I didn't buy my Iconia to spite Apple. My experience with the A500 is quite unusual. I was definately not in the market to buy a tablet when of all things, I saw a Rent-A-Center ad on TV for the Acer Iconia A500. I thought it'd be cool to give it a try!
I tried (the brand-new in a sealed box) the Iconia A500 and just fell in love. I read up on the Internet, I saw YouTube videos, I was sold on it. So there I was, paying rental fees on the Iconia and I knew I'd soon have to pay the first month (my deposit was like $50!) and that'd be just over $100.00. That's about 1/4th the cost of one to own, so that was a predicament.
I had the Iconia a week, was still paid up and bought one at OfficeDepot for $449. I turned the rental Iconia in after a week, still paid-up and surprised the salesman! Within a week, OfficeDepot and Wal-Mart were advertising them for $399, so I took mine back to OfficeDepot and the store manager was freaking out, afraid I was returning it. They happily gave me the 50 bucks on their price guarantee program. Wasn't sure if they had one, but figured I'd complain about their price and Wal-Mart's price. Didn't have to when the store mgr found out I wasn't returning it, so I left with 50 bucks!!!
I say this long, convoluted story for a reason. The Rent-a-Center I got that from had me on a waiting list to get it, so RAC's across the nation are putting thousands out there in the field. I loved it and ended up buying one. I'm sure I won't be the only one.
Thank God they weren't renting Ipad2s! I would have had no idea about .3 MP front and .97 MP rear cameras. mini and full-sized USB ports, HDMI you don't have to have a dongle to use as well as MicroSD! They don't "warn" Ipad 2 buyers about lacking all of those things the Iconia has for $100 less now after the price reduction! They don't tell you most of the Ipad 2 applications cost money while most of the Android apps are free. Heck, the game Need for Speed had me sold for quality gaming on the A500!
What made you buy the Acer Iconia A500?
I bought mine after giving up on the cheap chinatabs that lack support.
Very happy with my A500.
Not intending to put down the ipad 2. In fact, I think it is quite an engineering marvel. But no matter how much I try to like it, it still feels like an oversized iphone to me.
goodintentions said:
Not intending to put down the ipad 2. In fact, I think it is quite an engineering marvel. But no matter how much I try to like it, it still feels like an oversized iphone to me.
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Well i have both and think both have their unique place for me and like both of them
I bought mine because it's my 3rd Android tab and I wanted 3.x on tablets. The UI improvements for me are amazing. I also own an iphone 4, so I don't need an apple product. That'll likely be my last Apple purchase however. Once I see how Android 4.x pans out on mobiles instead of just tablets, I will likely replace my iphone with one. I will probably keep the iphone around though. It costs roughly 40USD to unlock them here, so selling it might be an option also.
Another reason I got the Iconia is it was too hard to get the Transformer when it launched. Kind of glad that was the case now.
I returned a Toshiba Thrive after 2 weeks due to the sleep bug, and waited a bit. I found the Staples coupon for any tablet, $100 off. By this time the Iconia had come down from $449 to $399 and Staples was out of everything other than the Xoom and Galaxy. I didn't want either, but found that OfficeDepot would honor the Staples coupon on select models, the 16gb Iconia being one. So, for $299 plus tax I walked out with one!
One of the keys to the Iconia is the Gorilla Glass, http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/products-with-gorilla/acer , and the nice aluminum body. Honeycomb 3.1 and I'm a happy camper.
mknewman said:
I returned a Toshiba Thrive after 2 weeks due to the sleep bug, and waited a bit. I found the Staples coupon for any tablet, $100 off. By this time the Iconia had come down from $449 to $399 and Staples was out of everything other than the Xoom and Galaxy. I didn't want either, but found that OfficeDepot would honor the Staples coupon on select models, the 16gb Iconia being one. So, for $299 plus tax I walked out with one!
One of the keys to the Iconia is the Gorilla Glass, http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/products-with-gorilla/acer , and the nice aluminum body. Honeycomb 3.1 and I'm a happy camper.
