yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Acer Iconia A500] mevensen:
I've got both, and switch between them regularly. There are some things the iPad2 can do that the Acer cannot (some Citrix connectivity with my company), there are some things the iPad2 simply does better (WiFi reception, battery life). Then, there are places where it's a toss up. Then there are things like widgets and ability to control my user experience through settings, root applications, etc. that Acer delivers on. The SD card and USB ports are, of course, in Acer's favor.

On the whole, I find myself reaching for the Acer more often through the day, unless I know that the iPad is necessary, or if the Acer's battery is low. This, however, might be because I've owned an iPad (1 or 2) since early in the iPad's life (not the launch of 1, but close) and I've only had the Acer for a month, so there's a newness/novelty to it. The experimentation with ROMs, kernels, etc. also keeps the Acer more interesting from a tweaker's perspective, of course.

The Acer provides homescreens that are much more useful through their customization and dynamic screen content. The iPad gives an overall smoother interaction. Typing on onscreen keyboards goes to the iPad, I think, despite using SwiftKey, which offers word prediction, etc.

Screens are pretty similar in my uses, although the Acer is glossier(glare) and shows fingerprints more readily.

If I had to choose only one at this time, and money was not an issue, I'd probably stick with the iPad2.

Note, I use an Android phone, but I don't know that the integration is really better in one over another, using gmail and corporate accounts and calendars. In my situation, my corporate account did require the use of a third party exchange application due to some weird security issues. This may change if you were using an iPhone with iOS 5 coming with the iCloud system, who knows. But, if you had an iPhone, I would guess you'd already be heading to the Apple store. :)
[Acer Iconia A500] whooda:
i must say the acer changed my opinion of android tablets. Its fantastic! I bought mine second hand on craigs list. Well worth it.

After rooting the usb ports support all my usb drives, keyboards and anything else that ive tried. Thr battery life leaves something to be desired, but its still good enough.

Its my remote for xbmc, managing utorrent on my server and just putzing around on the web.

Im sold on the acer. Get the 16GB with the 100 dollar gift card and you will love it.

I also have groove ip installed and can make and receive phonecalls without having to find woorkarounds to make it work.

I have used ipads, just not enough to judge them. I did have a touch 4g but was never pleased with what it took to get it set up to do what this does.

I also love rooting and flashing different rom.
[Acer Iconia A500] kevindt:
I have use of both via work, and have also used both for work and for home. They both have their strong points and weaknesses. I also use Citrix for access to work applications - multiple times per day - and I actually prefer the Iconia with 3.1 over the iPad 2 for this purpose.

IPad certainly has more apps, and some are phenomenally good value (including Apple's own ported apps like Garage Band). Some are mediocre, and quite a few are poor. In real life, however, unless you collect apps just for the number you own, most things can be done with either tablet.

The clincher for me is Steve Jobs personal aversion to Flash and Java. One of the main cloud-based professional apps I use is written in Flash. With the iPad2, my only work around that works (but very slowly) is to VPN into either the office Mac or one of the PC's. The Iconia runs it natively, quickly and effortlessly.

For entertainment, the Iconia won't easily run Netflix yet (it is possible via a hack only), but it effortlessly streams media from my home media server (Serviio on Ubuntu server, on an $70 Intel Atom board), including video, pictures and music. The iPad won't work with it (though it will with some other servers).

The Iconia scores hands down on connectivity. USB input/output. HDMI out without dongles. SD card expansion without dongles and with far les limitations on use. Bluetooth that will connect with stereo headphones, keyboards, mice and other devices while the iPad2 Bluetooth is deliberately crippled to not allow serial devices without jailbreaking and add-on apps from Cydia. That includes no normal Bluetooth GPS connectivity, and the iPad 2 doesn't have one built in (Iconia does).

Although I use an iMac much more than I use Windows, I find the reliance on iTunes for everything concerning interconnection really annoying (though there are ways to work around it, if you look hard). You even needed a PC with iTunes to wake up the darned iPad 2 when it arrived...

So it depends what you really want, and what you need. Personally, I'm finding that I carry the Iconia a lot more than the iPad2.

