Internetpilot's new toy: Acer Iconia A500 Tablet

[internetpilot]

Thanks for the update! I want one. I don't think I can get spousal approval for one, though.

I hear ya -- I only was "allowed" to get one because I was long due for a notebook upgrade. I was using my wife's decade-old Dell notebook (the battery lasts for about 20 mins now). So I made a choice between notebook or tablet and chose tablet. It helped that the notebook I wanted was about 2x the price of the tablet. "See, honey -- this tablet is actually a good deal..."

I need to go back through this thread for your other comments, but wondering if at this point, how would you compare the Iconia to the Transformer and other tablets?

I still feel that I got the best tablet for me. Here are a few of my reasons:

Vs. iPad2
Very lightweight, long battery life, but it's significantly more expensive, requires connectivity accessories to make up for he Acer's full size USB, and it's not Android so that would cause me to buy more apps.

Vs. Transformer
The Transformer looks pretty good. It's comparably priced, it's Android, and it's probably the only other tablet I would get if the Acer had never been. One problem is availability. It's harder to find in stores than the Acer.

Vs. Xoom
Nice Android tablet, but still at iPad prices. If my choice would've been between a Xoom or a notebook, I likely would've just gone for the notebook.

Vs. Galaxy Tab 10
Another nice Android tablet. It just wasn't out when I was looking to buy. I think it's more expensive, but other than that it's right in there as a contender with the other 10" tablets.

One other consideration for me regarding tablets: size. I tend to lean more toward the smaller tablets.

I was looking to get more a notebook replacement. When I want to do hardcore computering (is that a word?) I use my custom built desktop PC. I had a rather old notebook, but still even the newer notebooks have what I would call less than stellar battery life. When I want something small and ultra portable, I can just use my Android phone. It has almost all the same apps and data on it that my Acer tablet does, so it's my go-everywhere device. The tablet is my go-to daily computer and I'm still willing to take it more places than I would a notebook, but less places than I would take my phone (because I take my phone everywhere). With both my tablet and my phone being Android, it's not as if I deconverged at all. I can use either interchangeably.

[jigwashere]

Thanks for your comments, they're very helpful. In my situation, I don't really do a lot of "hardcore computering," but my desktop is where I land for those kinds of tasks. I'm overdue for a desktop upgrade, but will probably limp along for another year or so before I get serious about replacing it.

For me, getting a tablet would be an upgrade to my netbook as well as a way to put off upgrading my smartphone. My netbook has been great for what it is, but battery life is poor, it gets hot and the fan is noisy, and I haven't had great luck streaming Netflix. Are those good reasons for getting a tablet? I know my wife's answer. Unfortunately, she's probably right.

[internetpilot]

Thanks for your comments, they're very helpful. In my situation, I don't really do a lot of "hardcore computering," but my desktop is where I land for those kinds of tasks. I'm overdue for a desktop upgrade, but will probably limp along for another year or so before I get serious about replacing it.

For me, getting a tablet would be an upgrade to my netbook as well as a way to put off upgrading my smartphone. My netbook has been great for what it is, but battery life is poor, it gets hot and the fan is noisy, and I haven't had great luck streaming Netflix. Are those good reasons for getting a tablet? I know my wife's answer. Unfortunately, she's probably right.

My desktop started out as our home theater PC, so it was rather beastly from the get-go. With everything going HD we had to switch to commercial DVRs, so that left the HTPC without much use, which seemed quite the shame. So I took it for my desktop PC, and have kept it upgraded here and there so that it's still a rather high end machine. Of course, that's what kept me on the same notebook PC for a decade -- didn't really need anything great for minor surfing and email, maybe a DVD on the road.

If you're wanting to watch Netflix I can't recommend the Acer A500 -- I think it might be the only tablet that Netflix won't provide their app (for whatever reason). Netflix on at least my two choices of Android devices (HTC Evo 4G and Acer A500) has been a complete fiasco. And now as of September 1, streaming is no longer "free". I don't think I want to pay $8 a month for the app not to work on any of my devices, so it's back to converting DVDs for me.

[jigwashere]

I saw an image of the A500 on Amazon.com yesterday that made me think Netflix worked. After reading your post, I went back and saw the following comment that pops up when you roll your mouse over the image:

'This is key. Won't run netflix. Also reboots when you try to run skype. Netflix and Skype will only run on previous versions of Android and certain devices.

Not necessarily a deal breaker for me since Netflix changed their pricing structure. Also, I think I may have just solved the streaming problem on my netbook by removing 'BDA TV Monitor' (a leftover from when I was experimenting with an Hauppauge WinTV tuner)

[jigwashere]

The Acer Iconia A500 is $399 at Target this week. Plus, get a $50 Target gift card! Um....I need to go talk to my wife (I mean, beg).

[Mi An]

The Acer Iconia A500 is $399 at Target this week. Plus, get a $50 Target gift card! Um....I need to go talk to my wife (I mean, beg).

Vaya con Dios, mi amigo. Vaya con Dios.

[internetpilot]

The Acer Iconia A500 is $399 at Target this week. Plus, get a $50 Target gift card! Um....I need to go talk to my wife (I mean, beg).

Jig, just tell her that it's $100 less than Internetpilot paid just 1.5 months ago!

[jigwashere]

Oh, man! People are apparently scoring an Iconia for $300 at Staples. I'm not sure I can survive this!

[internetpilot]

I know -- it's killing me! This is probably the first time ever that I was a relatively early adopter for a techie item. Two months later and $150 cheaper? That hurts!

Thankfully, the Staples deal seems to be a short-term sale, but the 16GB version of the Acer A500 will likely remain about $100 cheaper than what I paid for it!

Oh, well. I've be enjoyed it for 2 months longer than most, right?

[jigwashere]

Well, the coupon expired and I didn't get a tablet. I did order a new 6-cell battery for my netbook, though.

Maybe this is what I need: