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Acer releases app to hurry the ICS-ification of Iconia slates (video)
Patience, they say, is a virtue. Try telling that to a tech-savvy tablet owner, whose friend already got an ICS update. Acer started pushing out an Android 4 update to lucky Iconia 500 owners earlier in the week, but for those who've yet to receive it, all is not lost. The tablet maker has taken the unusual step of releasing an app dedicated to getting you the upgrade asap. Can't wait a moment longer? Point your slate at the Play store and search for "Acer" and then simply look for the free Iconia Tab Update Enhancement app. Virtues are overrated anyway.
Some Iconia Tab A500s getting Ice Cream Sandwich early, Acer Ring is MIA
Last week, Acer announced that Ice Cream Sandwich would make its way to Iconia Tabs A100 and A500 in Canada and the US starting April 27th, but Phone Arena reports that some owners of the 10.1-inch A500 are getting the option to update a day ahead of schedule. If you're one of the lucky few to be in on the early upgrade, you should be ready to rock with Android 4.0.3 after a 30-minute install. The one potential downside to getting ICS ahead of time? You'll have to wait for the Acer Ring hub, which didn't make the cut for this update.
Acer's A100 and A500 tablets getting Ice Cream Sandwich on April 27th
With April nearly over, it's high time Acer came clean on when exactly its promised Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade for the A100 and A500 would land. Today the company did just that, revealing that US owners of either tablet can opt-in for their frozen makeovers starting on the 27th. Bad news if you're rocking AT&T's variant of the latter though, as the listing on the company's support page for the A501 says "no update planned." Those not tied Ma Bell can expect Acer's skin -- including that ring launcher -- grafted onto Google's latest, much like the A200's ICS upgrade back in February. Already pumped? Go ahead and bookmark that source link. Do it, we won't judge.
Refresh Roundup: week of February 20th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
IRL: The stuff Engadget editors are using... in real life
Hi, guys! Welcome to IRL, a brand new feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life. One of the reasons we started this column is that we don't necessarily stop evaluating products once we slap on a numbered rating and publish some 3,000 words worth of impressions. This is a dilemma all gadget reviewers wrestle with, really. It's one thing to test a product for a week and report back on benchmark results and battery life, but it's another thing entirely to live with it. Sometimes, there are things we didn't get to test. And if you play with something long enough, the Honeymoon always comes to an end. No exceptions. We still see reviews as a snapshot in time -- our job, after all, is to size up the products folks might be thinking of buying today, and it's not fair to stay mum while we wait for companies to tweak products they had no business shipping half-baked in the first place. But we don't think the conversation should end with the review. You guys already get to sound off on the things you own in the "How would you change?" column. Consider this our turn.
Refresh Roundup: week of August 8, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy! Official Android updates Acer took to its Facebook page in Malaysia to announce that the Honeycomb 3.2 OTA update for the Iconia Tab A500 has been delayed until August 25. [via Phandroid] The LG G-Slate is starting to receive Honeycomb 3.1. [via AndroidCentral] We've also heard the HTC Flyer's on the receiving end of a 2.3.4 bump in Germany. [via HTC Inside (translated)] Motorola's announced that Honeycomb 3.1 has arrived on the Xoom in Europe, after several months of waiting. [via ITProPortal] Tomorrow, Sprint's pushing out a maintenance fix known as RD.00.02 for the Motorola Titanium. From a leaked screenshot, the main "enhancement" is correcting a bug that kept users from dialing from a meeting on the Exchange calendar. [via SprintFeed] Android 2.3.4 is making its way to unbranded HTC Sensation units in Europe this week as an OTA update, and will likely spread to carrier-branded devices over the next couple weeks. [via Phandroid] Both Bell and Virgin Mobile Canada are rolling out Gingerbread to its Galaxy S Vibrant. The download is available to any of its users by accessing Samsung Kies. [via MobileSyrup] HTC began pushing Gingerbread to the Inspire 4G on Monday. If you still haven't received your update OTA yet, instructions can be found on how to do it manually via its website. [Thanks, Brian] Are you an HTC Desire owner that's been eagerly awaiting Gingerbread? It's here now, but the manufacturer isn't going to push it out OTA -- rather, you'll need to do it on your own, so head to the via for a video tutorial on how to do it step-by-step. [via PocketNow] T-Mobile has announced that its OTA Gingerbread rollout for the G2x is now officially over. If you missed your opportunity, you may still download it using the LG updater tool. [via TmoNews] This is definitely a rumor, but an HTC support rep apparently emailed a concerned Incredible user to assure them that Gingerbread was still indeed in the plans for the year-old device. No timeframe was given, however. [via Phandroid] AT&T took to