[torndownunit]

I don't know if this has been posted, but I was reading a Staples flier from my local paper, and it said that from April 13th to the 15th, the Acer Iconia 7" will be on sale for $200 ($80 off). That's a pretty nice deal.

I'd like to try one, but won't have the funds this weekend. By buddy has one and really likes.

There are 2 other Acer tablets on sale as well, but I can't remember the model names. One of them was $200 off.

[torndownunit]

Surprised there aren't more comments on this. One of the big selling points of the Playbook currently is the price. This is another 7" option now in the same price range.

[kbz1960]

One it's an acer, two it's android. But I'm sure there are people that will be interested.

[torndownunit]

With the contest threads comparing devices on this forum though, and the constant discussions on Playbook pricing I thought it might draw some interest for those reasons. The price is a major factor for a lot of people buying Playbooks right now. The Iconia gets pretty decent reviews, so for it to enter the same price range is a pretty interesting development.

[papped]

I assume that's the 8gb model, that's a pretty small amount of storage...

[BigDaddyNYY]

I got the 7" Acer for my son for xmas. It has been great, got it on black friday for $150 from Best Buy, yes it has 8GB, but I got a 32GB SD Card for $10, so that fixed that issue. Only issue that I have with it, is that it doesn't use the micro USB for charging, it comes with a different charger (though I am not sure if he tried charging via USB).

[avt123]

I assume that's the 8gb model, that's a pretty small amount of storage...

SD card ftw.

[torndownunit]

I got the 7" Acer for my son for xmas. It has been great, got it on black friday for $150 from Best Buy, yes it has 8GB, but I got a 32GB SD Card for $10, so that fixed that issue. Only issue that I have with it, is that it doesn't use the micro USB for charging, it comes with a different charger (though I am not sure if he tried charging via USB).

The 2 complaints I read are low battery life, and that the screen can be hard to read at angles (EG if you set it flat on a table, you can't see the screen unless looking straight down on it). Any comments on either issue?

I like my Playbook quite a bit, but there are a a few apps I can't run on it. I miss Pulse Newsreader (can sideload but doesn't work as well as iOS version), Tunein Radio (prefer app to mobile web version) and my banking app. So the Iconia interests me... but I have read reports of 5 hour battery life, which is kind of a downer.

And ya, internal storage is a bit of a moot point when the device has not an SD card port and a usable micro USB port.

[BigDaddyNYY]

Battery life is bad, can usually get between 4-5 hours. Not sure what Acer was thinking with that. As for the viewing angle, I have not noticed an issue while using it. If you hold the tablet at an angle that you would normally work, there has not been a time that I couldn't see the screen. If you have someone off to the side, it may be an issue, but I have worked along with him many times, and haven't noticed anything looking at the screen from the side.

[blackburberry]

The 7 inch Iconia is hovering around 249.00 in Canada but I have seen them online for 199.00. It seems a likely alternative for those wishing to dip their toes into the Android experience.

As for the screen viewing angles, there was a time when manufactures were working on and promoting diminished screen viewing angles to prevent snooping by the travel passenger (one example) sitting next to you.

[torndownunit]

The 7 inch Iconia is hovering around 249.00 in Canada but I have seen them online for 199.00. It seems a likely alternative for those wishing to dip their toes into the Android experience.

As for the screen viewing angles, there was a time when manufactures were working on and promoting diminished screen viewing angles to prevent snooping by the travel passenger (one example) sitting next to you.

They are $199 this weekend at Staples in Canada.

Interesting point about the viewing angle. The is my situation, I like to set a tablet on the table flat, and read it while I eat breakfast in the morning. I have heard that the viewing angle is so bad on the Iconia, that you can't even do that. You'd literally have to be looking straight down on top of it to see it. When I read that, it scared me away from buying one. But, at $200 it's a limitation I could maybe live with. If I could natively run Pulse Newsreader, Tunein Radio, Netflix, and have a decent map application it might overshadow that.

[Tre Lawrence]

Tempting...

[torndownunit]

Tempting...

Ya, exactly lol. I only know about it because I researched into some 7" tab options when I originally got my Playbook. I had an offer of a 32 GB Playbook with 2 cases and an HDMI cable from a private seller for $200 at the time though, so I stopped researching and went with it. The Iconia 7" was $280 at that time I think, and was my main contender until I found the Playbook deal. The sad part is, I do really like my Playbook. But I haven't really seen any progression on the app front since I got it. I hold out hope as everyone else does.

People can say apps don't matter, but the ones I listed above are available on every other platform except the Playbook. I have emailed developers of those apps and they still have no plans of making Playbook versions. So I am getting discouraged.

[BigDaddyNYY]

They are $199 this weekend at Staples in Canada.

Interesting point about the viewing angle. The is my situation, I like to set a tablet on the table flat, and read it while I eat breakfast in the morning. I have heard that the viewing angle is so bad on the Iconia, that you can't even do that. You'd literally have to be looking straight down on top of it to see it. When I read that, it scared me away from buying one. But, at $200 it's a limitation I could maybe live with. If I could natively run Pulse Newsreader, Tunein Radio, Netflix, and have a decent map application it might overshadow that.

Just get one of the cases that holds the screen on an angle and you will be able to read it while eating your breakfast. Work great for ours, the case adjusts for different viewing angles and works great for watching movies on flights.

[BigDaddyNYY]

FYI, before you buy the Acer, you can preorder the new Galaxy Tab from Amazon for only $250. Not sure how much better, if any, it would be but you will be getting a newer tablet with ICS out of the box. Also, the new Google Tablets are scheduled for either June or July and are supposed to be in the range of $199 - $250.

[BigDaddyNYY]

Anyone that was on the fence, 1saleaday.com has the Acer today for $180, it is refurbished with a 90 day warranty.