What is it? A 10.1-inch tablet that runs the Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS, the Iconia Tab A500 includes a 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor,1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage space (support for 32GB on microSD card), a 5 megapixel rear-facing digital camera/camcorder, 2 megapixel front-facing camera, and 802.11b/g/n wireless (only 2.4GHz on 802.11n). Other PC-like features include Bluetooth 2.1, 2 USB 2.0 ports (one regular, one micro), docking station port, gyro-meter, compass and a three-cell lithium-polymer battery.
Unique features: Like other Android tablets I’ve seen, this one feels like an extension of an Android smartphone, yet with a larger screen. On the main screen the Acer Zones feature organizes apps by category, letting you switch between eReading, games, multimedia and social networking apps. Or you can just click the Apps button to get a listing of all the apps, or add ones that you download from the Android Marketplace to the home page. The Clear.fi app automatically connects all of the other devices on your network (smartphone, notebook, PC, home storage, etc.) and access the media files from those devices.
Compared to iPad: The Android OS probably comes closest to an iPad-like experience in terms of the touch-screen interface, tap-to-open apps and the ability to add new apps via the downloadable Android Market. Setting everything up is annoying – getting the device to work with my corporate Wi-Fi network was a pain, and I needed to update the Flash Player app via Android before I could watch Flash-enabled videos on a Web site (one of the major selling points of Android over Apple iOS).
At times the system seemed slower, but this could also be due to the choppy nature of the corporate Wi-Fi network. When I connected to my home network, updating apps and downloading new apps seemed to go much quicker.
Having PC-like additional ports on the device is interesting, but they seem to be t here only for the additional accessories that are sold separately (for example, the $80 charging dock, the $30 power adapter or the $40 protective case).
Bottom line: With an experience that mirrors the iPad in terms of apps available and user interface, the A500 is geared towards users who are either annoyed with Apple, are really big fans of Android, or those looking to say they have a tablet that’s not an iPad. Plus, you get all of the Angry Birds games (regular, Seasons and Rio) for free!
And just like that, we finally now have an official date and pricing for T-Mobile customers who are eagerly awaiting to check out the latest offering from RIM’s camp. The BlackBerry Bold 9780 will begin to go on sale starting on November 12th for the very happy price of $129.99 with a 2-year agreement.
Sony Ericsson has taken off the covers from its first full touch walkman phone, the Sony Ericsson Yendo. The Yendo is meant to deliver music, social networking and communication is one colorful phone.
