When I failed to get the Acer Iconia A100 during Black Friday, I got the 10.1" version, the A500, on Cyber Monday instead. I have no regrets, as the tablet is extremely fast and responsive (on the quality of the ipad you might say), but it doesn't run crappy iOS, it runs delicious Android 3.2, and comes with all the benefits, like widgets (it's a mystery why iOS still lacks widgets), connecting USB devices, and microSD for endless storage for music and movies, etc. Has all the hardware you'd want, really. Only downside is that the A500 is a tad heavy, but hey, if you aren't old and prone to arthritis, it'll benefit you to work out your muscles.
I'm often picky about protecting my pretty screens, but I don't think the Iconia series needs a screen protector. It has Gorilla glass, just like the ipads do. I did get a nice leather case for mine though, which acts as a stand as well. Handy.
Let us know how that goes. Acer is starting to knock it out of the park with their latest offerings. I got a nice Acer laptop for traveling about 6 months ago, and it can play the latest games, and only cost $600. Solidly built.
The Iconia series can also play the latest tablet games, like GTA 3, Dungeon Defenders, and many more. I love
http://www.androidpolice.com for their weekly round ups of the best releases.
If you are not a tablet user, and perhaps only messed with an ipad, you might not know how awesome tablets are. Android is a LOT more than iOS does, because of all the hardware periphs it supports and ease of software support. You have to do a bunch of iTunes syncing to get the ipad working. With android you just copy stuff and be done, or if you like music syncing, you can get an app to do it. iPad is a giant iphone. The wall of icons is so outdated I wonder why anyone still believe iOS works for anything but phones.
^ there was probably some anti-ipad stuff in there
but I can back up any claims. Not a fanboy, just observed how things have worked out