Ars Technica reviews the Motorola Xoom

[Carouser]

I mean you are comparing a 4 year old "tablet" OS to a 1 month old tablet OS.

I too do not expect new technology to outperform things which are 4 years old.

Or: Motorola has had exactly the same amount of time as Apple.

Or: Apple did it well 4 years ago, Motorola still hasn't.

Or: When I go buy a tablet, should I buy the Xoom because the poor darling has only had a month or should I go with the one which works best?

 

[Coukos34]

Wow that was a great review. I've read alot of Xoom reviews and that was easily the best and most in depth. Thanks for the link

 

[gloss]

Wow that was a great review. I've read alot of Xoom reviews and that was easily the best and most in depth. Thanks for the link

Ars Technica is great.

 

[Nykwil]

Ars Technica is great.

I find arstechnica threads to contain actual intelligent comments.

None of the likes you find at say...oh engadget or that other site giz whatever

 

[gloss]

I find arstechnica threads to contain actual intelligent comments.

None of the likes you find at say...oh engadget or that other site giz whatever

It really is the apex in terms of an intelligent and civil tech community. Good folks.

 

[kettlecorn]

Very good and thorough review. Was a good read.

I agree completely. Xoom has better hardware hands down than the ipad, no ones arguing that. To some people like myself, the UI outline and design of having ready-view widgets on home screens with the multitask and slidable dock with a notifications tab is also better than iOS's version of just having app icons plastered on 5 home screens. But, Apple's software and app development has Android beat. At least so far. But I wouldn't be surprised if android development for honeycomb booms in the next few months like the article said.

 

[fertilized-egg]

I agree completely. Xoom has better hardware hands down than the ipad, no ones arguing that.

Depends on what you're looking for. The iPad 2 has a faster processor and a better display in a thinner shell that's more elegantly made. The Xoom has more RAM and much better cameras along with the microSD slot but in terms of core hardware, the iPad competes very well against the Xoom. If the iPad had the same amount of RAM I'd argue the iPad 2 hardware is hands down superior.

 

[petvas]

Very good and thorough review. Was a good read.

I agree completely. Xoom has better hardware hands down than the ipad, no ones arguing that. To some people like myself, the UI outline and design of having ready-view widgets on home screens with the multitask and slidable dock with a notifications tab is also better than iOS's version of just having app icons plastered on 5 home screens. But, Apple's software and app development has Android beat. At least so far. But I wouldn't be surprised if android development for honeycomb booms in the next few months like the article said.

I don't see how the Xoom has better hardware. The quality of the device cannot be compared to the first iPad. The CPU is apparently on par with the iPad 2, the cameras seem better on the Xoom, but the display (the most important aspect of a tablet) is just bad. The Xoom is full of false promises..
Let us not forget the SD Card that still doesn't work...
Google and Motorola have created a great demo video on youtube that got me excited.
Unfortunately this is the best part about the Xoom/Honeycomb...

 

[Blakjack]

I don't know when the Wi-Fi only Xoom will be at Best Buy's, but I'll definitely be picking one up. Original iPad and Xoom > just an iPad 2.

Do u hear yourself?!

 

[dgree03]

Depends on what you're looking for. The iPad 2 has a faster processor and a better display in a thinner shell that's more elegantly made. The Xoom has more RAM and much better cameras along with the microSD slot but in terms of core hardware, the iPad competes very well against the Xoom. If the iPad had the same amount of RAM I'd argue the iPad 2 hardware is hands down superior.

The ipad 2 doesnt have a sd card slot or 4g. It doesnt even have a path to upgrade it. That alone makes the xoom superior hardware wise.

The aspect ratio and the screen res beats ipad 1 or 2.

 

[RCGMac]

It really is the apex in terms of an intelligent and civil tech community. Good folks.

Ars has some of the best, most comprehensive reviews on the internet. Their iPad review was wonderful 18-page dissertation. Excellent no hype tech site!

I think the Xoom has so real potential, it certainly has some nice hardware, now it just needs a nice polished OS. Android has a great phone OS IMO, I love my rooted MyTouch 4G with Gingerbread, both Froyo and Gingerbread are strong phone OS's. I have little reason to believe that Honeycomb won't continue to improve. Everyone keeps harping on 100 apps, of course when the iPad was announced last year, there weren't a lot of iPad-ready apps either. The Android market has really improved in quality over the last year, with many apps of the apps available on iOS also now available on Android. Saying all that, I did just pick up an iPad 1, b/c I think the Android tablet market is still in it's early stages.

