Acer Iconia Tab A500

SCION · 04-26-2011, 08:32 PM

Haven't seen anyone mention this yet. Stumbled upon this at Best Buy this morning. Priced at $450. Very nice looking. Bigger than XOOM, but seems lighter.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Acer+-+I...blet&cp=1&lp=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBcjN...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg2Gj...eature=related

Want to play with it again.

robtillotson · 04-27-2011, 12:09 AM

I picked one of these up today -- I had originally thought I would get an EEE Transformer, but the combination of its unavailability and some more thought about whether I actually wanted to buy the keyboard dock (which is required to have any USB ports at all) led me to grab the Iconia instead.

It's my first tablet so I don't have extensive experience with anything else to compare, but so far I like it a lot. It feels solid and fast, the screen is nice (the EEE's is apparently better, but I don't feel like anything is wrong with the Iconia's... and it beats the heck out of the repurposed netbook screen in the Viewsonic g-tablet that I almost bought last week).

It's running a pretty stock Honeycomb with some added "shelf" icons in the launcher, a couple of game demos, and some redundant media player apps. I'm not planning to use it to read prose (I prefer e-ink for that), but I expect it to be excellent for comic books and PDFs...

The only problems I've noticed so far are (1) the USB interface seems to use some other protocol than mass storage, such that it only works with Windows and not Mac. A SMB-capable file manager is a reasonable solution to that, I suppose. (2) I haven't managed to get the GPS to get a proper lock yet, and (3) Acer's DLNA client doesn't like my media server for some reason.

Also, I don't think it's been rooted yet, if that's a consideration.

--Rob

SCION · 04-27-2011, 12:49 AM

Thanks for taking the time to post!

SCION · 04-27-2011, 02:48 AM

Is there access to the Android Market?

madsquabbles · 04-27-2011, 09:03 AM

it has android market otb. i was considering this one until i read the specs that the monitor only displays 262K colors. regular folk may not notice it without test images, but since i work in printing(prepress) and do tons of image correction it's hard for me to not notice - not saying that there aren't some displays that squeeze the heck out 262K and make them look as good as a cheaper 16M screen.

it's got built in full size usb and micro,hdmi, and supposedly has a working sim slot. the eee pad only has the proprietary connector and hdmi. you can't use usb host with the eee pad without the dock. the xoom can do usb host if you root it and even get ntfs support.

SCION · 04-27-2011, 03:47 PM

A reviewer on bestbuy.com mentioned not being able to charge off the USB (AC adapter only). I wonder if this is accurate. I don't have any experience with these large screen devices so if someone would chime in on whether or not this is the norm.

SCION · 04-27-2011, 04:22 PM

My girl, Lisa, is on the ball with a review. I can't tell you enough...you're the best!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMmS8ObCMbA

SCION · 04-27-2011, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robtillotson

(1) the USB interface seems to use some other protocol than mass storage, such that it only works with Windows and not Mac. ...
--Rob

For those who don't know. Android File Transfer for Honeycomb products. The workaround for Macs.

http://www.android.com/filetransfer/

soondai · 04-27-2011, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCION

A reviewer on bestbuy.com mentioned not being able to charge off the USB (AC adapter only). I wonder if this is accurate. I don't have any experience with these large screen devices so if someone would chime in on whether or not this is the norm.

I think it is the norm. The iPad doesn't charge off USB (officially, at least. the battery will go up a percentage point or two if you leave it plugged into the computer for a while)

rfog · 04-28-2011, 10:29 AM

I'm just going to receive mine tomorrow. I will do extensive reviews in my blog, I will post here them. If all go right, they will start on Saturday or Sunday.

Reviews will be in Spanish, but you can use an online transtator to put in English (Knowing I do extensive use of passive verbs and other literary constructs, you will get some strange phrases in English :-) )

=X= · 04-28-2011, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCION

My girl, Lisa, is on the ball with a review. I can't tell you enough...you're the best!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMmS8ObCMbA

Thx for the link. The tablet looks very nice.

I like how Lisa takes time to review the reader features of the tablet, very helpful for the MobileRead folks.

=X=

SCION · 04-28-2011, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robtillotson

...(2) I haven't managed to get the GPS to get a proper lock yet,...
--Rob

Hmmm....this may be a real issue. Darn.

Quote:

Initially I loved this tablet and for the most part I still do. I did come across one major flaw though. The GPS will not work on this device. Also, I am not the only one with this issue after searching the internet.

To truely test this you must have Wi-Fi disabled so the tablet will only use the GPS for location information. Google Maps says "location information not available." I also tested this using a free app from the Android market place called GPS Test and this confirmed my earlier results. The table will not fix on any satellites.

Despite this tablet being priced $150 below the Xoom, this major flaw was a deal breaker. If I am going to pay this much for a device everything needs to work, especially major components such as the GPS.

I attempted to contact Acer about this issue and they were less than helpful. They had no clue what GPS was on this device. They kept advising me to contact my internet provider to see if the setting were correct. Really???

bear4hunter · 04-28-2011, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soondai

The iPad doesn't charge off USB

For the first generation, this is only partially true: if the screen is on, it want charge, but if it's off, it charges...

boswd · 04-28-2011, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCION

My girl, Lisa, is on the ball with a review. I can't tell you enough...you're the best!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMmS8ObCMbA

She is THE BEST. I think she is probably the only one I can think of off hand where I can say with out a doubt, there is no bias, no agenda. Just a great thorough review. And not just a gloss over but an indepth review.

