Acer announces Iconia Tab A500 at $449

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 ($449 list) is the company's first 10.1-inch tablet computer to run on Android 3.0 (a.k.a. Honeycomb) in the Acer Iconia tablet line slated for North America.

The tablet is powered by an Nvidia Tegra 250 1-GHz dual-core processor and an integrated GeForce GPU along with 1GB of RAM, allowing for high-definition gaming, 1080p video, quick browsing, and the ability to run multiple applications. Unlike the iPad, it supports Flash, although that doesn't come preloaded. 16GB of storage is included, and the tablet supports up to 32GB Micro-SD cards.

The Iconia Tab A500 weighs in at just 1.69 pounds and is 0.52 inches thick. It features a 10.1-inch, high-resolution screen and both front and back cameras, as well as a built-in HDMI port that allows it to stream 1080p video to other devices. Also included are two full games: Let's Golf and Need for Speed, a racing game. The tablet's built-in gyro control lets you "steer" through the latter game.

Acer's Iconia Tab A500 will be sold exclusively from Best Buy in stores and online on April 24th, but you can pre-order it from Best Buy today. There are now 10 models in our tablet computer Ratings, available to subscribers. Check back here soon for a review of Acer's tablet.

—Carol Mangis