Acer Iconia Tab A100 Review.

This may be the best 7" Tablet available right now!

I picked up my 8GB Acer Iconia Tab A100 7-inch Tablet on the first day they were available at my local Walmart. Well packaged, and at that time for sale at $328 with an included $50 Walmart Gift Card.  Still haven't spent that gift card, but I am really enjoying the tablet. Far more portable that any of the 10" tablets I've tried. It came with Android Honeycomb 3.2 installed, and a few custom apps from Acer in addition to the typical android apps normally included with Honeycomb.

Inside the box was an Acer AC Power Supply for charging it up, a USB cable for syncing it with your PC, a large folded Getting Started Guide, and a shrink-wrapped assortment of warranties and safety disclaimers. No headphones were included.  You can download the User Guide in PDF format HERE.

Hardware:  The A100 comes with a micro HDMI output, micro USB port, docking port, 2mp front and 5mp rear cameras, LED flash with the rear camera, a headphone jack, microphone, microSD and SIM card slots, stereo speakers, external volume rocker, and a screen rotation lock slider. It also works with the A500 Docking Station with Remote sold for it's larger brother the Acer A500 Iconia Tab.
 

Display: The capacitive multitouch screen shows 1024 x 600 Pixels with 262K color support. Better than most 7" tablets I've seen. The screen is almost too sensitive using a stylus.  My favorite capacitive stylus is read too quickly half the time, detected as a tap instead of the beginning of a slide or swipe. Using my fingers the screen accuracy is nearly perfect though.  Movies and photos look great. View angles aren't wide. There is some color shift when off-center, but the view is fine for personal use.

Apps:  The A100 came with the android market app, and as such has access to the entire collection available there.  You can also side-load apps from 3rd part sources, and install the Amazon AppStore app easily. I haven't come across any apps that won't run on the A100.   It is not a phone though, so don't expect apps made to use phone-specific hardware to work.  I'm enjoying the Planner app that was pre-installed. The Angry Birds game collection plays great.  Graphics are smooth, even in levels that have bogged down some of the other devices I've tested. 

Battery life is the most disappointing feature of this tablet, although mine does live up to the 5 hours estimated by Acer.  With a battery only half the size of what comes in most 10.1" tablets I'm not surprised duration on a charge isn't longer.  I'll suggest turning wifi and the screen off between uses, and that should get you through 8 hours of off and on use.

Android 3.2 comes pre-installed on the A100 and is a significant improvement over earlier versions.  It includes a compatibility zoom mode that gives users a new way to view fixed-sized apps on larger devices.  Small phone apps are easily enlarged to fill the screen.   These graphics capabilities are a big step for App makers and will mean updated apps are more likely to run on any android device no matter the screen size.

Build:  My A100 is solidly built, with no creaking or flexing of the body. All edges are rounded over and it is easy to hold.  Like most tablets the glass front and plastic body are fingerprint magnets.  I suggest keeping a microfiber cleaning cloth handy. This tablet doesn't look much different than any of my other 7" tablets until you turn it on, at which point the high-res capacitive screen show off.

Media:  I had no trouble playing assorted MP4, WMV, and AVI video files. MOV and FLV files wouldn't play with the stock player, but played fine using the Mobiplayer app downloadable from the Android Market.  The video apps weren't the best at stretching videos to fill the screen, but all videos played with no dropped frames.   MP3, WMA (and WMA lossless), FLAC, WAV, and AAC audio files all played fine using the Google Music app. I couldn't find an OGG file to test. Sound quality from the built-in speakers is tinny.  Not bad for spoken audio, but missing any low end for music. Audio through my nicest over-ear headphones (Sennheiser HD-595) was static-free and generally delightful.

Conclusions:  This tablet is a keeper. Yes, they could have used a better screen. Yes, it would benefit from a larger battery (assuming one would fit inside).  Everything else considered and the Acer Iconia A100 stands out as the best 7" android tablet I've tried so far.  Screen response is fluid. Web browsing is quick and complete, with the browser having no obvious trouble rendering FLASH on web sites.  My A100 had no trouble multitasking between my email, the web browser, a game of Angry Birds, and the Astro File Manager (downloaded from the Market).  At $328 it is fairly priced against the less-capable NOOK Color eBook Tablet and the thinner HTC Flyer .  Those are the only other 7"  tablets I've seen with 1024 x 600 screens.  Watch the ads, because if Walmart was able to offer a $50 gift card with one then there is some room in the price for nice sale-price reductions. I'll say it again: This tablet is a keeper!

Comments and Questions welcomed!
4D

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Acer Iconia Tablet Details (With Photos).

1280 x 800. Plenty of room!

