Apple iPad 2 vs Acer Aspire Iconia Tab A501

Acer is just another company that is taking on Apple in the tablet market. The Aspire Iconia Tab A501 is just one of their products intended to beat the iPad 2. The main difference between the iPad 2 and the Iconia Tab, just like with most other tablets, is the OS. The iPad 2 has the iOS, which many users are already intimately familiar with. In contrast, the Iconia Tab is using Android’s Honeycomb; optimized for tablets and is also rapidly gaining popularity.

When it comes to the hardware, the screen of the Iconia Tab is slightly bigger and has a greater resolution. A downside to the added size, and probably other components as well, is the added weight. The Iconia Tab is over 100g. heavier than the iPad 2.

The big trend in Android tablets nowadays is the use of dual-core processors. The Iconia Tab is no exception with its Tegra 2 chipset and dual-core A9 processors giving it a lot more power for running multiple apps simultaneously. The iPad 2 still sticks with a single-core processor but manages to keep the performance up by tweaking multi-tasking. Only a few apps are actually able to run in the background with the iPad 2, and other apps are actually paused when not in focus.

The iPad 2 finally answered customer clamor for cameras. The problem is, Apple decided that 0.7 and 0.3 megapixels are good enough. The cameras on the Iconia Tab, which have 5- and 2-megapixel sensors, are certainly much better than the iPad 2 when it comes to stills. Sadly, the Iconia Tab seems to be missing HD video recording. Given that the hardware and software are up for the job, it probably just needs a minor update from Acer to work.

A constant in the design principle of Apple is to minimize the slots and ports to create a clean feel. Sadly, this means that the iPad 2 lacks a lot of features. A few examples of what the Iconia Tab has over the iPad 2 are: a micro-USB port for connecting USB devices like flash drives, an HDMI port that lets you connect to TVs and other displays, and finally, a microSD card slot for expanding the already ample amount of internal memory.

Summary:

1.The iPad 2 runs on iOS while the Iconia Tab runs on Honeycomb.
2.The Iconia Tab has a slightly bigger screen than the iPad 2.
3.The Iconia Tab has dual-core processors while the iPad 2 doesn’t.
4.The Iconia Tab cameras are far superior than the iPad 2 cameras.
5.The Iconia has a lot of ports and slots that are missing the iPad 2.

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