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Same for me, wanted to get a Tablet, found the $100 off staples coupon, went to my local staples, in stock, went home with one for $299
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App
Related
Hello, im looking for the best tablet i can get for about $400 ($500 if bestbuy has it for a decent price). I was thinking about getting this. I plan on watching movies on it and browsing the web. I'll prob never leave the house with it. Do you guys think this would be worth getting?
All the software is pretty much the same with the exception of the XOOM because it's on Android 3.2.
What it comes down to is the price and hardware.
Galaxy Tab: Slimness, Light, no MicroSD
Transformer: Cheap, IPS screen, dock (extended battery life, 2 USBs), microSd
Acer: 1 USB on the tablet itself, microSD
etc etc.... make your decision quick, -$100 coupon is available @ staples with some other retailers honoring their coupon as well.
zephiK said:
All the software is pretty much the same with the exception of the XOOM because it's on Android 3.2.
What it comes down to is the price and hardware.
Galaxy Tab: Slimness, Light, no MicroSD
Transformer: Cheap, IPS screen, dock (extended battery life, 2 USBs), microSd, hdmi
Acer: 1 USB on the tablet itself, microSD, hdmi
etc etc.... make your decision quick, -$100 coupon is available @ staples with some other retailers honoring their coupon as well.
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The Transformer and if I remember correctly the Acer both have hdmi too.
Sent from my Captivate
Should i get the transformer or wait?
How do i use the -$100 coupon? thanks.
Here's my list of all the tablets I've owned and returned before sticking with the transformer-
-Toshiba thrive- dim screen compared to transformer, brick, lots of ports though, don't see it having a lot of support
-transformer- liked it but wanted to try some others
-galaxy tab- nice screen(transformers just as nice), thin/light, no ports or SD support(why samsung?), very soft plastic surrounding screen, got dinged/knicked with hardly any use(this is the one my wife decided to keep, wasn't for me though)
-xoom- screen isn't that bad, but transformer/gtab10.1 screen is noticeably better, brick(didn't bother me , just putting it out there as It's probably the heaviest), power button on back is sometimes annoying, immediate updates wasn't worth the trade for decrease in screen quality to me
Now I'm back to the transformer to stay. Its got the perfect balance of ports/size/looks/accessories to warrant me keeping it over the others. the fact that its the cheapest out of all of them is just an added bonus.
Alright, I decided to go with the transformer after reading reviews / looking in other sections. Does anyone know the cheapest place in the US to buy them?
Sevent33n said:
Alright, I decided to go with the transformer after reading reviews / looking in other sections. Does anyone know the cheapest place in the US to buy them?
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Try starting with the Staples coupon. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1177461 is the read. Try going through them. From what I've been told,
- Office depot will honor the coupon for Transformer ONLY if the nearby Staples have the Transformer in stock.
- Go to Staples and see if they have the Transformer
Newegg and Amazon have pretty good values for Transformer if you can't get a purchase with the Staples coupon.
@curti.nogg: Absolutely. I was just giving a list of features on the top of my head.
Only thing I dislike about the Transformer is the charger cable is really short but I have a USB3 M-F extender so that fixed it.
Thanks so much.
+1 to everyone
Sevent33n said:
Thanks so much.
+1 to everyone
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Good luck! Hope to see more posts from you in the future in the Transformer forums.
Pretty good price. Choice of colors. Shipping's $5.00. You can get a SquareTrade warranty on it pretty cheap when they have their 30% off deals.
http://www.woot.com/
Already put my order in. I've been looking for an upgrade from my Nook Color, and at that price I couldn't pass it up.
I also picked one of these up. Leaving an Archos 7" for it.
i tried the ViewSonic GTab 10.1" also from Woot, and loved the perfomance. But it was more than 2x the weight of my 7" tablet and just a pig to hold, so I sold it.
Hoping that rooting and loading a lighter dev ROM will bring the Sammy up to optimization.
After missing the $250 Transformer at BB I had to grab this. Now I am jumping into a well established forum. Is there any mandatory reading for this device?
Do woot ship internationally?
