Acer Iconia Tab A500
Acer Iconia Tab A500
1:36

Acer Iconia Tab A500

Laptops
-Hey. I'm Donald Bell and today we're taking a First Look at the Iconia Tab from ACER. This is a WiFi only contract-free tablet running Google's Honeycomb OS and priced attractively at $449. Honeycomb made its debut on the Motorola Xoom early in 2011 and we criticized the tablet for being a little too pricey and too bulky to compete with the iPad. With the Iconia Tab, Acer is at least answering one of our requests, pricing their tablet at $450 less than the WiFi on the Xoom while maintaining nearly all of its features. Like the Xoom, you get a 10.1-inch that's great for videos and web browsing. It has a built-in HDMI output from mirroring HD content on to your TV. You've got a 5-megapixel camera on the back, a 2-megapixel camera on the front; both of which can be used to catch over the included Google Talk app. The Android Honeycomb experience here is pretty much what you'd expect. ACER puts a few of their own bundled apps on the home screen, but if you don't like them, they're easy to clear off and replace with something else. The bad news is that ACER hasn't cut any of the bulk we saw on the Xoom. In fact, it's a tad heavier. And when you hold it up next to the slim-down iPad 2, the difference is dramatic. Still, we're happy to see Honeycomb reach a price below the iPad and hopefully this will be a trend that we'll keep seeing throughout the year. For cnet.com, I'm Donald Bell and this is the ACER Iconia Tab A500.

Up Next

Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
240320-site-microsoft-surface-pros-first-look-v2

Up Next

Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here

Apple Has Big AI Plans for Mac — and iPhone, Too
240307-yt-omt-ai-siri-v03

Apple Has Big AI Plans for Mac — and iPhone, Too

M3 MacBook Air Review: A Better Reason to Upgrade?
macbookair13-15-m3-clean

M3 MacBook Air Review: A Better Reason to Upgrade?

Apple Updates 13- and 15-Inch MacBook Air With M3 Chips
macbookair-news-00-00-17-16-still002

Apple Updates 13- and 15-Inch MacBook Air With M3 Chips

Best Laptops of CES 2024
240110-site-best-laptops

Best Laptops of CES 2024

Best Laptops 2023: Budget Friendly
cnet-thumbnail-bestlist-site

Best Laptops 2023: Budget Friendly

Apple MacBook Pro 16- and 14-Inch, M3 Series Review
macbookpro1416-cnet

Apple MacBook Pro 16- and 14-Inch, M3 Series Review

Apple's M3 Sparks a New Era of Mac vs. PC Battles
231102-site-the-return-of-mac-vs-pc

Apple's M3 Sparks a New Era of Mac vs. PC Battles

M3 MacBook Pro, iMac Reactions
appleevent-scaryfast-reax-v1-clean

M3 MacBook Pro, iMac Reactions

First Look: Microsoft Surface Studio 2 and Surface Go 3 Laptops
surface-laptops-1080-seq-00-05-17-28-still005

First Look: Microsoft Surface Studio 2 and Surface Go 3 Laptops

Tech Shows

The Apple Core
apple-core-w

The Apple Core

Alphabet City
alphabet-city-w

Alphabet City

CNET Top 5
cnet-top-5-w

CNET Top 5

The Daily Charge
dc-site-1color-logo.png

The Daily Charge

What the Future
what-the-future-w

What the Future

Tech Today
tech-today-w

Tech Today

Latest News All latest news

Hands-On With Huawei's Pura 70 Ultra
240515-winged-pura-70-ultra-00-01-30-05-still001.jpg

Hands-On With Huawei's Pura 70 Ultra

I Tried Three Fitness Apps to Help My Postpartum Recovery
cs-ai-coaching-seq-00-07-22-19-still001

I Tried Three Fitness Apps to Help My Postpartum Recovery

How Many Times Did Google Say AI at I/O 2024?
Every AI Thumbnail

How Many Times Did Google Say AI at I/O 2024?

I Tried Google's Project Astra
240513-site-google-project-astra-hands-on-v3

I Tried Google's Project Astra

Everything Google Just Announced at I/O 2024
240513-site-google-io-supercut-thumbnail-v2

Everything Google Just Announced at I/O 2024

Google Introduces Gemini AI Upgrades to Gmail and Chat
google-io-gemini-gmail-chip

Google Introduces Gemini AI Upgrades to Gmail and Chat

Most Popular All most popular

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
innovation

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
240123-site-samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-review-4

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
circlesearchpic

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
asus-preces-00-00-25-11-still003

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
samsung-galaxy-ring-clean

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
240111-site-best-of-ces-2024-1

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024

Latest Products All latest products

I Tried Google's Project Astra
240513-site-google-project-astra-hands-on-v3

I Tried Google's Project Astra

New iPad Pros and iPad Airs vs. Earlier iPads
240508-cnet-apple-ipad-comparison-v03

New iPad Pros and iPad Airs vs. Earlier iPads

Road Testing Lincoln's Massive Panoramic Dashboard Display
thumb2

Road Testing Lincoln's Massive Panoramic Dashboard Display

Google's Pixel 8A Is Here: What's New and Different
240506-yt-pixel-8a-first-look-v10

Google's Pixel 8A Is Here: What's New and Different

Trying an AI Exoskeleton in the Real World
dnsysx1

Trying an AI Exoskeleton in the Real World

Rabbit R1: Here's What It Can Actually Do
240430-yt-rabbit-r1-review-v06

Rabbit R1: Here's What It Can Actually Do

Latest How To All how to videos

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Ultimate Good Lock Tips and Tricks
240509-yt-galaxy-s24-ultra-good-lock-app-v04

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Ultimate Good Lock Tips and Tricks

How to Install Windows 11 on M-Series Mac Computers
240425-site-how-to-install-windows-11-on-an-m3-macbook-air-thumbnail

How to Install Windows 11 on M-Series Mac Computers

Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
airpods-pro-2

Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2

How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
screenshot-2024-04-03-at-15-47-11.png

How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
240311-site-windows-11-hidden-tips-and-tricks-v2

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
VisionOS 1.0.3

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3