IconiaTabA501
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Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review
We waited nearly the entire summer for the Acer Iconia Tab A501 to break daylight. Now that it's finally shone its uber-glossy face, we were anxious to see if the "4G" HSPA+ model is worth the extra coin (or two year ball-and-chain, should you go that route) over the standard A500. If you have little fear of commitment, signing the dotted line will get you one 16GB slate for $330 -- plus the added cost of a capped data allowance or a pay-as-you go plan. Not down to hitch up to the contract wagon? Cool with us... but you'll pay $150 more to get your hands on one of these. So is settling down for two of the Earth's rotations with the same tablet a wise move? Are you better off sticking with the WiFi-only model? Read on to see what we discovered when we took the A501 for a spin. %Gallery-134589%
Acer Iconia Tab A501 with HSPA+ hits AT&T on September 18th: $330 on contract
As promised, the Acer Iconia Tab A501 is hitting AT&T just before summer draws to an official close. The carrier just announced it'll start selling the 16GB model next Sunday, September 18th for $480 -- or $330 with a two-year contract. When we first heard about this way back in March, we knew it would be a "4G" device, and today AT&T clarified that this means HSPA+, not LTE, so sorry to burst anyone's bubble. Even so, five months after the A500 went on sale it remains one of a select few slates with a full-sized USB port, so there's that to consider if you're still on the fence about getting a tablet. As planned, it'll ship with Android 3.0, and an Acer rep confirms 3.1 is coming via an over-the-air update, though she couldn't say when, exactly, that'll happen. You can sign up for a monthly plan, if you so choose, though you can also pay as you go, with $15 getting you 250MB and $25 expanding your allowance to 2GB. Customers who commit to two-year agreements will have the same choices, to be honest, except they'll also have to contend with overage fees -- $10 per gigabyte or $15 per 250MB, depending on the plan. %Gallery-133093% Update: We've added Acer's official press release below. Heads up: you'll notice that Acer lists the price as $499.99 for the 16GB model and $549.99 for the 32GB version. That's just the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). It doesn't say so in the press release, but AT&T confirmed to us before we published this story that it will actually be selling the 16GB version only, and for $480 (again, that $330 with a two-year contract). Update 2: We've swapped in AT&T's press release, which fully spells out the pricing.
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.