Take a look at her review of the Xoom and then compare it to some of the more well established sites such as Cnet, Engadet etc. It's night and day.

kennyc · 04-29-2011, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCION

Haven't seen anyone mention this yet. Stumbled upon this at Best Buy this morning. Priced at $450. Very nice looking. Bigger than XOOM, but seems lighter.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Acer+-+I...blet&cp=1&lp=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBcjN...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg2Gj...eature=related

Want to play with it again.

Looks great!
Glad to see the 3.0 Tablets arriving!

04-26-2011, 08:32 PM	#1
SCION Séduisant Posts: 4,706 Karma: 2107018 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Texas, USA Device: Boox Note Air2+; Kobo Libra2; Kindle Scribe, Oasis3; iPad Mini6	Acer Iconia Tab A500 - $450 Haven't seen anyone mention this yet. Stumbled upon this at Best Buy this morning. Priced at $450. Very nice looking. Bigger than XOOM, but seems lighter. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Acer+-+I...blet&cp=1&lp=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBcjN...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg2Gj...eature=related Want to play with it again. Last edited by SCION; 04-26-2011 at 09:36 PM.

04-27-2011, 04:22 PM	#7
SCION Séduisant Posts: 4,706 Karma: 2107018 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Texas, USA Device: Boox Note Air2+; Kobo Libra2; Kindle Scribe, Oasis3; iPad Mini6	MobileTech Review My girl, Lisa, is on the ball with a review. I can't tell you enough...you're the best! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMmS8ObCMbA

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04-27-2011, 12:09 AM	#2
robtillotson Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 688 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Nook, Kindle 1	I picked one of these up today -- I had originally thought I would get an EEE Transformer, but the combination of its unavailability and some more thought about whether I actually wanted to buy the keyboard dock (which is required to have any USB ports at all) led me to grab the Iconia instead. It's my first tablet so I don't have extensive experience with anything else to compare, but so far I like it a lot. It feels solid and fast, the screen is nice (the EEE's is apparently better, but I don't feel like anything is wrong with the Iconia's... and it beats the heck out of the repurposed netbook screen in the Viewsonic g-tablet that I almost bought last week). It's running a pretty stock Honeycomb with some added "shelf" icons in the launcher, a couple of game demos, and some redundant media player apps. I'm not planning to use it to read prose (I prefer e-ink for that), but I expect it to be excellent for comic books and PDFs... The only problems I've noticed so far are (1) the USB interface seems to use some other protocol than mass storage, such that it only works with Windows and not Mac. A SMB-capable file manager is a reasonable solution to that, I suppose. (2) I haven't managed to get the GPS to get a proper lock yet, and (3) Acer's DLNA client doesn't like my media server for some reason. Also, I don't think it's been rooted yet, if that's a consideration. --Rob

04-27-2011, 12:49 AM	#3
SCION Séduisant Posts: 4,706 Karma: 2107018 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Texas, USA Device: Boox Note Air2+; Kobo Libra2; Kindle Scribe, Oasis3; iPad Mini6	Thanks for taking the time to post!

04-27-2011, 02:48 AM	#4
SCION Séduisant Posts: 4,706 Karma: 2107018 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Texas, USA Device: Boox Note Air2+; Kobo Libra2; Kindle Scribe, Oasis3; iPad Mini6	Is there access to the Android Market?

04-27-2011, 09:03 AM	#5
madsquabbles Groupie Posts: 160 Karma: 8698 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: samsung 8.9, galaxy note 10.1, galaxy note 2, nook hd+, ipad	it has android market otb. i was considering this one until i read the specs that the monitor only displays 262K colors. regular folk may not notice it without test images, but since i work in printing(prepress) and do tons of image correction it's hard for me to not notice - not saying that there aren't some displays that squeeze the heck out 262K and make them look as good as a cheaper 16M screen. it's got built in full size usb and micro,hdmi, and supposedly has a working sim slot. the eee pad only has the proprietary connector and hdmi. you can't use usb host with the eee pad without the dock. the xoom can do usb host if you root it and even get ntfs support.

04-27-2011, 03:47 PM	#6
SCION Séduisant Posts: 4,706 Karma: 2107018 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Texas, USA Device: Boox Note Air2+; Kobo Libra2; Kindle Scribe, Oasis3; iPad Mini6	A reviewer on bestbuy.com mentioned not being able to charge off the USB (AC adapter only). I wonder if this is accurate. I don't have any experience with these large screen devices so if someone would chime in on whether or not this is the norm.

04-28-2011, 10:29 AM	#10
rfog Guru Posts: 696 Karma: 2383012 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Schiedam (The Netherlands) Device: Lots of eInk devices and iOS stuff	I'm just going to receive mine tomorrow. I will do extensive reviews in my blog, I will post here them. If all go right, they will start on Saturday or Sunday. Reviews will be in Spanish, but you can use an online transtator to put in English (Knowing I do extensive use of passive verbs and other literary constructs, you will get some strange phrases in English :-) )

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