its Twitter account to state that the Infuse 4G is on track to receive Gingerbread sometime this month. [via AndroidCentral] Unofficial Android updates / custom ROMs / misc. hackery We heard last week that the Motorola Photon 4G had been rooted, but it required the use of the phone's fancy (and expensive) HD dock. This obstacle has since been removed, and you can root your brand new phone without it. [via AndroidCentral] Speaking of the Photon 4G, a System Boot File (SBF) is now available for the device. The SBF is a backup that comes in handy if something goes awry and your phone ends up getting bricked. By using the SBF, your phone will be restored back to its original factory defaults. [via SprintFeed] A dev preview of CyanogenMod 7 for the HTC Sensation 4G is now being shown at a YouTube near you. Did someone say CyanogenMod 7? Well, this week also witnessed a user updating their Motorola Triumph to Android 2.3.5, but almost nothing works properly on it; since the kernel source hasn't been released for it yet, the update isn't quite up to par. CM7 is also said to be coming to the Motorola Atrix 4G and LG Optimus 3D soon as well. [via Phandroid] Other platforms The tools used to flash Windows Phone Mango's RTM version has been leaked, and you can find instructions on how to get it on this XDA thread. Remember that you do this at your own risk. [via WMPowerUser] A few rumors circulated the web this week that Mango would be released on September 1. WP7's own Joe Belfiore was the one responsible for shooting down that rumor via Twitter. [via WMPowerUser]
Acer starts rolling out Android 3.1 update for the Iconia Tab A500
Almost on schedule, Acer has started pushing out an update for its Iconia Tab A500 that will upgrade the 10-inch slate to Android 3.1. If you'll recall, the update actually leaked late last month, but would have required folks to take the risk of flashing their tablets. As is often the case, it's unclear how long the roll-out will last, so don't be crestfallen if you can't enjoy those resizeable widgets just yet. For those of you who did wake up to an update, have at it -- and do tell us how it goes.
Android 3.1 update for Acer Iconia Tab A500 leaks out in China, can be downloaded worldwide
If you have an Iconia Tab A500 and an unbridled passion for running the latest Android software, we've got good news for you. Acer's 3.1 update for the 10-inch Tegra 2 slate has actually slipped out a little early and can now be downloaded at the source link below. It brings the resizable widgets and other goodies that Xoom and Eee Pad Transformer users have been savoring for a while, though that's naturally not been enough for some and there are already custom ROMs built off this leak that augment the upgrade with superuser privileges. Alternatively, should you be disinclined to flash your own tablet, you can just wait for Acer to start beaming Android 3.1 over the air to its European A500s on July 5th.
Acer Iconia Tab A500 to get Android 3.1 on 5th of July, at least in Deutschland
The Iconia Tab A500, Acer's "better choice" tablet, is set to join the ranks of Android 3.1 slates on the 5th of July, according to the company's German Facebook page. That's a little later than the June timeframe we'd initially been promised, but the precision of giving an actual date this time around inspires confidence that the OTA goodies will indeed be delivered. So far, we've only seen Acer announce this news on its German portal, so please keep your optimism in cautious gear if you reside outside the Bundesrepublik. The only certain Android update is the one that's already on your device.
Visualized: Acer's Iconia Tab A500 is 'a better choice' than the iPad (update: video!)
We were making our way through Taipei's sublime metro system this week and what did we see on the side of the stairway? Why, it was a collection of iPad images, but rather than an Apple-funded advert, this was an Acer-instigated bit of spec sheet trash talk. The captions beneath the images read, in order: "no open operating system, no high resolution display, no Dolby Surround Sound, no Flash, no microSD, no USB port. Why do you want to choose this type of tablet?" Gracing the opposite wall was the tablet that ticked the "yes" boxes to all those items, Acer's own Iconia Tab A500. Perhaps once Acer figures out the answer to its own question, it can stop overhauling itself and get back to the job of chopping the iPad's market share down to size. Check out the full ad in the gallery below. Update: Looks like there's a video ad to go along with the print campaign! Check it out after the break. %Gallery-124902%
Acer Iconia Tab A500 and ASUS Eee Pad Transformer getting Android 3.1 updates in June
Well, that was fast. Almost immediately after Google unveiled Android 3.1, Motorola was first out of the gate with an update, and now, not even a week later, Acer and ASUS are following suit with plans to freshen up their respective tablets with the newly minted software. To recap, 3.1's benefits include resizeable widgets, support for USB peripherals, and new Movies and Books apps, among other perks. Acer confirmed to us that it aims to start selling the Iconia Tab A500 with 3.1 next month, as well as upgrade existing units running Android 3.0. ASUS, meanwhile, has been touting the impending update for the Eee Pad Transformer on its Italian Facebook page. To which we say, grazie!
