Motorola Xoom, first Android 3.1 tablet how different is it?

Motorola Xoom is one of top Android 3.1 Honeycomb tablets in the shelves at present. The device hit the market even before Apple iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The 10.1-inch tablet from Motorola, however, did not attract enough customers as iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 did.

Motorola Xoom

What is it

Motorola Xoom is the first tablet to run on Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Google Android’s tablet friendly version. Motorola showcased the tablet at the CES 2011 in January touting as the first 10.1-inch, 4G LTE, and dual core tablet on Verizon Wireless. But the device only received 4G LTE capability more than four months after its launch in February 2011.

Key features

Android 3.1 Honeycomb: Xoom now plays on the latest version of Honeycomb. Motorola hyped up the product as the first tablet on Honeycomb. In the initial stage, customers loved the product thanks to the advanced user interface and multitasking features of Honeycomb.

4G LTE: Motorola Xoom is also one of key 4G LTE tablets in the market. Verizon’s enhanced 4G LTE connectivity provides high-speed Internet on the tablet. Even if touted as the first 4G LTE tablet, Xoom only got the capability some months after its official launch. Even though, Xoom became the first 4G tablet on Verizon as Galaxy Tab 10.1 came up with some delay.

Dual core processor: No doubt, Motorola Xoom was the first tablet equipped with a dual core processor. The gadget arrived in stores with an Nvidia Tegra 2 T20 1 GHz dual core processor. In help of the advanced processor, Xoom has been in the list of the fastest tablets ever.

10.1-inch HD touchscreen: Xoom was also the first tablet to sport a 10.1-inch widescreen display. Until Xoom, we were familiar with iPad original’s 9.7-inch and Samsung Galaxy Tab original’s 7-inch displays. Xoom’s 10.1 display, therefore, became an attractive thing especially with its HD capability. Later, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Asus Eee Pad Transformer and many other Android tablets turned up with the same display size as it became a standard screen size for a tablet now.

720p video playback: The Motorola tablet supports up to 720p video playback with a 5-megapixel camera. The device also has a 2-megapixel camera in the front for video chatting.

What’s innovative

Motorola Xoom was the first tablet ever to feature a dual core processor and 4G LTE compatibility. In addition, the device grabbed large attention being the first tablet on Android Honeycomb. Xoom was also the first tablet to have a 10.1-inch HD display. Thanks to the synthesis of all these first-to-be things, Motorola Xoom was a focus of attraction at the CES 2011. Leading tech blog CNET.com called Xoom as the “Best of the CES” 2011, a rank the Motorola tablet well deserves.

Price and availability

The price of Motorola Xoom starts at $499. You can buy Xoom from Verizon Wireless.

Accessories

Xoom is up with a charger, headphone and user manuals.

The up side

The most important plus point of Xoom is that it is a 4G LTE tablet. You have Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with almost the same tech specs on the same carrier. However, being the first dual core, 4G LTE, 10.1-inch and Android Honeycomb tablet, Motorola Xoom has a name. You can choose the device as an ideal gadget for movie watching and web surfing.

The down side

Even being a wonderful product, customers did not fall in love with Xoom. Motorola is almost weary with the product. With the immediate arrival of iPad 2 and a number of Honeycomb tablets including Galaxy Tab 10.1, Asus Eee Pad Transformer, and others Xoom could not attract enough customers.

Our experience

Xoom is doing better. You can use it as an ideal device for video watching and web surfing. With a dual core processor inside and 4G LTE connectivity, Xoom performs superbly.

The bottomline

The technology world was really woken up to 2011 with the blistering discussions on Motorola Xoom. We listened to Motorola’s announcement of its first tablet PC at CES 2011 in January. The cutely looking gadget instantly stole the hearts of CES attendees. But unfortunately, Xoom was not a market success for Motorola. Whatever it is, as per new reports, Motorola is evidently working to develop a Xoom 2 for early 2012; but the reports are not confirmed yet.