And back to the store it goes

**myotherbrotherdarrell** · 08-24-2011, 11:34 AM

I just got back from returning my 500 to Target. I tried to play a video that plays fine on my single core phone (mp4 - I'm pretty sure it was only 720p) and it stuttered and froze every few seconds. It wasn't even a large file - It was only about 25MB. That coupled with the app crashes (the Acer eReading Multimedia etc apps crashed every time I tried to use them) the stock launcher crashing occasionally
Launcher Pro crashing when I wasn't even using it and the Market downloading apps and then taking sometimes three minutes or longer to install them... Well I figured I'd might as well ditch the thing before it pissed me off any more.
On a positive side I got lucky & Target didn't charge me the 15% restocking fee.
Might be because I keept it so clean & put all the accessories back in their little baggies before I returned it. I even put the Iconia back in the little plastic sleeve it wa packaged in.

**scarryman04** · 08-24-2011, 09:52 PM

Why didn't you tell them it wasn't working right and exchanged it?!

**TekNinja81** · 08-24-2011, 10:56 PM

Sad to hear you had to return yours. I will admit I question the device's stability sometimes, but with the open nature of Android (from what I understand so far) I can mostly attribute that to 3rd-party apps being the problem. That said, the fact that some of the preloaded apps have a tendency to crash IS annoying. I had the Music player crash out on me for no apparent reason today, as well as the YouTube app.

I'm sure these bugs will get worked out, for the most part, but while I love being able to do/find virtually anything app-wise with Android, there is some need for Android apps to be certified as legitimate/safe, stable and appropriate, before being allowed into the Market... Also, I wish the Market made it possible to specifically find apps that are Tablet-compatible/optimized. Though, I bet that'll become a possibility soon enough.

Do you plan on picking up another A500, a different tablet altogether, or none at all?

**myotherbrotherdarrell** · 08-25-2011, 05:13 AM

Originally Posted by scarryman04

Why didn't you tell them it wasn't working right and exchanged it?!

From what I've been reading the app crashes are a known problem. If I had gotten another one there's no guarantee it wouldn't have done the same thing.
What really drove me to take it back though is video playback. I have a couple of videos that play absolutely fine on my single core Samsung Captivate but played terrible on the Iconia. One was a mkv file and the other was a 720p mp4 video file. I know the mkv files can be easily converted to something else (mkv to vob) but it just doesn't seem like I should have to for a dual core tablet.
Maybe I was just expecting too much?

**myotherbrotherdarrell** · 08-25-2011, 05:18 AM

I was also having an extremely irritating problem with the market. Apps would download fine but sometimes they would either refuse to install or they would take as long as three-four minutes to install.
The stock launcher crashed a few times.
I'm not ruling out getting another one but I'm still trying to decide between another Iconia ,the Asus Transformer ,and the Toshiba Thrive (what I really wanted originally) ,and nothing.

**kamakazie_1** · 08-25-2011, 08:49 AM

I've been getting apps from "tablified.com" and they are specific to tablets and haven't had any problems with mine.. I must admit though I do miss the laptop keyboard..

RJ

Originally Posted by TekNinja81

Sad to hear you had to return yours. I will admit I question the device's stability sometimes, but with the open nature of Android (from what I understand so far) I can mostly attribute that to 3rd-party apps being the problem. That said, the fact that some of the preloaded apps have a tendency to crash IS annoying. I had the Music player crash out on me for no apparent reason today, as well as the YouTube app.

I'm sure these bugs will get worked out, for the most part, but while I love being able to do/find virtually anything app-wise with Android, there is some need for Android apps to be certified as legitimate/safe, stable and appropriate, before being allowed into the Market... Also, I wish the Market made it possible to specifically find apps that are Tablet-compatible/optimized. Though, I bet that'll become a possibility soon enough.

Do you plan on picking up another A500, a different tablet altogether, or none at all?

**TekNinja81** · 08-25-2011, 08:55 AM

Originally Posted by leblabbiy

I was also having an extremely irritating problem with the market. Apps would download fine but sometimes they would either refuse to install or they would take as long as three-four minutes to install.

I've noticed some glitches when downloading apps as well; they'll download and then seemingly sit there forever "Waiting for app to install..." When that happens I just hit Back, then re-download the app, and it works every time that way. Though it shouldn't have to...

Originally Posted by kamakazie_1

I've been getting apps from "tablified.com" and they are specific to tablets and haven't had any problems with mine.. I must admit though I do miss the laptop keyboard.

Hmm, I'll have to check that out. And yeah, I do sometimes miss having a physical keyboard, but that's easily remedied if you have a bluetooth/USB keyboard of some sort. Though it seems silly to have a separate keyboard -- wouldn't mind the Acer docking keyboard, this is the one reason I strongly considered the ASUS Transformer instead, well that plus the much longer battery life.. except that I preferred having the USB port directly on the tablet.

**myotherbrotherdarrell** · 08-25-2011, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by TekNinja81

I've noticed some glitches when downloading apps as well; they'll download and then seemingly sit there forever "Waiting for app to install..." When that happens I just hit Back, then re-download the app, and it works every time that way. Though it shouldn't have to...

Hmm, I'll have to check that out. And yeah, I do sometimes miss having a physical keyboard, but that's easily remedied if you have a bluetooth/USB keyboard of some sort. Though it seems silly to have a separate keyboard -- wouldn't mind the Acer docking keyboard, this is the one reason I strongly considered the ASUS Transformer instead, well that plus the much longer battery life.. except that I preferred having the USB port directly on the tablet.