Acer's 10.1" Honeycomb tablet weighs a bit more than most competitors. For that small weight penalty you get a tank of a tablet with more features than most.   I've had my A500 for a few weeks now (Target.com) , and am greatly appreciating the included full-sized USB port, 5mp Camera (with flash),  and solid construction. You can find more information about it at Acer.com.

Brushed Aluminum Back.  Stereo Speaker.

Audio output is surprisingly good with the two built-in speakers.  Not the best for music as there is no low frequency output, but fine for podcasts, audio books, and even movies. There is a standard headphone jack on the left end.  The A500 also sports an LED flash next to the 5mp rear camera!

MicroSD slot under the top-edge flap. Future 3G SIM slot on the right. 

 You get a volume rocker and screen rotation lock on the top edge, left. The power button and headphone jack are on the left end near the top.  That is a Micro HDMI jack near the bottom of the left end (below).

Power, Headphone jack, and HDMI jack.

The right end holds the rest of the goodies.  The AC power jack is near the top, with microUSB and standard USB ports near the bottom (below).

USB, microUSB, Reset, and Power jack.

You can enjoy ALL of the web with Adobe Flash support and full sized web pages on the large screen. Angry birds is a joy to play on the 10.1" screen, and even more to watch on your HDTV via the HDMI out port. The USB port supports USB keyboards, USB mice, removable storage devices, and (when android 3.1 arrives) USB joysticks and game controllers.

Google.  Not their Mobile version.

Angry Birds Rio!

Music and Video are well served by this Iconia.  The 16:10 screen is far better than any 4:3 screen on a tablet for wide screen movies. The Google Music app works great!  Photos look wonderful in portrait or landscape view.

A scene from Mulan fills the screen.

Google Music app.  Now-Playing portrait view.

Photo of a Rocking Hammock.  Designed by Lydia Palma.

Conclusion:  Acer's Iconia A500 is a winner here.  At $449 for the 16gb version it is $50 less expensive than a comparable Apple iPad 2 yet far more capable. You can easily expand its memory with up to a 32GB microSDHC Memory Card. Access media or documents off a connected USB thumb drive  or external USB hard drive.  You'll find thousands of Android apps certified to work with Honeycomb (Android 3.0/3.1). I was able to find parallels of every critical app I have on my iPad2. The dual-core Tegra 2 processor inside will play any game on the android market with ease. Plug in a USB keyboard and get some work done with the included Document to Go programs. Put your inner artist to work with Autodesk's Sketchbook or any of a dozen other drawing programs for Android. Send your sketch over Bluetooth or in an email to your friend's phone or tablet.  If you are looking for a great tablet, this is a serious contender.  Acer has promised an update to Android 3.1 before the end of June (2011). 

I'm keeping mine!
4D

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Archos' Gen8 Tablets Updated. Minor Fixes and Major New Features!

NEW!

On April 21, 2011 Archos release version 2.3.26 firmware for its generation 8 tablets. The Changes include:

• Wi-Fi: fix cannot scan on an access point above channel 11 regression
• Phone tethering: fix TCP/IP header compression setting crash
• System stability: avoid Android reboot in case of missing audio
• Media library: fix media libray not updated on hard drive based A70
• Notification: decrease low battery notification volume
• Application: attempt to solve Pandora application not able to switch songs
• Application: solve music lag in applications using OGG format
• Bluetooth GPS: increase compatibility with 3rd party applications
• Display: avoid white/black screen happening sometimes when switching back the display on.

Download page.

On April 13, 2011 Archos released version 2.3.20 firmware for its generation 8 tablets.  The Changes include:
Version 2.3.20:

• Application: a new Archos remote service and universal Android application to control your Archos device remotely using Wi-Fi. It is intended to operate your Archos using any Android phone/device for instance when the Archos is connected to the TV. The "Archos Remote Control" application is available on Android Market and on Appslib
• Application: a new Archos YouTube application to easily view and play YouTube videos
• Network shares: samba network share transfer speed has been enhanced to support HD streaming
• Network shares: password protected shares are now discoverable
• Media library: improve indexing behavior and robustness
• Media info scraper: more robust poster and information retrieval process for TV and movie shows
• Media library cleaning: all multimedia information (movie/tv shows posters and indexation data) can be cleared through settings->repair/formatting/reset multimedia library entry
• Contacts: fix importation and exportation of Vcards
• Applications: fix sound muted when initiating a call with Fring
• Screen snapshot: fix capture for all screens and TV
• Camera: increase quality of 720P H264 recording (decrease blockiness effect)
• Multimedia: improve UPNP stability preventing hangs when Wi-Fi connection stops
• Multimedia: for shoutcast network streams display url, station, genre on MusicPlayer
• Multimedia: fix next playing video being paused at start in folder play mode
• Multimedia: MMS playback support has been fixed
• Multimedia: MIDI playback support has been fixed
• Multimedia: fix compatibility with Rhapsody player application
• Audio: fixed alarm volume when headphone are plugged (was lowered)
• Video: fix some MPEG2 files not playing correctly on A28
• Video: fix seeking in AVI with layer2 VBR sound
• MusicPlayer: display track number (like "3/10") for A43/A70/A101
• Videoplayer: fix folder play mode with HD video
• Subtitles: auto detect UTF8 codepage
• Storage: remove disk damage notification happening sometimes even after a successful file system check
• Peripherals: display a notification when plugging a USB device that requires more than 100mA current for A28/A32/A70 to provide feedback that it is not supported (e.g. some USB keys)
• Battery: improve prediction of wake up time to shutdown the product when battery is low
• Proxy: http proxy support has been fixed
• Phone tethering: increase compatibility with Blackberry phones (introduction of a setting to enable TCP/IP header compression)

