[Acer Iconia A500] xManMythLegend:
I hope this is of some use to someone as Ive been on a search for an ideal tablet for myself since the Xoom was released.

Ive had the Acer for about a month and love it for the most part.

Galxy Tab owner for about a day :confused: ((so why a review ??)) Its not.

Its a physical comparison as its difficult to track down an Acer without a huge magnet brick stuck to the back and the Tab releases country wide tomorrow.

Anyways...here goes any questions more than happy to answer.

HxW

This was a big surprise. Unlike the Asus Transformer with its mega wide bezel the Acer is actually pretty compact in that area. So much so that stacking the Tab on top produced negligible difference. As far as height and width theres about 'half a skinny straw' difference.

Weight

Well this is where the difference comes in. The Tab is simply much lighter. If you hold both in your hands it may seem like a "slight" difference. But after a short period you will quickly notice the acer is just plain heavy. After using the Tab for a bit then picking up the Acer the difference is huge.

Thickness

This IMO is the second biggest determining factor. Do you want the slimmness ? .......Or the Ports.

Holding the Tab it feels like a larger Kindle. Or just a truly "slate" computing device. Ive had several star trek moments holding it thus far.

Acer has always felt like a laptop cover ripped off the keyboard where the ports somehow magically transferred to the top. Yes its thick but I can connect this sucker to a monitor , a external drive , a card reader , and easily expand with a micro SD.

Look good or be efficient ?? Your choice IMO cant go wrong.

FYI:Tab will require at least 2 add ons , plus a case that can accommodate your extra accessories in order to match connectivity.

Microphone-

**SO FAR*** my biggest grip with the Acer has been the awful mic. It just sucks. Dont know if its the quality or the placement but the end result remains suckage. Far too often a phrase like "When can we meet ?"

results in "can we me".... or worse "w"..... WTF?!!?

Voice to text is my primary need/use for a tablet, this was a huge deal for me.

Galaxy Tab has been better. But frankly neither are up to snuff to my Nexus One. Im assuming phones in general will just have better mic quality.

Audio clip from Tab (using camcorder)

http://db.tt/XrcHGaK

Audio clip from Acer (using camcorder)

http://db.tt/eZ0rOIa

While not a tell all example the above differences in clarity were consistent with other apps as well.

Screen-

Thus far there really isnt a reason to side for one or the other outside of need or preference. Until this.

The screen on the Tab is gorgeous and is simply richer in color and after flicking through Picasa it seems to have gotten a more accurate representation of the pictures taken.

While I do feel the tab pushes colors a bit much ;almost like oled does. Ex: The YT still shot Rebecca Blacks red jacket is too saturated

However over a wide range of pictures and videos it just felt more vivid with better blacks.

This isnt a Ipads "cool" vs Tabs "warm" approach to color temp. The Tab is simply a better looking screen.

Software---

Not touching on this unless asked.

I will say I still have numerous videos FC on YT and the browser does NOT have any quick controls on the galaxy tab. Major bummer and worthy of return or sell if it cant be added as I find the controls are what make two handed Tablet browsing possible.

Wrap up-

In short Lebron James is overrated.

But seriously

Acer-8/10

Tab- 9/10

If you will make regular use of the ports , or weight isnt an issue the Acer is the choice.

If you care about aesthetics and or mobility is a bigger concern then the Tab is the way to go.