The Transformer is what I wound up getting (32GB). I think I might exchange it for a 16GB Thrive though. I went to YouTube and played the same video

on both both the Toshiba Thrive and the Asus Transformer and the Transformer really didn't look that much better to me. It was perhaps a tiny bit sharper but other than that they pretty much looked the same to me.Colors looked about the same...

**TekNinja81** · 08-25-2011, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by leblabbiy

...both the Toshiba Thrive and the Asus Transformer and the Transformer really didn't look that much better to me. It was perhaps a tiny bit sharper but other than that they pretty much looked the same to me.Colors looked about the same...

Have you had a chance to compare the Asus vs the Acer? I don't really get the difference with these IPS/whatever screens.. I know on the Acer you can see the pixels if you look closely enough, but that tends to go for many such devices.

I have a few Asus machines I'm quite happy with, but I just don't think I could sacrifice the onboard full-USB port, despite the Asus' quality differences...

**myotherbrotherdarrell** · 08-25-2011, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by TekNinja81

Have you had a chance to compare the Asus vs the Acer? I don't really get the difference with these IPS/whatever screens.. I know on the Acer you can see the pixels if you look closely enough, but that tends to go for many such devices.

I have a few Asus machines I'm quite happy with, but I just don't think I could sacrifice the onboard full-USB port, despite the Asus' quality differences...

I played with all three (Thrive Transformer & Iconia) when I was at Best Buy. I really couldn't see any difference between the three except that the Asus' screen seemed a little sharper and clearer. Or maybe that was just my imagination?
I was never able to see pixels on the Iconia's screen but I was able to see a mesh pattern below the glass if I looked from the right angle. The Iconia's screen also seemed slightly lacking in detail sometimes. It wasn't blurry it just didn't seem to be as sharp as it should have been sometimes.

Mobile Tech Review's comparison of the Asus Transformer & Toshiba Thrive

Look at the icons on both tablets at the beginning. Is it just me or do the Toshiba's icons look downright blurry compared to the Asus'? And look at the back/home/menu buttons on the bottom of the Asus and then look at the same buttons on the Toshiba. You can really see a difference there!

**EnergyPlus** · 08-27-2011, 04:16 PM

Whew...good to find this forum! 25 years with Windows and Blackberry and this is my first Android experience. just about everything mentioned above, happens to me and I kept chalking it up to being a newb (including puzzling over whether apps in the Market were for ALL Android devices (hey, I know my Windows and BB but this really is a new world). I like my A500 but I am concerned over the mystery crashes and freezes. I guess I will be visiting here a lot!

**myotherbrotherdarrell** · 08-27-2011, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by EnergyPlus

Whew...good to find this forum! 25 years with Windows and Blackberry and this is my first Android experience. just about everything mentioned above, happens to me and I kept chalking it up to being a newb (including puzzling over whether apps in the Market were for ALL Android devices (hey, I know my Windows and BB but this really is a new world). I like my A500 but I am concerned over the mystery crashes and freezes. I guess I will be visiting here a lot!

If I understand the system correctly the Market won't show an app unless it's compatible with your device. Not everybody is having problems. If it's really bugging you take it bake to the store & get another one and see if it works any better.

**turbofan** · 08-28-2011, 06:27 AM

Originally Posted by leblabbiy

If I understand the system correctly the Market won't show an app unless it's compatible with your device. Not everybody is having problems. If it's really bugging you take it bake to the store & get another one and see if it works any better.

Thats how its supposed to work, but it doesn't quite come out that way in practice. It comes pretty close but not quite.

**EnergyPlus** · 08-28-2011, 09:33 AM

Any recommendations on a good file manager? I am using Astro, but hoping to find something better.

**UnfocusedHTC** · 08-28-2011, 01:51 PM

I use es file explore on my inspire. They might have a version for tablets.

**TekNinja81** · 08-28-2011, 04:11 PM

Originally Posted by UnfocusedHTC

I use es file explore on my inspire. They might have a version for tablets.

Yup, it appears to work quite well on the A500.

**myotherbrotherdarrell** · 08-28-2011, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by EnergyPlus

Any recommendations on a good file manager? I am using Astro, but hoping to find something better.

I used File Manager HD and I really liked it. It was very easy to navigate.

**EnergyPlus** · 08-28-2011, 08:31 PM

Originally Posted by leblabbiy

I used File Manager HD and I really liked it. It was very easy to navigate.

Thanks...found that same app and downloaded this afternoon. So far, it's the best of the lot!

**mhogan** · 08-28-2011, 08:37 PM

ES file explorer is the best one I've found yet. File Station works pretty well too.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

**scarryman04** · 08-29-2011, 09:31 PM

Originally Posted by mhogan

ES file explorer is the best one I've found yet. File Station works pretty well too.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

+1 for ES file explorer

**splatoid** · 08-31-2011, 01:07 PM

I just went on vacation In Hawaii for 10 days and this Acer was so nice to have.
I have mine rooted and running Virtuous Thrive on mine and I had no problems what so ever. Great for keeping up on emails and watching videos and some gaming.
The only thing that doesn't work well for me is the GPS. But I don't care as I don't use it anyway.
There is a fix for it but I don't want to mess with it. I have a GPS and a droid phone so the GPS wasn't a deal breaker.