Comments on: ACER Iconia Tab A500 Review

By: Devin A Link

Devin A Link — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:36:00 +0000

I have the tablet…not a tablet expert, but I love it. Installed Android 4.0 on it. It runs flawlessly……

By: collywolly

collywolly — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:20:00 +0000

im going to have to absolutely disagree, the ones in the store are ones that get used everyday for longer than 10 hours and get abused with people yanking and pulling them, its not good on the tablet itself. but yours being laggy must be because people have taken a lt of pictures with it or something or maybe its just you cause I have an a500 and it workers pretty gosh darn great! oh ya and another thing…I’m typing this on my Acer Iconia A500

By: JayP

JayP — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:53:00 +0000

of course they are ! don’t be stupid ! companies still exist because they strike a good balance between cost to build and market penetration (selling price)

By: david=idiot

david=idiot — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:50:00 +0000

you ask if the usb and mini usb port function ??? no they are phony and are placed on the iconia for mere aesthetics ! geez, you are an idiot of the lowest order !

By: gemaster not

gemaster not — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:47:00 +0000

gemaster you are what you hate so shut the f@ck up ! you offer no input in this review what so ever

By: HenryVol

HenryVol — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:27:00 +0000

Oct. 6, 2011 After about a week of using my new Acer Iconia A500 the unit developed an issue where the battery would not charge. This was an intermitent trouble whereby at times the unit would charge the battery for a few seconds or maybe a couple of minutes before stopping the recharging process. I used multiple power adapters with the same results from each. I performed a factory reset and a hard reset on the unit but, the resets did not correct the issue.
I contacted Acer Support and sent the unit in for repair. I received the A500 back from the repair facility 8 days later still with the battery charging issue. They returned it to me without repairing or correcting the issue.
I contacted Acer Support this morning and again returned the A500 for repair.
After searching some of the Acer A500 forums, I found that other users were experiencing the same issues with their A500 tablets. If the power adapter is connected the battery status indicator indicates ‘Discharging’ but, the battery percentage stays the same. When the power adapter is removed, the battery percentage indicator begins to decline. When the power adapter is connected, the A500 battery does not charge.
Based on my experiences with this product and the Acer Repair Service, I would not purchase an Acer Iconia A500 again and I would not reccomend this product.

By: Tom Secreto

Tom Secreto — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:32:00 +0000

it has gorilla glass, btw i really like the a500 even after using it for 2 months.

By: Catherine Joenks

Catherine Joenks — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:26:00 +0000

I have had my 500A for about 2 weeks now. I is a nice device so far runs without problems, however; the battery life is only about 3 hrs after a 24 hr charge. the other things that could be improved on is a longer cord to charge it with and an instruction manuel included in the package, its kind of a hassle to run into problems and have to log on to lap top and look up the manuel. Other than that very satisfied with the product.

By: Nic Miller

Nic Miller — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:09:00 +0000

I’m about 2 months in to my A500 and I’ve had no problems yet. I just has the 3.1 upgrade pushed and it’s made Honeycomb much more responsive. The typing lag is a lot less noticeable, and the wifi (which I didn’t have an issue with though many others did) seems nice and stable, even a good ways away from my router.

By: Alarmist

Alarmist — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 15:03:00 +0000

I bought this thing on a head full of what it promised to do from its glossy display in the store.
I found using it very f’;g ANNOYING!! It p’d me off sooo often that I think I should have spent my money elsewhere.
It failed to deliver on speed to lock onto a satellite for a GPS fix – the metal back case seems to block the signal if you’re in a car and attempting to use it for track logging or navigation, in this attempted use it would drop out very frequently unless the satellites were available through the right windows.
WiFi connections seem to suffer in a similar way and even after I get a connection to my phone in AP mode I give up and log in using my Laptop because the tablet doesn’t seem to want to go online. To top it off I can’t find out why it won’t – I suspect it is some problem with DNS allocations.

My summary – don’t buy, there are better machines out there for a little more money that actually do work, when you want them to.

Nic Tomlin.
+61468324683

By: Nca224

Nca224 — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:43:00 +0000

How’s the glass? Is it prone to scratches and not like the gorilla glass the other tablets offer?

