A500: when I grow up I want to be an A700...

[Douvie]

Just before I bought my A500, I thought that maybe I should wait for the 510, but then I thought that would mean
1) I wouid actually have to wait

and the clincher

2) there was no full sized USB port.

I agree with you, Douvie: No USB = deal breaker!

Yeah a backward step in accessibility. And really, there is plenty of space on the casing for 2 full size and 3 mini USB. Though I'd be happy with one of each.

In response to the moderator's quote from some journalist, sorry I love the ability to plug in a USB stick. Fiddling with adapter cables is time consuming and just doesn't "cut the mustard."

Why try beating APPLE at their own game - no USB. They also use adapter cables.

 

[diiorio]

Im holdign out for the new A700 or A710 Cinema version myself. No since in upgrading to the 510.

THe screen on the A700 display proto's is amazing. THe 3D screen version impressive but seems acer is deviding the model, a 1080p regular, and a 1080p 3D version. So you can can get a cheaper alternative is 3D movies and certain games is not your thing.

 

[Douvie]

Im holdign out for the new A700 or A710 Cinema version myself. No since in upgrading to the 510.

THe screen on the A700 display proto's is amazing. THe 3D screen version impressive but seems acer is deviding the model, a 1080p regular, and a 1080p 3D version. So you can can get a cheaper alternative is 3D movies and certain games is not your thing.

Thanks for the extra info. The screen will be like the HTC EVO 3D where you can watch movies, look at photos in 3D without having to use those stupid glasses. It works very well. On second thoughts it would be easier if they included a switch so that one could watch stuff in 2D and 3D. I reckon the 3D would be the more costly of the 2 models.

Also I seem to recall that there was mention of a heavier duty battery in A700.

 

[Greg_E]

This is one of those things... Does the a500 work any worse since the a700 is announced? The a500 will work as well as it did yesterday and should continue to do the same all the way past when the a700 is actually released. There is no real rush for anyone that already owns an a500 or a510 or even the a200. The a700 will arrive when it arrives and it will of course be better due to the newer faster processor. Otherwise for a lot of people the "lower end" are still just fine. The higher resolution display would be nice for reading PDF but that is about the only thing I would really be interested in having. The ability to possibly run Windows 8 might change my point of view though so we'll see what happens when that gets closer to a real product.

 

[stroppy]

Full-sized USB is a GODSEND! I have a little Ainol Paladin 7" ICS tablet. It only has a micro USB OTG connection and you have to use an adaptor cable with a full-szed connector at the other end to make peripherals such as USB sticks work with the darn thing! I also have an A200 and an A500 (we're a big family) and having the full-sized USB ports make trading files and watching movies,etc...so much easier. Full marks to Acer for including them, imho.

 

[barskin]

This is one of those things... Does the a500 work any worse since the a700 is announced? The a500 will work as well as it did yesterday and should continue to do the same all the way past when the a700 is actually released. There is no real rush for anyone that already owns an a500 or a510 or even the a200. The a700 will arrive when it arrives and it will of course be better due to the newer faster processor. Otherwise for a lot of people the "lower end" are still just fine. The higher resolution display would be nice for reading PDF but that is about the only thing I would really be interested in having. The ability to possibly run Windows 8 might change my point of view though so we'll see what happens when that gets closer to a real product.

Actually. most tablets do not have the full sizes USB. I can only think of the Toshiba Thrive as another one that does (and the Asus Transformer, if you get the docking station). I love having it. It's genius.

 

[J515OP]

I'm not against having a full size usb (I actually hate the micro ports) but what is the big deal? I mean I get the basic idea that you can plug things into it but isn't the idea of a tablet to be disconnected from things as much as possible? There are tons of great ways to do things wirelessly these days instead of reverting to usb sticks, corded mice/keyboards etc. The best use case for a full size usb port is to include one in a keyboard dock.

Every response here seems to treat it like it is the ultimate feature. It is nice to have at least one or two tablets that allow people the option to buy one with a full size port but I don't see anything that makes it a must have. I suspect if most of you were forced not to use it, you would find ways to live happily without it, though I'm sure some of you might have a legitimate use.

Don't get me wrong I am really not against it and used to think it was a nice idea. Maybe one of you can show me the light or maybe the other way around and see the light by finding out how to do the same things without having to use the usb port.

 

[Icebike]

No, actually, the best use case for a full size usb port is not a keyboard at all. Use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse for that.

The best use case is

1) someplace to hook up your big camera, and transfer pictures without carrying a computer. From there you can send them direct to dropbox or picasa.
2) pop a cheap USB stick in your tablet and watch a movie, or two movies, without clogging up your entire internal storage while on a long trip.
3) plug in an external hard drive and back it all up. I have like 5 of these xternal drives.
4) plug in a little card-reader and read data from all sorts of camera cards.
5) Being able to charge your phone from your tablet is kind of nice too.
6) move massive amounts of video or music from other devices or computers quickly when preparing for a trip.

Not having this built into the dock means one less thing to schlep around when traveling.
In five years the full size USB may be a thing of the past, but right now they are still very prevalent.

 

[Greg_E]

The advantage of two USB hosts is you can move the many GB of files from a camera to a hard drive while out away from a full computer, can be really handy to have. The full size USB is great and I hope the continue to provide it on most of their tablets (even though I know space is an issue and we will probably see them go away).