------------------
sent from my galaxy s2, using my fingers.
Moot point. Now sold out.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=woot+ship+international
As the Republicans say, "Well, at least I got mine!"
So I got lucky and caught them before they sold out, any "Must Have" accessories for this puppy?
Refurbished. I always hated buying refurbished electronics. I always think there's something that's going to happen with it! haha. Lets hope not. Luckily, I got mine back in June .. made a trip to the states to pick it up and got stopped at border and had to pay customs
I recently picked this up on Woot as well... was ecstatic about this purchase.
I just bought the Pyro black carbon fiber case based off what I read in the accessories section, seems pretty spectacular, esp for the price.
I am curious what people are doing to hook up to HDTVs.....
s15274n said:
I am curious what people are doing to hook up to HDTVs.....
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With a Teg 2 and HC, very little. You'll get acceptable 720P but kiss 1080P good-bye. Some of the cooked ROMs have AllShare (Samsung's DLNA client) if not the app's in the dev section with instructions if you're rooted. It's also included in the stock 3.2 ROMs. There's an HDMI connector Samsung sells if you want a hard-wired connection.
Lenovo's Outlet has a boat-load of NEW Thinkpad Tablets for sale with various accessories included.
http://outlet.lenovo.com/tablets.html
Currently the 16GB with Pen included goes for $386.75, and it's brand new from Lenovo themselves. I'd say that's a pretty amazing deal! That's $90 off their regular online store NOT including the pen!
If anyone knows the reason for this price difference? (other than maybe they're looking to release their quad core tablet very soon)
Thought I'd share the great deal, looking forward to receiving mine shortly.
Well, considering I bought my September, not so much >.>, and I got it at 490 after tax and shipping, but still. I thought this was one of the only tablets that wouldn't drop their price
I think the problem is excess stock due to returns and cancels from poor software and hardware performance.
well ****
my 64GB model cost me alot more...
Ditto, and doesn't even work right. Lesson learned. No more Lenovo tablets for me unless they give them away.
toenail_flicker said:
Ditto, and doesn't even work right. Lesson learned. No more Lenovo tablets for me unless they give them away.
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Which android tablet would you say "works right" in comparison to the Lenovo TPT? I just ordered mine and it should be arriving next week complete with Folio Keyboard, Dock and Pen.
I chose this one for 3 real reasons, and 1 lame reason
Real reasons: 1)I like the option for the digitizer pen 2)It seems like it can take more of a beating than other tablets(i can be a clutz) and 3)I like the keyboard folio option(not for every day use)
Lame reason: 1) it matches all my ThinkPad paraphernalia(Notebook, Mouse, Keyboard, Cases...etc)
LOL I like your reasons. I never wanted the folio and still don't. If I had other Lenovo gear that would be a +1 here. I love the stylus but now others are coming so I don't have to put up with poor components and an OS overlay that requires root to function properly. My GPS has never functioned. If it wasn't for rooting and wanting to keep it, I'd send it in for warranty repair. Buttons have failed and micro USBs have too.
Getting a new tab soon. Already have a View and it has zero issue like my TPT. Looking for maybe the Galaxy Note 10.1.
Well, yeah, the pen is a dominating reason. At the same time, we bought it back in September, when this was the only tablet with a pen. There weren't even any that were rumored to come out except the hypothetical Galaxy Note at that point, which I learnt later at that time was only 5 inches. Now there's the Galaxy Note 10.1 that's coming out and a few more, so yeah, I'd look at the others before landing on the TPT. The Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet was almost a test, and though they did pretty well, I feel I might just wait a little bit longer.
I got my 32gb tablet for $350 for buy.com 8 months ago. I don't see why this price is so great?
I agree. Not great prices.
provantage.com
has...
16GB for 318
32GB for 340
Is that provantage price with the pen?
eBay has some solid refurb deals, but it's hard to tell with many of them if the pen is included or not. I just a 16gb refurb for $299 with just the pen and and charger.
try buy.Com
Sent from my Full CM9 on ThinkPad Tablet using Tapatalk
Hello everybody,
Recently i have been looking at a load of tablets as I am interested in buying one soon. Now I al interested in the iPad 2, the Sony tablet s and the Asus transformer + WiFi.
