[Reviews] Motorola Xoom First Impressions & Reviews

[UnMonk]

Im coming from a blackberry storm, the xoom screen looks amazing to me.

 

[silvra7]

So I just picked up my Wifi Xoom yesterday and so far I rather like it. It is a bit heavy on the wrists though I've not played with an iPad2 to know if the difference is really all that substantial. Beyond that it's nice and solid which I prefer something a bit more industrial. I have seen the issue with the screen colors being washed out, especially if you're also looking at an iPad. I do have to wonder if that is not a software issue and couldn't be corrected with some updated color profiles?

I'm just waiting for more apps/software to be optimized. It has such the feeling of untapped potential at this moment and it's kind of fun to be riding that wave of development even if I'm merely a user.

 

[acozzens]

Here is an unbox, and initial impressions video I put together.
YouTube - Motorola Xoom WiFi Unbox And Critical Accessory Intro Overview

 

[longhornthecomedian]

I Have Had Mine A Week Now

First of all, my wife has the IPad and i played with hers for awhile. I did my research on tablets and actually went to the local stores and held them in my hand. I almost bought an IPad 2, but I am old school...I don`t believe in playing with my food. I bought the XOOM and could not be happier.

I make my living ad a comedian, so I travel alot. I took it with me this weekend and it made traveling without my laptop a welcomed change. i was able to make notes on new material on the fly. I listened to music and played Angry Birds while I rode 4 hours. It was awesome.

My only disappointment is the SD slot not working. But from what I read that will happen soon.

I will be telling comedian I meet about this thing, it should be standard equipment for Road Comics like myself.

Longhorn The Comedian

 

[STEMALO]

I have had my XOOM for 4 days now and i like it more and more.
At first i had buyers remorse as i thought that i had just bought myself a browser and a big calculator. But as time goes by (2 days), i have found that i CAN actually replace my desktop for most of my needs. The fact that i can download a torrent is a MAJOR+ . Sure it has its little moments when an app freezes but that is normal as the apps are for Android (not optimized for Honeycomb) and the OS is new. All in all, the build quality is better than the ASUS Transformer. And it is running stock Honeycomb.
Now where are the updates...hehe

 

[johncihak]

I had a BB Storm too. Anything would look good after that. lol

 

[johncihak]

I have had my XOOM for 4 days now and i like it more and more.
At first i had buyers remorse as i thought that i had just bought myself a browser and a big calculator. But as time goes by (2 days), i have found that i CAN actually replace my desktop for most of my needs. The fact that i can download a torrent is a MAJOR+ . Sure it has its little moments when an app freezes but that is normal as the apps are for Android (not optimized for Honeycomb) and the OS is new. All in all, the build quality is better than the ASUS Transformer. And it is running stock Honeycomb.
Now where are the updates...hehe

I have had an iPad since November, and cannot believe how often the apps crash. I counted them just last night - Zite newsreader crashed 4 times. Intellicast weather app crashed once. App store crashed once. My podcast client crashed once. My daily deal shopping app crashed several times.

I had been afraid to get a Xoom for stability reasons, but compared to the iPad, it can't be that bad.

 

[rmillings#AC]

So I just picked up my Wifi Xoom yesterday and so far I rather like it. It is a bit heavy on the wrists though I've not played with an iPad2 to know if the difference is really all that substantial. Beyond that it's nice and solid which I prefer something a bit more industrial. I have seen the issue with the screen colors being washed out, especially if you're also looking at an iPad. I do have to wonder if that is not a software issue and couldn't be corrected with some updated color profiles?

I'm just waiting for more apps/software to be optimized. It has such the feeling of untapped potential at this moment and it's kind of fun to be riding that wave of development even if I'm merely a user.

I too am new to the Xoom Wi-Fi (I also have the Samsung Tab and Dell Streak 5). I have been a little frustrated by not being able to use many apps not yet optimized for the Xoom. Especially TV/movie apps and others. I am on pins and needles for Zinio to get off their tails also. If the Dell Streak 5 and 7 can have Zinio...I really don't see the issue why they can't release it to the Market.

 

[en28so]

I played around with a xoom at Verizon, and it was way better than the one at Best Buy. The Ipad 2 was close to it, but it's so boring compared to the Xoom's useful widgets. Who cares if it has a better screen if it's so dull. I'm saving money to buy a honeycomb tablet in about 2 months, and it might be the transformer.

