Acer Iconia A500 vs Viewsonic gTablet?

[mikespe]

I currently have a gtablet running Vegan Gingerbread that runs great. However I have the opportunity to get a refurb Acer Iconia A500 for $300 (same price I paid for the gtab)...how do the 2 devices compare? I know the A500 can be updated to HC 3.2 which is a BIG plus. But is it really a big upgrade compared to the gtab? The Acer is a refurb so I COULD run into problems too.


Thanks!

 

[BDiddy]

The A500 is a great versatile tablet at a nice price, although with so many better tablets coming soon (Acer's A700 and A510, Asus Transformer Prime), you could probably get a new A500 or similar tab at a much lower price as they're phased out, if you can wait a little bit.

Another advantage of the A500 is that it should be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich in the next couple of months.

 

[mikespe]

The A500 is a great versatile tablet at a nice price, although with so many better tablets coming soon (Acer's A700 and A510, Asus Transformer Prime), you could probably get a new A500 or similar tab at a much lower price as they're phased out, if you can wait a little bit.

Another advantage of the A500 is that it should be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich in the next couple of months.

Thanks for the reply & the advice. I do currently have the gTab & I want to upgrade to something a bit better. It doesn't need to be the latest & greatest...but just something that is good stock or that I can root & flash roms too. The gTab is a decent tablet. But I was running Flashback Honeycomb rom for a while & since Viewsonic won't release the drives, the developers can't get hardware acceleration to work. This keeps the gtab running slow on HC...I figured since the A500 was already running HC AND slated to get ICS soon it might be a better choice.

I don't mind refurbs as long as they have a decent warranty. I am also looking a a Verizon Preowned Xoom for $299...however I would HAVE to get a data plan with it since it's the 4g model. This would increase me bill which I'm not to thrilled about. Several people mentioned the A500 as a decent tab & Acer as being very customer friendly.

 

[mikespe]

One other question....is the

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Picasso with Wi-Fi 10.1" the full name of the Acer A500? I am just confused with the Picasso part? I thought it might be an alternate version of the A500

Thanks​

 

[BDiddy]

I think Picasso is the name it carries in some regions outside the US.

You should consider the Acer A200, which I think goes for around $300-350 brand new. It is very similar to the A500 from a spec standpoint, except no rear camera. And it is supposed to get Android 4.0 as well.

 

[jgumphress]

The a500 has a full size USB port and will accept a Windows mouse or keyboard. Also it will accept a flash drive where you can drag and drop music, photos, documents, and such, back and forth without fuss.

 

[mikespe]

I think Picasso is the name it carries in some regions outside the US.

You should consider the Acer A200, which I think goes for around $300-350 brand new. It is very similar to the A500 from a spec standpoint, except no rear camera. And it is supposed to get Android 4.0 as well.

The a500 has a full size USB port and will accept a Windows mouse or keyboard. Also it will accept a flash drive where you can drag and drop music, photos, documents, and such, back and forth without fuss.

I was looking at the A200 and thought the same thing. But I didn't see the USB port on it? I could be wrong though? For me one of the big things the Android Tabs have over the iPads are the USB ports. I have one on the gTab & LOVE it! Also, I've only seen the A200's at Staples online...Searching Google didn't come up with any other sellers.

 

[jgumphress]

Only the A500 has the full size port. Get one before they are gone. It will also be getting ICS sometime in Feburary from what I have been reading.

 

[mikespe]

Only the A500 has the full size port. Get one before they are gone. It will also be getting ICS sometime in Feburary from what I have been reading.

Well I just placed the order from Walmart.com & it should be here Monday. It was $278 for a refurb so with tax it came to $302...which is basically what I paid for my gTab a little less than a year ago. I hope I like the A500 better & the developer community is a good as the gTab community. I think I might do a factory reset on my gTab & sell it to offset the cost of the A500. I think with the tab & the case/keyboard I have for it I SHOULD be able to get close to $200 for it. I'll wait until I get the A500 before making that decision.

Thanks for the help with making my decision!!!

 

[mikespe]

FedEx is delivering my A500 tomorrow! I can't wait! I played with the A200 yesterday at Best Buy & if the A500 is half as good at the A200 I'll be VERY happY!

 

[Douvie]

FedEx is delivering my A500 tomorrow! I can't wait! I played with the A200 yesterday at Best Buy & if the A500 is half as good at the A200 I'll be VERY happY!

Now we are all gatgered here together awaiting your assessment of the A500. Was it as good as you expected?

I've had mine for more than 9 months and it hasn't skipped a beat.

 

[mikespe]

Now we are all gatgered here together awaiting your assessment of the A500. Was it as good as you expected?

I've had mine for more than 9 months and it hasn't skipped a beat.

This thing is AMAZING!!! I just can't imagine the quad core tablets being much faster! Within an hour of unboxing I had the A500 rooted & running Thor's ICS rom...ICS was just MADE for this tablet! Even at stock speed it flies...but I overclocked it to 1.4 and it doesn't skip a beat! I can't wait for the offical ICS...but I am VERY content with the A500 now!

 

[Douvie]

This thing is AMAZING!!! I just can't imagine the quad core tablets being much faster! Within an hour of unboxing I had the A500 rooted & running Thor's ICS rom...ICS was just MADE for this tablet! Even at stock speed it flies...but I overclocked it to 1.4 and it doesn't skip a beat! I can't wait for the offical ICS...but I am VERY content with the A500 now!

Faster clock speed greater battery drain - oh well depends what you want.

 

[mikespe]

Faster clock speed greater battery drain - oh well depends what you want.

Not if you lower the voltage a bit...I'm actually at 1.5ghz with a drop of 25mV....I took the tab off charge this morning arounf 5:50am and right now it's still at 44%...I've been on it most of the day too...

 

[Douvie]

Not if you lower the voltage a bit...I'm actually at 1.5ghz with a drop of 25mV....I took the tab off charge this morning arounf 5:50am and right now it's still at 44%...I've been on it most of the day too...

Just remember it also depends on the widgets you're running. I'm running a few and I still get about 10 hours plus Bluetooth is running too and the GPS.