Acer Iconia Tab A500 Android Tablet Review
We're seeing a lot of Android tablets hit the market. What's more, many of these tablets offer similar specifications, including a 10.1-inch screen, dual-core processor, 16GB (or more) of storage, and Wi-Fi capabilities. Some tablets also have 3G or 4G cellular connections built-in.
The Acer Iconia Tab A500 offers all of the specifications you'd expect from a manufacturer who intends to truly compete in the Android tablet market. It also features a few extras, the most notable of which are the full-size USB 2.0 port and the microHDMI port. In addition to the microHDMI port, multimedia enthusiasts will appreciate the Iconia Tab A500's Dolby Mobile technology along with Acer clear.fi which lets you access and share content with DLNA compliant devices.
We wish Adobe Flash would have come preinstalled, but it's a minor thing to install it. We are also excited for Acer to release an update which will enable the tablet to share 1080p video with external devices through the HDMI port.
Update (7/8/2011): We just got word that Acer is rolling out an update to Android 3.1. Indeed, our Iconia Tab A500 received the update a few hours after we published this review. In addition to Android 3.1, Acer says you'll get a smoother user interface experience, enhanced performance, and support for more standard apps. Other features that come with the update include a push of Adobe Flash 10.3, full support for Bluetooth and USB mice, and the ability to share 1080p video with external devices through the HDMI port.
All in all, the Acer Iconia Tab A500 is a solid tablet with a nice outer finish and shell. The tablet is quite similar to others on the market, but it does offer a few extras that help set it apart from the pack and pricing is competitive too. With street priced hovering around $444 for the 16GB model and $479 for 32GB, the Acer Iconia Tab is somewhat more attainable than some more popular tablets, that don't offer the same kind of performance or features.
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