Acer Iconia Tab 500, Initial Impression

I was fortunate enough to try a tablet device that I have been wanting to buy for quite sometime and its not just any ordinary tablet but one of the most competitive at the moment, the Acer Iconia Tab 500.

Competitive because it has the latest and the most high end specs and features among the tablet breeds; Android Honeycomb operating system, Nvidia Tegra 2 T20, Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 processor, ULP GeForce GPU, GPS, among others.

First impression, hardware-wise, it looks great at a glance with its minimalist design, huge shiny black Gorilla Glass display and overall metallic light gray brush finished. It has the refined look of premium quality that is built to impress as compared to most tablets at the moment which are cheap plastic.

Holding it validates my impression more with the device’s solid and sturdy physique with its scratch proof glass façade and the metal back cover. It gives a durable assurance that nothing can go wrong with the device. On the other hand, its unyielding built quality also gave the device its burden, the undesirable weight of 730 grams, thats about a quarter of a kilo, making it heavy and uncomfortable to use when being held. Tablets are suppose to be laptop or PC alternatives that users can carry and held comfortably anywhere or anyhow they want, the device wont give such contentment.

I also like the fact that the phone has a superior data connectivity options, it has a USB port, microUSB, HDMI, memory card slot, 3.5mm audio jack, WiFi, Bluetooth, with 3G as the only missing feature.

Turning the device on, speaks more of disappointment rather than delight. Yes it has a huge screen 10.1 inch screen with 800 x 1280 pixels and~149 ppi pixel density but I find it pale, less sharp and colorlessly transgress. It might be that I’m use to seeing AMOLED or IPS LCD screen technology, but would these be the latest and best technology at the moment, everything else is just not good enough. I’m very particular on this because it’s the devices overall window, it must be able to transmit vibrancy to invigorate user experience.

The operating system was also a big disappointment, maybe because Android was over hype that I expected more on it but I really find it clunky and rough to use. Well, it might be that Acer just failed to configure the system to its fullest best with its Acer UI but really, it’s not worth the attention. It’s not even close to iOS smoothness and sleekness for God’s sake. On the other hand, I find the system fully customizable and I like that a lot. From the Homescreen widgets, to icons and live wallpapers, you can freely configure the system to your likeness even to the point of changing the way everything works, and its yet unparalleled among the current Operating Systems. I call it the ultimate system for tech geeks!

Oh well before everything else gets out of hand, this will be all up for now, please stay tuned for my no-holds bared full review in a few days time, for the meantime, enjoy this initial few images of the Acer Aconia Tab 500.