Is XOOM worth trying for iPad user?

[JOHNGAETANO]

I've had an iPad since launch day last year. I have always liked the iPad. I also own an EVO phone which I love. I am just wondering if the XOOM is worth trying. Some reviews sound positive, others sound negative. I'm trying to get a real perspective from other iPad owners.

I tried a Galaxy Tab on two different occasions. I liked the form factor, but at the end of the day the Tab was just not for me.

I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks

JOHN

 

[thegunslinger1]

I am not going to go into specific reasons just yet, first I am going to give you a list of the products we have in my house. Then I will give you my answer.

We own: I own an iPod 30g, the wife owns an iTouch and an iPad 16g wifi, i then picked up a broken iPhone 3g that I fixed then jail broke (just to see if I could and get the iPhone experience. the kids play with it now and I am trying to sell it).

At the end of December I got a Droid Pro to replace my Blackberry. I fell in love with the Android OS and its flexibility. I am pretty tech savvy and when I saw the Xoom specs I was sold, Flash and SD support or not. We have been using the iPad in our house for 5 months and personally I was never impressed. My wife likes it but she is less techy than I am. I read over all the changes with the iPad 2 and again, personally not impressed.

While doing some other shopping I looked at the Galaxy Tab and felt that even at the reduced cost that it was just too small. I like the size and weight of the Xoom. Personally I think the power button is in the perfect place, some others have complained that you have to pick it up, but if you think about it a tablet is meant to be held in your hands.

Are their currently a lack of apps for the Xoom, sure, but as you know, it was the same way with day one of the iPad. We still have apps that aren't updated to the iPad's display.

It really comes down to personal preference, my wife is never going to switch, she is already talking about upgrading to the iPad 2. At least we can sell the older iPad and she can upgrade for just a few hundred dollars.

I would absolutely recommend going into a Best Buy or Verizon store to check it out. You are already familiar with the Droid OS so your learning curve will be pretty short like mine.

 

[joereist]

I pholdicked up the iPad shortly after launch, and later sold it. I was offered a really good price, and thought I wasn't using it enough to justify holding on to it. Immediately missed having something to read on, casually web surf, etc.

After a week, I'm definitely a fan, will not be returning it for an Ipad 2 or other tablet.

For reference, I own an iMac, multiple iPhones, and have been an "Apple guy" for years. This Android business is legit. All we need is a more mature app market, which I feel is coming.

If you liked the form of the Galaxy Tab, but overall weren't satisfied, you might not like the Xoom. Head to a Best Buy, play with it, and wait around for some of these other tablets coming out...make an informed purchase if you're not an early adopter.

 

[bartman8888]

If your need for a tablet is constrained to apps, books, and music, stay in the Apple ecosystem.
But if you want to do MORE than Apple thinks you should, you love customizing your device, and you are patient enough for the Android tablet apps to catch up, this is the device for you.

I gave my XOOM a 6.2/10 rating to my friends, but I still love it because I have faith in Android and the development community PLUS it's NOT an Apple product.

I got mine for primarily video entertainment (720p .mkv), and I don't want to re-encode ANYTHING off bitTorrent/Usenet. I'm very disappointed Google/nVidia didn't have any video player when the product was released, but I still have faith.

 

[octobermagic]

I had an iPad way back when. I had a Xoom, and returned it, intending to get another iPad. I went to BB played with the iPad again, and just felt like it was more of the same (I currently have an iPhone). So I went and got the Xoom again, and won't look back. It is awesome, and really can only get better.

 

[coreymcl]

Like others have said it really depends on your use case. While the Xoom is a very capable tablet that will mature over time. You really need to ask yourself how do you plan to use it.

My suggestion would be to wait a month or so, my reasons are as follows;

1. Currently the Xoom is still waiting for Adobe to release a flash plugin that is expected sometime in March.

2. Sometime "soon" current owners will need to send in their Xoom's so it can be upgraded to support LTE.

3. Google and Motorola are working on an update to enable the built-in MicroSD slot. While the Xoom includes 32GB's still it will be nice when the hardware is fully supported.

4. I believe the price will come down soon. With the announcement and so to be released iPad 2, I would expect Motorola to react to it's release by lowering the price.

5. Hopefully Verizon will come around with it's pricing as well. Currently you have to pay an activation fee of $35, so if you plan to turn on and off your data plan this could be very costly. One would hope they would offer the same plans and fee's as they do on the iPad.

6. Motorola doesn't support the Xoom for syncing media using it's Motorola Media Link software (Motorola Media Link - Overview - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA. While there are other solutions for syncing media such as DoubleTwist, I personally have not found it to be very reliable. For me the desktop software is buggy and locks up regularly.

Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to convince you not to buy I'm just trying to point out some things you might want to consider. Most of my points will be addressed over time, so you just need to ask yourself do you really need it right now.

 

[KoukiFC3S]

I think it is. The increased ram makes multitasking and web browsing much better. Apps are ok. Not too many right now, but android apps scale better than iphone ones. For example yelp shows me more listings and pics and doesn't look pixelated.

 

[anon(52425)]

Like others have said it really depends on your use case. While the Xoom is a very capable tablet that will mature over time. You really need to ask yourself how do you plan to use it.

My suggestion would be to wait a month or so, my reasons are as follows;

1. Currently the Xoom is still waiting for Adobe to release a flash plugin that is expected sometime in March.

2. Sometime "soon" current owners will need to send in their Xoom's so it can be upgraded to support LTE.

3. Google and Motorola are working on an update to enable the built-in MicroSD slot. While the Xoom includes 32GB's still it will be nice when the hardware is fully supported.