I want to have a tablet to watch movies, play games, read books and make notes. And I just like the look and specs of this tablet as far as I could have seen and read.
I would like to know from you guys if there are things you dislike about the device or totally love. I have used the Sony tablet s and the ipad 2 but can't get my hands on this device. So Any feedback from you guys is welcome.
Regards
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using XDA
I love it. But only thing that i dislike is the Frame around the glass. It makes some sound if you "bend" it and stuff.. But nothing else to complain and the Prize $ is just great..
Also one problem is light bleed that i only have in 1 corner and its small and i really cant see it but in dark and when im watching movie but i doesnt bother me anymore at all : P
And eaven tf101 only has 2 cores its amazing fast afted ICS : P
-This is just My opinion.....
I bought myself a Transformer Prime for Christmas. Returned it after the GPS and wifi problems, bought a Lenovo K1 at a deal. It was slow and buggy and Lenovo's arrogance was overwhelming, with support totally lacking, so I returned it. I bought a barely used mint Transformer TF101 32GB with keyboard, locally for $325. It has no light bleed or any other problems and I love it!
The Prime was my biggest disappointment. But the original Transformer has restored my faith in Asus!
Wow.. my story is pretty much exactly the same as thomslik's.. except I payed $350.. grrr..
Anyway, I'm loving my TF101 and, for me, the ICS update has been problem free.
I would NOT recommend getting the iPad 2, it's much more limited than Android tablets.. especially with the keyboard dock on the Transformer.
The transformer is great not a problem out of it. I was gonna get the ipad 3rd generation but I don't want a big ipod that's all it is.
I like it. Good screen and fast. I wouldn't pay more then 300 for it at this point tho.
Best device i have ever brought myself so far i have a tiny bit of light bleed but everything else is perfect.
Its fast and does all the things you want to use it for also very very customisable i use a custom launcher themes apps system and kernel all to my preference
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
tweaked said:
I like it. Good screen and fast. I wouldn't pay more then 300 for it at this point tho.
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It still sells just about everywhere for 399 brand new. Why do you feel the price isn't justified now? Any reason besides having been out for a while? I think for what it offers compared to other tabs it has held its value quite well.
Kadin said:
It still sells just about everywhere for 399 brand new. Why do you feel the price isn't justified now? Any reason besides having been out for a while? I think for what it offers compared to other tabs it has held its value quite well.
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Because it will become outdated pretty soon. It's almost at the end of the one year cycle.
If anyone, living in the USA, buys a TF101 for $399 at this point, they have some terrible shopping skills. Refurbs are at $300 or lower. Even brand new 16GB ones are around $350.
I got mine "Used - Like new" from Amazon for like $240 a couple months ago.
horndroid said:
Because it will become outdated pretty soon. It's almost at the end of the one year cycle.
If anyone, living in the USA, buys a TF101 for $399 at this point, they have some terrible shopping skills. Refurbs are at $300 or lower. Even brand new 16GB ones are around $350.
I got mine "Used - Like new" from Amazon for like $240 a couple months ago.
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I bought mine on the 17th from Fry's as they price matched an online site that was selling it for $349 w/ free shipping. I will say this site (bhphotovideo.com) was the only site I could find that was that cheap and not a refurb. Every other one I found short of eBay, who I refuse to use, was right around $399.
And not to split hairs but to that point, $350>$300 which is what I was originally quoting. My point is old or not, if the product still currently sits well compared to what's out now, I think it's worth it.
I'm just trying to determine whether to hold onto mine at this point but that's for another discussion...
Kadin said:
I bought mine on the 17th from Fry's as they price matched an online site that was selling it for $349 w/ free shipping. I will say this site (bhphotovideo.com) was the only site I could find that was that cheap and not a refurb. Every other one I found short of eBay, who I refuse to use, was right around $399.
