This is my third Android tablet. My first was a very low budget tablet, the Archos 7 Home Tablet, the second was the Archos 70 Internet Tablet. I was looking for a tablet with more features, most importantly a rear camera and a GPS, but I didn't want to spend $600.When I rate anything, I rate it based on what is being promised vs what has been delivered. So although I may mention cons in this review, it still scores a perfect rating because those cons are disclosed up front and I wasn't hit with any curve balls.
cons:
-No kick stand. I loved this about my first two tablets and I missed it on day 2 with this tablet.
-Short battery life. I am used to a 7 hour battery life and this tablet cuts 2 hours off of that.
-New OS version brings some apps not being ready. Not the device's fault, but it is still a bummer to see a Force Close.
pros:
-Honeycomb. My other two tablets were 1.5 and 2.2, so this is an amazing experience in comparison
-Price. This is an AMAZING deal considering it is competitively priced but has so many features that you would expect from a premium tablet
-GPS, gyrosensor, light sensor, rear camera, front camera, 1ghz dual core processor, 1 gb ram
-WiFi is super powerful in comparison to my other tablets.
-Very fast and responsive
Screen:
I wish the light sensor would kick it to full brightness more often, but I just turned the auto off and keep it at 50% brightness. The screen doesn't have the best viewing angles, but that is typical with the screen type. However, the display is super sharp and looks great!
WiFi:
When sitting at my desk, I was at maybe 5% reception for WiFi on my old tablet and I often dropped the connection depending on where it was sitting on my desk. With this tablet, I am about 50% reception and I haven't dropped yet. This WiFi is MUCH better than what I have seen before in other tablets.
Battery:
This tablet isn't for everyone because of the battery life. On travel days, it is really going to get to me. I plan on buying a battery charger to juice it up on heavy usage days, but I don't think I will hit empty that often.
Overall, if you want a 7" Android tablet that gives a great experience, this is for you. I can't stress how happy I am with my purchase and I think I will be sticking with this tablet for a while.
Edit (5/24/2012):
It's been a while since this review and there have been a lot of changes since then. Earlier this month, ICS Android 4.0 was released to the device. The system does appear to be snappier after the update, but there has not been an impact to battery life. Unlike when HC was a new OS, I have not had a single app that doesn't run correctly on ICS, so the transition was a lot smoother.
If you're familiar with Android (I have an HTC Droid Incredible), it's great to have the real Android market open to you (and not some pared down version beware of imitation "Android" devices!), even though I've found a few apps that have issues (not everybody plays nicely with Honeycomb). The video quality is great, although you'll quickly learn to lock the screen so the image doesn't keep shifting from portrait to landscape if you tilt the unit slightly. The speaker quality is fine for average use. After three weeks, I'm still fighting with the keyboard more than I'd like; it's very sensitive and easy to hit carriage return without meaning to.
I have to admit, the battery life is disappointing, especially when my ipad user friends brag about their toys, but there are many things you can do to improve it:
+ set screen brightness and timeout to lower than defaults
+ I've found that having open mail accounts takes a lot of energy. I set them up, but when I turned off the sync, my battery life improved tons. I can reactivate the sync to use them, but I get mail on my phone and computer. Do I really need it on the tablet too?
+ I do use a task killer, and I set it on SAFE (as opposed to aggressive) and to kill apps automatically every half hour. Lots of apps (weather, news feeds, facebook, even clocks) check in with the web regularly.
As far as I can tell, the big cons are the battery issues. Let's face it, 4-5 hours is short. I get more use, because of a light usage pattern, but it can go down pretty rapidly as I do use it. The guy on a total rant in his review regarding the charger unit does have a point in this day and age of "folding" plugs, and charger cords doubling as USB connectors, this is not a power supply you can throw easily in a bag. It's a bummer. And it's an even bigger bummer you can't currently {ar ar ar} get a car charger. [BEWARE of USB car chargers advertised on Amazon as working for this unit; you cannot charge via USB, A100s only power up via the proprietary Acer plug. I asked at Radio Shack, it's an Acer thing...] So, it's not too much fun to have to travel with your charger. Quite a few reviewers mention the screen as a problem. While it does have some angle-related limitations, it's easy to optimize the angle and I'm using it in class, hand-held, in varied lighting conditions.
Finally, the Poetic case Poetic(TM) Slimbook Leather Case for Acer Iconia Tab A100 7-Inch Android Tablet Wi-Fi (Black) is a useful and economic accessory I highly recommend.
My husband bought an 8GB on a Black Friday special and is mostly happy with his purchase, except for battery life. He paid $199.
UPDATE: July 2012
I traded in this device. I could not get around the horrible battery life. For all the cool things it does, no battery life and such a horrible, bulky charger (and no car option) I just realized I wasn't really using the unit. I've ordered a Google Nexus 7: lower price point, updated Android, and a battery that performs a whole lot better.
Buy Acer Iconia Tab A100-07u16u 7-Inch Tablet (16GB) Now
I have 2 tablet PC, IBM X60Tablet and Fujitsu p1610. One is 13 inch so it's not really UMPC. Fujitsu is 9 inch, but since it's convertible (has the keyboard with monitor turning), it's thick and bulky. Also battery last only for 2 hrs on Fujitsu. I wanted a thinner smaller device that I can carry to local coffee shop and browse internet.Acer Iconia A100 is perfect because not only it'll be easier to carry around, but has full HDMI output so that I can use it on my bigscreen TV as a media player.