Kevin
[Acer Iconia A500] MrBoingy:
I've got both.

It depends on what you need.

If you want to put kb/mouse onto it, then Iconia.

Ports isn't THAT big an issue cos u can get attachments that give u hdmi out etc on iPad 2.

If you want to do weird and crazy things, then Android.

If you are a 'normal' user (ie surf, read, tunes etc), then iPad by a million miles.

Much much much nicer experience on iPad2 for everyday use.
[Acer Iconia A500] maris__:
Working with my Acer Iconia since one week. Never want to miss a fully functional USB Port. You can do so much more than with ordinary Tablet PCs or the Ipad .

Best regards, maris
[Acer Iconia A500] tkolev:
I disagree on the 'normal' usage being better on the ipad. Surfing without flash and the need to sync your media through itunes makes both a poor experience. At least poorer than with the iconia.
[Acer Iconia A500] pfoo07:
For those considering battery life : remember the iconia is almost 100€ cheaper and got a LOT more connectivity than the ipad 2. And I heard about Acer lowering the price soon.

The lack of flash player and the inability to sync media without itunes makes the ipad2 worst than the iconia for me.
[Acer Iconia A500] BrianDigital:
IMO

If you want boring interface get an ipad

If you already spent a ton of money on apps through iTunes get a ipad

If you plan on using the web browser get an android (I remember the joy I experienced with my ipad when trying to browse to local business web pages and not being able to see anything)

If your not using iTunes to buy overpriced music get an android

If your business requires Skype calling maybe you should get an ipad. (Guess Skype figures android tablets don't want the support)

If you want to buy extra dongle to use USB devices you already own get an ipad (sorry the USB port is a big deal to me)

If your a normal user get an android more out of the box support by a million miles

If you want to video chat with family members that only have a computer and webcam get android atleast with gmail in the browser they won't have to buy only one type of computer(which is ten times easier to get going then having mom trying to install software when your not around to do it for her)

If you want hook your tablet up to the tv by only using a five dollar cable get android

If you might prefer a seven inch tablet get an android

If you want to mange files on your tablet with a computer then get an ipad (perhaps someone can inform me been awhile since I used an apple product are users allowed to delete music of phone\tablet without the use of iTunes)

If you love excel spreadsheet and want that kind of experience get something you use can use iTunes for

If your already on XDA and know your way around adb and stuff get an android

If you want reply on message boards and claim that android are only good for doing crazy weird things then get an ipad

All and all the two major platforms are becoming more the same anywho. Android just meet all my minimum requirements where the ipad did not

In the end you need to decide for your self if your work has requirements well I say make them buy you whatever they require. I myself have been burnt by apple to many times and all apple users I personally know act like asshats about their device(most of the time getting excited about features already available on other platforms)
[Acer Iconia A500] suomaf:
Is it just me? Where did OP go? Maybe he got an ipad already.
[Acer Iconia A500] blcklab:
How's the quality?
[Acer Iconia A500] MrBoingy:
Haha, you can imagine the froth forming at this fanboy's mouth!

I'd reply in an equally rabid fashion if my Tab's virtual keyboard wasn't going a major unresponsive slowdown bender.

Oh, wait, I couldn't anyway cos the wireless has is doing the Obtaining IP address trick and I need to reset it twice again.

After I've recharged it cos the battery has run out inexplicably just over night.

I'm only kidding with you... it's a great tablet. Hey, I own one so I back it up with hard cash!
[Acer Iconia A500] godsosall:
If you want quality hardware get an Ipad, otherwise get the A500.

My A500 is in repair shop now after 3 months!

the only thing bothers me is its quality and weight. I have decided number of times to sell the A500 and buy and Ipad2 but browsing experience just keep we from doing that
[Acer Iconia A500] tinybilbo:
I'm glad you mentioned the weight, I wanted the ipad 2 initialy, especially after trying one for a few days - I was comfortable with ios, since I have an iphone. Also you can hack them like any other device, plus plenty of apps.

However, I bought an Iconia, because of connectivity, expansion, Flash, and price, and I was keen to try Android, now that it has matured somewhat.