 

[petvas]

The ipad 2 doesnt have a sd card slot or 4g. It doesnt even have a path to upgrade it. That alone makes the xoom superior hardware wise.

The aspect ratio and the screen res beats ipad 1 or 2.

The SD card doesn't work yet. For the 4G upgrade you will have to send your Xoom for approximately 6 days to Motorola...
The aspect ratio is better for videos but holding the Xoom in portrait mode is awkward and up until now all reviewers mentioned that. If you use a tablet to read stuff, then the Xoom is the wrong device.

I don't know how you say that the Xoom has the best hardware.

 

[fertilized-egg]

The aspect ratio and the screen res beats ipad 1 or 2.

The aspect ratio is subjective and most reviews indicate the aspect ratio makes it awkward to use in portrait. If you only watch movies then sure the Xoom is nice but for most other tasks I'd hate to have the widescreen ratio. Also The screen resolution is higher but the viewing angle and colors are noticeably worse.

Curiously despite the higher resolution the Xoom display apparently also looks rougher. One of Arstechnica people took pictures to show the difference and here's his comment and picture. Unfortunately the display seems to be one of areas Motorola cut the corners. (Interesting debate: more RAM vs better display?)

I also found the Xoom screen almost grainy, the pixel grid is too apparent to the naked eye. You don't really notice it so much on a photo, or something with a lot of tonal changes, but on say a white background like Google or an eBook you see faint pixel grid lines. We decided to not include this photo in the Xoom review, but I took this closeup shot of both screens with a 100mm Canon macros lens, same image on both, same distance from camera (tripod), same area of the image focused on. To my eye that Xoom pixel grid explains why I see it from a normal distance too, it's just a much larger gap:

 

[rspeaker]

The ipad 2 doesnt have a sd card slot or 4g. It doesnt even have a path to upgrade it. That alone makes the xoom superior hardware wise.

I don't get this mentality. You'd never buy a car on the promise Chevy or Ford will add storage space, or a turbocharger, in the future. I, I think like most people, buy things for what they can do at the time of purchase, not on the promise of things they might do in the future.

 

[shen]

The XOOM, on paper, is a better piece of kit. There is no harm in admitting that.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice however, there is.

"On paper" isn't worth the paper it isn't printed on.

 

[MrWillie]

The ipad 2 doesnt have a sd card slot or 4g. It doesnt even have a path to upgrade it. That alone makes the xoom superior hardware wise.

The aspect ratio and the screen res beats ipad 1 or 2.

Neither does Xoom (one that works at least).

Funny, every review I have read (not many, cause I have NO intrest in Android), says that the Xoom screen sucks. Besides only five percent of what I do is watching videos.

Just think by the time the Xoom fades away Samsung maybe releasing the Galaxy Tab 2, so it will be the same ole ****, all over again.

 

[redshift1]

If you use a tablet to read stuff, then the Xoom is the wrong device.

Ars Tech review
I think that Google's e-book software is pretty good, but the Xoom's weight and size detract from its suitability as a device for reading books. The awkwardness of holding the Xoom in portrait orientation for long periods of time is particularly problematic in that respect. If you don't mind reading novels in landscape, which is well supported in Google's own software, then it might not be an issue for you.


Note the difference between the article and poorly reasoned opinion

 

[petvas]

Ars Tech review
I think that Google's e-book software is pretty good, but the Xoom's weight and size detract from its suitability as a device for reading books. The awkwardness of holding the Xoom in portrait orientation for long periods of time is particularly problematic in that respect. If you don't mind reading novels in landscape, which is well supported in Google's own software, then it might not be an issue for you.


Note the difference between the article and poorly reasoned opinion

Hmm..So I guess you do read in Landscape mode.

 

[VTMac]

But I wouldn't be surprised if android development for honeycomb booms in the next few months like the article said.

I would be stunned and shocked if it "boomed". There is no market at all. None. Developers write code to make money. If there is no one to sell too no quality developer is going to risk it. It's not a chicken and egg problem. It's an egg problem. Google and their partners need to make the stock devices compelling enough to achieve a critical mass of early adopters to make it reasonable for the development community to make investments in this new platform. In the next 6 months I suspect you'll see a lot of retread Android (phone) apps with updated graphics resources and very, very very few native apps. If Google and partners can get to a few million units out (not just units in which is what Samsung keeps quoting) then the dynamic will change.

 

[dgree03]

The SD card doesn't work yet. For the 4G upgrade you will have to send your Xoom for approximately 6 days to Motorola...
The aspect ratio is better for videos but holding the Xoom in portrait mode is awkward and up until now all reviewers mentioned that. If you use a tablet to read stuff, then the Xoom is the wrong device.

