Acer Iconia A500

[photon00]

Great, will head to Currys/Dixons tomorrow to have a play

 

[Geetarman]

Just trying out a new tablet keyboard called Tablet Keyboard.......funnily enough, so far so good, doesn't take long to get used to.

 

[Wonder Strike]

I'm still amazed at the viewing angles. I switched it on put it on the floor and could see the screen perfectly from outside my room. Took a few pics too.

 

[Wonder Strike]

Here we go. Seems to be a very small limit on this site for pic size, so apologies on the size.

 

[Wonder Strike]

Ok I've now had a go with the USB.

I copied over the user guide which is a PDF to my SD card on my camera. I then used my USB card reader to copy these items over to the Iconia Tab. I used that Astro File Manager - there may be other ways but that's all I know so far - I'm an Android newbie!

Anyway can open the PDF fine with the preinstalled Docs To Go and the pics all opened fine, despite being huge in size.

I really think the USB host is the big selling point of this device, yet Acer don't seem to make enough noises about it.

 

[mith500]

wow...I am seriously considering getting this, especially at that price.
how does it feel when holding it in one hand, is it heavy?
anything you dont like, or feel could be better?
could you upload a small youtube video of browsing on the browser? have you experienced any FC ala Xoom?

 

[Geetarman]

Here's some of my pics so far:

 

[Geetarman]

Here's a very quick vid showing the stock browser, apologies bot not the greatest quality video!

Oh and the keyboard isn't the standard one it's Tablet Keyboard, really meant to be used with thumbs but can't do that and hold the camera hence the one finger typing approach!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkVzEEVKQ60&feature=youtu.be


Edit: DOh just realised I filmed that in QVGA mode instead of 1080p may try another later!

 

[darkninja67]

Thanks for the pics

Looks great

 

[mith500]

Here's a very quick vid showing the stock browser, apologies bot not the greatest quality video!

Oh and the keyboard isn't the standard one it's Tablet Keyboard, really meant to be used with thumbs but can't do that and hold the camera hence the one finger typing approach!


YouTube - Acer A500 standard browser vid


Edit: DOh just realised I filmed that in QVGA mode instead of 1080p may try another later!

Thanks man, appreciate it.
Have you experienced FC's while using the browser?
How does it handle videos, can it play mkv files from a usb stick?
If you hold the a500 the other way in landscape mode (the acer logo upside down) or in portrait mode does it become slower and kind of choppy? (over at xda forums, the xoom seems to have this problem..not sure if it is widespread)

 

[Wonder Strike]

I've started using Tablet KEyboard too. It's excellent. If you get the paid for version you get arrow keys which will be very useful. I'll upload a vid too in a bit.

Haven't tried videos, I mainly bought it to browse the net on. I will try some of my WMVs and MP4s though.

I mainly use it in Landscape mode. I did try Potrait to read the user guide on it, which was fine.

It's fairly heavy, but no worse than the iPad 1. Thing is even the lighter tablets would be too heavy after short use, so they are really designed to rest on your leg or lap.

 

[Wonder Strike]

Here you go. Not as slick as Geetarman's but it all helps. I've shown Flash Player working too.

YouTube - Acer Iconia Tab A500 Web Browser Demo

 

[eugioc]

I've been using this tablet the last couple of days and I'm thoroughly impressed. Screen, speakers, build quality. Not to mention ports available and competitive price.

Just curious, I can't setup exchange email with the stock email client? It only gave pop and imap options?

I'm trialing Touchdown in the mean time but surely Honeycomb supports exchange?

 

[Geetarman]

I hit the same email issue and I'm using touchdown which has turned out to be a great app its just a pity it costs so much to use it after the trial.

I use improved email on my phone but it isn't stable on the tab and doesn't seem to support move to folder options.

It's touchdown for now unless something better comes along.

 

[mith500]

just wondering how the display compares to the xoom.
Have any of you played with the xoom, how does the a500 screen compare?

 

[Geetarman]

I haven't used a Xoom so I can't compare but the screen as far as I'm concerned is fantastic and very crisp.

 

[mith500]

I haven't used a Xoom so I can't compare but the screen as far as I'm concerned is fantastic and very crisp.

that's good to hear. Have you encountered any bugs so far or things you feel could have been better in the a500?

 

[Geetarman]

Good review here:

4tab.me - Hands on: Acer Iconia A500 tablet - Sydney Morning Herald (blog) - Tablet Reviews, Videos, News, Photos, Comparisons, Android, Apple, iPad, Shopping, Deals

 

[Wonder Strike]

I played on the Xoom in currys, if you look at my post in page 1. Both have great screens.

 

[Geetarman]

Got an invite to the SwiftKey vip forum today so as of this morning my. A500 is now running SwiftKey tablet beta.

It's very nice indeed and easy to use, I'm impressed, think I'll stick with this.

 

[Sugarfree1]

Got my A500 at Best Buy in the U.S. today. I went there to pre-purchase and the guy said they already had them arrive on the truck this morning. Sold me one right there.

Still playing around with the apps and games tonight and getting the first battery charge. So far, it's quite nice. This is my first tablet, so I've got nothing to compare.

 

[backudog]

I have been looking for an alternative to the ipad 2 and this lil beauty seems to fit the bill, seems to have had favourable reviews and u guys seem to like it, so, Just ordered one! YAY!! might not arrive until 3rd may coz of the 3 bank holidays we got coming up! BOOOO!!!

 

[VyseTheLegend]

I want this, but it doesn't seem the dev community support will be there.

It seems all the XDA devs are focusing on the Asus Transformer.

 

[Sheba611]

I want this, but it doesn't seem the dev community support will be there.

It seems all the XDA devs are focusing on the Asus Transformer.

Yeah I really don't understand why there is so much love in the Android community for the Transformer and so little for the A500. Spec wise, the tablets are very similar. It seems that dockable keyboard for the Transformer makes it the winner.

 

[gwimp]

Got an invite to the SwiftKey vip forum today so as of this morning my. A500 is now running SwiftKey tablet beta.

It's very nice indeed and easy to use, I'm impressed, think I'll stick with this.

Did you try Thumb Keyboard? I think it's the best keyboard for the Iconia. There's also a beta of the upcoming version at thumb4beta.blogspot.com . Great on honeycomb.