Our Verdict
All eyes are on the Motorola Xoom lozenge , and for good reason : It ’s the first gimmick inan expected multitudeto ship with Google ’s pad - optimized Android 3.0 ( Honeycomb ) . The Xoom has a lot of feature to like , and a wad to countersink it apart from the ever - growing bunch of tablet ; but it also has some drawback that temper my enthusiasm about it .
One drawback is its terms : $ 800 with no declaration on Verizon , and $ 600 with a two - year declaration ( prices as of February 23 , 2011 ) . More critically , I have some exit with the showing and image rendering during my hands - on rating of the Xoom .
Using the Xoom confirmedmy early impressions of Android 3.0 : The OS is vastly superior to its herald and is so different to apply that it ’s much unrecognizable as a near relative of the Android wide deployed today . The package ’s tablet optimisation was evident in the home screens , the convenience , the medicine player , the web browser app , the e - mail , and even the YouTube player . miss , however , was the Adobe Flash 10.2 musician , which is coming shortly but was n’t useable in metre for this story .
The Hardware: Style and class
The Xoom zoom to the top of the tablet class in overall way and design . The build quality is solid , with volume and power push button that are easy to press and a sturdily construct SIM tray that double as the MicroSD Card slot binding . It has a balmy , rubberized feel along the top , and black alloy on the bottom when held in horizontal mode . It also has its buttons and other ingredient configure for that orientation .
understandably , the gimmick was project with landscape orientation in brain : In that location , you entertain it with two men , and the front - facing 2 - megapixel camera sits at the top middle of the display , just as the Webcam on a laptop computer typically is . The stereophony speakers , at back , appear to the right wing and left , with plenty of clearance for your fingerbreadth ( this location is unfortunate , however , if you project to take heed to euphony while the pad is lie in flat , with its screen door expression - up ) . The micro - USB and HDMI - mini ports are at bottom , perfect for mounting the Xoom in its optional dock ( standard dock , $ 60 , Speaker HD dock , $ 150 ) . The power button is located on the back , to the left of the rear - facing , flash - equipped , 5 - megapixel . The button lies where your index finger naturally lands when you maintain the Xoom in both hands .
The Xoom run away Nvidia’sTegra 2platform , with a three-fold - marrow 1GHz processor , 1 GB of RAM , and 32 GB of on - plank user memory . The MicroSD Card slot permits users to reduplicate their storage place as they use the equipment — a boon for anyone who run to pack gadgets with metier . Unfortunately , the MicroSD Card slot is not enabled at launch - so other shopper will have to await until a computer software update comes along ( finally , Xoom will send with the expansion slot enable ) .
The display measures 10.1 in diagonally , with 1280 - by-800 - pixel resolving power . The widescreen ’s 16:10 aspect ratio makes it perfect for take in telecasting ; but for folks habituate to the 4:3 aspect proportion of the 9.7 - in Apple iPad screen , it may take some getting used to . The unit also stand an inch marvellous than the first - genesis iPad , but it feels comfortable when you contain it landscape painting - style in two hand .
You ’ll definitely need to employ two hand : Like the first - generation iPad with 3 G and Wi - Fi , the Xoom weighs 1.6 pounds . The weight is manageable for period of two - handed operation , but unendurable for extended one - handed cognitive operation . Athird - generation Amazon Kindleweighs one - third as much as the Xoom .
The Display: The draw and the drawback
I was n’t rottenly impressed with the Xoom ’s display ’s quality : In nastiness of its high resolution , I notice graininess ; colors seemed somewhat inaccurate and did n’t pop out as they do on the iPad and on Samsung ’s bright , now and again oversaturatedGalaxy Tab .
Initially , the gadget ’s display look lovely . The dwelling house screens were clear , and colors looked o.k. . But as I used the equipment , the rule of the screen became more obvious . The video display on the iPad feel downright sparkly , as if sand were forget in the limpid crystals themselves . In direct contrast , the Xoom seemed to stage me with a power system whose phone line were more obvious in some position than in others . I noticed them especially in photos and on the Thomas Gray of the keyboard , but less so on the default blue Honeycomb wallpaper . The lines were most obvious in sieve with white backgrounds , such as in the Web web browser app or in the preinstalled Google Books app . I also detected a circumstances of pixelation in the letters , but that core vary depending on the font I used ( for instance , the sans serif font in Google Books looked relatively smooth)—which lead me to wonder whether this is primarily a covert issue ( Motorola says that the showing is 150 dots per inch ) or a deliver issue .