By: William Bobbitt

William Bobbitt — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:07:00 +0000

where you going to get all of this? Speed, the ports, nicer cameras, and plenty of storage. These all are winners for me!

By: William Bobbitt

William Bobbitt — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:05:00 +0000

not going to see these kind of top quality tablets that cheap, nice thought though.

By: William Bobbitt

William Bobbitt — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:02:00 +0000

nuts!

By: William Bobbitt

William Bobbitt — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Decided I will pick one up in two days, already printed out the manual off net.

By: Jade Thomas

Jade Thomas — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:31:00 +0000

You know, I have to disagree. I played with one of these in the store today. The screen response was garbage. I turned it off, and restarted it, and it came good again for a while, but after a few minutes the onscreen keyboard would often lag, and miss ‘keystrokes’. Operating the keyboard became increasingly frustrating, needing to painfully backspace over words, where even backspace was laggy) and then retype them, only to have the keyboard lag yet again. I played with this for about 20 minutes, and the problem was consistent. I was dissapointed to the point of emotion and outburst. Then I took a look at the ipad 2 next to it, and it was consistently smooth and perfect. It’s really sad that acer have made a product to compete with the ipad, but it fails dismally. I am hoping that somehow this device was faulty, because if I had purchased it with the money they were asking for it, I would of sent it back to Acer with an abusive message asking for a refund. It was a terrible experience I would not afford anyone to endure.

A sad, sad, android lover.

By: Jade Thomas

Jade Thomas — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:31:00 +0000

A sad, sad, android lover.

By: Jade Thomas

Jade Thomas — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:31:00 +0000

A sad, sad, android lover.

By: Bebet

Bebet — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:06:00 +0000

This is awsome! Thanks for the info that is given without much technical jargon- straighforward and concise.

By: JTW

JTW — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 09:14:00 +0000

the cost to build as compared to what someone is willing to pay for it to get value for money for their expected use pattern are unrelated.

By: Garrett T. Hampton

Garrett T. Hampton — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:47:00 +0000

I bought the A500 after ordering and waiting for weeks for the ASUS Transformer. After finally relenting and ordering the A500, it arrived in a couple of days and I was very glad I did.

1. The product is VERY solid. I was concerned about reviews mentioning bending or creaking, etc. Well, the only cheap thing about the device is the little hatch cover for the microSD card, and that’s something that I only use once or twice to add/upgrade the microSD card, and is otherwise not noticeable. Everything else about the brushed aluminum and the glass cover is very solid and well built.

2. I have had no issues whatsoever with Honeycomb. The apps in the Android Marketplace are mostly written in Java (unless the developer ported a C code via JNI), and personally, Java is not my prime choice when it comes to robustness or process-intensive programs (although Java has much improved over the years). This simply means that if you’re running graphics-intensive programs such as games, or are number crunching on your tablet, etc., you are bound to see occasional lags and glitches. That is often not the fault of the Android platform, which is a modified Linux kernel with the Java code running on the Java Virtual Machine that runs on the kernel. Developers and savvy users can and do port C code for Android apps that can address some of the stability / speed issues (however, a poorly-written C code can be far more problematic and less efficient than a poorly-written Java program). The one advantage Apple’s Cocoa framework has is limiting development to Objective-C; however, I found it to be a pain in the a** to work with, and I think most younger programmers would also prefer developing in Java (while the old-timers prefer C), so either way, Android has better prospects IMHO.

My apps are almost entirely my favorite open-source programs that I have ported over after a few minutes of modifying some basics, thus skipping the annoying “free” but ad-ridden (and perhaps malware-ridden) market apps. (There are some very good quality ad-free, free apps in the market, but not that many yet.)

3. The interface is excellent. I find it very responsive and precise overall. I do have a stylus pen I had bought for iPad2, and I use that to avoid getting finger grease on the display while watching movies, etc.

4. Start up speed is ~10-15 seconds from a cold start. If you put the device in sleep mode, the wake-up is ~1 sec.

5. Battery lasts exactly 7 hours with WiFi on, videos / music playing, and multi-tasking. It is true that other tablets provide more juice (iPad2 ~10 and I believe Galaxy, Xoom and Transformer are also supposed to be higher), but A500′s better quality speakers, LED flash, lower actual price tag (not the hypothetical price tag on the other products that end up being much higher in reality due to 3rd-party price-gouging), etc., make the lower battery life less of an issue.

6. The cameras are descent, having an LED flash is handy for taking pictures of documents, the microphone quality is good enough for Skype in a quiet room, the weight is less than a typical book, and unless you are suffering from some age-related disease (like another reviewer had complained), the tablet will not “slide out of your hands by being to slick.”

*** P.S. If you will buy this Tablet I suggest you have compare price before you decide at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Foffer-listing%2FB004XZL980%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref_%3Ddp_olp_new%26condition%3Dnew%23&tag=slashgear.com-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:54:00 +0000

I just bought the 32GB version yesterday, for $480 at CostCo online. (And CostCo extends the manufacturer’s warranty to 2 years.) A no brainer for me.

I have been following tablet development by “Android” ever since Apple came out with its lousy, severely handcuffed iPad. I was waiting for the Honeycomb-based units to arrive and Acer was the first out with Honeycomb AND every feature I wanted.

A bonus was how low Acer priced this quality tablet. I was floored that the 16GB feature rich unit was a paltry $450 retail. And only $30 to $50 more for the 32GB model was fantastic. (Especially compared to how Apple creates products without expandable storage so it can sell people higher capacity devices for hundreds more, or force people to replace devices on an annual basis, simply to mostly get more capacity.)

After looking at every tablet out there (again, Apple not included) I settled on these features, in order of importance. As you can see, the Acer Iconia met every one of my standards. Yes, there will be faster, better tablets come the Holidays 2011, but I will do with the tablet as I have done with my cell phones, since the days of my T-Mobile BlackBerry Pearl in 2006, sell them used on eBay and get most of my money back.

10.1″ display (I can’t read stuff on a smaller display, at least not comfortably).

microSD slot (I refused to be limited by a device with only internal storage).

Honeycomb (especially since Android 2.X was never intended as a tablet OS).

Apps availability.

Processor (Speed. But I assumed with all of the above that the processor would be fast).

Price (I was willing to pay up to about $550, but no more since I have netbooks, notebooks and superphones. Adding a tablet might be overkill and I end up not using it. So I did not want to sink too much cash into my “tablet experiment”).

Form factor – weight (The Acer Iconia barely made it in terms of max weight I wanted in a tablet. It’s way thicker and heavier than the sexy iPad. I’ll give Apple that, by the way, it makes great looking and feeling products.)

By: Arpan

Arpan — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:46:00 +0000

It’s a gorgeous screen, renders rich, bright colors. The Xoom is a washout compared to this one. The USB port works like a dream, and it feels rock solid. The metal really does feel good. It’s a tad heavy, if you can live with that. Not a one-hand tablet for sure.

By: RJ

RJ — Sat, 28 May 2011 06:08:00 +0000

We don’t get much of a choice here in AUS, really only the Iconia, Xoom & the Samsung Galaxy, so far this Iconia is my favourite.
http://www.android-tablets.com.au/?p=30

By: archer91

archer91 — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:41:00 +0000

I think 400 bucks is a great price for a tablet. No offense but do you even know the cost of the parts to build this device? Acer iconia is a great tab and I would gladly pay much more for this.

By: Andrew Reese

Andrew Reese — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:58:00 +0000

I have displays at work of this and a Xoom side by side. The Xoom sucks next to this. It’s nice and bright with good colors.

By: Andrew Reese

Andrew Reese — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:58:00 +0000

I have displays at work of this and a Xoom side by side. The Xoom sucks next to this. It’s nice and bright with good colors.

By: Andrew Reese

Andrew Reese — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:54:00 +0000

Was looking at the ASUS because I thought for some reason this was a Win7 platform. Got them instock at work, and to my surprise, Android. Will be picking on up tomorrow. It may be a little heavier, but I’ll take the trade for a full size USB any day.

