Planning on getting A500, a few questions

[amaj1407]

Hello everybody,


As in the title I am planning on getting this tablet and I have some questions I hope I can find the answers here:

1- Can I set proxy settings? I saw a post in the internet for the xoom to enable proxy settings by installing anyCut app, I do not know if it will work for A500 or if there a better way.

2- How is it with HD movie playback? some claimed it has a choppy playback. Can it play HD movies from streaming sites?

3- What things you do not like about the tablet?

4- Not important but can it read ext3/4 formatted hard disks or only fat?

EDIT: 5- Can you save the images in an email message at once or you should save them one at a time or you cant save them at all?

Thanks in advance.

 

[AQ_OC]

2. It can play them well if you transcode with DVDFab8. I have not found a good site for streaming. It won't work with Netflix.

4. I think it can only handle Fat16 and Fat32 at the moment.

 

[gabrielbcn]

1. Wait till android 3.1 to get this, along with many improved details.

Sent from my A500 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[amaj1407]

Thank you for your answers. But what about email and saving images can you save them at once?

Can somebody kindly try the steps in this article How to use hidden Web Proxy settings on Android 3.0 Honeycomb Tablets to enable proxy settings.

I understand the RAM is only 512MB available to the user, is that enough for you guys. I am asking because I have a habit of opening so many pages and leave them open for days, will that be a problem.

************ lists this tablet as it has Flash 10.1, can be upgraded to 10.2 or even better 10.3.

Thanks in advance.

 

[johnontheroad]

I just watched a movie on Amazon using Flash 10.3 which I just installed. Where I am now I don't have a super fast connection but although a bit choppy it was watchable. Flash 10.4 would not install.

== John

 

[robdroid]

-Flash 10.3 is not a problem for the A500
-512Mb seems to be sufficient even with 6+ browser tabs open
-HD playback is poor with hi-def MKV (most likely a Honeycomb issue- not A500 hardware issue)
-Proxy settings will come natively in 3.1 update- you just have to wait like the rest of us

Things to like about the A500:
Gorgeous LCD screen
Excellent touch sensitivity
GorillaGlass
Aluminum backing
Great battery life even with GPS and Wifi running
Real USB port
Working MicroSD slot (no hacks required)
HDMI out
Decent stereo speakers
Solid construction- does not feel fragile at all

Cons:
GPS takes quite a while for initial fix (but is extremely accurate once locked on)
Reportedly weaker than other tabs wifi radio reported by some users
Hard to access MicroSD slot
Heaver than other 10" tabs


All-in-all I there's currently no other 10" tab that's head and shoulders better than the A500 in any area. All tabs have their weaknesses- you just have to find a tab that has flaws you can live with.

-The Xoom is $150 more than the A500 with basically the same hardware- and the SD cardslot doesn't even work out of the box and has the same Honeycomb issues as the A500
-The Eee pad is unavailable for local pickup anywhere, and it has issues too- see Eee pad forum regarding bad hardware build issues, sharp edges, light bleed, etc...
-The new soon to be released Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 reportedly has no SD/MicroSD slot at all- complete dealbreaker if it's true!

 

[Maddmatt]

HD Playback is great with a 3rd party video player like Mobo Player though. Supports everything most of us can throw at it. It's a free app.
I tested it with a few 720p videos, handled them flawlessly.

 

[Bec]

4. You can have EXT3/4 support. 4 should be default on 2.3.3 and 3.0 but there are OS tools that made them work for the whole Android OS on earlier versions. For example everybody hated the RFS on galaxy S so since 2.1 there are a lot of "lag" fixes that convert to ext2,3,4.

 

[danielg5]

IMO the tablet is the best option on the market! The USB port and MicroSD card slot are two of the main reasons I bought the Acer and didn't consider iPad, Xoom, or Transformer.

The screen is great, but it does require frequent cleaning, and it is so reflective that using it outside is very difficult.

I wish the battery would last a little longer, but you can still get about 7 hours of continuous use without any problem.
The door to the MicroSD slot is a little flimsy, but once you install an adequate card, there isn't much reason to open and close it a lot. Plus, with the usb port, you can use a card reader/thumb drive to move files and data.

I have only been able to use FAT32. I have multiple SD and MicroSD cards as well as memory sticks and a portable hard drive that all work seamlessly with it. I created multiple partitions in the hard drive. The largest size it will accept is 32 gigs.

Regarding video, it will handle 720p HD video, but you need to consider the frame rate of the video. I use a Hauppauge HD PVR to record shows from my DVR, but it records at 60fps. The only way I could play those videos was to use the MOBO player in soft decode mode. Even then, the video lagged the sound. So, I used Handbrake to convert the videos to 30 fps, and they work great with the stock player. The frame rate seems to a much bigger issue than the bit rate. So you can watch high quality HD videos; they just have to be 30fps (29.97). Most cameras and handheld recorders record at 30, so the only problem is if you are trying to play broadcast or blueray quality videos.