Acer Iconia Tab A500 review
Last month, the Motorola Xoom was the only officially sanctioned Android 3.0 tablet available in the United States. Now there are four -- the T-Mobile G-Slate arrived last week, the Acer Iconia Tab A500 this week, and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is on sale today, assuming you can find one. All have the same basic silicon inside, but oh-so-slightly different approaches to shape, such that price might honestly be the deciding factor these days. That's where we thought this WiFi-only Acer Iconia Tab had an edge, launching at $450, but now that ASUS has shaken the money tree with a $400 figure for the Eee Pad Transformer, we doubt other price tags will stick. It could be the tiniest of differentiators that shifts your opinion in favor of a particular slate. What's a prospective tablet buyer to do? Join us on a tour of the Acer Iconia Tab A500's particular perks and quibbles after the break, and we'll tell you.
The Engadget Show - 020: RIM's Ryan Bidan, gdgt's Peter Rojas, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, lots of tablets, Shredder test-drive
Welcome to the latest episode of the The Engadget Show, in which we change things up just a little bit. Everything starts with a trip to the New Mexico desert for a ride on the Shredder, love child of a tank and a skateboard. Next, Tim and Associate Editor Jacob Schulman sit down with RIM's Ryan Bidan to talk about the BlackBerry PlayBook. Then, Tim has a chat with Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally about the future of transportation, and just what'll be driving you in to work in 20 years. After that, Engadget founder Peter Rojas joins Tim and Managing Editor Darren Murph to look at a plethora of tablets. Favorites are chosen, lines are drawn, and allegiances pledged. There's also talk of Amazon's next play in the tablet space, the death of Flip, and what's up next for gdgt. It's an action-packed show and it's ready for you. What are you waiting for? Watch it now! The video stream is above, or download the show in HD below! Hosts: Tim Stevens, Darren Murph, Jacob Schulman Special guests: Ryan Bidan, Alan Mulally, Peter Rojas Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger Edited by: Danny Madden Music by: Sabrepulse Visuals by: Paris and Outpt Shredder segment music: Minusbaby Taped live at AOL Studios Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 020 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 020 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 020 (Small) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4). [RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. [HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD. [iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format.
Acer Iconia Tab A500 now on sale, $450 for aluminum-clad WiFi-only model
Yearning for some diversity in your hunt for a Honeycomb tablet? Acer's new Iconia Tab A500 doesn't really stray from the Tegra 2 norm when it comes to internal specs, but it does have that brushed aluminum back, a full-sized USB 2.0 port, and a sane $450 price point going for it. You'll get 16GB of storage and 802.11b/g/n WiFi connectivity for your money, though ASUS' similarly outfitted Eee Pad Transformer should also be prominent on your radar as it'll ask for an even humbler $399 when it makes its slightly delayed US launch tomorrow. Let's hope the arrival of these Taiwanese cousins nudges other Android tablets makers into engaging in a bit of price competition, eh? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Acer's Iconia Tab A500 soaks up the WiFi rays, hits shelves April 24th for $450
Ladies and gentlemen, the days of spending $600 for an Android Honeycomb tablet are nearly done -- on April 24th, the Acer Iconia Tab A500 will wash that price away with waves of brushed aluminum. That's when the WiFi-only version of Acer's Android 3.0 tablet will hit Best Buy and online retail for $450 sans contract, but with the same basic raft of specs as the WiFi-only Motorola Xoom: a dual-core 1GHz Tegra 250 SOC, a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 LCD screen, 1GB of RAM, a 5 megapixel camera around back and a 2 megapixel imager up front, HDMI-out, not to mention a pair of 3260mAh batteries that Acer claims are capable of eight full hours of life while playing HD video. Sure, it's a wee bit thicker and heavier and only sports half the flash storage (16GB), too, but if you're attracted to shiny things, look for our review in the coming weeks -- or wait until this summer to get one with AT&T. PR after the break. Update: As Acer mentioned in its press release, pre-orders for the device are beginning exclusively at Best Buy today, and you can now get your order in online. %Gallery-120664%
Acer announces UK Iconia Tab pricing: Windows or Android starting at £449
There's still no official word on pricing for the eventual US release, but Acer has now finally confirmed the UK pricing for its new Iconia Tab series of tablets. The WiFi-only versions of both the Windows 7-based Iconia Tab W500 and Android-based A500 will demand £449 apiece (or about $720) when they launch in the UK on April 8th, while the 3G-equipped W500 will set you back £529, or roughly $850 -- there's curiously no pricing for the 3G version of the A500 at the moment. Also available at the same time is a keyboard dock that will set you back £90 on its own or £529 in a bundle, and you can look for the smaller 7-inch A100 and W100 models to follow in May, or possibly later -- apparently with €349 price tag, if recent retailer pricing is any indication.
