Any Regrets about the Acer Icona Tab A500?

[1776]

I am looking to get an Android tablet. The Acer is at Costco for a $100 less than the Samsung 10 - currently the Acer is $349. This is just about what I can afford but then again, I don't want to buy anything that has problems. So far in reviews all I can see as negatives is that it is heavier than other similar tablets. I like that it has a standard USB port and also an HDMI port.

This is going to be used to supplement our laptop when traveling - we go to RV parks with wifi. So far the laptop has had no problems connecting to the wifi and signals read strong. We need to be sure the tablet will connect in these situations as well. Sometimes even the laptop is too large to juggle inside the RV and a tablet seems perfect. It would be used for email, internet browsing, writing documents, streaming video, ebooks, and more.

So I am asking people who have this tablet - any regrets?

Thanks!

 

[Killjoy]

i love this tablet. hdmi connector, and a standard usb port is priceless. my only regrets are taking the OVA upgrades that prevent me from rooting this tablet.

if the biggest complaint about this guy is his weight, thats an easy choice to me. i take my tablet everywhere and it has been great.

 

[jgumphress]

I love mine too. Searched many different tablets before deciding on this one, glad I did. I gave away my iPad to replace it with the Acer.

 

[rjm2140]

DITTO!!!! It's a great tablet & I love the thing.

Sent from my A500 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[biking4jesus]

I use my A500 as a laptop supplement, & I love it! No problems. I get apps from the Market & Amazon. It replaced my Palm TX & most of my laptop.
- Conrad

Sent from my A500 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[BDiddy]

I also love my Iconia, but keep in mind that you are on what is essentially an Iconia fan forum, so the responses you get will likely be a little biased. You might consider asking the same question on an Asus or Toshiba forum (if you haven't already). For the record, I agree the main minor disadvantages are the slightly heavier weight and the poor microphone (it takes good videos, but not so helpful if everything sounds muffled). Streaming videos look and sound pretty awesome, though, and I think the Dolby sound from the speakers is quite good.

 

[StoneKy]

Costco has a very good return policy if you don't like it

 

[Killjoy]

x2 on just about everything said. which to me, means that you're not dealing with idiots. costco HAS A GREAT return policy. it DOES make sense to ask other forum members but since you're looking only at this tablet, then i think your question is suited well here.

i also forgot with the standard usb, you can just plug and play a regular keyboard. some cases even come with one. i am thinking of picking up such a case but i have not as of yet.

i really love my tablet.

 

[ILH]

While I will add my voice to the chorus of enthusiasts - I can tell you that I previously owned an iPad2 and blackberry Playbook. I love the Acer. As for adding a keyboard, consider one of the bluetooth models (to avoid cables). A little tip about RVs - you may find the signal inside your RV to be a bit reduced due to the steel shell. I purchased a range extender to boost the signal - works great for all of my family's wifi gadgets (ipod, ipad, tablet, etc. etc. - modern family!).

 

[Icebike]

I'm happy with mine.

I dislike the microphone volume, just like everyone else. It forces me to use an external mic, but I do that very seldom.
Its heavier than my friend's iPad2, but far more sophisticated. (The ipad is just a big iphone, minus the phone).

I purchased it when the Transformer wasn't even out, and the Samsung was only available from carriers and required a data plan.
I wanted WIFI only and I love all the fully working ports that so many other tablets lack.

 

[sungod88]

I've owned 2 tablets. My first was the Huawai ideos s7 slim, Loved it until I used it and saw the flaws...sold it a month later to a coworker. The very next day I bought my A500 and it has changed me lol I love this thing I study read emails watch netflix even play rpg's and read novels at work. It has 3.0 and will be able to upgrade to 4.0 once it comes out so thats even better. The fact that it has a T2 makes it great. The only problem I have ever had with it is sometimes the wireless connetion will get into a loop of identifying the connection and wont connect to anything, this is easily fixed by deleting a file in your file explorer.

 

[chopchop]

Overall happy. Wifi was a bit buggy with my current router, even after upgrading to 3.1/3.2 but this has been easily fixed by assigning a static IP to the device.

It has a plethora of ports and handles SD movies fine. I don't watch much HD content on it so I can't opine on that. The battery life isn't quite as good as the Ipad2, but the ports and android more than make up for that. I easily get 8 hours or so on a single charge.

 

[jgumphress]

biking for jesus wrote; I use my A500 as a laptop supplement, & I love it! No problems. I get apps from the Market & Amazon. It replaced my Palm TX & most of my laptop.

The Palm T|X, now that was a great piece of equipment. I still totally love Palms and still have three of them in use at work. I really hated to see them go. By the way, I like your member name.

 

[1776]

Thanks for the replies. I went to Best Buy today to see the Acer again and play with it where I knew there would be wifi service. I picked it up and noticed the weight- maybe because it was in my head that it has been called heavy in the reviews. I then picked up all of the other 10 in. tablets and there is a noticeable difference in the Acer. My concern is holding his in my hands and using the keyboard for any extended period of time.

When I started the Acer on display there was no wifi connection. I went to the tablet next to it and there was. I don't know much about Android but I do know about computers and it took me just a minute to find the wifi settings. There was only one wifi connection that the Acer was finding and it was too weak to connect to. The tablet next to this one was an Asus and I looked at the wifi connections available there and there must have been a list of ten available connections. It was working off the store's wifi. The store's wifi was not shown at all on the Acer. I called a salesman over and he manually set the store wifi into the Acer and then the browser and all started working. So then I started wondering why the Asus would show ten available connections - most with strong signals - and the Acer only show one that it could not connect to because it was not strong enough.

I have a lot to think about. Yes, Costco has a great return policy and if I buy it, it will definitely be there.

 

[danielg5]

Hi. I have had my Iconia since they first came to Best Buy, and I have never had any wifi issues with mine, but some others may have stronger reception. My wife also has the Samsung 10.1. We took both of them n a trip to the UK in the summer, and both were great for using with hotel wifi, checking email, watching movies, navigation (directions saved before anothe leg of our trip), and researching our destinations. Both have good battery life, but gps will eat it up on either. The samsung has a brighter screen, but that doesnt really come into play unless you are outside.

The samsung is definitely lghter and thinner, and it has slightly better battery life.

The real advantage of the Acer is the ports. neither the samsung nor the Asus have the built in ports that th Acer does. The Toshiba has full usb, hdmi, and sd, but the battery life is significantly worse according to what i have read. Plus, it is heavier

I dont know how much you will actually use the hdmi output on this, but the USB port is a must. I can connect almost anything to it. We took dozens of movies on a portable hard drive with us on our trip and were able to watch them all with the acer. the movies we had loaded on the samsung before we left were the only ones we could watch on it. Also, since we had limited 110 volt outlets in UK, we could plug cell phones into it overnight to charge both at the same time. Additionally, we could upload pictures onto the acer from our cameras in order to have fresh camer memory every day (transferred pics to portable hard drive, not to take up tab memory.)

The A500 is a great tablet. The advantages far outweigh the others. You won't regret purchasing one of these.