 

[OlReagan]

I've had my Xoom for close to a month now, I did a lot of reading before buying it, even coming to this forum months before my purchase. I was afraid about the screen, it was the main factor that swayed me towards the ipad (+apps, more on that later). I feel like an idiot for even worrying about that now. The screen is plenty bright, I turn it down when I'm in a dark room/lecture hall. My other worry was fingerprints on the glossy screen. When my xoom is off it looks like a horrible mess of fingerprints, when it is on I cannot even tell. Using the xoom in bright sun is impossible though, that is when the glossy screen is a big disadvantage, but I cannot speak for how other tablets handle this. My other worry was weight, the ipad is 50grams lighter (680grams total), so it's a null point as even a 50gram difference would not make a tablet comfortable to hold "free hand" for long. When I use my xoom it is always resting on something to support the weight. The volume rocker is solid, from what I heard I was expecting something flimsy and breakable. It's a pain to press though, I'm currently trying to find a simple volume bar widget. Oh, the landscape/portrait flipping aspect. I had heard that the xoom was slow to switch and it is, there is a delay. Then I went to the ipad display and tried that out, expecting it to be flawless and fast, it is not. There is a delay on the ipad aswell, though a fraction of a second faster than the xoom. "This is what people were complaining about?!". I feel that kind of dismay when I think back on all the stupid worries I had before buying the xoom.

App-wise, I mostly just wish I had something similar to Notarize on the ipad. Otherwise my needs are met. When I heard the xoom "had no apps" I was imagining that the 170+ optimized apps listed on this forum would be all I could use. You can infact use all the available android apps for phones. The frustration comes when you try to use a phone app that is not compatible with the xoom. I don't think I've experienced a force close on an "optimized" app. To be clear, a "force close" just closes the app, not the xoom.

Ok, enough with the comparisons/apprehensions. I love the xoom, it's fills the role of allowing me immediate access to the web in a way that a laptop cannot. It's always on, waiting for me in my backpack if I need to quickly wiki something or waste time between classes. The widgets are great and really allow this device to do a lot more. I have a widget on my desktop that can record a lecture with the tap of my finger and still allow me to browse the web while it's going. I can listen to music and play Angry Birds while an app downloads. It's the exact kind of pc-like performance that I was expecting, true multi-tasking. Tweaking my xoom interface is a new obsession.

If I didn't have to leave the country for 4 months prior to purchase I would have waited to try the galaxy and transformer, but the xoom is entirely adequate and I would really need to see some major advantages for me to go through the hassle of selling it and losing my beautiful setup. I only hope that support continues to grow AND TO SEE THE SD SLOT ENABLED!

 

[Carlos Thomas]

MovieStream and Square works nice on the Xoom.

 

[Treknologist]

I don't own a Xoom for me to be able to "review" but I wanted to let you all know there is a nice head to head review comparing the Xoom to the iPad2 in the June issue of Maximum PC where the Xoom is chosen as the best of the two. Unfortunately, there are no links online to the article.

 

[jgohil]

My Xoom Review & Why I Left iOS

If anyone is interested, I've written up a pretty lengthy breakdown of my first impressions with the Xoom from a developer and enthusiast perspective.

Xoom Android Tablet Review by a Developer & Technophile - All Things Dijital

I'll be updating it soon with more details about the Xoom in everyday use and with some tips and tricks once I've installed the 3.1 update.

 

[Treknologist]

If anyone is interested, I've written up a pretty lengthy breakdown of my first impressions with the Xoom from a developer and enthusiast perspective.

Xoom Android Tablet Review by a Developer & Technophile - All Things Dijital

I'll be updating it soon with more details about the Xoom in everyday use and with some tips and tricks once I've installed the 3.1 update.

Nice review. I think you hit the nail on the head when comparing the iOS and Android experiences. I'm still unsure of which Honeycomb tablet to get. I'm waiting for the Samsung 8.9 as I want to try out that size tablet.

 

[ICU812]

Got mine yesterday from Sprint and tether it via hotspot on my Evo. So far I love the build quality and the actual UI. The apps aren't ready though. Can't wait for a fix for everything to render properly. Until then ill enjoy this great little device. Bought it primarily for my photography business.

 

[sup3r1or]

I know it is a stupid question but how to exit and close apps? is it back button as on phones?

I had angry birds running then exited the game but the tablet still lags like game is still running.

Also what do you use to watch divx or xvid videos on it?

 

[stoke_no_s]

I just got my Xoom a couple days ago and its "so far so good! ". I finally pulled the trigger and bought one when I saw the coupon for $100 off at Staples. I had been looking at the Toshiba Thrive, but that wasn't available in store and I was seeing a lot of mixed reviews everywhere. So far I have no complaints. It does everything I wanted it to do. I highly recommend it. I showed a few people at work and probably convinced them to get one too.

 

[ohiowriter]

Found this relatively short review of the Motorola Xoom the other day. Probably no real shockers or deep insights there, but more data for those considering purchasing one.

 

[LordAndroid]

I just got mine also purchased it from vzw on black friday. Not new to android but new to tablets and HC 3.2. This thing is awesome.