And not to split hairs but to that point, $350>$300 which is what I was originally quoting. My point is old or not, if the product still currently sits well compared to what's out now, I think it's worth it.
I'm just trying to determine whether to hold onto mine at this point but that's for another discussion...
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So you paid $350 + tax, which is around $380.
Not worth it in my opinion. You probably don't realize it now because you just got it and it feels new to you.
horndroid said:
So you paid $350 + tax, which is around $380.
Not worth it in my opinion. You probably don't realize it now because you just got it and it feels new to you.
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Yeah. My only other option it seemed right now was either a Galaxy Tab or iPad 2 and the latter option is really not a consideration, but it was within the price range.
I'm digging the unit but as you said, it's all new to me. I'd love to see something solid on the near horizon as it might convince me to return this and wait but so far it's all just rumors and speculation.
Acer's quad core tablet is on presale for $449.99
In 2-3 months you will see 7 inch quad cores for $250.
Android 5.0 coming out in Fall.
So it depends on how badly you want a tablet right now.
Thanks everybody, I just ordered the 101 version without 3g, it is 400 euro in holland. But for the same price you get the ipad 2 or the Sony tablet. So I think its worth the price.
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using XDA
the iPad 2 is really nice but with the transformer you can install roms like nintendo 64, ps2, etc and play for hours on end. the whole stretch thing is pretty retarded with the iPad 2 and after a while really annoying.
I love both but if I could only have one it'd definitely be the transformer.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717
Hey all, I am a current iPad user (not by choice, it was a gift) and have been looking to venture into the android tablet world as I am biased since I've gotten my Droid X2 about a year and a half ago. I've successfully rooted/rom'd and SBF'd my X2 many times and I am currently running CM7 and have been for some time. I plan on running Revolution HD rom once the tablet arrives...
Anyways, I bought a Groupon deal shown here http://www.groupon.com/abilene/deals/gg-asus-transformer-tablet-tf101-x1-with-dock-refurb and, unlike myself, I did not do any research on pricing of this package via eBay or Amazon before I purchased it. It's a factory refurb unit with a keyboard dock. I ended up paying somewhere around $307 for it and should be getting it in a a week or two. After checking eBay (after my purchase) I am finding the similar setup (used, obviously) for anywhere between $20-80 less than what I paid. Did I get ripped? It does come with a 90 day factory warranty due to the refurb but is that worth the extra money that I paid? What are these really going for right now? I know it's not a top of the line unit since it's been out for a little while but still...I guess I am just looking to see everyone else' opinions on if I overpaid. Thanks!
-David
Well you didn't really get ripped off, since the dock itself cost around $100+ or so. The bundle is a pretty nice deal. You could have saved some money like around $50 or so, if you looked around on craigslist, swappa.com or ebay. I've seen the tablet plus dock bundle going for around $250 or so.
One thing is for sure though, you DID NOT get ripped off. You just paid a tiny bit extra. Ripped off is like paying full retail, like around $400 to $500.
Thanks for that. I'm sure the 90 day warranty has a little bit of value as well so that has to mean something towards the extra money put out. Anyways, I'm looking forward to getting it. I've already got the files ready to go for rooting/flashing the rom.
I just bought a used one from swappa.com with the keyboard dock for $250. No you didn't get ripped off. I almost used the groupon deal, but I figured I was fine with a used model.
When I bought my tablet/dock almost a year ago I paid close to $600 after taxes, so I think you did ok.
I paid $432 at the beginning of the year because I was impatient and wanted a new tablet NOW. I should've waited. You got a good deal. I didn't even get a dock, but I did get a 32gb model.
Like others have said, you did not get ripped off. IMO $50 extra for a factory refurbished unit with 3 months warranty over a second hand unit from eBay is a pretty good deal, especially with the keyboard dock.
However, personally I don’t find the KB dock all that useful for the things I do, and if you bought the whole package just because it was bundled (but don’t really need the KB dock) then you could’ve gotten a never Tegra 3 based tablet (refurbished or used) for the same price or a little more.
yea... you kinda got ripped for that. Easily can get a tf300 for around that price with a dock.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T