is the A500 a market failure?

[dandroid11]

AntimonyER,

Youve made some excellent points and we are on the same wave length.
I do like the variety of tweaks that different manufacturers make but for agruement the stock email on a500 has no search when all the other android devices I have do. Maybe the core google stuff should be updateable outside of the manufacturer. There are tonnes of bits like that.
While the user interface can be different the basics on all should be the same.

 

[looking335]

AntimonyER,

Youve made some excellent points and we are on the same wave length.
I do like the variety of tweaks that different manufacturers make but for agruement the stock email on a500 has no search when all the other android devices I have do. Maybe the core google stuff should be updateable outside of the manufacturer. There are tonnes of bits like that.
While the user interface can be different the basics on all should be the same.

dandroid11, I know your frustration. Though I've never been interested in an iPhone or Android device for phone, I have 4 different Android tablets starting with the infamous Pandigital Novel. Though I could be comfortable and content with an iPad, for the same reasons I prefer a PC to a Mac, I like having choices and lots of flexibility. Getting an Android tablet meant I had full control over it. Though in my old age, I'm starting to wonder if something canned and easy to spoon feed me might be the better route. I quickly snap out of it and realize how much tablets have changed, become better because of Android. But, I understand there should be standards across the board. I thought Google was allowing each vendor to create their own Android experience and maybe this should have been controlled better, though I understand they (Google) wants the vendors to create unique Android experiences and charge money for it. Still when all is said and done, I would easily vote for freedom. Having choices is always good but I think Google needs to spend more time improving their OS, like you mentioned with the Email app. Fortunately I shelled out the $20 for Touchdown, which works great and has exceeded my initial impressions.

 

[GTbrewer]

Just to voice one more opinion.... I've been reading a lot of reviews, to make
sure I don't buy a second sub-standard tablet (Archos A101 IT being the
first). In every review I've read, if they had any gripe, it was about the fact
that the Acer A500 is about 4 oz heavier than (I think) the Xoom. Makes me
want to offer them some cheese with their wine (whine...)..... Is there really
anyone who cares about an extra 4 ounces? Seriously?

EDIT: How does Mickeysoft get more money from the Android than Google?
That does not make ANY sense to me at all....

Later,
--jim

--
THE SCORE: ME: 2 CANCER: 0
73 DE N5IAL (/4) MiSTie #49997 < Running FreeBSD 7.0 >
spooky130u@gmail.com ICBM/Hurricane: 30.44406N 86.59909W

Android Apps Listing at Jim's Android Apps (barcode links)

 

[looking335]

GTbrewer, well said. I recently purchased a second A500 and have been incredibly happy with my A500. I played with a Transformer a couple days ago. Yeah, it was lighter, but I don't see the weight of the A500 anything to discourage recommending this tablet to anyone. Sadly, though, there are folks who do care. There are folks who have placed the iPad on this plateau and it doesn't matter what features an Android tablet has, they will always be inferior (in their eyes) to the iPad. I tip my hat to Steve and his vision for the iPad/iPhones, but the fact remains, Android tablets have surpassed the iPads in terms of hardware and features. Granted iPad has the apps but that is software and something easily addressed. An example of this is a recent announcement Adobe made. They are releasing a new app for tablets geared towards graphic designers/artists, Adobe Photoshop Touch. They are releasing it on for Android first.

Why this tablet was not among the top 5 escapes me but reviewers are known to be partial, so ymmv when reading those things. What does this tablet have that does not equal (or surpass) other tablets?

 

[GTbrewer]

There are folks who have placed the iPad on this plateau and it doesn't matter what features an Android tablet has, they will always be inferior (in their eyes) to the iPad.

Actually, quite a few of the reviews I read rated at least on par with the Ipad,
and quite a few rated it higher.

Why this tablet was not among the top 5 escapes me but reviewers are known to be partial, so ymmv when reading those things. What does this tablet have that does not equal (or surpass) other tablets?

I saw a chart from the Android Authority site, showing the top 7; The A500
was one of them. There was no ranking between them, btw.....

And as for key factors in my ultimate choice to buy the A500 as opposed to
what I'd originally wanted, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, then the Xoom caught my
eye, then the A500, and I didn't know which to go with...until I read further.

Xoom got knocked out instantly due to its high price (which has come down,
like the A500's, in the last few weeks). I also read a lot of gripes about this
not working, that not working, Motorola appearing to have released it before
it was even finished, just to get the jump on others, and so on. Xoom, out.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 had really, really been my goal. That is, until I read that
it has *NO* USB, *NO* SD or microSD, etc.... BZZZZZT!

In this chart, I compared the other features: CPU, memory, GPS, graphics,
and so on. All were virtually identical across the board. EXCEPT: The
A500 has lots of useful ports that the others don't have (or don't have all
of them). I was still skeptical, not being familiar with Acer (and mistakingly
confusing it with Archos, who made the Archos 101 IT, whose Host USB
port failed after one use (apparently, an amazingly-common problem!)).

So I kept reading. Every review boosted my opinion of the A500. I finally
decided I'd read enough...they all said the same thing: Great tablet, slightly
heavier, if you care about that, on par with or faster than the Ipad and all
of the leading [EDIT: OTHER] Android tablets, except with lots of useful
ports, and so on. [EDIT: I also had concerns about whether it was a
fully-certified device (unlike the A101). Those were answered in a few
reviews, which stated clearly that the only change was the addition of a
few folder icons, which, if removed, left you with standard Honeycomb.]

As soon as my disability check arrives on the third, I'll only have to pull
a small amount (been saving for a while) to have enough to buy it, especially
since the prices took a nose-dive this month....

I still don't understand, however, how Mickeysoft can make more money
off of the Android than Google is.....

Later,
--jim

--
THE SCORE: ME: 2 CANCER: 0
73 DE N5IAL (/4) MiSTie #49997 < Running FreeBSD 7.0 >
spooky130u@gmail.com ICBM/Hurricane: 30.44406N 86.59909W

Android Apps Listing at Jim's Android Apps (barcode links)