Farewell Xoom

[Newton1221]

*Let's keep this civil please, it's all based on personal preference*

Well, I just came back from Best Buy. Returned the Xoom. Funny BB Mobile guy said shortly after the Ipad 2 announcement he got a few calls on the Xoom return policy. We actually both had a laugh.

I was honest with him when he asked why I was returning it. iPad 2.

Here is my take on it. I LOVE the Xoom, I really do. It does SO friggin much but at the end of the day I would do what my friend down in LA was doing. I asked myself what I was doing on the Xoom that I wasnt doing on the iPad and if the cost made sense. And after serious thought, it didnt make sense.

2 weeks ago I had a 16GB wifi only iPad that I took everywhere with me. I did everything on it. I browsed, I read books, I had it setup in the back seat for my son to watch movies while on car trips, I used the countless apps available, Netflix, music, etc. Used the thing to its full advantage.

Then I caught wind of the Xoom, the price was high, yes but I love Android too and thought why the hell not. I had a nice tax return and some extra cash to spend.

After a few days I was starting to realize that for ME, the difference in my usage between the 2 just wansnt that different. And truth be told, the cost just wasnt worth it to me in the end.

I can do the same on the iPad 2 (FOR MY PURPOSES) for less money. Granted I am grabbing the 3G version but at 629, its easier on the wallet.

I will miss you Xoom. I really will

I wish everyone was this sensible about it. You gave your reasons for returning your XOOM for an iPad 2 and refrained from bashing the XOOM. I'm so happy that this wasnt another one of those "THE XOOM SUCKSSS!!!!1!!!!!!!!1!!" threads.

Hats off to you for being a reasonable person.

 

[heraldo]

You have to think about who's going to be mainly buying the playbook. enterprise so they have a market.


See thats the problem with the android tablets they can only effectively compete in one market while the ipad,touchpad, and playbook can be used in multiple markets.

I agree they have a market. I'm only talking about rim right now. But guess who had a market before as well. Palm. I feel rim is trying to just maintain their market and are unable to grow it. On the other hand Android is growing and fast.

I would like to give done credit to Apple however. Reading about the ipad first gen this morning I found they sold over 15 million since april. Without the advent of the Ipad there would be no Xoom

 

[willray411]

I keep complaining here and there about the Xoom, but the reality is I'm worried the IPAD 2 will bury the Xoom and other Android Tablets. I'd love to have one, especially one like the xoom. I'd almost never purchase an IOS device again because I'm just not a fan of IOS. But I look at the IPAD 2 and I'm really impressed, and its worrying seeing as I really want a Xoom.

In the end the competition will work out best for us the consumers.

 

[heraldo]

Does the ipad 2 hv flash?

 

[jhamilton3#CB]

Exactly. Regarding the Blackberry Playbook, I really have a gut feeling that it's going to fail. I hope I am wrong but I just am VERY unsure about it.

Well the fact that the PlayBook was announced back in September and still has yet to be released is a huge F-A-I-L in itself.. Really not a smart move on RIM's part because I would say that interest in the Playbook has peaked and is either stagnant or on the decline with all these other tablets being released as of late.

 

[erzhik]

To OP, good intelligent post. +1. Shame you have to return it, but personal preference is personal preference.

I myself can't wait to get myself a Xoom. I've seen iPad2 specs, videos and pictures, but it just doesn't do for me. I am not a fan of Apple's UI, not a fan of VGA cameras and I hate everything about iTunes.

My only hate for Xoom right now is the pathetic launch. BBs around me still say its pre-order only. Pathetic if you ask me.

 

[anon(52425)]

I wish everyone was this sensible about it. You gave your reasons for returning your XOOM for an iPad 2 and refrained from bashing the XOOM. I'm so happy that this wasnt another one of those "THE XOOM SUCKSSS!!!!1!!!!!!!!1!!" threads.

Hats off to you for being a reasonable person.

Well, as I said before the Xoom comes nowhere close to sucking. It was blazing fast and really put a smile on my face each time I used it. But thanks, I tried to keep it fair but truthful.

 

[anon(52425)]

To OP, good intelligent post. +1. Shame you have to return it, but personal preference is personal preference.

I myself can't wait to get myself a Xoom. I've seen iPad2 specs, videos and pictures, but it just doesn't do for me. I am not a fan of Apple's UI, not a fan of VGA cameras and I hate everything about iTunes.

My only hate for Xoom right now is the pathetic launch. BBs around me still say its pre-order only. Pathetic if you ask me.

Are you waiting for a price drop or just waiting it out to see what else comes?

