Xoom

DangerMoose

DangerMoose

DangerMoose

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So, anyone managed to get their hand on one of these yet? Anyone even been lucky enough to play with one of these and the Asus? Any idea how the build quality compares?
 
Yes I had a brief play with one at PCW yesterday. They had one on display as well as the Acer A500. Some runt had stolen the XOOM charger so it only had 15% battery left while I had a play. I noticed that it scrolled through the home pages like butter (ipad smoothness) whereas the Acer had an ever so slight stutter. Maybe because its the official HC tablet so its a bit mores refined as its been tested longer.

The overall look and build was very nice and it had a lot slimmer bezel which looked much better than the acer's (that looked a bit crap). It wasn't WIFI connected so i couldn't play with it that much (PCW are useless in setting the device up for show - they should have had the market signed in and flash installed). The XOOM had a nice look and quality too it - was a tad heavy but not greatly so - the metal chassis was nice.

Screen looked decent enough but i'd have to have a better play to comment.
 
I only had a quick play but I have to say I was a little underwhelmed, though some of it was probably just how the demo model had been set up and also a few default options that did not sit well with me. For a start, I found the interface a little sterile in terms of style. It might be more to my taste with a different wallpaper and a few more widgets though. I also found the screen to be decent but lacking the vibrancy of the display iPad 2s I have seen. The browser did seem nice but took rather a long time to load one website that Safari seemed to do better with and it also did not give a good impression when the home screen became unresponsive until put in and out of standby. Finally, whilst it might be something you would get used to with time, I did find the positioning of the on/off button to be irritating and had to fumble around for it each time.

Mostly these were relatively minor niggles and/or things that could be corrected with a bit of user customisation and I was impressed by the build quality. Form factor and weight were a little more difficult to judge with the sizeable security thing attached to it but seemed reasonable, as far as I could tell.

I also had a play with the Acer but was put off quite quickly by the rather cheap feel of it. The 5 hour batter life quoted is also pretty poor. Overall, it is very disappointing considering the price is near to that of the Xoom.

My general feeling about Android is that it is pretty well put together but does need rather more tinkering than iOS to get the most out of it. It would have been nice to have seen more apps on the display models, though despite increasing numbers, I guess there are still relatively few to choose from.
 
hating apple its hard for me to say but the ipad2 is better value for money, xoom is way over priced and seemed slower and the display was not as good :(

real lack of widgets and support at the min, it kinda looks empty, i hope the sammy tab2 comes good.
 
_Jimlad_ said:
hating apple its hard for me to say but the ipad2 is better value for money, xoom is way over priced and seemed slower and the display was not as good :(

real lack of widgets and support at the min, it kinda looks empty, i hope the sammy tab2 comes good.
Click to expand...

For the unit as it comes, I would have said it is at least competitively priced with the 32gb iPad 2. It does lose a little in the display vibrancy but gains a little in sharpness. It also gets GPS, a micro SD slot and superior cameras. Though I have to say that the cameras are pretty much a non-issue for me and so is GPS. Though it would be nice to have the micro SD slot, especially after I went and bought a 16gb one for the cheapo tablet that I returned. I doubt I need one that big for any other device at the moment.

Overall, I feel that the iPad 2 is the more polished product with better support, even though it may be technically lacking in some areas. I think right now the polish and app support are the more important factors for me.
 
yeah i know what you say mate, im also a big android fan and will get an android tab this year. but it baffles me as regular guy of the street is going to choose the ipad2 every time, the xoom in my view needed to undercut the apple product in price. Seeing as Google did all the donkey work in terms of the OS i just think its incredibly overpriced and un polished
 
Despite the stick that Apple are getting for the quality of the cameras on the iPad 2, I wonder if Motorola would have been best off cutting corners there as well. That might have dragged down the cost some. If they could have gotten the price low enough by doing so, cutting it to 16gb may also have worked out. After all, with a micro SD slot, built in storage becomes less limiting. That and the fact that a 16gb card costs less than £20 (depending on speed I assume), whereas a 16gb upgrade on the iPad 2 costs £80 over the entry level price. I know I'd me more tempted by it if they could maintain the build quality and performance, but save a few quid elsewhere on features.

ETA: Incidentally, I think with the screen I prefer the regular aspect ratio over the widescreen. Granted the widescreen is better for video but the regular one has always struck me as better for most other stuff. Though I realise not all will agree and it would still have been nice to see the iPad go to a slightly higher res all the same.
 
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The Xoom was rushed to market in an incomplete state. If I was looking for an Android Honeycomb tablet, I would wait six months until the software has matured and more apps are available.

The most noticeable thing about the Xoom's hardware is how heavy it is. I wouldn't want to hold one for an extended period of time. Unless you're an Android developer, I don't know why anyone would pick it over the iPad 2 right now.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if the next generation of hardware is available then as well, or not long after. I think it will be an iPad 2 for me.

I remember seeing a video of a Motorola rep trying to flog the Xoom to people queuing on iPad 2 launch day. He was pretty much fixated on the specs of it, which I think was missing the point for many in that crowd. On the other hand, if he had tried to sell it based on what they could do with it (even without third party apps). I suppose he would have had a tougher time.