 

[J515OP]

1. I have actually done this using an micro SD card in an adapter for the camera and popping it straight into the tablet for photos/video. It is arguable which is easier as they are both about the same amount of effort. Besides, if you have to carry the cable for the camera you can just use one with the micro usb end for the tablet.

2. Again, same thing with SD card. Might not be as cheap as usb sticks but they are in the same ball park and can hold plenty of movies even for long trips.

3. Effectually no difference between plugging into an external HD and the pc at that point since either way you are going to be using some sort of cable between the two devices. In one case it is a full size usb on the end and in the other a micro usb on the end. Better yet you can backup wirelessly to the cloud and/or pc. Using something like dropbox can even give you redundancy backing up the could and multiple devices that are also hooked to dropbox. * Yes some external drives have a usb built in but these are the less common types. If you are carrying and external hard drive an adapter isn't much to add to it.

4. Ok, possibly handy if you handle multiple different cards on a regular basis. In this case you have to have a card reader anyway which probably uses a standard usb cable. Just substitute the micro usb and you won't notice any difference.

5. Yes that is nice at the expense of your tablet life. How quickly can it charge your phone? I'm not sure making the tablet an expensive external battery is the neatest trick but in a pinch this could be handy.

6. Definitely see no use for regular usb port here. If you need to transfer massive amounts quickly, just use the micro usb cable and hook directly to the pc it doesn't really matter what the physical cable is at that point. You also have the option of SD card here and again wireless transfers.

7. I was thinking something along the lines of a biometrically secured usb stick which is used frequently. Then you may not want the extra hassle of the the adapter.

You presume that the dock would only be used for the usb. In that case it wouldn't make sense to carry the dock around you'd just carry the adapter. Where as I see the dock as being productivity oriented and more stationary so that a full usb port makes more sense not less. These days manufactures are cutting back on all sorts of included cables and virtually no other tablets even ship with the adapter, so that alone is a big bonus if you are reliant on fulls size usb even if it is second best to a full size port.

Yes some of these require a little bit of setup but the wireless is a convenience in the long run. I agree that usb isn't going away tomorrow. Wireless, particularly with tablets, is definitely already here though. In the cases where you do need to plugin, it doesn't matter if you are using usb or micro usb a cable is a cable.

You can get a tiny adapter which may or may not be an extra hassle but certainly small enough not to notice when carrying and they can be had for $1. Just plug this onto the end of whatever usb thing you are using and forget about it. Then just plug into the micro usb port as necessary.




There are lots of options besides sticking with usb. Since you have a device that affords the luxury to use full usb keep enjoying it but I say try some other ways too. Once you figure it out you will have more tablet options since you won't be limited to those with full usb

Personally I keep getting pulled along so that floppy>3.5 "floppy">cd>usb>compact flash>SD>SD HC>micro SDHC. I can't even remember the last time I "needed" a usb stick and now have way too many 1-4GB SD cards floating around. Now it seems I go micro SD for everything and with just two adapters it is the most universal storage medium I have found. Insert direct as micro usb, use SD card adapter for SD devices and use USB adapter for usb devices. The sd card is the largest part of the whole kit. In other words this is about the size of a postage stamp. Who knows what the next couple of years will bring.

 

[diiorio]

Full usb gives many optiosn for devices. a small dongle for full keyboard and mouse. Sandard Xbox 360 game controller to use with Onlive gaming and other supported games. Mass storage. Certain external mics and headsets.

With micro usb especially on the prime, you end up using their doggle, then another doggle, and often that doggle breaks. You have the extra length to contend with, and les structural support

 

[diiorio]

I really hope the suggested or guessed prices for the A700 are not right. THere is no way I am spendign 800-900 USD for one.

 

[Reese1ar]

I don't use the USB all that much, but I have had docs on it, movies, pictures, and have plugged a keyboard in at home because I was being lazy. I do like the option of charging my phone with it. The power was out after a storm last year and I needed juice. I did this the other day. I charge my phone from like 20 to 50 or 60 percent and it only drained about 15-20 off the tablet. A fair trade.

That said, I am in no rush to upgrade. I've had no issue with ICS aside from all my icons disappearing once right after. Rebooted and it's fine since. Battery life seems much better as well as all the other good things people have said. I do like the weight of some other tablets like the TF Prime, although at the store I felt it was so light it might go flying out of my hand. I've actually enjoyed the extra heft of the 500.

Only reasons I'd want to upgrade:
Screen --If someone does an ultra def screen i.e. Ipad
Battery -- Bigger is always better
Better Cameras -- Not a must but haven't really been thrilled with the front cam placement on the 500
RAM --more the better

...So really nothing pressing at the moment. So until my 500's battery stops taking and holding charge or Acer stops supporting future OS upgrades. I'm good.

 

[Greg_E]

I really hope the suggested or guessed prices for the A700 are not right. THere is no way I am spendign 800-900 USD for one.

That would be bad... You can get a full on Windows 7 (or soon 8) tablet for less than that, and a really good one too. The $800 Fujitsu q550 has a battery that can be swapped so power wouldn't even bee a real issue.

 

[J515OP]

Just stumbled across this IOGEAR Sharing Station provides access to USB devices over WiFi. Maybe another option for those who are concerned about having usb access to flash drives and hard drives when being tempted by new tablets without the full port.