By: Andrew Reese

Andrew Reese — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:54:00 +0000

By: Mike Szekely

Mike Szekely — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:27:00 +0000

I have to decide between this and the Eee Pad Transformer. I’m kind of leaning Asus, because I really like the two Asus laptops I’ve had and the fact that it comes with software to remote connect to a PC. But the Iconia has the advantage of being available to me right now and at a discount (as in, a half an hour from now I could be reading follow ups to the post from an Iconia I paid $405 for), while the Asus tablet has been out of stock pretty much everywhere for almost three weeks now.

By: Tom Meny

Tom Meny — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:17:00 +0000

how are you using video chat with the android skype app?

By: Desi

Desi — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:23:00 +0000

I have used iPad and one can not really compare ipad with Acer Iconia because both tablets have completely different software ecosystem. Anyway but Acer Iconia is very kool tablet.

* Good looks slightly heavier, but I don’t mind.
* Very fast and stunning graphics
* Battery really last for 7 hours or more
* Honeycomb 3. 0 rocks..Brings lots of customizable home screen and live widgets.
* 32 GB on-board storage and 1GB ram…very nice
* Good responsive screen..not as good as Ipad2 but if I give Ipad2 10 points then 9 points for this tablet.
* HD games pre-installed also with NVIDIA terga app store.
* Dolby Mobile sound. If you want to enjoy this tablet as music player…then just turn on music EQ from android settings and the sound quality is awesome.
* Browser with flash..think of youtube, online TV, streaming sports, radio which are flash compatible works smoothly. You can enjoy full screen HD videos in flash with no frame loss.
* Video chatting using Gtalk, Skype works very well.
* Ebooks using Lumiread, Aldiko etc apps renders books nice both in portrait and landscape mode.
* Comes with Acer’s pre installed apps which are kool and not advertisement and annoyance.

Overall, I am very pleased with this tablet and I will recommend if you are specifically looking for Honeycomb tablet.

By: Desi

Desi — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:23:00 +0000

I have used iPad and one can not really compare ipad with Acer Iconia because both tablets have completely different software ecosystem. Anyway but Acer Iconia is very kool tablet.

Overall, I am very pleased with this tablet and I will recommend if you are specifically looking for Honeycomb tablet.

By: Desi

Desi — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:23:00 +0000

I have used iPad and one can not really compare ipad with Acer Iconia because both tablets have completely different software ecosystem. Anyway but Acer Iconia is very kool tablet.

Overall, I am very pleased with this tablet and I will recommend if you are specifically looking for Honeycomb tablet.

By: Daniel Hoskins

Daniel Hoskins — Mon, 02 May 2011 06:47:00 +0000

build quality is great. screen is great, maybe not as vibrant as ipad 2, but has a higher resolution.

By: David Chamberlain

David Chamberlain — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:17:00 +0000

RIM managed to put their speakers on the front… we’ll see how that works out for them

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 23:30:00 +0000

I just love (sarcastic) the in depth battery testing you do. Obviously that’s the most labor intensive aspect of a review so you decided to write essentially rubbish about it. Interesting. The thing most people want to know about, battery life comparison, you don’t even come close to. Bore us with the details and then skimp on the important stuff. My point? Come to grips with the fact that people care about battery life likely the most. Afterall, tegra 2 this. Android this. Who cares? It’s all the same. Speed tests? Give me a break. Save your cutting and pasting because tablet speed tests are like comparing to colors of white. About the same? I dunno, let’s review that.

By: InvincibleDon1

InvincibleDon1 — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 18:50:00 +0000

!!! Hay Chris Burns of Splash gear, You do know the Moto Xoom have a 5MP Camera as well as the G slate & in this lol review you said the 2 have an 8mp cam. I have the two & I wish they have that lol. The only Android Honeycomb tablet to have an 8mp Cam is the Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1″.

By: SXW

SXW — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 06:06:00 +0000

I got the A500 over on Friday from a local BestBuy apparent they are not suppose to sell it until Monday. The screen has very wide viewing angle, I looked at the Ipad 2 before I looked at the A500, and I couldn’t tell the difference based on memory, but I’m sure IPS is better. Though the screen is better than the Xoom which I also own.

By: david r blanchard

david r blanchard — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:39:00 +0000

i want to know about the damn screen!!!!! everybody looking at this damn review knows about honeycomb and tegra 2. come on man!!! does the usb and mini usb port function, hows the build quality and how the damn screen compare to the competition!!!! not that hard