Motorola Xoom Review

 

CNET Editors' Review 

The good: The first tablet to combine Google's Android 3.0 software, Motorola's knack for great hardware, and Verizon's 4G network, the Xoom tablet technically offers a more powerful, more capable alternative to Apple's original iPad.
The bad: It's expensive, heftier than the iPad 2, and novice users may balk at Android 3.0's read-the-manual attitude.
The bottom line: The Xoom's spec sheet is enough to make any tablet tremble, but the price is high, the design is bulky, and Google still has some work to do before its tablet software experience is as fleshed out and intuitive as Apple's.

Motorola Xoom review by Techradar

The Motorola Xoom is the first Android 3.0 tablet to hit the market. That makes it the first Android tablet to ship with an OS that's designed especially for big screens, and that's why it's so exciting.

Every tech gadget must be judged solely on what it provides, its purpose in life, and whether it will help you accomplish tasks and enjoy your media.

With the Motorola Xoom, it's too easy to make constant iPad (and iPad 2) comparisons. Can you purchase movies as easily? Does the screen get as grimy? Does it cost more?

Read: Android 3.0 review

Yet, the Xoom is the first Android 3.0 tablet, the first really powerful tablet with a dual-core processor, and a sleek, 10.1-inch slate that is easy on the eyes.

There's no question the Xoom is a brilliant tablet, one that is incredibly flexible in terms of media you can put on the device.

With a 5-megapixel front camera and a 2-megapixel rear-facing camera, 32GB of local storage (plus a potential for more SD storage after the next software update), 1GB of RAM, 4G support once the LTE roll-out starts and after a software upgrade, and 10-hours of battery life, the Xoom has the hardware specifications to make you sit up and take notice.

Plus, the new Android 3.0 tablet interface lives and breathes in the open source world.
Frankly, the Motorola Xoom blows the Samsung Galaxy Tab out of the water, and that is saying something. We'll keep our iPad comparisons to a minimum (hey, if you wanted one of those you would have bought one by now, right?) and ratchet down our comparisons to the iPad 2 which ships in the UK on 25 March.

The Xoom is the best Android tablet around and a device that is well worth serious consideration.




You can check out our Android Tablet round-up to see how this slate measures up against three of its rivals below: