Help me choose

[bugg77]

So I've narrowed my tablet choices down to the Iconia, Transformer, and Xoom. I think they're all probably excellent devices and I'll probably be fine with any of them.

My question is, which one actually performs better/with the least lag? I figure I'll be watching a lot of videos off the SD card (entertaining me and my 2-yr old daughter) and I want something that can handle that without choppy video. This will most likely be HD (1080p/720p) videos that I've ripped from my Blu-Ray collection using Handbrake.

Are y'all still really happy with the Xoom and would you buy it again if you were going through the process again?

 

[slwerner]

Are y'all still really happy with the Xoom and would you buy it again if you were going through the process again?

Despite my frustration with Motorola over their lack of visible support for the Xoom, and their secretive delay of the LTE option (and even the lack of SD write), the Xoom remains a solid and reliable device. (sounds as if you're looking to go WiFi-only, anyway, so the LTE delay isn't even a consideration).

I seriously doubt that the other two options you are considering are going to perform any differently in your suggested usage than the Xoom. Hardware-wise, they are essentially identical. You'd probably see a more dramatic difference based on the quality of the SD card you chose.

That said, I'm an unapologetic Xoom fan, so you can guess my vote.

 

[p08757]

The only one I have used has been my Xoom.

As far as video play back goes, fool with your settings while ripping movies and find the combination that works best. My software is very limited, and I have not found the right settings yet. Some of my videos are just tad laggy, others seem to work fine.

Dispite my disappointment with not having LTE yet, my Xoom has been solid and there is hardly a day that goes by that I don't have it by my side.

 

[Maikai.Guy]

I've tried the others as associates of mine have purchased them. I really don't see any significant differences. Pick the one with best port configuration for you.

I've had my 3G XOOM since day 1 and am incredibly happy with it. I use if for work. It has replaced my notebook for about 90% of what I do. In fact, I often find myself remoting back to my desktop when I'm in a hotel, rather pulling my notebook from it's bag. I just came off of a 4 night, 2 city, biz trip and didn't open the notebook once.

I rip DVDs and use Netflix. I usually go for lower quality, smaller sized rips because it doesn't really matter much on a 10 inch display. For the most part, I find myself watching segments of a movie, switching over to e-mail or something, then back to the movie, back to e-mail, etc... while sitting in bed. So the lower res stuff is just fine.

 

[KJ]

The only one I have used has been my Xoom.

As far as video play back goes, fool with your settings while ripping movies and find the combination that works best. My software is very limited, and I have not found the right settings yet. Some of my videos are just tad laggy, others seem to work fine.

Dispite my disappointment with not having LTE yet, my Xoom has been solid and there is hardly a day that goes by that I don't have it by my side.

I use DVDFab 7 to rip DVDs and Handbrake (default settings) to convert to mp4 and they play without any lag.

 

[Vudumedic]

The Xoom is a solid device and I would recommend it as long as you aren't hoping to get the LTE version. They say it's coming but I doubt with out a complete overhaul of the internals of the device that it will happen. As far as ripping dvds or blu-ray disks I would suggest dvd catalyst for ease of use as it already has a xoom setting and for 20.00 you really can't go wrong. They provide really solid support as well

 

[Maikai.Guy]

... the LTE version. They say it's coming but I doubt with out a complete overhaul of the internals of the device that it will happen. ...

Yikes! Sounds like a totally unfounded presumption.

There could be dozens of reasons the 4G card is late to market. Why on Earth would you assume the fundamental design of the XOOM somehow blocks 2-8GHz?!?!

 

[Vudumedic]

Yikes! Sounds like a totally unfounded presumption.

There could be dozens of reasons the 4G card is late to market. Why on Earth would you assume the fundamental design of the XOOM somehow blocks 2-8GHz?!?!

Because the bionic was pulled from going to market with the tetra 2 chipset and the new specs do not have it in the redesigned bionic, and the tetra chip in the Xoom and the one in the galaxy 10.1 that currently has 4g is not the same model.