I love the Iconia for all the reasons I just mentioned, but I am shocked by its weight, I know there is only 165g difference, but it just feels really heavy, something I never even thought about with the ipad, so I did'nt take it into consideration when choosing a pad.

Bottom line is, if you are going to use it in your hands all the time, get an ipad, if its going to be used on its stand, and/or the weight does'nt bother you, definately get an Iconia
[Acer Iconia A500] BrianDigital:
it wasn't fanboyism, you replied with a biased opinion, so i returned the favor.

scroll back up you said the only thing an android tablet has better is hooking up keyboard in mouse and doing crazy stuff for rooting

the issues you having with your tablet is most likely user error, my tablet held through the entire night of the power outage and still holding on. no problems with my ip address either
[Acer Iconia A500] tkolev:
The weight is mostly due to the alluminum body. If you are that concerned about it, you can always try the transformer but you'll have to get the keyboard for full USB. You'll still have flash and the screen is a bit better. I find it reassuring to actually feel the weight of the device I'm holding (my phone is also on the 'heavy' side with its alluminum body) and I can't imagine someone to be holding it in the air all the time he's using the tablet. Most of the time I rest it on my knees (I'm doing it right now).
[Acer Iconia A500] mevensen:
This is the kind of thing that puts the iPad over the Acer for me, though. There's no way that there should be a chance for "user error" when it comes to battery consumption, particularly when the tablet is put to sleep mode. Same goes for the dicey WiFi. These are things that should not be a great issue on any consumer device. Unfortunately it is on the Acer.

Can I get work-arounds and make things work? While I can, and have. But that's the problem. *I* had to go extra lengths to make something work nice out of the box. Will these issues affect everyone? No. If you're fortunate (or forward thinking) enough to have the perfect router, Wifi setup, etc., you won't have issues. But, if your company sets up somthing in a particulart way, the Iconia doesn't play nice.

Same with the battey issues. Needing to solve why the tablet is going cell standby without a cellular modem. That shouldn't happen.

Overall, the Acer still lacks polish. And you can't blame the end user on many of these legitimate issues.

And for the record, the A500 is still not as smooth or responsive as the iPad, even with overclocking, etc.
[Acer Iconia A500] BrianDigital:
well if android only had an app draw for a homescreen there wouldn't be a difference. While it does go sluggish at times nothing cry about, unless the act of starting something is more important than getting something done

You can take the "it takes a village" approach to tech, but I never take something bleeding edge tech and be like can my mom use it. Why cause the people your defending about "user error" likely are just sold up on something based off commercials, and dont know why they want one. I saw my new boss, an older man with three task killers and battery saver app running all at the same time on his EVO. So you mean to tell me that the tech world has to wait so that the baby boomers can use it?

Never though the "smart" in smart phone meant it was smart. I saw it as a tool that needed someone smart to use but i digress

As for my wifi setup its just the router I got from Verizon, when I got Fios from them. Maybe your 1mbps wifi network might need to be updated.

The cell standby was annoying but it got fixed(nothing tech ever comes out without bugs right) unless your not updating because the sleep issue has been fixed as well.

I cant blame the other poster about his opinion, but I can be blamed. Not understanding that point thanks guess we should all keep quiet when discussing another opinion that differs from you
[Acer Iconia A500] vince1979:
I have been the proud owner of an Iconia for the past 4 months and I have enjoyed. My wife bought herself an iPad last a night and I have been playing with it, downloading apps and I am very impressed with the amount of apps that available for the iPad and the quality in most of them is superb. Unfortunately can't say the same for the Android market......I hate to say this but I am enjoying playing with the iPad
[Acer Iconia A500] josinpaul:
Oh....my heart says I pad but my brain says Acer Ionia a500
[Acer Iconia A500] Athrun88:
This is my personal experience from using both the Iconia and the iPad2.

