The A500 and MicroSD cards

[TekNinja81]

Hey folks,

Recently picked up the A500, and being an iPad convert, I'm having a blast with it. Though the lack of 3G support kind of takes away from it, I've had no issues tethering to my cellphone when needed.

That aside, I'm just wondering if anyone has tested whether the tablet will take advantage of a Class 6 or 10 MicroSDHC card, versus say a Class 4 which I'm currently using. i.e. copying larger files, playing back video files etc, is there a noticeable increase in speed or does the tablet have a bottleneck for data transfer rates?

The 2nd question I have is regarding USB connectivity via PC. First, I've not installed/updated the Acer USB driver, but would rather not do so if unnecessary; I'm running Win7 Pro, and the tablet is automatically detected, but all I see is "Device Storage" and I can't see the MicroSD card when connected to the PC. Is this a restriction in the device, or do I need the USB driver to be able to access it? I didn't see any mention of accessing the SD card in the manual, but I could have missed it -- was too excited to start playing with Android.

Thanks!

 

[myotherbrotherdarrell]

Hey folks,

Recently picked up the A500, and being an iPad convert, I'm having a blast with it. Though the lack of 3G support kind of takes away from it, I've had no issues tethering to my cellphone when needed.

That aside, I'm just wondering if anyone has tested whether the tablet will take advantage of a Class 6 or 10 MicroSDHC card, versus say a Class 4 which I'm currently using. i.e. copying larger files, playing back video files etc, is there a noticeable increase in speed or does the tablet have a bottleneck for data transfer rates?

The 2nd question I have is regarding USB connectivity via PC. First, I've not installed/updated the Acer USB driver, but would rather not do so if unnecessary; I'm running Win7 Pro, and the tablet is automatically detected, but all I see is "Device Storage" and I can't see the MicroSD card when connected to the PC. Is this a restriction in the device, or do I need the USB driver to be able to access it? I didn't see any mention of accessing the SD card in the manual, but I could have missed it -- was too excited to start playing with Android.

Thanks!

I don't think you can access the microSD while it's in the 500. IIRC you have to take the card out of the tablet & use a card reader to add files to it.

 

[sonicbluemustang]

I don't see the sdcard in file explorer no nand

 

[sonicbluemustang]

Ok I see it now in the /mnt/external sd and the /mnt/usb. It will suk if we cnt access the card thru usb tho.

 

[alose]

The recent MicroSD card I bought at Target came with an sd and usb adapter. The USB adapter is so small that it would make for a nice little thumb drive.

 

[mikej1971]

You can't acess the sd card with just the USB cord. You have to remove it and use a sd card adapter to read the card.

 

[tcoman]

On September 12, 2011 at 10:30AM (CST...i.e. GMT-6) I spoke with Acer Customer Support and asked what class (speed) micro-sdhc cards are supported by the Acer A500 tablet. This is what I got from their support (untouched, no changes--- spelling, and all....:


Suja S Kumar: Hi, my name is Suja S Kumar. How may I help you?
cheryl coman: whqat speed microsdhc cards supported by acer 500?
Suja S Kumar: Are you referring to tablet A500?
cheryl coman: yes-- wjat else?
Suja S Kumar: Cheryl, It supports MicroSD memory card up to 32GB (SDHC 2.0 compatible with support for up to a Class 10 microSDHC card)
cheryl coman: so, you're saying that the acer a500 tablet will write 10 mb/s and read at 20 mb/sec (class 10 speeds)?
Suja S Kumar: It is SDHC 2.0 compatible.
cheryl coman: that's not my question-- are you saying that my acer a500 will write 10 mb/s and read 20 mb/s (class 10 specification)???
Suja S Kumar: Let me check with another department so that I can get a confirmation.
cheryl coman: ok
Suja S Kumar: May I place you on hold for 2 minutes?
cheryl coman: ok
Suja S Kumar: Thank you for being online.
Suja S Kumar: The concerned team is still researching.
cheryl coman: ok
Suja S Kumar: May I place you on hold for 2 more minutes?
cheryl coman: ok
Suja S Kumar: Thank you for being on hold.
Suja S Kumar: The SD card slot will support class 10 specifications.
cheryl coman: great-- I'll get this out on the web immediately-- thank you, Suja!!!
Suja S Kumar: You are most welcome.

OK, it's not exactly God talking, but the Acer community can hold Acer accountable
if the info is incorrect!

Remember this, however-- you're actual speeds depend upon a several variables.

Some Class 10 cards are better than others (so what's new? Surely manufacturers don't fudge their data...).

Your tablet environment affects speed-- what's going on (multitasking, available RAM, etc.).

Size of the files you are transferring affect performance-- small files will normally transfer faster than larger files).

The utility (program) you might use to "measure" speeds is only as good as the person who coded it-- I can write a speed utility, and it will "measure", but I can slant it anyway I want. Or, maybe I have incorrect technical details and am not really "measuring" correctly, at all! Caveat emptor.

The way you wiped your nose this morning.....well, maybe not this one!




Ya' pays yur money, and ya' takes yur chances.... Hope this adds something to consider.