Acer Iconia Tab A500

Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 10.1 capacitive screen, 5MP rear-facing camera, 3G.

What we think: As Acer's flagship tablet we were expecting big things from the A500 but from what we saw at MWC it doesn't look like the A500 is as high-end as we were expecting it to be. It's still a powerful Tegra 2-powered Honeycomb tablet though, so if it has an attractive price, this could be one to watch.

In the contest to replace your laptop and maybe even your TV – Android 3.0 tablets such as the Motorola Xoom are ganging up on the Apple iPad 2 by sheer quantity. We absolutely thrilled over the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, for example. Now it's time for the Acer Iconia Tab A500's day in the sun.

In many ways, this is all about the operating system, so we'll admit that the differences between the three main Android 3.0 tabs are marginal at best. You have to choose your OS poison wisely  the iPad 2 is better for music, movies and games, and it has better quality apps and more of them.

Meanwhile, the BlackBerry PlayBook is more secure than the competition, has real multi-tasking and even a more fluid interface for controlling your apps (er, all four of them).

Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets are arguably more open than either the iPad 2 or the PlayBook. The app approval process is easier, and coding is less restrictive, using Google SDK.

So what does that means for the Acer Iconia Tab A500? Primarily, the decision comes down to the design and handling of the device. The Iconia Tab A500 uses the same Nvidia Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core processor as the Motorola Xoom, they both weigh exactly 730g and both have a 10.1-inch touchscreen. The list goes on: both devices have 32GB of internal memory, 1GB of RAM and support microSD cards up to 64GB.

Yet, the main difference is that the Acer Iconia Tab A500 feels bulkier. That can be a good thing for those who tend to abuse their gadgets mercilessly, since the Iconia Tab A500 has an aluminium back and a sturdier, stockier footprint. In a side-by-side comparison, the Motorola Xoom looks more like an iPad 2 and the Iconia Tab A500 fits in better with a recent crop of Windows 7 tablets, including the rather disappointing Acer Iconia Tab W500.

The Iconia Tab A500 not only feels bulkier, it is bulkier. The device measures 260 x 177 x 13.3mm, which is significantly wider than the Motorola Xoom, considering both devices have the same size screen.

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 also has a dedicated HDMI-out port for playing 1080p video on your HD TV, like the Motorola Xoom. What's really missing is a selection of unusually impressive extra features – the Asus Eee Pad Transformer morphs into a real notebook; the HTC Flyer has a helpful add-on interface component.

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 also has a front-facing 2MP camera and a rear facing 5MP cam. In the box, Acer includes a charger and USB cable, but no earbuds, case or stand.

The Iconia Tab A500 does provide one UI add-on for categorising apps. For example, games are separated into their own screen. It has a limited appeal, but at least there's something new on offer. One other slight differentiator: the Iconia Tab A500 includes a couple of extra apps and games beyond the norm.

At £450 for Wi-Fi only or £530 for Wi-Fi and 3G, the Acer Iconia is a hair cheaper than the Motorola Xoom but more than the Asus Eee Pad Transformer. There will, however, be a 16GB version emerging in mid-june for £380 which could be a more attractive option.

So does the Acer Iconia Tab A500 really fall in the middle? Does it rank near the top of the tabs or closer to the bottom?

Acer Iconia Tab A500: Features

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 has a less appealing, more traditional design than the Motorola Xoom, which is all-black with a power button on the back. With the Iconia Tab A500, the buttons are a bit harder to find. It's easy to forget (or get all turned around in orientation) and fumble for the power key, which is on the left. The headphone jack and HDMI port are also on the left. There's a docking port underneath as well.

On the right, there's a USB port (presumably a vestige of the W500 model) that only worked with a standard keyboard, not a mouse. You can also attach a USB keydrive into the port, but the Iconia Tab A500 only lets you access files using a file manager, not directly.

There's also a standard microUSB port and the charge port. On top, there are two volume control buttons and a screen lock switch. You'll also find a covered port for the microSD slot, which Acer says will be used for adding an LTE card at some point.

The 1280 x 800 TFT display on the Acer Iconia Tab A500 measures 10.1 inches, like the Motorola Xoom, and is bright and clear. The screen isn't a weak point but isn't a differentiator either. In a side-by-side comparison to the Apple iPad 2, with the brightness for both devices turned all the way up, the iPad 2 looked brighter and easier to view from a side angle. Compared to the Xoom, the Iconia Tab A500's screen looked remarkably similar.

Some of the hardware differentiators on the Acer Iconia Tab A500 might not be obvious at first. Like the Motorola Xoom and the Apple iPad 2, the speakers for playing movie audio and music are just average – about what you might expect on an entry-level netbook.

There's very little bass response but average clarity. Yet, Acer added a slight tweak: the Iconia Tab A500 uses Dolby Mobile technology that did seem to make the movie Fair Game sound a bit more life-like – you actually hear some shuffling feet or background audio more distinctly.

Some graphically-rich sites such as GamesRadar.com and CNN.com pulled up a hair faster on the Iconia Tab A500 than the Motorola Xoom, even over the exact same Wi-Fi connection, although oddly, the Google Earth app ran a hair faster on the Xoom.

Acer includes a content sharing system called Clear.fi that is essentially a low-cost way to build a home entertainment streaming network. That's a good thing, since the Iconia Tab A500 doesn't offer any way to purchase or rent videos from the device.

Clear.fi works like Windows Connect in that you can set up a media server and stream music, videos and photos to the device. In an age of Hulu, YouTube, and even apps such as HBO Go in the US, the idea of a media server seems a bit redundant – we'd prefer at least an option for streaming mainstream videos from the web directly to the device.