My review of the Xoom on Cloudy Days and Connected Nights.
Xooming in on the Motorola Xoom and Honeycomb at Cloudy Days and Connected Nights
Xooming in on the Motorola Xoom and Honeycomb at Cloudy Days and Connected Nights
[Reviews] Motorola Xoom First Impressions & Reviews
- Thread starter Chris Kerrigan
- Start date
Thank you for your review of the Xoom. I liked your thoughtful comments regarding the port placement. I agree all of the ports could have been more placed in more convenient areas. It's not too much help, but you can turn the Xoom upside down when charging, since the screen rotates. At least there is less chance of it breaking off. I also do not care for the speakers pointing away from the user.
I also tend to believe the display is not bright enough nor have the proper contrast. It looks a bit washed out even at the highest brightness.
Again, thanks for the review!
Android Central Xoom Review
Check the link for a full on Xoom review from Phil.
Motorola Xoom review | Android Central
Check the link for a full on Xoom review from Phil.
Motorola Xoom review | Android Central
A review that essentially says NOT to buy the XOOM, because in the writer's opinion there will be "something a little more polished, lighter and (eventually) cheaper" will be offered soon.
If this reasoning is to be followed, then no technology item should ever be purchased. Every technology item gets "a little more polished, lighter and (eventually) cheaper."
IMHO, it's inappropriate to suggest not to buy the XOOM, when the XOOM clearly represents the "best in class" of Android tablets. Heck, it's the "only in class" tablet. Any other Honeycomb tablet is months away.
What will be said months from now about the new release of tablets? Will it be suggested to also not buy, because Tegra3 tablets will be released next Winter. And then what?
If not now, when exactly is someone supposed to jump into a technology?
The review was decently done, up until the last paragraph where, IMHO, the ball was dropped.
If this reasoning is to be followed, then no technology item should ever be purchased. Every technology item gets "a little more polished, lighter and (eventually) cheaper."
IMHO, it's inappropriate to suggest not to buy the XOOM, when the XOOM clearly represents the "best in class" of Android tablets. Heck, it's the "only in class" tablet. Any other Honeycomb tablet is months away.
What will be said months from now about the new release of tablets? Will it be suggested to also not buy, because Tegra3 tablets will be released next Winter. And then what?
If not now, when exactly is someone supposed to jump into a technology?
The review was decently done, up until the last paragraph where, IMHO, the ball was dropped.
Last edited:
So the wifi model(xoom) on the floor of BB was so damn lagy and the screen was so dull. Then I went to the ipad 2 model and that one was working perfectly. Now the wife is leaning towards the ipad 2. She's not a geek like me, but hopefully something with a better screen and netflix integration will come along soon. I got 3 months to save. Maybe the samsung tablets will have a nicer screen?
First off... my background is 20+ years of PC's, 4 years most recently with Macbook Pro's, iMac, iPhone/iPad 1. So as you can see I have been happy in the recent years with OSX and Apple products. I am going to school to finish up my Microsoft Certs this June and transitioning into the IT field. I have years building, and repairing PC's of all types.
So with that out of the way you can understand some of my perceptions and opinions.
First off the Motorola Xoom is the nicest Android based device I"ve laid my hands on. Based on having had more than a few days to mess with three different work provided Android phones and families/friends devices. The Aluminum back, the rubberized top and the front screen seem to all have a very nice fit and finish I really like. The good and bad... I"ll get the bad out of the way as I like to finish on a high note, as the Xoom overall is a great tablet.
CONS:
-Volume Rocker doesn't stick out very far, and feels "soft" making it difficult to manually adjust the volume.
-The charging connector. This small round metal charger doesn't seat to the device and seems very flimsy. I hope It lasts, but seems like they should have taken a look a bit closer as it seems way to loose in the port.
-XWGA LCD screen. This one will end up in both categories for obvious reasons. The negative aspect is simply the fact they didn't pursue a IPS or PGS high quality glass screen. I have some issues with responsiveness (although that could very well be software). The bottom line is however moving from the original iPad to the Xoom, responsiveness at times is questionable.