Here is what I think about the tablet after 2 days of use.
Likes -
1.Portable size yet big enough screen for movie viewing
2.FAST!!!! CPU and wifi.
3.Great OS I can even print to my Epson all in one printer!!!
4.Dual camera with one 5 MG pixel
5.Familiar Google web browser that allow you to download pictures
6.Tons of free apps.
7.No problem with music and HD movie no need to convert files so far. I played all movie files on my hard drives. No more iTune, which means I can access this device and load music/movie from any computer. yeh!! Basically use it as external memory card.
8.HDMI output to TV
9.Very responsive touch
10.Built in GPS Once set destination when I have access to WIFI, off line GPS has no problem pointing direction while I'm driving. New Google map will let you download 10 mile radius of area onto cache map. I was able to use it off line for about 25 miles once I setup the route on WIFI.
11.Great as an eBook reader
12.There is a free app which let you use this tablet as a remote keyboard and mouse for my desktop or media pc. Great for controlling my media PC. Since it's wifi I can control my desktop even outside of my house. Only problem is that I cannot see the big screen tv (media pc)...
13. Use it as a note taker for my meeting no more lost note pad
14. Market place released the updated Kindle app. Works great!
15. Can be setup as a media server. I can stream media(movie, mp3, etc.,) to my PC wirelessly while my kid is playing Angrybird without any studder. pretty cool...
16. I downloaded one of the GPS program that one of the user recommended for free from Android market Awesome. better than my TxxTxx.
Wish list(not the bad list for I have not found anything bad yet).
1.gets bit warm when I'm holding-it could be heat from my hand.
2.Better battery life. It last about 5 hrs, but with all the option like GPS, Bluetooth, and CPU power, Apple iPad would have last similar 5hrs, so not so surprising.
3.Home button is kinda sensitive and sometimes it gets triggered while using the tablet
4.Video recording is not great under low light.
5.USB Host I don't think I cannot connect USB card reader to read my Compact Flash cards
6.On screen keyboard is bit smaller than iPad's when in portrait mode... But iPad is 10 inch.. so not really tablet's fault.
7. Would not play Netflix. I can access up to the screen where I can select the movie, but would not play. I think there only a few device that play Netflix, so hopefully Netflix will release new version of the app. The twick with one of the file you found on internet does not work for me...
We have Apple iPad which belongs to my wife and the kids, and I don't get to play with it hardly....: It has amazing screen, but it's 10 inch and way too big for me to carry around anyway, and NO GPS and NO Flash.
Overall I'm very pleased with the purchase and have been carrying with me pretty much anywhere I go it actually fits in my short's and dress pants pocket... but probably not my jean pocket...
Read Best Reviews of Acer Iconia Tab A100-07u16u 7-Inch Tablet (16GB) Here
To the person who only gave the A100 a 2-star I would disagree and comment as follows:His comments:
"Inside this tablet, you'll find basically the same guts as in every other current android tablet, from 7" to 10". It's running the latest and greatest release, which makes allowances for smaller tablets, so the awkwardness of the 7" Galaxy Tab is gone. The Tegra2 processor and graphics mean it's just as fast as the big boys. Unfortunately, all this hardware and software goodness has been paired with an inexcusably bad screen. The viewing angles are incredibly limited. If you hold it in portrait mode, the angles are so bad that you can't look at the whole screen without part of it being a bit color-shifted. If you hold it in landscape, with the home button to the right, and tilt it back a few degrees, you get a perfect display, but that's literally the only position in which the screen looks nice.
I would not recommend this product to anyone, and I would not buy it again."
So the screen isn't IPS it isn't advertised as such and given that a tablet is meant for personal viewing as opposed to group viewing off angles the viewing is perfectly fine, as the critic notes above. The screen resolution at 1024x600 is excellent and colors are vivid and crisp.
Here is my review :
Great device well built, super fast, feels good in the hand and Honeycomb 3.2 is so slick compared to either Froyo or iOS makes our iPad seem so last year and much though we are devoted to our Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Wifi the Acer Iconia A100/Honeycomb is in a different stratosphere.
Kindle app now works if you download version 2 version 3.01 on Market crashes at this time but I have tested this and it works great
Download free Kindle app for Android at Freeware Lovers
It is true that battery is rather poor at around 5-6 hours but I can live with this because the A100 with Honeycomb 3.2 absolutely crushes any other 7" tab
See other reviews here
And finally let's remember the great price point $329.00 for 8GB and $349.00 for 16GB
Want Acer Iconia Tab A100-07u16u 7-Inch Tablet (16GB) Discount?
I just bought this great little tablet and I love it. I have been using an iPad for about a year and got so fed up with no flash and the fact that you have to have iTunes on you computer. Now I can put what I want in my tablet without having to get Steve Jobs permission. The screen resolution is beautiful, the touch control is very responsive, and the processor is really fast. I gave the iPad away, gone out of here, history.The first thing the A100 asks you to do is connect with your WiFi. Connection went perfect the first time without any trouble, unlike so many personal WiFi devices on the market. It comes in a 10" model as well but I like the 7" format better for my needs. The 10" size like the iPad was OK but each to his own.
Acer is a well known brand and I have been using Acer for some time now. I have an Acer laptop and an Acer desktop PC. I have never had any problems with either of them.
