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Ars Technica reviews the Motorola Xoom
- Thread starter vrDrew
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There are many relatively current Android phones people bought with the expectation they would get at least 2.3 but it never happened. Admitedly Moto has been very good about supplying OS updates, but sometimes its taken a while for them to do it. So if any other company were to promise a software update to allow access to a SD slot I'd take it with a grain of salt, but I think Moto will eventually deliver.
People seem to be making a big deal out of the six day upgrade. A week is a small price to pay for a significantly faster radio.
But you can't currently do anything with them. 😀
i would say this review is the most objective and fair assessment of the xoom.
that being said, i am an android enthusiast, and do prefer a xoom, however, i'd recommend an iPad2 to most anyone because
a) cheaper pricing scheme, more product choices (16/32/64gb)
b) better screen quality - utilizing IPS display (even though xoom does 1280 x 800)
c) more mature Apps on Apple App Store.
that being said, i am an android enthusiast, and do prefer a xoom, however, i'd recommend an iPad2 to most anyone because
a) cheaper pricing scheme, more product choices (16/32/64gb)
b) better screen quality - utilizing IPS display (even though xoom does 1280 x 800)
c) more mature Apps on Apple App Store.
koruki
macrumors 65816
Wow the more I find out about the Xoom the more it looks like a DOA device. I just had a quick read of this review
http://www.mercurynews.com/troy-wolverton/ci_17533655
to sum up, all the features that the iPad "lacks" doesnt even work yet. This site says that the SD Card slot doesnt work either yet?
http://www.mercurynews.com/troy-wolverton/ci_17533655
to sum up, all the features that the iPad "lacks" doesnt even work yet. This site says that the SD Card slot doesnt work either yet?
I like that Apple has someone pushing them to keep them on their toes! Xoom's launch was not solid: no flash with it (positive, yet will come soon), sd card slot won't work (over the air install), sorta req'd one month plan to activate wifi, 4g will be installed later at Motorola, washout display. Not so solid in hardware to me!! Sure, it is easy to root, but most consumers are not tech savy folks. Oh, also, no flash to read flash sites for android device loved by Adobe. iPad 1 launched last year with over 4000 or so apps. Now, there are over 65,000 apps.
It's not like Google completely rewrote Android from scratch when they dreamed up Honeycomb. While I'm sure there are some significant additions, particularly in the UI and associated libraries, the core is almost certainly largely unchanged. Apple did the same for iOS when they introduced the iPad (although obviously less dramatically, which may not have been a bad idea after all).
It does beg the question of why Google (or Motorola) forced the issue when it seems Honeycomb was neither ready itself, nor did it have significant app support. Of course... to beat Apple to the punch. It's like that guy that can't help trying to post "FIRST!" in comment threads...
I thought the Xoom was going to be the next greatest thing EVER!!!!!!! Yet all these poor reviews I keep seeing coming out about it.
Chilean.Miner
macrumors member
true that. fck the zoom with its poor battery life. The greatest thing about the ipad is that I only charge it once a week.
ezekielrage_99
macrumors 68040
Though I am an Apple fan, I do believe good competition for Apple is a very good thing. Have I seen an iPad slayer yet, well no.
Honeycomb and Xoom I thought it *may* be some real competition for both Apple with the iPad and Samsung with the Galaxy Tab but for the moment it looks like a rushed releases with some "cargo culting" added to the mix.
When I first saw the Xoom I actually did considering it, but after reading the fine print there's not enough in it for the moment to justify the price tag. Though with that said I consider in 6 months it should be a different story.
nightfly13
macrumors 6502a
Many of you are too kind
When iPad was announced a year back or whatever I was shocked how 'ready for primetime' it was then and bought one right away. Then I watched in surprise in how long it took the copycats to compete. Looking at Galaxy Tab and Xoom, astoundingly, it seems they STILL aren't putting up serious competition. So many reviews say it feels rushed - 1 year of copycat development was a rush? Wow, Apple just keeps pulling further and further ahead. I guess it took 2-3 years before the iPhone had serious competition, finally catching up right around the time Apple releases a new blockbuster product. The competition seems further behind, with poor imitation 'me too' products coming out while Apple blows the doors off again with iPad 2.
Motorola/Google etc. have had a LOT of time, and they're still far from competitive from where I sit. Maybe Apple's patents are really hard to legally copy and that's why it takes so long for the myriad of Android-based competition to even get close to catching up?
When iPad was announced a year back or whatever I was shocked how 'ready for primetime' it was then and bought one right away. Then I watched in surprise in how long it took the copycats to compete. Looking at Galaxy Tab and Xoom, astoundingly, it seems they STILL aren't putting up serious competition. So many reviews say it feels rushed - 1 year of copycat development was a rush? Wow, Apple just keeps pulling further and further ahead. I guess it took 2-3 years before the iPhone had serious competition, finally catching up right around the time Apple releases a new blockbuster product. The competition seems further behind, with poor imitation 'me too' products coming out while Apple blows the doors off again with iPad 2.
Motorola/Google etc. have had a LOT of time, and they're still far from competitive from where I sit. Maybe Apple's patents are really hard to legally copy and that's why it takes so long for the myriad of Android-based competition to even get close to catching up?
i've always wondered how these are copycats and me too products. by that logic isn't most of what apple makes a me too product.
Hell if they did copy apple we would be running froyo and gingerbread instead of honeycomb.
It's not "me too" if you define the market.
With the lousy reviews Xoom has received it's pathetic to watch all the Android enthusiasts turn into Android apologists, as usual.
A blind man could see that Honeycomb wasn't ready for Primetime when it was demoed at All Things D a couple months ago, and it appears little has changed for Moto's overpriced public beta release. That goofball Andy Rubin practically had flop-sweat when he was on stage with Mossberg, go back and watch the video.
The Xoom is pretty cool. It is the best Android tablet I have used so far. If they keep on this path they should have a solid tablet OS in a year or so. The iPad is still the king though. Especially since the Xoom breaks the bank a bit.