-Apps. This one is a minor one as I fully realize Honeycomb is new, but would have been nice is Google had planned the launch a bit better. I know in a few months there will be plenty of apps if the Android phone app growth is any indication.
PROS:
-Honeycomb. Having been a iPad user, and fully integrated into the Apple eco system I was a bit worried of losing some of the aspects of always being in sync with everything in my computing life. PC, MB, iPad, iPhone etc.. Happy to say DoubleTwist works very well. Adding my email to the Xoom works flawlessly and with mobileme everything works perfect. Deleting and updating across all platforms. The general improvements over the 2.1 and 2.2 builds of the phone based Android really impressed me. I always loved the google integration of the voice serach, maps, navigation and how well everything works together. Frankly Apple has a long way to go to touch anything like Google Voice. Silly as it may sound it is one of the top reasons I made the move, at least in my top 5.
-Screen format. The widescreen format to me is much better for consuming media such as movies, and online video of any type. I use Slingplayer, I RDP at home to watch all sorts of my own movies and home video's etc.. I really don't enjoy seeing a 1 or 2" black stripe across my screen as with the iPad does with almost all video's. I really can't wait for Flash to support 720p playaback.
-Widgets. Ok call me a liar, but I never thought I would be one to care about them. I use the browser bookmark widget all the time. So nice to have your thumbnails in a widget and scroll thru to lanch directly to the site you want. Email widget also takes front stage on my home screen. The CNN, Youtube and a few others are growing on me but so far am careful not to keep them running as I don't want to eat my data cap up with updating to many widgets. They just seem right on a mobile tablet. It's not that I never thought they would be useful, I just never was exposed to them to realize how much time they can save.
-Speakers. I really enjoy not having to put on earphones to hear a movie or share video with someone. These are media consumption devices.. speakers are important! I think for the size they sound really good and have a good range of volume. Not to mention stereo sound.
-Native Browser. I love Chrome on my desktop PC. This had me a bit stunned how well it works on the Xoom. The tabs, the quick controls and the fact I don't have to stare at checkerboards anymore. It is simply the fastest mobile browsing experience I have seen. Very impressed and with Flash really feels like your on an actual computer. Add in voice search and it's really the best experience overall for browsing imo, even over my desktop. I can simply hit one button, navigate anywhere and enjoy. No typing, no mouse etc.. love it.
-Customization. Again, along with widgets I am finding myself using this more and more. So far it's the combo of widgets and icons, but I know as more and more apps and widgets come out specific to Honeycomb the possibilities are somewhat endless.
-Email. The ability to add attachments has always pissed me off within iOS. The work-around's I need to do for such a simple task seem very annoying as I look back. Granted until the Xoom, I didn't feel there really was an alternative so I dealt with it.
-Downloading files from the web. I think it's obvious the power this gives the user.
-File system. Along with the ability to download files, makes perfect sense to have a way to manage them.
-Keyboard Options. While it falls under customization. I can't wait for Swype to show up on Honeycomb. Aside from the voice search, if I have to type.. it's gonna be so nice with Swype.
The last few thoughts come down to the freedom I feel I now have to explore all sorts of options from the web. Amazon's app store, Instant Video service will compete with iTunes, but unlike the iPad I can use Amazon along with so many other content providers. The web still uses Flash, love it or hate it. I used plenty of iOS apps to get around the fact the iPad didn't have flash, but I'm not so closed minded to not enjoy all the content given the choice to do so. The fact that many regional and local sites from retail shops to restaurants all still use Flash. My wife would get so frustrated trying to use the iPad to look at many shopping sites who all still use flash and we would run into issues trying to see a menu at a new restaurant we wanted to try. Those all have now gone away. Flash is still here and probably will be for a few years, may as well use the tools we have to enjoy the entire web.
I have about two full weeks and more usage time than I care to admit here with the Xoom! If I said 8 to 10 hours a day I'd probably be shorting myself by a good margin. The bottom line is I am technically adept enough to deal with the minor details that are still being dealt with at the software level. I fully understood when buying the Xoom that the SD card was not operable, that LTE is a future upgrade and that this is a brand new device with a brand new OS in Honeycomb.
