iPad 1 vs iPad 2 vs Xoom

[vant]

My tablet usage percentages (iPad 3G 16GB)

40% Web browsing

40% Apps

10% Maps

10% Mail

Considering the fact that Xoom essentially will fail to fulfill 40% of my tablet duties, I will have to pass.

Why would I pay $800 for something my $629 iPad could achieve? I (and most of the market) don't need 32GB of storage.

I also have to point out battery life. Mossberg (respected) tested both the iPad1 and Xoom. He found the battery life of the iPad to be 11.5 hours. The Xoom with the same test? 7.5 hours. That extra 4 hours is very important. (http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2011/02/24/mossberg-xoom-software-impressive-pricey/)

On top of that, Honeycomb is another learning curve I have to waste time on learning.

Essentially the Xoom only offers something only spec whores would care about. Real users will appreciate even an iPad 1 over the Xoom, on user interface alone.

 

[vant]

Do you get a cookie every time you repeat this nonsense?

iOS was designed for a a device based on multitouch input. It wasn't designed for a phone. The phone is just an application. All you are complaining about is change for the sake of change.

Its funny that he mentions that. iOS was designed initially for the iPad. This was stated by Jobs.

He's obviously never used an iPad before.

 

[WhySoSerious]

XOOM = 100 apps.

LMAO

i fail to see what's so funny. Honeycomb just came out....see what the numbers are after a year, just like the iPad had the same situation and developed more apps over year's time.

 

[darngooddesign]

It's not a real tablet OS. iOS was designed for a phone it's UI has never been redesigned..

You are half right. All of the important apps have been redesigned for the larger screen, but the OS hasn't. That's why I'll jailbreak it like I've been doing my iPhones since you could. I will have every tablet OS feature I could possibly want, with all the benefits of the iPad.

i fail to see what's so funny. Honeycomb just came out....see what the numbers are after a year, just like the iPad had the same situation and developed more apps over year's time.

This is true. its not fair to compare the number of Honeycomb apps just like it wasn't fair to compare the Xoom's specs vs the iPad 1.

 

[WhySoSerious]

You are half right. All of the important apps have been redesigned for the larger screen, but the OS hasn't. That's why I'll jailbreak it like I've been doing my iPhones since you could. I will have every tablet OS feature I could possibly want, with all the benefits of the iPad.


This is true. its not fair to compare the number of Honeycomb apps just like it wasn't fair to compare the Xoom's specs vs the iPad 1.

who is compairing xoom/ipad 1? ipad 2 is out, so compare those specs.

list 'em out......i'll be waiting.....

 

[fpnc]

You are a bad "fixer" With half the RAM, most likely sub-par GPU performance (not NVIDIA design), sub-par screen and camera resolutions, phone-optimized OS, no 4G how come iPad 2 is equal to XOOM?

The only extensive benchmarks that I've seen on the Tegra 2 graphics suggest that it is only marginally better than the single-core SGX540. However, it is rumored that Apple will use the SGX543 in the iPad 2 (which even with a single core is better than the SGX540). If Apple has used a dual-core SGX543 in the iPad 2 then I think your "sub-par GPU performance" statement is going to look pretty silly.

If I had to guess at the performance differences between the Xoom and the iPad 2 I'd say that they will be roughly the same in nearly all areas (graphics and CPU).

 

[BaldiMac]

You are half right. All of the important apps have been redesigned for the larger screen, but the OS hasn't. That's why I'll jailbreak it like I've been doing my iPhones since you could. I will have every tablet OS feature I could possibly want, with all the benefits of the iPad.

Of course the OS has been redesigned for the larger screen. New UI elements, APIs, libraries, kexts, etc. What part of the OS wasn't updated?

 

[53x12]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/02/ipad-2-first-hands-on/



Watching the video, I have to agree. This thing seems really fast.

Wow I am impressed. That is zooming!

 

[darkplanets]

Different strokes for different folks.

I don't know why we have to go through this for every single hardware revision of anything produced by Apple. If you like it, buy it. If you don't, don't.

 

[darngooddesign]

who is compairing xoom/ipad 1? ipad 2 is out, so compare those specs.

list 'em out......i'll be waiting.....