I don't know how you say that the Xoom has the best hardware.

Did you actually read my post?! The hardware is there, period. No if, ands, or buts about it.

The fact that it is there, and there is an upgrade path for both 4g and SD card slot. That alone makes the hardware better. Get over it, no debating.

Stick to what I said. Thanks

The aspect ratio is subjective and most reviews indicate the aspect ratio makes it awkward to use in portrait. If you only watch movies then sure the Xoom is nice but for most other tasks I'd hate to have the widescreen ratio. Also The screen resolution is higher but the viewing angle and colors are noticeably worse.

Curiously despite the higher resolution the Xoom display apparently also looks rougher. One of Arstechnica people took pictures to show the difference and here's his comment and picture. Unfortunately the display seems to be one of areas Motorola cut the corners. (Interesting debate: more RAM vs better display?)

What did my post say? I said based on aspect ratio and screen resolution the screen is better spec'd. Its a higher resolution display with greater pixel density. Period.

Now about the ars review, i wonder if that is something that can be fixed by software?

I don't get this mentality. You'd never buy a car on the promise Chevy or Ford will add storage space, or a turbocharger, in the future. I, I think like most people, buy things for what they can do at the time of purchase, not on the promise of things they might do in the future.

if that was the case, we would never elect a president. lol

people pre-order a iphone, ipad or any item on the PROMISE that it will get shipped. There is no guarentee other than the manufacture saying that is when it will ship.

People bought a ipad after june expecting 4.2 to add multitasking to the ipad. again no guarentees.

I could go on for days, but in the end... the things that are missing currently from the xoom did not hinder my decision or many others. BUT WHEN IT COMES... it will be an added bonus.

Neither does Xoom (one that works at least).

Funny, every review I have read (not many, cause I have NO intrest in Android), says that the Xoom screen sucks. Besides only five percent of what I do is watching videos.

Just think by the time the Xoom fades away Samsung maybe releasing the Galaxy Tab 2, so it will be the same ole ****, all over again.

Funny I look at the top of my Xoom and I see a sdhc card and a 4g slot. Hmm..

 

[advan031]

I love ARS review indeed. I've tried a Xoom for a brief movement and I did not like how it is not as smooth as an iPad in its touch interface. Everything else is pretty cool but the touch interface is a deal breaker for me.

 

[fertilized-egg]

What did my post say? I said based on aspect ratio and screen resolution the screen is better spec'd. Its a higher resolution display with greater pixel density. Period.

And I'm saying the display isn't better spec'd in terms of viewing angle, contrast, saturation or dot pitch. Period. What's the point of having a slightly higher resolution if the display is much worse looking?

 

[qtx43]

Hmm..So I guess you do read in Landscape mode.

Personally, I wouldn't be able to read any books at all on the Xoom, since apparently you can't sideload ePub books. I'm not a big fan of the "walled garden" aspect of Apple, but this is just pathetic on Google's part. Until tablet makers get just basic stuff working, like Netflix, being able to store music on the device (since it only has a plastic placeholder instead the microSD slot), and having the device actually completely assembled coming out of the factory, the Xoom will be a niche product.

I'm waiting for the first lawsuits from some tech at Motorola stealing personal info from Xooms sent in for the 4g and microSD slot hardware installation. You know lots of people won't wipe them before sending them in.

 

[qtx43]

...Funny I look at the top of my Xoom and I see a sdhc card and a 4g slot. Hmm..

I think you're most likely mistaken. Why send it in for a 6 day hardware upgrade if they're already installed?

The Xoom's microSD card slot and 4G SIM card slot are positioned back-to-back inside the top edge of the device. The slots are protected by a plastic insert and cover that can be slid out with a thumbnail. Motorola ships the device with translucent plastic placeholders in both slots.

 

[Nausicaa]

The aspect ratio and the screen res beats ipad 1 or 2.

Aside from the facts that, as others have mentioned, the aspect ratio feels awkward in portrait (and landscape, I'd argue) and reviews indicate the screen isn't as good as the iPads, resolution be damed, I don't think the aspect ratio is any better for movies either.

It's my understanding that the Xoom's screen is about the same width (in landscape) as the iPad's. So really, what is the difference when it comes to watching movies. Sure, the black bars on the iPad will be larger, but thats only because there is more vertical screen space. The size of the actual video will be more or less identical (assuming the video is widescreen).

Basically, the 16x9 display makes the screen smaller and more awkward to use for general tasks, and provides no benefits whatsoever.