I don't have much to compare it against besides the iPad, and actually the iPad 2 which I have had for the past two weeks to do some comparisons with. I can say without a doubt the Xoom and Honeycomb are my tablet of choice and have already recommended a co worker take a serious look at the Xoom over an iPad 2. That discussion will go on over many days I'm sure as he was always hesitant to jump in on the iPad because of no email attachments and no ability to download files from the web. Something he does and would make the iPad more of secondary device to his laptop vs actually being used in place of.
I didn't even mention the camera's as I don't have a great deal of use for them currently, but they are much better quality than the iPad 2's and I'm frankly amazed Apple released that type of poor quality component into one of their devices.
If Honeycomb evolves as Android has in the smartphone market, it won't be long before iOS will be forced to make major changes or enjoy watching Honeycomb take over the lions share of the tablet market. It's just really that good.
I am an early adopter of technology. I try to keep an open mind, and more than anything I use the tools that make my job and my life easier. The Xoom w/Honeycomb is such a tool.
My apologies for the length of my post, but I feel sharing my experience can help people understand and see that they do have a real option to the iPad and it is a better one in many ways.
So with that out of the way you can understand some of my perceptions and opinions.
First off the Motorola Xoom is the nicest Android based device I"ve laid my hands on. Based on having had more than a few days to mess with three different work provided Android phones and families/friends devices. The Aluminum back, the rubberized top and the front screen seem to all have a very nice fit and finish I really like. The good and bad... I"ll get the bad out of the way as I like to finish on a high note, as the Xoom overall is a great tablet.
CONS:
-Volume Rocker doesn't stick out very far, and feels "soft" making it difficult to manually adjust the volume.
-The charging connector. This small round metal charger doesn't seat to the device and seems very flimsy. I hope It lasts, but seems like they should have taken a look a bit closer as it seems way to loose in the port.
-XWGA LCD screen. This one will end up in both categories for obvious reasons. The negative aspect is simply the fact they didn't pursue a IPS or PGS high quality glass screen. I have some issues with responsiveness (although that could very well be software). The bottom line is however moving from the original iPad to the Xoom, responsiveness at times is questionable.
-Apps. This one is a minor one as I fully realize Honeycomb is new, but would have been nice is Google had planned the launch a bit better. I know in a few months there will be plenty of apps if the Android phone app growth is any indication.
PROS:
-Honeycomb. Having been a iPad user, and fully integrated into the Apple eco system I was a bit worried of losing some of the aspects of always being in sync with everything in my computing life. PC, MB, iPad, iPhone etc.. Happy to say DoubleTwist works very well. Adding my email to the Xoom works flawlessly and with mobileme everything works perfect. Deleting and updating across all platforms. The general improvements over the 2.1 and 2.2 builds of the phone based Android really impressed me. I always loved the google integration of the voice serach, maps, navigation and how well everything works together. Frankly Apple has a long way to go to touch anything like Google Voice. Silly as it may sound it is one of the top reasons I made the move, at least in my top 5.
-Screen format. The widescreen format to me is much better for consuming media such as movies, and online video of any type. I use Slingplayer, I RDP at home to watch all sorts of my own movies and home video's etc.. I really don't enjoy seeing a 1 or 2" black stripe across my screen as with the iPad does with almost all video's. I really can't wait for Flash to support 720p playaback.
-Widgets. Ok call me a liar, but I never thought I would be one to care about them. I use the browser bookmark widget all the time. So nice to have your thumbnails in a widget and scroll thru to lanch directly to the site you want. Email widget also takes front stage on my home screen. The CNN, Youtube and a few others are growing on me but so far am careful not to keep them running as I don't want to eat my data cap up with updating to many widgets. They just seem right on a mobile tablet. It's not that I never thought they would be useful, I just never was exposed to them to realize how much time they can save.
