Design
What should a tablet computer look like? If this question has you imagining Apple's iPad, then you're not alone; it seems as though you share this concept with Acer's design team. The A500 sports a 10.1-inch display up front, surrounded by cool, grey brushed metal in a shade slightly darker than that chosen by the Cupertino designers. Unlike the iPad, the A500 is littered with ports and switches around the edge of the tablet, offering connectivity options unknown to anyone who has bought a tablet before now.
Acer hasn't left out a single port or plug in this portable computer; there's the standard micro USB for file transfers (charging is performed via a proprietary port) and a microSD card to bolster the internal storage. There's also mini-HDMI-out, a feature we are seeing more and more in 2011, but the real kicker is the USB Host port on the bottom-right of the slate. Acer also includes a proprietary dock-mount in the base of the A500, though we didn't get a chance to play with an Acer dock during this review.
The A500 sports a 10.1-inch WXGA display, in line with what you can expect from the Motorola and Samsung 10.1-inch tablets, and for the most part this screen is up to the task at hand. Colours are good, though the LCD panel is recessed deeper than we'd like, making the blacks look a little washed-out, and the glass surface is extremely glossy. Both of these factors can impact everyday use of the tablet, though you'll see it most outdoors and under natural light, where the images on-screen can become difficult to read.
These many elements add up to a feature-packed tablet, though they are also the reason it is so heavy to hold. At 730g, the A500 will be the equal-heaviest tablet on the market alongside the Motorola Xoom, and there's just no way to see this as a positive aspect. More than 10 minutes with the A500 was enough to have us looking around the room for a cushion to cradle this hefty baby on. When we took the A500 out with us, the extra weight had us wondering if it would be easier to surf the web on our smartphones rather than hold this tablet up for an hour on the train.
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