming mid-February)
8GB ($329.99) or 16GB ($349.99) internal storage
10.1" WXGA HD multi-touch display (1280 x 800)
NVIDIA GeForce
2.0MP front-facing webcam
dual speakers
802.11 b/g/n WLAN
Bluetooth
full-size USB 2.0
micro USB
microSD memory slot up to 32GB
microHDMI
1.5 lbs.

[Greg_E]

That means a500 prices should drop.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by Greg_E

That means a500 prices should drop.

The A500 is getting difficult to find. Best Buy is selling the refurbished 16GB Acer Iconia A500 for $299.99 right now, but they no longer carry them new. I did see one on display at my local Best Buy last week, but I didn't check to see if there were any actually in stock. The A500 is still available at Amazon, but prices aren't marked down yet. Maybe we'll see that happen once the new A200 is available there.

I don't see any advantages to the new A200 when compared to the A500. The features seem to be the same except that the A500 has two cameras while the A200 has only the front-facing webcam. I don't suppose many people use a 10" tablet to take photos anyway.

The styles are slightly different between the two models, but price trumps looks for me, personally. I initially had ruled out the A500 because I didn't care for those silver bands top and bottom on the front. But I got such a smokin' deal on my 32GB A500 that style ceased being a consideration, and I actually like the way it looks now!

[robertc88]

A local Walmart has them in my area. One can just go to their website bring up the A500 and do a zip code search for stores that have them, that's how I got mine. No Best Buy anywhere close to me had them.

I can return it and wait it out to hope to get a price break on the A500. I paid $349 and I really like the device at this point including its look and style. The price knowing the A200 is right around the corner is the problem but considering other 10" tablets are higher, the A500 is still a good buy.

I was hoping the Asus Transformer would drop so I could try it BUT since the Prime is delayed......

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by robertc88

A local Walmart has them in my area. One can just go to their website bring up the A500 and do a zip code search for stores that have them, that's how I got mine. No Best Buy anywhere close to me had them.

I can return it and wait it out to hope to get a price break on the A500. I paid $349 and I really like the device at this point including its look and style. The price knowing the A200 is right around the corner is the problem but considering other 10" tablets are higher, the A500 is still a good buy.

I just looked at Walmart.com to check A500 availability. Most of my local stores are "out of stock," but there are several that have "limited stock." I'm not sure if Walmart will match competitors' prices, but that may be an option if you see it elsewhere for less soon.

I hope you enjoy it!

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

I just looked at Walmart.com to check A500 availability. Most of my local stores are "out of stock," but there are several that have "limited stock." I'm not sure if Walmart will match competitors' prices, but that may be an option if you see it elsewhere for less soon.

I hope you enjoy it!

There isn't anything that I have tried that I'm unable to do. There really has not been any force closings and the wifi is stronger/faster when timing the Acer a500 versus other tablets BB has on display at my local store.

I'm even thinking about getting the Logitech Bluetooth keyboard which comes with a stand as well for tablets.

[DreamWriter]

I have this Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard for Android 3.0+ for my A500 and A100 tablets. I bought it from Best Buy when it was on sale Cyber Monday. It uses four AAA batteries. I have not tested all the function/media keys, but the keyboard works great!

[robertc88]

I ordered the keyboard last night from amazon as the seller there has a good track record.

Doesn't one going to be using the keyboard need a mouse as well? I scroll up and down and sideways a lot as well.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by robertc88

Doesn't one going to be using the keyboard need a mouse as well? I scroll up and down and sideways a lot as well.

I've thought about getting a mouse to use with the A500, but I haven't. It can be a bit difficult using a finger to move around the screen, but since I figured out that I can drag the colored bar to move to the correct position once I'm close to the intended target, that's better. Also, pinch zoom and a stylus help.

Still, having a mouse would be nice I think. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

[Greg_E]

I have that same keyboard works on pretty much any BT device. the only thing I don't like about it is that it will only remember a single pairing and I would like to pair it to my Windows tablet and my a500 and be able to switch back and forth more rapidly than pairing with each device each time I need to switch.

[DreamWriter]

What I like about the Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard for Android 3.0+ is that the keys are a good size (not too small) and they have a nice feel. One slight drawback for me is that the keyboard is 1.25" longer than the A500 tablet, so I had to get a larger bag than I really wanted in order to carry them together.

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

I've thought about getting a mouse to use with the A500, but I haven't. It can be a bit difficult using a finger to move around the screen, but since I figured out that I can drag the colored bar to move to the correct position once I'm close to the intended target, that's better. Also, pinch zoom and a stylus help.

Still, having a mouse would be nice I think. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

I'll see how it goes without a mouse and take it from them. I'm not sure how one scrolls up and down and across which I do alot to get around so I guess I'll figure it out (hopefully it is intuitive).

I saw the A200 yesterday in BB. I personally like the look of the A500 better BUT one of the better difference is the backing and the A200 will not slide around as much. Everything else may be a wash, the weight seemed pretty much the same to me. A person posting a review on BB's website says the text is better on the A200 and funny that he mentioned webpages like I referenced in an earlier post. I guess that remains to be seen with hands on experience between the two devices.

[DreamWriter]

The new 10.1" Acer Iconia A200 is now available at Best Buy online and in stores. The 16GB model is $349.99.

Here's an Android Central video that highlights some features of the A200:

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

I've thought about getting a mouse to use with the A500, but I haven't. It can be a bit difficult using a finger to move around the screen, but since I figured out that I can drag the colored bar to move to the correct position once I'm close to the intended target, that's better. Also, pinch zoom and a stylus help.

Still, having a mouse would be nice I think. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

The keyboard arrived yesterday and I have been using it but I have a question about the colored bar to maneuver.

If I use the up and down keys, then the webpage I'm on will scroll according. If I hit the left arrow key, the colored bar moves all the way to the left of the webpage. How does one drag the colored bar to where it needs to go? I want to drag it to a link on that webpage or where I can type where provided on the page without using my finger to tap onto the Acer A500 to get there instead.

The user manual? No help I'm afraid with this unless I left out missed the explanation.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by robertc88

The keyboard arrived yesterday and I have been using it but I have a question about the colored bar to maneuver.

If I use the up and down keys, then the webpage I'm on will scroll according. If I hit the left arrow key, the colored bar moves all the way to the left of the webpage. How does one drag the colored bar to where it needs to go? I want to drag it to a link on that webpage or where I can type where provided on the page without using my finger to tap onto the Acer A500 to get there instead.

The user manual? No help I'm afraid with this unless I left out missed the explanation.

When I use the keyboard's arrow keys to move on a web page, it takes me from link to link. I don't see the colored bar unless I touch the screen. If you can tell me which web browser you're using and give me a particular web page to try out, I will see what I can come up with.