-Speakers. I really enjoy not having to put on earphones to hear a movie or share video with someone. These are media consumption devices.. speakers are important! I think for the size they sound really good and have a good range of volume. Not to mention stereo sound.
-Native Browser. I love Chrome on my desktop PC. This had me a bit stunned how well it works on the Xoom. The tabs, the quick controls and the fact I don't have to stare at checkerboards anymore. It is simply the fastest mobile browsing experience I have seen. Very impressed and with Flash really feels like your on an actual computer. Add in voice search and it's really the best experience overall for browsing imo, even over my desktop. I can simply hit one button, navigate anywhere and enjoy. No typing, no mouse etc.. love it.
-Customization. Again, along with widgets I am finding myself using this more and more. So far it's the combo of widgets and icons, but I know as more and more apps and widgets come out specific to Honeycomb the possibilities are somewhat endless.
-Email. The ability to add attachments has always pissed me off within iOS. The work-around's I need to do for such a simple task seem very annoying as I look back. Granted until the Xoom, I didn't feel there really was an alternative so I dealt with it.
-Downloading files from the web. I think it's obvious the power this gives the user.
-File system. Along with the ability to download files, makes perfect sense to have a way to manage them.
-Keyboard Options. While it falls under customization. I can't wait for Swype to show up on Honeycomb. Aside from the voice search, if I have to type.. it's gonna be so nice with Swype.
The last few thoughts come down to the freedom I feel I now have to explore all sorts of options from the web. Amazon's app store, Instant Video service will compete with iTunes, but unlike the iPad I can use Amazon along with so many other content providers. The web still uses Flash, love it or hate it. I used plenty of iOS apps to get around the fact the iPad didn't have flash, but I'm not so closed minded to not enjoy all the content given the choice to do so. The fact that many regional and local sites from retail shops to restaurants all still use Flash. My wife would get so frustrated trying to use the iPad to look at many shopping sites who all still use flash and we would run into issues trying to see a menu at a new restaurant we wanted to try. Those all have now gone away. Flash is still here and probably will be for a few years, may as well use the tools we have to enjoy the entire web.
I have about two full weeks and more usage time than I care to admit here with the Xoom! If I said 8 to 10 hours a day I'd probably be shorting myself by a good margin. The bottom line is I am technically adept enough to deal with the minor details that are still being dealt with at the software level. I fully understood when buying the Xoom that the SD card was not operable, that LTE is a future upgrade and that this is a brand new device with a brand new OS in Honeycomb.
I don't have much to compare it against besides the iPad, and actually the iPad 2 which I have had for the past two weeks to do some comparisons with. I can say without a doubt the Xoom and Honeycomb are my tablet of choice and have already recommended a co worker take a serious look at the Xoom over an iPad 2. That discussion will go on over many days I'm sure as he was always hesitant to jump in on the iPad because of no email attachments and no ability to download files from the web. Something he does and would make the iPad more of secondary device to his laptop vs actually being used in place of.
I didn't even mention the camera's as I don't have a great deal of use for them currently, but they are much better quality than the iPad 2's and I'm frankly amazed Apple released that type of poor quality component into one of their devices.
If Honeycomb evolves as Android has in the smartphone market, it won't be long before iOS will be forced to make major changes or enjoy watching Honeycomb take over the lions share of the tablet market. It's just really that good.
I am an early adopter of technology. I try to keep an open mind, and more than anything I use the tools that make my job and my life easier. The Xoom w/Honeycomb is such a tool.
My apologies for the length of my post, but I feel sharing my experience can help people understand and see that they do have a real option to the iPad and it is a better one in many ways.
My biggest sticking point is netflix for now. That's the main reason we might get an ipad 2. And the fact that my wife doesn't really like android. But we might change our minds if they polish honeycomb a little more and give us freaking netflix already!
While i understand the want for Netflix, there are alternatives. Considering the instant watch side of Netflix is movies and TV ive been happy with an app called Droid TV. It has a surprising list of current shows and dowloads the episodes to your device to warch whenever. On the Movie side, Amazon Prime members (79 per year) which works out cheaper than Netflix at 6.59/mo vs 7.99 lets you instantly stream movies. I havent had time to do a side by side comparison of whats available but it seems both offer similar.