Iconia: Unlimited flexibility with endless potential. With my Iconia, I can browse the internet as if I were using a netbook or laptop with ultimate portability. I can watch youtube clips with decent sound and picture thanks to the hardware. I can overclock or underclock the CPU as I see fit to my usage because I have that ability. Countless free apps are available on the Market with tablet support coming out every day. Relatively speaking, Honeycomb is still new when compared to the older builds of Android. It was a brand new system built from the ground up specifically for tablets so some issues are bound to arise.

iPad2: Smooth actions and flipping of 'homescreens'. Huge appstore but most are paid apps which end up as the same or similar quality of the apps that are available for free on the Android Market. Must use iTunes to sync, transfer, jailbreak and update. Did not have the iPad2 long enough to mess around under the hood because the actual limitations of the device just frustrated me as a tech-savvy consumer.

I do admit that every device has it's flaws. No device on this Earth is perfect. In my humble opinion (with no scientific basis or anything) the Iconia beats out the iPad2 in terms of actual usage. Sure the iPad2 is thinner, sleeker and has a more stable OS. I would trade all that for a slightly heavier tablet that has endless functionality. In the everyday world, either tab will do; but if you want something that is worth its weight in salt, take the Iconia. The iPad2 is just a glorified tablet with a $300 Apple sticker on it.

To the haters: Feel free to bash, but opinions are opinions. You have your right to your own.
[Acer Iconia A500] darksoul73:
thanks for all the responses from everyone of you. i couldn't get back online due to hurricane irene issues. there are a lot of pros and cons between the 2 tablets and last night after reading these posts, my wife and i decided to go to best buy and see the tablets. my wife was impressed with the ipad 2. she loved the quick responsiveness and the ease of use with the ipad 2. The apps that i mostly use are available in their app store for the ipad.

I went over to the android tablets area and saw the acer iconia. i played with the iconia and i noticed the lagging on the homescreens when i set the live wallpaper as background. that kind of sucked. checked the android market and some of the apps that i need were there..some were not, but i saw other apps that make up for it ..not a big deal to me. my wife was amazed at some of the android tablets..she liked the galaxy tab but she went back to the ipad 2 ..lol .i like the build quality of the iconia though it felt heavier than the ipad but it didn't matter to me. the build quality on the iconia is a lot better than the asus transformer i saw next to it. the asus had a nice ips screen like the ipad but thats it. the asus felt like it was made out of plastic. even though the acer doesn't have an ips screen it doesn't look bad. i like the fact that i don't have to spend extra money on buying periphirals for a tablet and that it can play flash right out of the box. i like the idea of transfering my work files on and off a flash drive or files off my microSD card from my cell phone on the spot..the only thing that bothered me was the lagging when switching homescreens on a live wallpaper background.rumor has it that honeycomb 3.1.fixes that. So i said to myself oh screw it i'll get the acer and test it out. so i got it. i saw my wife druling on the ipad 2...and she hinted that xmas was around the corner so i charged it on my credit card and got her the ipad 2. i must say the ipad's ease of use and the craftmanship is awsome. my wife loves it. yesterday i got rid of her kindle and netbook on craigslist. i went through some tests on the acer and its really an awsome tablet. but the lag is still there i was hoping it was that one tablet in best buy but its not. the acer is up to par on everything else i do with work files and important documents and what not.....except videos. most video formats are not playable...and having to convert videos on my pc is something i do not want to do. but its good for work and it gets the job done quick.i might just expirement and exchange it and try out the toshiba thrive for 30 dollars more....i just dont like the way the toshiba is made.
[Acer Iconia A500] KennyNair:
I find that's its redundant to use live wallpaper.

Consumes more battery too.

I would think that if you use the ipad2, you will also find that the videos that you say wouldn't play in iconia also wouldn't play in ipad2.

Unless you convert.

There are some players around that would play quite a few video format.

And you can try them out.

Btw, I am in the same situation as you. Wife has ipad2 n I have a500.

I would say, both are almost equal in terms of video compatibility.

And the difference mostly lies in the programmer of the player.
[Acer Iconia A500] spr0k3t:
Glad to hear you personally purchased an android tab over something made for apple. I'm one of those who reserves the word "hate" for companies such as apple.
[Acer Iconia A500] darksoul73:
KennyNair

i agree with you 100%. i tried some other video players that were available on the market...like QQ player,mobo player to name a few ..some videos worked some didn't. live wallpaper? your right its redundant i don't need it. a picture of my kids looks a lot better on my tablet.
[Acer Iconia A500] josinpaul:
Use MX player from market.it plays all the formats.
[Acer Iconia A500] matt92617@yahoo.com:
+1 to MX player. i tried mobo player but i only get problems with it.

to OP, if you are looking for professional apps then iPad might be your better choice. for example Im a grad student and android market still doesn't have a proper PDF annotator designed for tablets with an indexed search. for everything else I enjoyed my acer.
[Acer Iconia A500] entropy.of.avarice:
Another +1 to mx player - the thing plays everything I throw at it.

