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After reading several reviews (and the comments here, of course) I picked up an A500 for at least a "test run". Initial reactions:
Setup... Easy as can be.
Root... Really simple. Sideload one apk and then click on the app.
Email and Browser... Hey, it uses the same ones you've probably used in the past.
Market... This is where it gets tricky. Some apps we all know and love just aren't there. One of my favorites, Executive Assistant, just isn't shown, and if you finally find it and try to install, you get the message "Incompatible with this device". Ten points off for the A500.
PDF handling... I loaded Repligo Reader, and saw no difference on the A500 from my previous devices (Droid X and Nook Color). Not a fault of the tablet, but come on folks, when do we get a good PDF app like iAnnotate?
GPS... WiFi assisted, excellent. I'll try it out today without WiFi and will report back. BTW, CoPilot Live v8 works very well on this machine.
USB Hosting... Can we say WOW! Picked up my 16GB flash drive immediately. The only drawback is that to access the files you need to go through a File Manager. I blame this on the software and not the tablet, however. I seriously doubt that any (or at least not many) devs have coded this option into their apps... yet.
USB Slave... Why won't Win7 Pro see the external SD card? Five points off, for having to plug the uSD into a card reader in the computer for file transfers.
Battery Life... Excellent. 'Nuff said.
Size and Weight... The same screen size as my netbook, in a much thinner package. Weight is a non-issue. Fits nicely into a standard netbook sleeve for transport.
As of now (after a couple of hours of use), the goods outweigh the drawbacks. I should have lots of time today to explore further. My inital reaction is that I'm trying really hard to like this machine and so far it seems to be working.
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