- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
- Apple iPad 3
- Apple iPad 1
- Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF700
- Samsung Series 7 11.6" Slate
Rated 20% by by Patricia-Horn_hodgsonFirst choice for portability is my Toshiba laptop which isn't much bigger than the ipad.
Rated 70% by by TrustedReviews (Mar, 2012)At least capturing HD video is easy thanks to its 5-megapixel (720p) camera.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Apple iPad 2 compared to the Acer Iconia Tab A500
“9.7
iOS 5
Rated 100% by by kedavis (Oct, 2012)Personally, I think the option of wireless/3G is a great choice.
10.1”
Android 3.0 Honeycomb
Rated 65% by by The Verge (Apr, 2011)The front-facing 2 megapixel camera is comparable to most of the others I've seen on other Honeycomb tablets.
screen size
9.7"
10.1"
iPad 2 by c|net (Mar, 2011)Unlike smaller devices, the iPad's 9.7-inch screen can present faces at life-size.
Iconia Tab A500 by Carolyn-Work (Oct, 2011)It has a large clear screen that makes it great for watching movies or viewing the internet.
screen resolution
iPad 2 by c|net (Mar, 2011)We had hoped for some of the iPhone 4's Retina Display technology in the iPad 2, but it seems Apple might be saving it for next time.
Iconia Tab A500 by Elizandra-Cruz--US.ARMY-VETERAN (Aug, 2011)On the other hand video quality is good, sound is very outstanding with dolby player, screen resolution is decent, flash is great and overall is decent but with many issues to be fix hopefully soon.
memory
| 0 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
camera resolution
| 0 MP | 2 MP | 2 MP |
iPad 2 by c|net (Mar, 2011)There's no camera flash, however, and the camera sensor is a far cry from the one used in the iPhone 4.
Iconia Tab A500 by Elizandra-Cruz--US.ARMY-VETERAN (Aug, 2011)Front camera is half size since the camera is to the left instead of the middle so if you chat with someone they will see your side instead of your face you either have to turn your tablet in protrait mode or try to move to a specific area so you can be in the middle of the camera otherwise you will be to the side.
processor
iPad 2 by c|net (Mar, 2011)The new spec uses a dual-core A5 processor that promises to be twice as fast with nine times the graphics performance.
Performance Real world tests of Apple iPad 2 vs Acer Iconia Tab A500
cpu speed
iPad 2 by c|net (Mar, 2011)With a new dual-core A5 processor under the hood, Apple is claiming to have doubled performance speed overall, and boosted gaming graphics by nine times.
Iconia Tab A500 by R.-Hebshie---BRANDhesive (Jan, 2012)The Nvidia Tegra2 processor is lightening fast and even though I am not a big tablet/phone gamer (I'm an Xbox guy on that front) I have been blown away by the graphics and game play on the HD games (a couple of which come free on the tablet).
sunspider 0.9.1 benchmark
iPad 2 by c|net (Mar, 2011)The Safari Web browser gets a speed boost under the hood for improved JavaScript rendering.
battery life
10 hour
6.92 hour
iPad 2 by c|net (Mar, 2011)The iPad's device features, such as Bluetooth 2.1 (A2DP, EDR), Wi-Fi 802.11 n, 3G, and 10 hours of battery life, are all here, and in many cases are still the bar by which other tablets are judged.
