Official Site: Motorola
Ok, I won't do a full review (because many other sites have in-depth reviews and analysis already), because I don't own a set (would love to though, are you reading this Motorola?)
I spent about an hour with the Motorola Xoom. However, it was in a commercial electronics store, I'm not a famous blogger (yet [hehe]) and I activated their security alarm like three times because it came off easily. Not telling where to protect their security and, of course more importantly, image. =)
Anyway back to the Xoom.
Hardware:
Overall, it is rather light, lighter than I had expected from a tablet that big. It also felt really sturdy. However the weight does show after a while of using it. Design I have nothing to say. Simple, black (can't go wrong with black), and maximises the screen quite well. I have seen sites complaining about the border, but think seriously, without the border your non-master hand will keep touching the screen unless it is always at the bottom, which gets tiring really quickly.
Camera is pretty decent, because it is at least 5 megapixels and not
some embarrassingly-low resolution. Yes I do know resolution is not everything, but it does affect the amount of detail you can capture with a camera, and especially if you don't have steady hands and an optimum lighting environment.
Regarding the
power button at the back, I actually like it. Stop complaining you left-handers, you do know most of the world's population are right handers right? Anyway I personally do not think it matters if you are left- or right-handed, it should be easy enough to reach either way.
Software:
Interface is what have been shown to the death online: Stock Honeycomb (Android 3.0). Feels really fast on that Tegra 2 chip. Everything just felt very user-friendly, and being able to view live updates and customise the home screen with Honeycomb widgets (I personally like the Bookmark, Calendar, Market and Music apps) which all look simple and function well. Having a lively desktop does make a difference to whether you want to look at it, in my opinion.
Notification bar is now a popup from the bottom right, and works in any app. I actually love the new notification bar which has information as well as quick access to settings.
Camera interface is great, with features you would expect from a cheap digital camera, but it is nothing the
Android Market cannot fix if you are clamouring for more. Nicely-designed interface, very suitable for taking photos without fear of shaking the Xoom too much as the shutter button is really positioned very well. As for video camera, the default one's rather decent, and since there are not many video camera replacements on the Market yet.
Movie Editor was one highlight during the conference held by Google. It has actually more functions than I thought. Thanks to the dual-core insides, the Movie Editor could handle movie editing with effects and transitions rather decently. It's not the best movie editor out there, but it does the job and for most users, it's more than enough to edit and upload a video to YouTube or any other video-sharing site.
Music Player, YouTube, Market and the Browser could not be tested in more detail in the display set I got my hairy hands on, as there was no Wi-Fi connection in the shop for me to use, and my phone's battery was in critical condition, and decided not to try to tether. The Browser looked very much like Chrome, and has syncing with Chrome. Nothing much I can say about it, unfortunately.
Games, as you might have expected, could not be tested as well, due to the Xoom I tried being a largely out-of-the-box device and not having any internet connection. Sorry dual-core processor, I could not abuse you.
However, I tried the Acer Iconia Tab sitting right beside the Xoom, and played Need For Speed: Shift with it. To
nobody's surprise (he's a naive guy, he is), it runs at a high resolution, and everything was really smooth. However as I am not a fan of racing games (
ok I just played very badly and decided to explore other features of it) I put it down after realizing it is pretty much like the Xoom with little customization from Acer.
Would recommend if you:
-like tablets which can multi-task, customizable, shows live updates on the home screen all together without having to access any app, has a great and non-intrusive notification system.
-like more intensive gaming, which will definitely pick up this year as more and more Tegra 2 devices roll out.
-has the spare cash to spend on it. A bit pricey, but it beats the performance of most, if not all netbooks I have seen.
Would not recommend if you:
-need applications available only on Windows/Mac (like me)
-think that everything without an Apple logo is bad.
-only want to play casual games, do simple tasks that do not require integration between apps, play music and video (after waiting patiently for iTunes to convert and transfer)
-still love Microsoft Windows and cannot live without the applications available for it.
-are not rich enough to afford this (duh).
Hackability:
Full. As a Google flagship device, it is unlockable.
I personally do not see much of a use for tablets now. I would expect tablets to pick up when mobile network becomes a must for most people. Also when laptops/desktops/netbooks become irrelevant for most people. However if you are really looking for a productive tablet (and not some oversized music/video player which I have never seen people doing productive stuff with, only Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Plants Vs. Zombies and similar games), the Xoom is definitely the way to go for now.
