Manage updates with the Download AppPrizefight (week of May 20)
Acer Iconia Tab vs. Asus Eee Pad Transformer
Acer Iconia Tab vs. Asus Eee Pad Transformer
The year started out with only one Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet on the horizon (the Motorola Xoom). Today, nearly halfway through the year, we have so many Honeycomb tablets flying around CNET that it's hard to keep them all straight. More importantly, the prices on these things are steadily creeping downward, making them a more compelling alternative to Apple's lowest-priced iPad 2.
Two of the latest low-cost Honeycomb tablets to hit the shelves are the Acer Iconia Tab A500 and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer. The only trouble is, it's almost impossible to tell the two apart (beyond the $50 price difference). Both tablets have 10-inch screens, Android 3.0, front and rear cameras, HDMI output, and a Wi-Fi connection to the Internet.
So, to set the record straight on what these two Honeycomb beauties have to offer and which of them is worth your time and money, our CNET experts endure six rounds of grueling deliberation to see which tablet comes out on top.
Let the Prizefight begin!
Round 1: Design
It takes a lot of design ingenuity for a tablet to successfully straddle the line between laptop and smartphone. Here we examine the look, size, feel, and sex appeal of the devices to see how well each achieves this balance.| player | Donald | Eric | Brian | the winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Acer Iconia Tab A500 (16GB) | 3The Iconia Tab feels like the lid ripped off an Acer laptop. It's not sexy, or light, or thin. It survived an accidental drop on the floor, though. | 4Although the Iconia is the heavier of the two, the Tab's smoother form factor and overall greater feel of solidity win this round. | 3I prefer the styling with its metallic finish but this might be one of the heaviest tablets I've ever held. | 3.3 |
 Asus Eee Pad Transformer (16GB, Wi-Fi) | 4The Transformer feels nicer in your hands. It's a little lighter and the textured back feels expensive somehow. Visually a little sexier. I wish the keyboard dock fit wasn't such a mess, though. | 3The Transformer has a cool back texture, making gripping easy, but its hollow feel and sharp edges keep it in the design Stone Age. | 4The Transformer is easier to hold, the textured back is classy. There's more screen and less bezel and that's a good thing. | 3.7 |
Round 2: Controls and user interface
Sexiness is one thing, but are the tablets easy to use? In Round 2, we examine the design and usability of their user interfaces and navigation controls.| player | Donald | Eric | Brian | the winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Iconia Tab A500 (16GB) | 4After the Xoom, I was just grateful to have a conveniently located power button. Seriously. The rotation lock up on the top is nice, too, though the horizontal volume rocker is a pain. | 3The Tab includes a few custom Honeycomb features that make using the OS a more pleasant experience, but they're not quite as far-reaching as the Transformer's options. | 4Thank you for the physical rotation lock switch! You'll also have a Dolby Mobile sound preference to customize your Audio balance. | 3.7 |
| Asus Eee Pad Transformer (16GB, Wi-Fi) | 4I'm a sucker for a vertical volume rocker placement. Nothing more natural than up for up and down for down. I do miss the Iconia's screen lock, though, and I'm not sure why Asus felt it needed to tweak Google's navigation icons. | 4The Transformer has made the most significant alterations to Honeycomb so far, offering key customizations that add even more utility to the base Honeycomb interface. | 4Volume rocker for its landscape position is great. There's a built-in screenshot function in the OS, which I love. I'm not a fan of its virtual keyboard, which includes a row of numbers, because it makes the typing experience more cramped. | 4 |
Round 3: Features
What do these tablets offer under the hood? Here we examine the software features and hardware capabilities of each device and decide which tablet offers more.| player | Donald | Eric | Brian | the winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Iconia Tab A500 (16GB) | 4If connectivity is your thing, the Iconia Tab delivers Micro-USB syncing, full USB hosting, a dock connector, a charging socket, and MicroSD and MicroHDMI compatibility. 16GB of onboard storage is puny, though. | 4The Iconia includes the usual Android tablet suspects: USB, Mini-USB, and Micro-HDMI. Giving you the expected trimmings of an Android tablet. | 4You'll get standard Honeycomb goodies like voice Search and Turn-by-Turn Maps. The Iconia features a standard USB port and Mini-USB and a Micro-SD card slot and Micro-HDMI output. | 4 |