Iconia Tab A500 by M.-Senecal--the-wrathful (Jun, 2012)The advantage to the not-usb charge thing is that it has a better battery life, and charges a little faster than you'd expect.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Acer Iconia Tab A500
| Significantly longer battery life | 10 hour | vs | 6.92 hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than 40% longer battery life; surf the web longer without having to plug in | |||
| Supports 3G | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; be online anywhere that has cell coverage | |||
| Smaller | 241 x 186 x 9 mm | vs | 259 x 178 x 13 mm |
| More than 30% smaller | |||
| Thinner | 9 mm | vs | 13 mm |
| More than 30% thinner | |||
Advantages compared to the Apple iPad 2
| Supported card formats | microSD | vs | None |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supports supported card formats | |||
| Much higher resolution front camera | 2 MP | vs | 0.3 MP |
| More than 6.5x higher resolution front camera; Video chat with other people | |||
| Supports multitasking | Yes (Android 3.0 Honeycomb) | vs | No (iOS 5) |
| Somewhat common; Run multiple apps at once | |||
| Significantly higher resolution rear camera | 5 MP | vs | 0.92 MP |
| Around 5.5x higher resolution rear camera; Can be used like a point-and-shoot camera | |||
| Has a microphone jack | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Can use an external microphone for superior audio quality | |||
| Supports Adobe Flash | Yes (Android 3.0 Honeycomb) | vs | No (iOS 5) |
| Somewhat common; Many games and videos on the Internet require Adobe Flash | |||
| Has an open source operating system | Yes (Android 3.0 Honeycomb) | vs | No (iOS 5) |
| Somewhat common; Allows you the freedom to use your tablet however you like | |||
| Supports voice commands | Yes (Android 3.0 Honeycomb) | vs | No (iOS 5) |
| Somewhat common; Can be operated hands free | |||
| More RAM | 1 GB | vs | 0.5 GB |
| Twice as much RAM; Better able to run big apps with lots of content | |||
| Slightly bigger screen | 10.1" | vs | 9.7" |
| Almost the same | |||
| Sharper screen | 149 ppi | vs | 131 ppi |
| More than 10% sharper PPI; enjoy photo-realistic, crisp images | |||
| Higher resolution screen | 1280 x 800 | vs | 1024 x 768 |
| More than 30% higher resolution screen | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Apple iPad 2 | Acer Iconia Tab A500 | ||
 |  
| 
| |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Rated by 1131 users at amazon.com Rated 40% by by AJ (Jul, 2011) Rated 80% by by Ms-J--4Jabria (Mar, 2012) Rated 20% by by Patricia-Horn_hodgson | Rated by 609 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by SteveO (Dec, 2011) Rated 100% by by S.-deBeaubien--Scotty (Feb, 2012) Rated 100% by by P.-ROSENDAHL--The-Analyst (May, 2011) | |
screen
Apple iPad 2 16 GB, WiFi + Verizon 3G, White | Rated 83% by by c|net (Mar, 2011)If you've ever used an iPhone or iPod Touch, the iPad 2 will feel immediately familiar.
Acer Iconia Tab A500 16 GB | Rated 100% by by sciencesuccess (May, 2011)The iPad 1's touch keyboard didn't run too well, while the iPad 2 had a much improved keyboard, and generally ran pretty well.
Acer Iconia Tab A500 16 GB | Rated 100% by by cryinglion (Dec, 2011)I have an iPod Touch 4, and considered the option to pick up the iPad 2 somewhere down the line.
type
Acer Iconia Tab A500 16 GB | Rated 60% by by MattO (Feb, 2012)I love love love Android products but after owning the iPad 2, I believe Apple still has a stronghold on the tablet genre.
Acer Iconia Tab A500 16 GB | Rated 80% by by Gary-Lai (May, 2011)With the Ipad2, you need a separate $39 adapter for this, plus the IPad 2 screen is a different aspect ratio than most HDTVs.-Android Honeycomb is way better than Apple iOS.
Acer Iconia Tab A500 16 GB | Rated 100% by by sciencesuccess (May, 2011)In addition, it was difficult to get the iPad 2 or the Asus Transformer, which were out of stock in many places, so that's also why I went ahead with the Acer Android tablet, as I don't like to wait to buy items.
format
Acer Iconia Tab A500 16 GB | Rated 80% by by John-H.-Eickhoff (Aug, 2011)When you figure adding a 32 gig micro SD Card is cheap you can have a 48 gig tablet for about 330 compared to a 32 gig IPAD 2 for 600.
weight
Acer Iconia Tab A500 16 GB | Rated 80% by by John-H.-Eickhoff (Aug, 2011)The weight is much less than the Gtablet and barely more than the ipad 2.
size
Apple iPad 2 16 GB, WiFi + Verizon 3G, White | Rated 83% by by c|net (Mar, 2011)The height and width may look similar, but in terms of thickness, the iPad has done some dieting, shrinking from 13.4mm thick on the original model to 8.8mm thick for the iPad 2.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 2 | Apple iPad 3 Much more recent operating system |
 | 3 | Apple iPad 1 5-way tie: Supports 3G |
 | 5 | Samsung Series 7 11.6" Slate Largest amount of storage capacity |
 | 6 | Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime 2-way tie: Longest battery life |
 | 8 | Asus Eee Pad Transformer 5-way tie: Has a microphone jack |