Is your memory really that bad? Prior to the 2's release people were comparing the Xoom's specs to the iPad1, and the common iPad defense was that the iPad was a year old so its not fair to compare them. I am saying the same thing, the iPad App Store is a year old, which is why it has significantly more apps than Honeycomb. In case you were too busy to notice subtleties, I was defending Honeycomb in this regard.

As far as the 2's specs, they're pretty much in line with the Xoom, with each having one or two strengths in its favor. Some things like raw performance won't be known until Barefeats or Anandtech gets one to play with.

Of course the OS has been redesigned for the larger screen. New UI elements, APIs, libraries, kexts, etc. What part of the OS wasn't updated?

Can you still only fit four icons across? Seems that a layout designed for the iPhone is a waste of space on the larger tablet screen. iOS has been modified for the iPad, but it hasn't been redesigned for the larger screen in the same way that the iPad apps have.

 

[infidel69]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Wouldn't you need to take the AppStore / Android store into consideration. From what steve said there's only @ 100 apps running on Honeycomb.

Ya don't believe everything Steve says. He also said the new ipad is the first dual core tablet in mass production which is just not true. I think Steve is getting a little senile.

 

[BaldiMac]

Can you still only fit four icons across? Seems that a layout designed for the iPhone is a waste of space on the larger tablet screen.

It's 4x5 instead of 4x4. The extra space is actually there for a reason. It maintains attractive spacing when rotating from portrait to landscape. Because of the text labels, the icon/label combo is not square. The iPhone doesn't rotate, so it's not a problem there.

But why is the home screen app any more a part of the OS than the mail app?

 

[darngooddesign]

Ya don't believe everything Steve says. He also said the new ipad is the first dual core tablet in mass production which is just not true. I think Steve is getting a little senile.

He said "to ship in volume" not "in mass production". Which technically is correct depending on what you consider to be "volume".

...But why is the home screen app any more a part of the OS than the mail app?

On such a lrge screen redesigning for it should have allowed for more control over that grid. Depending on your pov. The OS is home screen layout, app switching, multitasking method, etc. I know there is a difference which is why I said that the apps have been redesigned more obviously for the larger screen when compared to the springboard.

 

[2 Owls]

Plenty of people going on about the xoom, playbook and hp tablet things, do they actually exist or are they just things we're going to make? all reviews I've been able to find are based on pre production stuff or ones they tried at some expo or another.

 

[gloss]

Plenty of people going on about the xoom, playbook and hp tablet things, do they actually exist or are they just things we're going to make? all reviews I've been able to find are based on pre production stuff or ones they tried at some expo or another.

Xoom is out right now. The other two have not yet released.

 

[BaldiMac]

On such a lrge screen redesigning for it should have allowed for more control over that grid. Depending on your pov.

Apple just made a different design choice than you. But they did update it.

The OS is home screen layout, app switching, multitasking method, etc. I know there is a difference which is why I said that the apps have been redesigned more obviously for the larger screen when compared to the springboard.

Why is that the OS? What definition are you using?

But back to the original point. The OS was updated for the iPad. The UIs of all the features that you listed were updated.

 

[bob5820]

i fail to see what's so funny. Honeycomb just came out....see what the numbers are after a year, just like the iPad had the same situation and developed more apps over year's time.

So you are going to spend $800 now for a OS that will not have a decent selection of apps for a year?

As to screen quality sure the Xoom has higher resolution but resolutions not everything. One review i read, Anandtech IIRC, found the contrast level on the Xoom to be disappointing. The the Xoom dimensions of screen may give it some advantages in landscape mode but it seems a bit narrow in portrait mode.

I have no doubt that Honeycomb, and WebOS are going to give iOS some real competition, and for that I'm thankful, but to declare the Xoom which has only been available for a week to be better in always then the iPad2 which was only just announced is a bit naive.

 

[Tmacfan4321]

isnt the $600 is with 2yr contract?

Yes, but that's the 3G/LTE 32GB version. It's $800 off-contract.

The 32GB WiFi version is being listed at 500 pounds in the UK and will probably retail for $600 in the US.

This is not true. The only thing similar from iPad to iPhone is the home screen/lock screen. Everything else is different. Try browsing settings, or mail, or safari, or (i could go on).

I do think that iOS's interface needs to change but to say iPhone iPad interfaces are the same isn't accurate.

There's not much of a difference. The Home and Lock screens are major components of the OS, so minor changes to the Browser, Settings menu, and Mail app don't really count as a full tablet OS.

 

[nixiemaiden]

So you are going to spend $800 now for a OS that will not have a decent selection of apps for a year?

As to screen quality sure the Xoom has higher resolution but resolutions not everything. One review i read, Anandtech IIRC, found the contrast level on the Xoom to be disappointing. The the Xoom dimensions of screen may give it some advantages in landscape mode but it seems a bit narrow in portrait mode.

I have no doubt that Honeycomb, and WebOS are going to give iOS some real competition, and for that I'm thankful, but to declare the Xoom which has only been available for a week to be better in always then the iPad2 which was only just announced is a bit naive.

I have used both iPad 1 and xoom quite a bit (I have iPad, boyfriend has xoom) and I think the quality of the screen is equal. Honestly I do prefer the wide screen aspect though as I use my iPad 99% of the time in landscape mode.

As far as the apps go...didn't we all spend a crap load of money last year when iPad 1 was announced even though there weren't many iPad enhanced apps yet?

Honestly the xoom offers a much better experience for web browsing and email.

I really do like my boyfriend's xoom but I personally will not be switching because of the multimedia factor. My favorite thing about the iPad/apple ecosystem is that I can easily put legal digital copies of movies/tv on my apple devices...as soon as I can buy a movie with a digital copy and load it to an android tablet for viewing, I might change my mind. Or even buy/rent movies in a way similar to iTunes...

I honestly don't even care about the apps at this point.

 

[lilo777]

Do you get a cookie every time you repeat this nonsense?

iOS was designed for a a device based on multitouch input. It wasn't designed for a phone. The phone is just an application. All you are complaining about is change for the sake of change.

You realize that the iPad actually has roots from before the iPhone, right? The iPhone was an offshoot of the Safari Pad project. iOS is a touch OS, regardless of device size.

iOS was released for iPhone. It was optimized for iPhone tiny screen (whatever the history). Larger screen allows for more advanced UI which Apple has yet to come up with.

 

[BaldiMac]

iOS was released for iPhone. It was optimized for iPhone tiny screen (whatever the history). Larger screen allows for more advanced UI which Apple has yet to come up with.

And when it was released for the iPad, it was optimized for a larger screen. All of the apps that are part of iOS have a more advanced UI on the iPad.

 

[Tmacfan4321]

And when it was released for the iPad, it was optimized for a larger screen. All of the apps that are part of iOS have a more advanced UI on the iPad.

They did some pulling and that's it. They could better utilize the extra space on the homescreens and elsewhere.

 

[jaeguyoon]

The reason why motorola messed up on the pricing is that now everyone thinks they will be paying at least 800 for a tablet. While an iPad 2 can also cost that much, people will walk in to Apple because they know that the cheapest iPad is 499 and they can walk out paying just that, although most people will end up paying more because of upselling from the salespeople. But the fact is, I'm not even going to think about Xoom because it just sounds expensive. While I'll def think about the iPad 2 because of the 499 pricing, altho when I actually do go in i probably will buy the 32gb version which is more.

Kinda like how you go to Honda to buy that 17k Accord, but end up with a 28k fully loaded v6 accord.

 

[Mike Reed]

Funnily enough I watched the video and noticed how the web browser will STILL SLOW.

Still scrolled into checkerboard and he said the WiFi there was really fast.

Bit disappointed in that. I want to see how fast the Xoom browser is in comparison on a heavy web site such as engadget.

If you can scroll into checkerboard. It's slow. End of.

That's disheartening - I was hoping with the tuned engine and updated specs that they had got rid of that.

 

[Tmacfan4321]

The reason why motorola messed up on the pricing is that now everyone thinks they will be paying at least 800 for a tablet. While an iPad 2 can also cost that much, people will walk in to Apple because they know that the cheapest iPad is 499 and they can walk out paying just that, although most people will end up paying more because of upselling from the salespeople. But the fact is, I'm not even going to think about Xoom because it just sounds expensive. While I'll def think about the iPad 2 because of the 499 pricing, altho when I actually do go in i probably will buy the 32gb version which is more.

Kinda like how you go to Honda to buy that 17k Accord, but end up with a 28k fully loaded v6 accord.

Moto dropped the ball hardcore with the Xoom launch. The WiFi version should have been announced along with the LTE version and more pricing info should have been released. I couldn't care less though: I don't benefit from how the Xoom does in the market, good or bad.