ETA: I also think the marketing campaigns for Android tabs are too fixated on Flash support. Yes, it is nice, at least if it runs well (the cheapo one supported it but stuttered badly when playing even low res vids) but it is not like the whole web runs on Flash.
 
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I have a Xoom. Bought it from CPW at a cost of £579. I am not normally one to be an early adopter, but I really fancied a tablet to make my commute into London a little more enjoyable.

I am using it for

* Web Browsing - Smooth, works basically like a desktop browser, albeit without extensions. Tabbed and syncs with your Chrome faves. Only issue is that as it identifies itself as an android browser, some sites will auto direct you to the mobile site.
* E-book - I have installed Kindle. Works fine, easy to read. You can do all the normal things such as size text, bookmark etc. It is not great in direct sunlight as a true Kindle would be and maybe a little heavy for holding for prolonged periods, but for a 45 minute train ride it is just dandy.
* Gmail - much better than the normal Android client. Really good app if you are a heavy Gmail users. Comes with a widget to see your most recent 5 emails
* Calendar - default week to a page view. Again better than the standard android. Includes widget.
* Video - using Vplayer, most video types are supported without the need for re-encoding (one of the main reasons I went for a Xoom over an Ipad). 720p needs to be optimised though as it can be a bit jerky.
* Music - yep, that works
* Twitter/Facebook etc - all good, no issues.
* Games - Not a massive thing for me, but the ones I have tried seem to work fine. My 6 year old loves Angry Birds in HD.

Other useful apps/uses

* Evernote - not yet really maximised to support the bigger screen, but it is better than using the pure phone version
* Read-it-Later - great app for catching up on articles you don't normally have time to read

Cons -

* lack of App support. Waiting for 'The Economist' android version, along with other similar Media apps.
* Still waiting for MicroSD card support.
* The comments about it being released half baked, certainly apply to the OS and the app support. The Hardware itself is solid, and I can't fault it.

Other Random thoughts

* Keyboard - is actually fine to type on screen. I wouldn't want to type an essay on it, but for an email or IM it is fine.
* Camera - no idea, haven't tried it. Still not sure what I would use it for (other than the forward one for Video calling, and the rear one for Evernote scanning)
* Battery life - about 10 hours of normal usage. Doesn't charge through USB though, you have to use the bespoke charger.
* Case - you would want a case for it, and the Motorola one is good, as it doubles as a stand.

Overall, I am pleased with it, and it will grow in supported uses and apps, so I imagine it will get more and more use over time.
 
I picked up a Wi-Fi + 3g version yesterday for 100 quid on a 25 quid contract at carephone wherehouse.

loving it so far.. have not put it down all night and all day.
 
Royal Fleet said:
I have a Xoom. Bought it from CPW at a cost of £579. I am not normally one to be an early adopter, but I really fancied a tablet to make my commute into London a little more enjoyable.

I am using it for

* Web Browsing - Smooth, works basically like a desktop browser, albeit without extensions. Tabbed and syncs with your Chrome faves. Only issue is that as it identifies itself as an android browser, some sites will auto direct you to the mobile site.
* E-book - I have installed Kindle. Works fine, easy to read. You can do all the normal things such as size text, bookmark etc. It is not great in direct sunlight as a true Kindle would be and maybe a little heavy for holding for prolonged periods, but for a 45 minute train ride it is just dandy.
* Gmail - much better than the normal Android client. Really good app if you are a heavy Gmail users. Comes with a widget to see your most recent 5 emails
* Calendar - default week to a page view. Again better than the standard android. Includes widget.
* Video - using Vplayer, most video types are supported without the need for re-encoding (one of the main reasons I went for a Xoom over an Ipad). 720p needs to be optimised though as it can be a bit jerky.
* Music - yep, that works
* Twitter/Facebook etc - all good, no issues.
* Games - Not a massive thing for me, but the ones I have tried seem to work fine. My 6 year old loves Angry Birds in HD.

Other useful apps/uses

* Evernote - not yet really maximised to support the bigger screen, but it is better than using the pure phone version
* Read-it-Later - great app for catching up on articles you don't normally have time to read

Cons -

* lack of App support. Waiting for 'The Economist' android version, along with other similar Media apps.
* Still waiting for MicroSD card support.
* The comments about it being released half baked, certainly apply to the OS and the app support. The Hardware itself is solid, and I can't fault it.

Other Random thoughts

* Keyboard - is actually fine to type on screen. I wouldn't want to type an essay on it, but for an email or IM it is fine.
* Camera - no idea, haven't tried it. Still not sure what I would use it for (other than the forward one for Video calling, and the rear one for Evernote scanning)
* Battery life - about 10 hours of normal usage. Doesn't charge through USB though, you have to use the bespoke charger.
* Case - you would want a case for it, and the Motorola one is good, as it doubles as a stand.

Overall, I am pleased with it, and it will grow in supported uses and apps, so I imagine it will get more and more use over time.
Click to expand...

thanks for the review mate, nice to read a bit more without all the jargon and crud. cheers
 
In all honesty the Xoom seems a little outdone now, the transformer has it beat in everything including price imo.
 
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