| Asus Eee Pad Transformer (16GB, Wi-Fi) | 3My biggest strike against the Eee Pad is the lack of a standard Micro-USB sync port. Going with the 30-pin connector is just a pain. The use of Mini-HDMI over Micro is a little unusual, too. | 3Asus skimps on USB, unless you buy the keyboard. Also, while the inclusion of Mini-HDMI is strange, it's nothing a quick trip to Monoprice can't fix. | 4You'll find a Micro-SD card slot and HDMI but there's no standard USB syncing port on the tablet. Having the ability to dock it into a keyboard separates it from other tablets, but that privilege will cost $150 more. | 3.3 |
Round 4: Web browsing and multimedia
Having a big ol' touch screen isn't much good if you can't use it for the fun stuff, like browsing the Web, watching videos, or playing games. In this round, we'll evaluate which tablet does a better job of delivering what tablets do best--Web browsing and multimedia.| player | Donald | Eric | Brian | the winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Iconia Tab A500 (16GB) | 3I cannot get the Tab to load videos larger than 100MB. Streaming video is fine, but when it comes to playing movie-length content locally, this one just doesn't cut it. The browsing experience seems indistinguishable from the Transformer. | 4The Acer uses the stock Honeycomb multimedia and Web-browsing apps. | 4You're pretty much getting the same Web browser and multimedia experience. There's a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash on the back and a 2-megapixel camera on the front. Pictures looked richer and a little more detailed. | 3.7 |
| Asus Eee Pad Transformer (16GB, Wi-Fi) | 4I was able to load larger video files on this one with no problem. For all its flaws, I do think that the optional keyboard dock gives this an advantage for Web browsing and e-mail. | 4The Asus uses the stock Honeycomb multimedia and Web apps. | 3There's a 5-megapixel rear camera with no flash and a 1.2 megapixel front facing camera. Images were a little more washed out and not as clean. | 3.7 |
Round 5: Performance
Features look great on a spec sheet, but how well do they actually work? How long will the battery last? Are either of these good enough to replace your laptop?| player | Donald | Eric | Brian | the winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Iconia Tab A500 (16GB) | 4Almost 8 hours of battery life in our tests makes the Iconia Tab's extra bulk worthwhile. It's still no match for the 10 hours of the iPad, though. | 47.8 hours of battery life is impressive for a Honeycomb tablet, but it still has a long way to go before matching the iPad's 10-11 hour battery duration. | 4Both of these are snappy devices and it really feels like it's even when it comes to speed. The 7.8 hours of battery life is solid. | 4 |
| Asus Eee Pad Transformer (16GB, Wi-Fi) | 4If you include the optional keyboard dock, this guy can get up past the 10-hour mark. Still, you're charging two items instead of one, and the keyboard dock is a nightmare to work with. | 4Getting the keyboard attached takes some getting used to, but once you do, you're looking at over 10 hours of battery life. That's if you want to pay the extra $150. Without the keyboard, 7.3 was the max we got. | 4 Connecting the keyboard dock gives it more juice, but standalone battery life is already respectable at 7.3 hours, and that's enough to keep its performance score even. | 4 |
Round 6: Value
Tablets have yet to really prove themselves as a necessary technology in the same way that laptops or cell phones have. To justify owning one, a tablet needs to deliver a ton of value at a great price. In the final round, we'll decide which tablet purchase will be easier to explain to your loved ones.| player | Donald | Eric | Brian | the winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Iconia Tab A500 (16GB) | 4A good price for all you get, but with the iPad just $50 away you really have to be an Android diehard to bite. Plus, let's remember this thing is nearly twice as thick as an iPad 2. | 3$450 is a great price for a tablet, but not so great with an iPad 2 tempting you at just $50 bucks more. | 4$450 is still below the iPad 2 and the Xoom, and the hardware here is compelling for Android users, especially for that price. | 3.7 |
| Asus Eee Pad Transformer (16GB, Wi-Fi) | 5$399 is the current rock-bottom price and puts a compelling distance between the Transformer and the lowest-priced iPad. The tablet isn't perfect, but the price is spot-on. | 4$400 is where most tablets should be, pricewise. At $150, the keyboard is a bit too expensive, though. Still, with the keyboard it's only $50 more than the iPad 2 and being able to type on actual hardware is quite useful. | 5One of the most compelling price points for a full Honeycomb tablet experience with a solid form factor. $399, you won't find that anywhere else...yet. | 4.7 |
The winner is...
