Acer Iconia A500: Comments; reviews etc

[MightyMuffinMan]

I'm considering buying one of these beasts that NGRcomputers have on special. Worth it at R3999 IMO.

RE:
1. I don't need 3G on the go (i'll just cache my pages)
2. Battery life is impressive in most online reviews.
3. Has USB port
4. Has SD card Slot

Any one own one? Whats it like? Does DSTV dfrita work with it? Hows the GPS in real world usage?

PS. I'm a doctor and want to use it for reading textbooks etc on the fly. And also watch the odd tv episode when on duty and there no work. Don't really care about the music.

[bar1]

Seems like a great deal!
can anyone apply for this Standard Bank Club Members?
can I order online or do i have to go there?

[Elimentals]

Only complaint I have seen so far was Maddmatt that complained about the mic on VoIP applications picking up the device speakers

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthre...highlight=acer

If I didn't have a Asus Eee Pad on order I would have jumped on this offer easy.

[bar1]

And to answer you question, i believe the Asus transformer is a better tablet, but for R3999, 32GB, and a USB port i think it's a better purchase.

[Maddmatt]

At that price, I'd say it's a good deal.

Don't own a DSTV Drifta and not planning to make use of the GPS so I can't comment on those.

If you're going to watch videos on it, download Mobo Player (+ the codec) or Rockplayer. Can play a much bigger variety of video formats than stock.

[BeVonk!]

As far as I know Drifta doesn't work on Android yet. Coming "soon" (note that channels are very limited). For reading - in the end - the Kindle is really worth getting - if that is what you do a lot.

[Elimentals]

As far as I know Drifta doesn't work on Android yet. Coming "soon" (note that channels are very limited). For reading - in the end - the Kindle is really worth getting - if that is what you do a lot.

I think the drifta issue was more related to Android and DRM than anything else. As we saw that Netflix only came out with Version 2.3.3 +

So I dont think it will be to long now for it to come out on Tablet devices....

[BeVonk!]

I use Drifta on my iPad so there has never been an issue on the iOS side.

[Elimentals]

I use Drifta on my iPad so there has never been an issue on the iOS side.

Well iOS doesn't allow you to think out of the box so I can understand why. Android prior to 2.3.3 you could capture any media that was streamed to the device.

[BeVonk!]

Well it then shows that with those iOS limitations you can sometimes do more that the person enjoying all that freedom. It's like getting free DSTV in jail whilst not being able to afford it whilst living off scraps on the street. LOL!

[BeVonk!]

I assume you all have seen this already: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/05/v...oice-than-the/

[Maddmatt]

Well it then shows that with those iOS limitations you can sometimes do more that the person enjoying all that freedom. It's like getting free DSTV in jail whilst not being able to afford it whilst living off scraps on the street. LOL!

I can't believe Multichoice worries about us pirating their outdated content, especially at the lower-than-SD resolution of Drifta. I'd rather copy a few TV shows and movies onto my phone/tablet than waste money on DSTV's crap anyway.

[BeVonk!]

Maddmatt, your sound/Skype problem sorted through XDA forum?

[Maddmatt]

Nope. Well there was an update last week, didn't test to see if it fixed it but that's unlikely, the changelog didn't mention it. The compass was completely buggered before the update but works now though.

Saw other complaints about it, looks like it's up to Acer to fix it because there seem to be no ways around the problem.

[MightyMuffinMan]

Thanks for the help guys.

As far as I know Drifta doesn't work on Android yet. Coming "soon" (note that channels are very limited). For reading - in the end - the Kindle is really worth getting - if that is what you do a lot.

Noted. Will e-mail multichoice for an ETA.

At that price, I'd say it's a good deal.


If you're going to watch videos on it, download Mobo Player (+ the codec) or Rockplayer. Can play a much bigger variety of video formats than stock.

Thanks. How much does it cost?

And to answer you question, i believe the Asus transformer is a better tablet, but for R3999, 32GB, and a USB port i think it's a better purchase.

was also considering an Asus bu8t price has been an issue with regards to tablets because you can get so much more Laptop for that amount but the tablet wins on mobility.

BTW I own a kindle and I use it alot but sadly it dont do well with 3000 page textbooks that are pdf format and the print is size 5 font. And I'm studing surgery so need to be able to expand the photos in color to understand stuff so Tablet seems like the solution.