You can find the firmware here:  LINK

One new feature I'm delighted to see is the remote control application.  It allows any Android 2.1 device to control your Archos gen8 device while it is hooked up to your TV. It means you can sit back on the couch and interact with android on your HDTV with no cable between your phone and the Archos device.  You can download the Archos Remote APK here:  LINK

I'm delighted to see Archos providing continued support for their gen8 tablets.  They've made mine even better than it was when I bought them.

4D

Google's Android Tablet

I have no idea what it will look like. All I know is that it should have some original product design time spent on its looks to be competitive against all the other tablets we'll see this year. Hopefully the Android market will start seperating apps into those for phones with relatively small screens and those that take advantage of higher resolutions. Then use a Tegra 2 or even Creative Labs Zii processor in it for quick performance and low power consumption.

More later, when it actually shows up.

4D

iPad vs Archos 9? Which is the better Sofa PC?

I've studied the iPad. I've got an Archos 9 Win 7 tablet. I also have an iPod Touch and the Archos 5 Android tablet. Steve Jobs believes there is a market for something between the smart phone and the notebook PC, and that the iPad is that 'tween device. I think he missed the target.

I had my Touch first, and although I hoped it could do everything a netbook could do I found it just isn't capable of any work I need done. It's a great pocket game device though. The apps available make it far more useful than it is out-of-the-box. The limited screen and failure to multitask leave it not quite perfect for real work. Apple tries though. They added cut-and paste for a crude way to transfer data between apps. They made a 64gb version. I use my Touch every day, but it is no longer my Sofa PC.

Next came the Archos 5 with Android. The screen is bigger and reveals more detail. It is still pocketable. Browsing and email are better on the 5 than on the Touch. I can add a bluetooth mouse and keyboard if I need it. I can use it as a DVR to get video content directly onto it. I can access all the media content I have on my local network. I can access and display my MS Office files using Thinkfree Mobile. No editing though. No printing. No real work. The Android App store(s) are filling up with apps quickly, and so the Touch and iPad don't really have that edge anymore. The 5 has GPS, better bluetooth than the Touch, 802.11n Wifi, FM radio and FM broadcasting, and is almost as thin. It is still no workhorse PC and there is enough demand for work in my life that the Archos 5 with Android also fails as my ideal Sofa tablet.

My Archos 9 tablet arrived the first week of January, and I've been exploring it's potential ever since. Since it runs Windows 7 (Starter) I was able to download drivers for my printer and get that set up. I also verified that it's on board bluetooth supports bluetooth keyboards, mice, headphones, and file transfers. Starter Edition doesn't have complete Win 7 Touchscreen support in it, so I've ordered the Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade to replace it with. Although it is usable, the Touch interface of the 9 right out of the box is inefficient at best.

For comparison here are some common specs for the Archos 9 and the new iPad:
Archos 9,-------
----------------------
1.76 lbs
1.1Ghz Z510. *-
Windows 7.
8.9"
1024 x 600
resistive
LED backlight
10.08 x 5.28 x 0.67
HDD 60GB (1.8")
WiFi (802,11b/g)
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Microphone
Stereo Speakers. *
Headphone jack.
1.3mp Webcam, *
Optical trackpoint mouse,
L/R mouse buttons.
Built-in Stand, 2-positions.
USB port.
MicroSD slot.
Lotus Symphony included: Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations.

Apple iPad
-----------------------------------
1.5 lbs. *
1Ghz A4.
iPad OS 3.2.
9.7". *
1024 x 768. *
capacitive.
LED backlight, IPS, Oleophobic
9.56" x 7.47" x 0.5"
16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash memory.
WiFi (802,11a/b/g/n) *
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
Microphone.
Speaker (Mono).
Headphone jack.
NO Webcam.
iWork Optional: $9.99 x 3.