AT&T nabs Acer Iconia Tab A501, expect it in the summer months
We were pretty sure Acer's Iconia Tab would be riding Big Red -- you know, given the LTE modem and Verizon apps on board -- but it looks like the company will also support America's GSM juggernaut with a "4G" radio of some sort. AT&T just announced that the Acer Iconia Tab A501 will bring the 10.1-inch Honeycomb form factor and dual-core 1GHz Tegra 250 processor to its network sometime in Q2, giving the carrier a Android rival to Sprint's HTC EVO View 4G, T-Mobile's LG G-Slate, and of course Verizon's Motorola Xoom. How many Benjamins will it take to bring one home? Now that, my friends, is the question. You can join us in failing to find the answer in a press release below.
Acer Iconia Tab A500 first hands-on! (update: video)
Acer's ten-inch Tegra 2 tablet with Verizon LTE? You're looking at it right now, courtesy of the NVIDIA booth at CES 2011's Digital Experience show. It's just the same engineering prototype with an early build of Android 2.2 we've seen before -- it'll run Honeycomb at launch -- but this time, we got to touch. The hardware seriously feels final, with a solid metal case and a supremely responsive touchscreen that tracks a full ten points of contact. There's an interesting array of ports, too, with a full-sized USB port (as well as micro-USB) on one side and a dedicated charging socket too, as well as a dock connector on the bottom. What's missing are the standard Android Home, Menu and Back buttons, as instead of those, you simply swipe the lower right corner of the screen to bring up a tiny pane of virtual alternatives. No LTE connectivity to be found at Digital Experience, we're afraid, so we'll have to bring you speed tests another day -- but we'll have video up soon. For now, peep the gallery below. Update: Video after the break! %Gallery-112872%
Acer announces Iconia Tab A500 10-inch Android tablet with LTE
Woah, Acer just dropped news on a new Iconia device, except this one is all tablet. The Iconia Tab A500 has Android (no version specified) with the "Acer UI 4.5" on top, and Verizon 4G LTE inside. There's a 10.1-inch "10 point multitouch" screen, Tegra 2, and a gyroscope, which Acer claims should position the tablet perfectly for games. You can also output 1080p video over the built-in HDMI port, but there's no word on the screen's actual resolution. We also don't have any word on a price or a release date, and Acer hasn't even supplied any photos of the device yet, but we played with a 10.1-inch Android tablet from Acer back in November (pictured), and we have to assume this is the same one. Updated: Confirmed. This is the same 10-inch tablet we saw in November. We hear it will be displayed at Verizon's booth so we'll be scouting it out and bringing you impressions sometime soon.
Sony debuts Alpha A850, A550 and A500 DSLRs
Sony's really hitting two sweet spots this morning with its new (or, newly confirmed) full-frame A850 (pictured) and mid-range A550 and A500 DSLR additions to the Alpha family. The rumors were basically dead on, with the A850 offering a slight reduction to the A900's skillset while keeping on the exact same 24.6 megapixel sensor -- and nabbing a $1,000 or so price cut in the process (it's now landing at around $2,000). The A550 and A500, meanwhile, fill in any perceived gaps in the Alpha line with 14.2 and 12.3 megapixel sensors, respectively. They also both score tilt-out LCDs akin to the poorly-received A380, with the A550 sporting a much higher resolution screen than its sibling. Still, even with the other minor tweaks present, we're not sure how reasonable the $200 price difference between the two cameras is: the A550 goes for $950 ($1050 with a kit lens), while the A500 hits at $750 ($850 with a kit). The glaring omission in all of these cameras, of course, is video recording -- something that Sony's various competition is sporting in a majority of these pricepoints. A head scratcher, to be sure. Read - Sony Alpha A550 and A500 Read - Sony Alpha A850 Read - Sony Alpha A550 hands-on preview