When I expect at a series of pictures ( 10 - megapixel or great look-alike shot on advanced cameras ) sideloaded to the Xoom via the USB connection on my PC , it became decipherable that the images ’ contrast was off . Under identical kindling conditions , I compared the images as they appeared on the Xoom to the original images on my personal computer varan and to the way they looked on the Samsung Galaxy Tab and on the first - multiplication Apple iPad . color seemed dull and uninspired on the Xoom , and the images lacked the item and profoundness I anticipate to see .
Even worse , the included Gallery app did n’t render the effigy properly . paradigm lack acuity and suffered from artifacting , dithering , and macroblocking . It was almost as though I were search at images that had undergo a preview render but never full rendered . A Google spokesperson did not know what was going on , nor did Motorola . Nvidia , which makes the Tegra 2 processor , did not react to my inquiry before I posted this revue .
Blockiness and artifacting were issues in TV playback , too — for case , in YouTube video played in both stock and HQ mode , and in Google Talk video Old World chat over Wi - Fi ( as well as 3 G ) . The effigy I captured on the equipment were disappointingly middle - of - the - road , as well . Overall , the tv camera was a bit awkward to manoeuver , as was the video photographic camera , though you do get more command than before .
Interestingly , though the Gallery player supports H.263 , H.264 , and .mp4 video files , it die to trifle .wmv files that Android 2.2 and 2.1 devices had managed to toy just fine .
The grown piece of trash on the display is readable indoors , but it ’s very glarey . I ’ve described the Apple iPad as a mirror — but compared to the mirror essence of the Xoom , the iPad is as nonreflecting as report . The Xoom ’s glare was noticeable both indoors and out ; and close-fitting inspection divulge an breeze gap between the glassful and the showing beneath . I expected better : If the Barnes & Noble NookColor could pick up the screen and glare issue on its $ 250 e - reviewer tablet , why could n’t Motorola overcome glare on its $ 800 flagship machine ?
Performance zips along
I was quite impressed with the Xoom ’s overall ability to zip through subject . I easily and chop-chop move through menus , through large collections of digital double , and through the redesigned Android Market . Even the single file transference speeding via USB were telling . Anyone who has synced content to an Apple iPad knows how torturously slowly content move from PC to twist . On the Xoom , waiting was n’t a huge way out : I transferred 700 MB of digital pictures to the Xoom in just three minutes . Not too shabby .
fastness buffs will also appreciate that this 3G+ Wi - FI equipment will be able to transmigrate to Verizon ’s 4 gram LTE web in the second tail at no extra charge . The destitute upgrade rewards former adopters eager to own the first Honeycomb pad .
Ultimately , the price feel too eminent , given that the nearly one - class - old , no - contract bridge , 3G- and Wi - Fi - enabled first - generation Apple iPad come in at $ 730 . But by prevail a 4 G SIM add-in ( when the update comes out ) and do a package update , you ’ll be able to channel-surf the Web with the Xoom at lightning speeds . That future - proofing is a very likable touch .
Other Usage Minutiae
Android 3.0 is easily the most polished Google software attempt to date , but the random apps I downloaded from the Android Market did n’t work on Honeycomb at all , let alone plate to the Xoom ’s big projection screen . Moreover , there ’s no obvious way of knowing whether an app has been optimized for Honeycomb .
I endured some software clangoring , and Google Talk comport middling inconsistently ( where ’s the button to do that call ? ) . Also , some folder that I transferred to the Gallery did n’t show up , so I could n’t try whether Honeycomb does indeed bear .bmp file cabinet as Google says . ( For a full leaning of supported files , seeGoogle ’s Android Developer internet site . )
Motorola rates the Xoom ’s battery life at about 10 hour of high - definition video playback . And the machine ’s recharge time is truehearted , at just 3.5 hours for a full recharge ( in my testing , it recharged from a 13 pct charge in less than 3 hours ) .
One of the Xoom ’s main assets — away from being the first Honeycomb tablet to food market — should be its deep integration with the Honeycomb program : Motorola operate hand - in - hand with Google to make Honeycomb run well on the Xoom , Google ’s denotation Honeycomb gadget . As such , the Xoom is potential to be as pure a Google Honeycomb twist as potential .
All in all , the gimmick is a solid but imperfect first effort . Platform stability and 4 G can come with future software upgrade , and the bugs in the graphics and picture rendering will ( I desire ) be fixable through software , too . But the screenland ’s irritating grid effect ca n’t be fixed by a wide-eyed update .
The Xoom is the first large - screen tab to provide stiff contest for Apple ’s iPad . But as smooth as many of its elements are , and as groundbreaking as this first - of - its - form tablet is , its weaknesses forestall me from giving it a awaken endorsement . Software rough patches can be patched ; but hardware frustrations may turn tail deeply than any firmware update can fasten .
[ Melissa J. Perenson is a senior editor at PCWorld . ]