I believe Netflix will show up for Android, but who knows when. At least we can use other services while we wait.
I've only had it for one day but I can say that IMO it's a nice device although a lot of drawbacks.
1) Extremely heavy
2) Screen is a smudge/finger print factory
3) Screen quality is good, not great (would have made a huge difference if it had IPS/PLS like Apple or Samsung)
4) UI is very laggy in portrait mode for whatever reason, fine in landscape
1) Extremely heavy
2) Screen is a smudge/finger print factory
3) Screen quality is good, not great (would have made a huge difference if it had IPS/PLS like Apple or Samsung)
4) UI is very laggy in portrait mode for whatever reason, fine in landscape
1) Extremly heavy vs what? Its the same weight as the original iPad. Form factor and weight distribution do make it feel heafty when holding in one hand.
2) Agree, but i dont find it that much worse than my original ipad after an hour of use. Looking straight on both devices i dont notice the smudges.
3) Fully agree, hopefully Xoom 2 has an improved screen.
4) Agree as well but guessing a software issue that will be improved upon as Honeycomb matures over the next year.
Bottom line for me, just happy there is a choice in the market aside from the iPad. Moto steped up and released a product knowing it wasnt 100% ready but wanted to at least put a 10" tablet out ther for people to realize the potential. Samsung basically saw the iPad 2, cowered back into there hole and now once again claim to have a new desig for June? Ill believe it when i se it. So far they have a shell behind glasss and a spec list. No working device in the new form factor, call me skeptical, but talk is cheap. Show up or shut up Samsung.
I already have an ipod touch for my daughter where she watches netflix already, so I need one more device that streams netflix.
Bought and Returned the Next Day--I really wanted to keep this device. Loved the build quality, the heft, the minimal OS the lack of bloat ware. I think the Xoom is really well designed and a lot of thought went into its layout including the location of the power connector. My only problem was the screen. I love the clarity of the white text on blue/black used in the UI, but the reverse black on white in the browser and e-mail apps are just unreadable for me. The colors in those two apps, and I also tried touchdown and Dolphin browser just look a bit flat and washed out to me. If it wasn't that I primarily use my tablet for e-mail reading and surfing on the web in teh office and at home I would have replaced my ipad with the Xoom.
Here is keeping my fingers crossed that we see a better screen on the Xoom 2, cause I want out of IOS.
Here is keeping my fingers crossed that we see a better screen on the Xoom 2, cause I want out of IOS.
gravage
Well-known member
I would have preferred that they put cheap cameras and put a nice screen on it. Who is going to be taking pictures with a tablet?
gravage
Well-known member
I hear you, but I don't really find the Xoom screen to be as bad as I originally thought. When you set it next to the ipad, then yes, it looks inferior. However, take it on a trip for a few days away from your ipad, and you get used to the screen and it doesn't seem that bad. I still think they can adjust color temp and saturation with a driver update/tweak. They did it with the Nexus one and it wouldn't be much different than adjusting your LCD monitor. I suppose time will tell.
+1 on these.
I also just received a Viewsonic GTab I ordered from woot.com, and it actually made me realized how better the screen on the xoom is. I also realized how well buit the xoom is compare to the Gtab. Actually kinda justified the $600 price tag.
While there's no question, the screen of the xoom is definitely dull compare to my 1st gen iPad (or even compare to the Gtab), it's higher resolution and solid built makes up for it. I too wish they will come out with a software fix for the screen (some contrast, gamma adjustment would be awesome).
I was going to return my xoom the first day I got it because of the screen, but it's really beginning to grow on me. The GTab will definitely go straight to my kids now after I finished experimenting with it. LOL.
The real problem for me was the color saturation. Text look Gray on white. Otherwise the screen seemed fine. If there is an application out there that can fix that, let me know and I am back out to Costco, cause I am having withdrawal pangs.
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