If your video is 1080 format you may have to convert it - but 1080 is kinda stupid to watch on the a500 screen, as it is only 720 :-)
[Acer Iconia A500] hchavarria:
I am also in the same boat of trying to decide on a tablet, I really want the tablet for taking notes in meetings or school. I know the ipad can easily do this but need to research is the acer can do this.
[Acer Iconia A500] yyiinn:
just gonna throw this one out there and wait for the flaming to begin..

just go and get a Palm IIIc :P
[Acer Iconia A500] darksoul73:
yes the acer can do that easly.
[Acer Iconia A500] drkalo:
You're going to buy a tablet to take notes?! :eek: If that's the reason to buy a dual core portable multimedia and all kind of connectivity capable device, I would recommend you to go for a notepad and pencil. Trust me, you will be faster with the pencil compared to all today's tablets. And the price is about 500 times less :)
[Acer Iconia A500] mevensen:
For what it's worth, I have yet to find a good solution for note taking on anything aside from pen and paper. I have tried numerous note-taking apps for both the iPad and my Acer, and none of them work very well. This is, of course, compounded by the fact that I am left handed. The best, actually, was a touchscreen windows convertible tablet netbook that I had a few years ago, but that was too slow to be really functional. It's strength was ability to use fully functional One Note.

If you're really looking for note taking as a primary task, you should look at those tablets with dedicated stylus functionality (HTC EVO tablet, upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note) Those, at least will have better integration and hand rejection.
[Acer Iconia A500] hchavarria:
I will not just be using this for note taking but whatever I buy I want for it to have this capability. My intentions are to buy a stylus for writing for this purpose. Rather than carrying notebooks around I want to digitally carry my notes that way I don't have to worry about which note is in which notebook and whether that notebook is now at home or office desk because it was out of paper and now have a new one.
[Acer Iconia A500] MrBoingy:
Man, I've tried using a tablet (on iPad but Android will be same) to take notes ... I even got a nice stylus.

It's impossible. Your handwriting looks like you've mentally regressed to a 3 yr old.... it's really hard to write on it cos you don't get any feedback (ie not enough friction between screen and pen).

Annoyingly, easiest is pencil and paper.

Typing notes will be... well, how fast can u type on a virtual screen? I've seen how fast 12 yr old kids can type on a mobile phone so....

On my Iconia, the keyboard is so frikkin unresponsive and laggy, it's too painful to do any typing on it. There must be something wrong with the keyboard I'm using.. I installed one of those split keyboards.
[Acer Iconia A500] prophetic:
Same laggy problem here, but I'm using Swype 3.25.
[Acer Iconia A500] JiggaGeazY:
I find my keyboard only gets laggy on certain apps or webpages.
[Acer Iconia A500] mehdi-psp:
Hi Guys

This s my question , Actually I can not make a decision to buy Iconia Tab A500 or Ipad 2 . Because I have doubt on some function of A500 .

One of them is playing 720P video files ( MP4 , MKV , AVI , ... ) on this tablet , Since I have seen some reviews from gatget website I could find out that A500 tablet can not play 720 video files as well . is it right ?

Also the quallity of display prevent me to buy this tablet . How is the quality of display .

Would you please somebody help me to be aware of the answer of a.m questions and then enable me to choose iconia tab a500 or ipad 2 .
[Acer Iconia A500] sawamura:
i think your comparison already answer yourself. :rolleyes:

never compare ipad with iconia, its totally different,

i can understand if people argue between iconia vs transformers vs Gtab etc.. but ipad is totally out of league.

They dont have USB, no HDMI port, no flash, and on top of all it price way much more expensive for what you get.

so for me big NO for ipad. :p