Winner
Asus Eee Pad Transformer (3.9 pts)
Runner-Up
Acer Iconia Tab A500 (16GB) (3.7 pts)
Never underestimate the power of a low price. Acer's Iconia Tab A500 offered more connections and slightly sturdier construction, but for $50 less, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer delivered a nearly identical experience. Also, let's not forget the Transformer's hat trick of attaching to a hinged keyboard dock, which basically turns the whole thing into a Honeycomb Netbook. Cool stuff.
It's hard to say if Asus will be able to steal any market away from the mighty iPad 2, but for now, we can safely say that it offers the best bang for your buck among the latest Android 3.0 tablets.
It's hard to say if Asus will be able to steal any market away from the mighty iPad 2, but for now, we can safely say that it offers the best bang for your buck among the latest Android 3.0 tablets.
my friend is the pm for the product and from i heard and compiled from our conversation is this "issue" has something to do with their organization... it'll be fixed soon though
i played with it for a few minutes last week when i was back in tw for vacation, it's actually really nice, speed wise it's no screamer, but faster than viewpad, i think its actually the most well priced tablet so far
What about Honeycombs superior chrome like tabbed browsing w/ flash that just about every reviewer has said is the best tablet browsing experience? You have 2 honeycomb tablets here with the best web browsing experience and the category is riddled with 3's. It just makes no sense and shows their extreme bias.
Go read Eric Franklins Galaxy tab 10.1 overview and review. All he does is compare its design to an iPad2. He goes on and on about how sexy the iPad is and how the galaxy tab is just not quite as sexy... I mean seriously? Is he deciding which one of these tablets he wants to stick his d*** in?
If you aren't getting paid for Apple product placement, then shame on you.
You can easily get a wireless bluetooth keyboard for android and a case that props up the tablet...so there ya go.
The fact is that this tablet is the right price and it has the features that can really compete with the likes of the iPad. Plus it has the best screen (IPS) of any Android Tablet on the market right now.
Once the 'tablet' is pugged in to the keyboard what you have is an Android laptop, and the really nice touch is the fact that the 'tablet' battery is recharged by the keyboard battery when it's attached.
I've had mine for a week now, and there really is nothing out there that can touch it.
Also Eric's bland "uses the stock Honeycomb multimedia and Web-browsing apps." comment for both devices leaves out the fact that the Acer (at least) also provides a couple of additional multimedia apps in addition to the stock player.
Thanks
Thank you
but what I find really odd is Cnet's ommision of the Asus feature's that have clould storage and the fact you can have remote acces to your computer.
It makes me wonder how much these guys who test these tablets are just simply going through the motions
Stope it with the iPad crap, seriously.
4D
I own both the Ipad2(won it) and the Iconia - if the 1-2 ounce difference is THAT much of an issue, go pick up something heavy for a bit, build some muscles and hold it like a man
The USB port on the Iconia allows us IT professionals to easily transfer data, configs and other files around from device to device, without iTunes having to be installed everywhere. This makes it a much better tool than the iPad ever thought of being.
The iPad is great for games, watching netflix / hulu+ and browsing, but leave the heavy lifting to something flexible, customizable and ultimately more functional.
(BTW, had an ASUS at first - sat it on its back atop a router, and the plastic body began warping - sent it back and opted for the solid METAL casing of the iconia)
What's going on?
Now I need to figure out how to give Video/Shows onto the asus.
Yes I own an iPad , ( iPad 1 ) but I went and jailbroke it . And can do more than even the pad 2 .
I really like the fact that I can use something like cydia to improve it. What other tablet has the developers or third party app community like the iPad ? I can do EXCTLY what the pad2 can do on my iPad 1 !
I can mirror the pad to hdmi , I can now WiRELESSLY SYNC iTunes, and put in IOverclock to unthrottle the processor . Sorry but android has some rethinking to do ..... Android would have never been created if there wasn't APP Technology first created by apple..... Remember the zune ?
1)true mulit-tasking. iPad and iPad 2 pretend to do this. The multitasking in Honeycomb is excellent.
2)Front facing camera--only on the iPad 2
3)Asus Feature==Remote desktop....iPad cannot...
4) Customizable home screens--both the iPad 1 and 2 look essentially like big iphones...and there is not much in the way of customizations.
5)Users are not forced into using itunes and force fed Apple's proprietary music and movie formats.
I could go on and on.
BTW Darkflamerdesigner how's those flash websites coming up for ya.
I don`t put much stock in Apple-boy`s , skunk-haired reviews...never have.
then you take a chance , watch it anyways , and LOVE it.