Own Asus TF Getting Iconia A500

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eviltuna

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2005
205
4
I've had the Asus Transformer since it was released and got the keyboard as well once it was available. I never really liked the way the Transformer looked with the bezel, and really found the extra keyboard kind of pointless. Anyways, yesterday I went to my local Staples and checked out the Iconia A500 and here are my thoughts, the build quality on the Acer is actually better than the Asus, I didn't care which one weighted more but screen quality was very important to me, luckily, the store had a Transformer on display as well and after some comparing I found the screens to really be on par and viewing angles/colours are just as good to the naked eye on the Acer as it is on the Asus. Overall though I thought the Acer Iconia A500 is a better choice than the Transformer if like me, you don't care for the keyboard. Aesthetically I like the way the Acer looks better and also feel that the build quality is a bit better with the Acer. So I ordered one from Staples and will be selling my Asus Transformer + Dock.

I'm just worried at the frequency of updates from Acer as I've owned other Acer products before and they are not the best when it comes to Support, as well it seems that development for the Transformer is moving a long faster than for the Iconia.
 

jtheking

Senior Member
Nov 13, 2007
56
4
Acer is a directly partnered with Google while Asus is not, but Asus seems to be more community friendly.
 

Needa916

Member
May 13, 2008
19
4
...I found the screens to really be on par and viewing angles/colours are just as good to the naked eye on the Acer as it is on the Asus. ...

I can't find a Transformer to compare the screens anywhere. I noticed the Acer's screen is kinda washed out or muddy looking. How did you see the blacks and contrast between the two?
 

janduin

Member
Aug 2, 2010
26
0
under "handset manufactures" acer is on the top of the list.
(provided im reading and understanding this correctly)

acer is at the top of the list, because the list is in alphabetical order. not because they have any preferential treatment or are more "in with google" than any other member of the OHA

true, that technically is for "cell phones" but thats all android was originally for.

i havent been able to see anything anywhere about tablet manufacturers specifically =\
 
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eviltuna

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2005
205
4
I can't find a Transformer to compare the screens anywhere. I noticed the Acer's screen is kinda washed out or muddy looking. How did you see the blacks and contrast between the two?

I didn't really look at the blacks I was more comparing viewing angles and colour reproduction and like I said, I can't see much of a difference between the two tablets. To be honest I didn't really care much for how real the blacks are as this was mainly a gaming/surfing tablet and wont be used to watch a lot of movies, I much rather enjoy watching movies on my 60" TV. Build quality wise the transformer just felt so cheap after holding the Iconia, I also really don't like the power button on my Transformer cause sometimes it takes me a couple presses for it to be recognized, while the power button on the Iconia feels a lot more precise and feels like it will last. Basicly just small annoyances with the Asus, and since the hardware is almost identical as well as software, I really think it comes down to if you need the dock or not, if you don't then by all means go for the Acer, I also got the Acer for a very nice price as well $429.99 for the 32GB version so that was a major plus.
 

Neoprimal

Senior Member
Apr 20, 2007
452
60
Alexandria, VA
Acer is a directly partnered with Google while Asus is not, but Asus seems to be more community friendly.

That's sort of an apples vs. oranges comparison.

Both are Google partners, but this has nothing to do with how frequently they get updates. The oha is an alliance of Google partners which simply means they officially get Googles android 'code', open or not and Android is built with these companies devices/components/drivers built in.
Those NOT in the alliance must wait on public code (example, viewsonic, etc.).

Regarding updates, recently, Google is encouraging an 18 month update pledge which from what I've read isn't 100% clear, not to me anyway. The pledge seems to be more focussed on handsets, not tablets per se, and really is just a 'best practices' scenario which they are trying to push throughout the collective that is the oha, and while the oha does include tablet makers Acer, Asus, Dell, Toshiba, Samsung, etc. it doesn't mean it applies to tablets since they all do/will also make handsets. Assuming Google DOES intend for it to apply to tablets, that still doesn't guarantee a thing because getting different partners to follow any kind of a timeline just isn't feasible, not even if perks are on the menu.

We can only hope that each company sees fit to adhere to a best practices scenario, spurred maybe by customer 'preference' for/toward those companies who do issue updates on a more frequent and timely basis. For example, the whole Samsung debacle where the carrier Galaxy S phones weren't updating until months after promised caused fallout with many customers - then what happened? Samsung now seems to be the first to update their phones with new firmware, even doing it through Kies (vs. the carriers) and in response, seem to be the hot sellers of the Android smartphone market right now with millions sold in weeks. Likewise, Asus and Motorola are showing that they are on the ball with updates, more than likely in order to entice customers to feel 'safe' with investing in their brands.

I don't expect Acer to let us down....not especially since they seem to be in it for the long haul.