Many years ago I won a TI-99/4A computer. Although I could write and run BASIC games on it, and play games that came on cartridges for it, it did not become truly useful until there was a printer it could print to. No content creation app was worth using until there was a way to get it out of the PC. It wasn't until PCs became fairly standardized and accessories would work on most that the PC really took off.

Knowing this, any sofa tablet that can't use the 3rd party output devices so common with macs and PCs is destined to be a content consumer only. The living room already has content though. There's a good chance you have a cable or satellite connection bringing video to a TV. If you've got an amp then you've got better speakers in there than any PC has, and something to play music though those speakers with. You certainly won't need a tablet PC to entertain you in there. Your X-Box or Wii on the big TV will be better for games. If you bought an HDTV in the last three months it may have it's own network access to Netflix and YouTube. If the TV doesn't your BlueRay player might.

The Internet brings both content and a destination for your own original content. The Internet is what suggests there is room for another device in the living room. If we assume a touch tablet is the best form factor of a device to use while on the sofa, then that tablet should minimally be an Internet content consumer and an Internet content creator. It should be able to output to your local printer. It should be able to access from and store content to DVDs, CDs and portable or networked hard drives. We buy things on the Internet. Printing that receipt is mandatory! Your boss emails you a document to print and fill out. Your Son emails you a photo of your new Grand-daughter. It looks great on the screen, and it would be wonderful to print out at 5x7 to frame for your desk.

So what will make a better in-between device? A new tablet that isn't as portable as your phone or an iPod Touch, or a tablet that is roughly the same size but will do the work you expect a PC to do? Sure there will be customers who don't need to print and will be happy with a web tablet that can't play any flash content on the web. My Archos 9 didn't come cheap. It started at $549 and rose to $800 with a software and hard drive upgrade. Upgrading it is something an iPad won't allow. Apple won't mind selling you a new model next year though.

Want a tablet? Think hard before buying that iPad. There will be more capable tablets in a variety of sizes this year. Even if you don't need to print often, a tablet that CAN print will be far less frustrating than one that can't when you wish it could. One ironic detail is that you could install iTunes on the Archos and sync the iPad with it. No need to sync the Archos to anything.

4D

A Tablet Scattershot.

Apple's iSlate, JooJoo, Freescale Tablet, HTC/Chrome Tablet, Archos 9, and a half dozen more. That's what we can expect to see this month. Will anyone get it right? Does anyone need a tablet PC? It's not an original idea. These won't be the first tablet devices on the market. Of those listed above expect at least four different UI/operating systems.

You know what everyone really wants, don't you? It's Star Trek's everything tablet. That thin pad Jordi or Trip would reference for Enterprise specs or anyone on board would look up a family history or read a book on. They are everywhere, and a commodity. They apparently charge whenever set down, or are so thrifty they run forever on their initial battery/capacitor/fuel cell charge. Will anyone get it right? I don't think they will on the first shot. Someone will get close, though. It's inevitable with a scatter shot. Yet no one knows what we really can use since we don't have one yet. This month will be full of experiments. The company that learns the most from their first device will have an easier shot the next time.

Why have previous tablets failed:
- Lack of portability. You'll need a large coat pocket, briefcase, or purse to carry yours in.
- Price: If you can't carry one easily around, you'll want one for home, your car, and your workplace. At $300 to $1000 no one will want to buy more than one. Make it a $99 device or three for $279 and it's got a chance. Add auto syncing between your pads so they all have the same content and state like the Kindle ebook device and apps have. Set one down and whichever one you pick up will be right where you left the last one at.
- Fingerprints. Sure, a stylus can keep the screen clean, but it limits you to mono-touch. Multi-touch is the future. Move directly to fingers and subsequent prints. Most of us would stop using our keyboards if we could easily see how dirty they are. There's a reason they are usually black. You can't hide the smear when you have to look through it though. We'll need a new surface and/or way to interface with this new tablet.

It doesn't surprise me at all that Apple's Jobs has been dissatisfied with their tablet development up until now. Expect something original as an interface from Apple. Facial Expression Recognition maybe? Their iSlate will certainly have a web cam. Maybe it will read lips. Everyone else looks to be moving today's touchscreen UIs onto larger tablets. I've seen several different strategies, and more than a few that were horrible. Move past single-handed use and the ergonomics completely change. I would expect a voice command interface if we were always alone with our tablets. We live with other people though and are already annoyed when someone talks on their cell phone in our presence. Imagine everyone around you now who has a cell phone all of a sudden talking to their new iSlate. Voice command won't cut it.

I'm enjoying my Archos 5. It is thin but could be thinner. It could also be lighter. It could also be cheaper. The UI isn't ideal either. Yet it works. It may be the closest thing to that Star Trek pad we see though.

This will certainly be an interesting month. A tablet may be THE device of this decade. Do you want your own Trek pad? What would you pay? Please leave a comment.

4D