 

[Storm24]

I too returned my Xoom yesterday. And not for an Ipad or Ipad 2. I ordered the Nook Color for $200 and will root it. The Xoom is an awesome tablet. The hardware is great and while Honeycomb is not finished cooking, it is still a nice OS already. I really stretched my budget to get the Xoom and just did not find that I did enough with it to justify the $950 with taxes and accessories. I am hoping that in time that the price drops and I will look to pick up a WIFI Xoom late this year if that happens. I love android and hope the competition in tablets as well as phones keeps the prices down in this economy...

 

[erzhik]

Does the ipad 2 hv flash?

No and it never will. Jobs hates flash and flash hates him back.. lol.

 

[erzhik]

Are you waiting for a price drop or just waiting it out to see what else comes?

I am waiting for my local BB to get them in stock. I forgot to preorder and they still sell them by preorder only. Kinda sucks since I have a $800 store credit from BB after my iPad return. Can't get it in VZW for that one stupid reason.

 

[anon(52425)]

No and it never will. Jobs hates flash and flash hates him back.. lol.

This made me lol.

 

[anon(52425)]

I am waiting for my local BB to get them in stock. I forgot to preorder and they still sell them by preorder only. Kinda sucks since I have a $800 store credit from BB after my iPad return. Can't get it in VZW for that one stupid reason.

Oh I see. Well I hope it works out for you. It's a beast of a device, it really is. I dont know how your BB is but at mine they had the Xoom display almost out of site. I didnt get this...

 

[Matty-Mo]

I was thinking about buying a xoom and now i think i might have to wait...

 

[anon(52425)]

I was thinking about buying a xoom and now i think i might have to wait...

Give it a shot if you have the money. Give it a few days and get some hands on time. At BB you have 14 days to return it with no restocking fee. I was able to get all my money back after giving it a good run.

 

[erzhik]

I was thinking about buying a xoom and now i think i might have to wait...

I would get it and give it a spin. If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to BB and exchange for iPad2. They would probably get them by then.

 

[Newton1221]

Oh I see. Well I hope it works out for you. It's a beast of a device, it really is. I dont know how your BB is but at mine they had the Xoom display almost out of site. I didnt get this...

Yeah mine sort of had it tucked away in a corner as well. It sorta pissed me off because the iPad had this big display and a couple units out for people to play with. The XOOM on the other hand was next to some HP laptops for some reason, the charger was broken off inside of the XOOM, and someone had split a soda all over the place. It just seemed really unfair to the XOOM, like Best Buy was biased or something.

I just wanted the XOOM to get a fair shake.

 

[giograves]

No and it never will. Jobs hates flash and flash hates him back.. lol.

Which is ******ed because Adobe dam near saved fruitco from certain death. *shrug*

 

[philly_nma]

Hi everyone. New to the forum, just got a xoom my first android device after having iPhones (and mostly loving them). I did finally get frustrated by apples 1984 "you'll enjoy what we say you will" mindset. I needed an in between device for my work laptop and iPhone and I wanted to see what owning an android dev was about.

I love the xoom and haven't been able to put it down but I think thats cause its the first tablet I've spent more than 10 min with. I don't think I want to go back to apple now that I've seen the outside but I share the general sense of dissatisfaction posted about apps, flash, lte, SD cards and buggy honeycomb. I think rush to market helped have something to compare to the Ipad 2 which doesn't have a competition killing feature. The market share damage might have been much worse if they waited.

How good do you think flash is gonna be on here? Smooth use of megavideo good? One of the most comfortimg rumors I heard was that google employees are getting xooms.

 

[WisdomWolf]

I completely understand where the OP is coming from. I currently own and enjoy both a wifi iPad and an HTC Evo running CM7. I am a huge fan of android and have been looking forward to the first android tablets. I was excited when I read about the Xoom at CES, but between then and now I've learned that it's not quite enough to get me to give up the iPad.

I see a lot of people that go on and on about the specs and the awesomeness of Tegra 2 and so forth. I don't doubt that the Xoom is a well specced machine, but specs alone are boring. The user experience, the fit and finish of the device, and the applications utility are what make the difference. All the specs in the world don't make up for apps that provide a reason for you to use the device in the first place. It seems that the video apps make a big difference right now: Netflix, airvideo, Hulu+. I haven't even mention the one app that I jail broke my iPad for: XBMC. Sure some or all of these will eventually make it to the Xoom, but most people tend to spend money based on immediate utility.

I am definitely looking forward to a well specced android tablet with outstanding build quality and a plethora of tablet optimized apps to make use of, but I have a feeling that time is still another 6-12 mos away. I believe that I too will be getting an iPad 2 in the meantime. I am much more a fan of Google than of Apple, but it's hard to overlook the iPad's benefits when viewing things sans bias.