Sunday, April 17, 2011

Motorola Xoom reviews

There are already many reviews of the Xoom to be found in text and on YouTube. In general they boil down to:
1) Not really any big advantages over the iPad, but a good alternative if you dislike Apple.
2) Good hardware with few niggles, although it will have to be updated later to accept SD card expansion and the upcoming 4G network.
3) Very good software, Android Honeycomb, although it's a bit rough yet, and there are not many apps yet.
4) A bit on the heavy side, especially now the iPad 2 is lighter and slimmer.
5) The high price is a deterrent, it's just not competitive with the iPad. What a new situation for Apple, to be the price leader too!

One odd thing that struck me with several reviews I've seen is how damn reflective the Xoom's screen is. And some say it's not very bright either.  It seems almost like it's easier to see what's reflected in it than what's on it. That's a fail. Anti-reflex coating is a must these days, folks.


2 comments:

Stephen A said...

As for price, keep an eye out. Android products don't follow the pricing policy of Apple. They start very high and drop pretty quickly.

As for the rest, it's an SUV tablet like the iPad, sort of like an Escalade vs a Hummer. Motorola is attempting to make an iPad killer by piling on more of everything. And the pricing points to Motorola's reluctance to get involved in low end disruption.

The real innovation is going come from the low end, particularly companies which manufacture the actual components. ASUS, Malata (Viewsonic), and Samsung are the ones to watch. ASUS in particular will produce half a dozen variant designs and refine the ones that catch on.

Don't look at the other SUVs, keep your eyes on the Mini Coopers and the Priuses of the tablet market.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Interesting point, thanks.
I do like my Samsung G Tab, and the Asus lineup looks interesting.