4. I believe the price will come down soon. With the announcement and so to be released iPad 2, I would expect Motorola to react to it's release by lowering the price.

5. Hopefully Verizon will come around with it's pricing as well. Currently you have to pay an activation fee of $35, so if you plan to turn on and off your data plan this could be very costly. One would hope they would offer the same plans and fee's as they do on the iPad.

6. Motorola doesn't support the Xoom for syncing media using it's Motorola Media Link software (Motorola Media Link - Overview - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA. While there are other solutions for syncing media such as DoubleTwist, I personally have not found it to be very reliable. For me the desktop software is buggy and locks up regularly.

Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to convince you not to buy I'm just trying to point out some things you might want to consider. Most of my points will be addressed over time, so you just need to ask yourself do you really need it right now.

for the verizon, I don't see a price drop any time soon.

 

[qnet]

Like others have said it really depends on your use case. While the Xoom is a very capable tablet that will mature over time. You really need to ask yourself how do you plan to use it.

My suggestion would be to wait a month or so, my reasons are as follows;

1. Currently the Xoom is still waiting for Adobe to release a flash plugin that is expected sometime in March.

2. Sometime "soon" current owners will need to send in their Xoom's so it can be upgraded to support LTE.

3. Google and Motorola are working on an update to enable the built-in MicroSD slot. While the Xoom includes 32GB's still it will be nice when the hardware is fully supported.

4. I believe the price will come down soon. With the announcement and so to be released iPad 2, I would expect Motorola to react to it's release by lowering the price.

5. Hopefully Verizon will come around with it's pricing as well. Currently you have to pay an activation fee of $35, so if you plan to turn on and off your data plan this could be very costly. One would hope they would offer the same plans and fee's as they do on the iPad.

6. Motorola doesn't support the Xoom for syncing media using it's Motorola Media Link software (Motorola Media Link - Overview - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA. While there are other solutions for syncing media such as DoubleTwist, I personally have not found it to be very reliable. For me the desktop software is buggy and locks up regularly.

Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to convince you not to buy I'm just trying to point out some things you might want to consider. Most of my points will be addressed over time, so you just need to ask yourself do you really need it right now.

Those are very good points. I may get another Xoom when the sd-card, LTE is working and after some updates

 

[Hardcore73]

Buy the Xoom. The second I got mine the iPad was a paperweight.
You can't go wrong with Best Buy's return policy for Silver members either, 45 day return. I am waiting now for the Wifi version so i can return the version I have now with Verizon.
Happy Xooming!

 

[wg#AC]

Like others have said it really depends on your use case. While the Xoom is a very capable tablet that will mature over time. You really need to ask yourself how do you plan to use it.

My suggestion would be to wait a month or so, my reasons are as follows;

1. Currently the Xoom is still waiting for Adobe to release a flash plugin that is expected sometime in March.

2. Sometime "soon" current owners will need to send in their Xoom's so it can be upgraded to support LTE.

3. Google and Motorola are working on an update to enable the built-in MicroSD slot. While the Xoom includes 32GB's still it will be nice when the hardware is fully supported.

4. I believe the price will come down soon. With the announcement and so to be released iPad 2, I would expect Motorola to react to it's release by lowering the price.

5. Hopefully Verizon will come around with it's pricing as well. Currently you have to pay an activation fee of $35, so if you plan to turn on and off your data plan this could be very costly. One would hope they would offer the same plans and fee's as they do on the iPad.

6. Motorola doesn't support the Xoom for syncing media using it's Motorola Media Link software (Motorola Media Link - Overview - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA. While there are other solutions for syncing media such as DoubleTwist, I personally have not found it to be very reliable. For me the desktop software is buggy and locks up regularly.

Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to convince you not to buy I'm just trying to point out some things you might want to consider. Most of my points will be addressed over time, so you just need to ask yourself do you really need it right now.

I agree with most things you said. With a few points that are incorrect. You do not need to even activate the Zoom if you don't want to. And the $35 fee is a one time fee that if you want 3g service you only pay for once. So if you suspend your plans you do not pay to reactivate it. As for the price point I do not believe it will drop very fast. Even with the I pad 2 coming out. My reasons for this is because the I pad is missing things lime GPS expantion and 4g service all these things cost motorola money to add and you gain a lot with those features. Will the price drop sure will it drop in 2 months who is to say more than likely not. As for waiting I could not agree more if you are not and early adopter wait. I for one am very saticfied with Xoom and could not be more happy with my purchace.

 

[terrain]

No reason not to try at bb or Verizon before you buy.

 

[superbike81]

I think it's worth trying. Honestly, I hate my iPad now that I have the Xoom. I was going to sell the iPad, but I'm starting medical school next year and I found some REALLY good anatomy/physiology apps to help prepare me for Gross Anatomy my first year. The apps are expensive at $30-$40 per body system, but they really are worth it to me. This is the only thing I use the iPad now for, everything else goes to the Xoom. Hopefully the company that makes my apps will port them to Honeycomb and let me get that version for free or a discount, and then I won't need the iPad at all.

For those who are going to bring up Google Body, yes it's a cool app, good for learning the basics of anatomy, but it's not anywhere near as in depth as my iPad apps.

So, in summary, yes, absolutely try out the Xoom. Buy one, and use the 14 day return policy if you really hate it that much after using it. Spending 10 minutes with it at Best Buy isn't enough.