 

[Castorshells]

No acer

Xoom+Root = Perfect Match

 

[Maikai.Guy]

Because the bionic was pulled from going to market with the tetra 2 chipset and the new specs do not have it in the redesigned bionic, and the tetra chip in the Xoom and the one in the galaxy 10.1 that currently has 4g is not the same model.

OK. I'm not trying to be rude, but sometimes I'm in slack jawed disbelief at what people think.

There is no incompatibility issues between any processor and any radio. The radio is a self contained system which provided post processed data on a bus to the micro. As long as the processor has the throughput handle the incoming data stream... and the Tegra2 has plenty of that... it's all software deciding what to do with the data after that.

If there was an incompatibility between a hardware system and a radio, it would be in the form of antenna interference... like the metal frame was designed in such a way as to resonate at the trasmit frequency, sapping transmit power. Since the XOOM works well with 3G (up to 2.5GHz), and since 4G frequencies (2GHz to 8GHz) aren't profoundly different, it's highly doubtful they are having this kind of problem.

A more sane guess at why the 4G is delayed is the radio card may be sucking more current then they are comfortable with... or it's too noisy for FCC approval. But that's a guess.

 

[superlawyer15]

galaxy tab 10.1 = best honeycomb tab

 

[anon62607]

OK. I'm not trying to be rude, but sometimes I'm in slack jawed disbelief at what people think.

There is no incompatibility issues between any processor and any radio. The radio is a self contained system which provided post processed data on a bus to the micro. As long as the processor has the throughput handle the incoming data stream... and the Tegra2 has plenty of that... it's all software deciding what to do with the data after that.

If there was an incompatibility between a hardware system and a radio, it would be in the form of antenna interference... like the metal frame was designed in such a way as to resonate at the trasmit frequency, sapping transmit power. Since the XOOM works well with 3G (up to 2.5GHz), and since 4G frequencies (2GHz to 8GHz) aren't profoundly different, it's highly doubtful they are having this kind of problem.

A more sane guess at why the 4G is delayed is the radio card may be sucking more current then they are comfortable with... or it's too noisy for FCC approval. But that's a guess.

I think the 4G frequencies that the Xoom is concerned with are the Verizon LTE bands, which are IIRC 746 MHz to 787 MHz with a guard band at 756 MHz.

 

[jecilop]

I've tried the others as associates of mine have purchased them. I really don't see any significant differences. Pick the one with best port configuration for you.

.......

Thank you for these comments. I too am narrowing down between the Iconia (was leaning there until recent available deal) and the Xoom. You are definitely right about port configuration being a factor (loved that about the Iconia). Ease of port access would be, I fear, a regret if I go for the Xoom

I'd like to ask you some specific questions. I live a good drive from being able to do the hands on research and see for myself. My one opportunity introduced me to the Acer which I really like. I had at that time ruled out the Xoom due to price so I do not recall the following:

- Comparing yours to your colleagues, is the screen that much better on the Xoom vs. the Iconia? Specifically, is it more vibrant with a better viewing angle range also? That was my only disappointment with the Acer at full brightness. I am unable to get back to see to compare for myself anytime soon but would like to make my purchase online soon.

- Do you ever find that you accidentally hit the screen a lot causing a problem or backing out because the bevel surround space appears to be smaller (less handling room) on the Xoom than on the Iconia?

- I am leaning toward the Xoom now due to battery life, native storage space, and believing that the screen is better all for the same price I was considering for the Acer. I also read that the speakers are really good; Acer's were surprisingly good but this would be comparable or better I hear. (I have an Acer netbook I've loved for 4 years now, so I feel good with the company.)
- I don't like the port placement on the Xoom compared to the Iconia, but for a better screen & battery I think I could work with it; also, I read it's easy to root the Xoom to fix the SD card writing ability (not having to go through a PC to accomplish this - that's just a major ball dropped in design - writing directly to the SD card would work).

- I did really like the exterior control over screen orientation lock on the Acer. Can you tell me if that's ever annoying on the Xoom tablet as it can get to be on a phone (have an Evo 4G)? It just doesn't always do as expected or desired, but I've found I don't want to lock it on the phone to portrait only.

I'd appreciate your feedback.
Thanks.