Motorola Xoom 2 Review & Specifications

Battery - Motorola Xoom 2 8:57 Apple iPad 2 10:26 ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime 10:17 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 9:55

Motorola's Xoom 2 arrives at a point where Apple's iPad (first- or second-generation...) still dominates the tablet market. The original Xoom was the first tablet to arrive with Android Honeycomb, an OS dedicated to the tablet form. In the months since we gave it a middling review, plenty more tablets arrived, faster, thinner, and more longevous (like the Galaxy Tab 10.1).

So what now? Well, Motorola has recast its Xoom: it's made it faster, slimmer and lighter.
They've beefed up the disappointing screen found on the original, it's now a Gorilla Glass-coated IPS screen that promises 178-degree viewing angles. But Motorola has also cut more corners than the four you see before you -- ones that it hopes customers won't miss.

However, with a certain quad-cored, ICS-imminent transforming tablet already stealing the hearts of many an Engadget reader (and editor), does this slimline sequel do enough to make up for its past mistakes? Is there now enough in the Android market to make Google-powered tablets a viable alternative to the iPad? Is £396 ($620) now too much to pay for a 16GB Android tablet that's merely dual-core?

Do you remember the old Xoom? Perhaps it's best described as a slab; half an inch thick, it weighed in at a pound and a half. Well, the Xoom 2 has certainly gone lean, it's now 0.22 pounds lighter, and honed to mere 8.8mm thick. Those corners, apparently "strategically designed" to make the tablet easier to handle do exactly what they're meant to do. We suffered a lot less "tablet palm" from extended gaming and video-watching sessions, although we're not sure why the curves aren't reversed. As it is, the Xoom 2 is super comfortable in portrait mode, but less so in landscape. The tablet does, however, feel reassuringly rigid. Although it may lack the shiny concentric stylings of the Transformer Prime, there's no wobble in its aluminum-framed build. The tablet has also been given an all-over water resistant coating, similar to what you'll find on the Droid RAZR. The front of the tablet has a bezel that's slightly less substantial than its Android competition, around 13mm on the vertical sides, and just under 20mm on the horizontal borders. It's marginal-- we're talking fractions of a millimeter less than both the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Transformer Prime, but comparing it to tablets from the first half of this year is a testament to how far Android tablets have come.

The first Xoom's comedic digital camera stylings on the back are now, thankfully, gone. A soft plastic edge runs around the tablet's lower edge and sides, surrounding a gun metal-colored panel. A rubbery power button is on the back, now accompanied by the volume rocker are now located on the back. These are accessible by your right hand when held in landscape, and are resistant enough to ignore when you accidentally brush over them to hold the tablet.

Two stereo speakers are located at the top, away from the softer edge, and thus less likely to be covered while you hold the device. At the top of the rear, a five megapixel camera is now placed (more logically) in the center, with an LED flash alongside it. On the top edge, there's the customary headphone jack which is accompanied by something a little more exotic -- an IR emitter. We managed to get this easily working with Dijit, and also its broad list of compatible TVs and devices. Along the base of the device, ports include a micro-HDMI and micro-USB port that deals with both data and charging. Yes, Motorola has retired the dedicated AC pin, although you'll probably want to stick to the meatier in-box charger rather than attempt to eke out a charge from phone adapters or, dare we say it, a USB cable. Our review model packs the bare minimum of what we'd allow storage-wise on a tablet: 16GB. Despite this, there are also no expansion options - no microSD slot, let alone SD. Granted, there's a very strong trend towards cloud-based music collections, but we'll be clutching to our files until the revolution truly takes off. There doesn't appear to be any 32 or 64GB models of the ten-inch tablet incoming, so it's something to be aware of. What's even odder is that there's a hatch along the bottom edge that could certainly receive either a SIM, if not some form of removable storage. We've been in contact with Motorola to confirm exact what it's all about, and will update this review when they get back to us.

Source : Engadget

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• 1.2GHz dual-core
• 1.2ghzDual-core
• 10.1-inch
• active stylus
• ActiveStylus
• Android
• Android Honeycomb
• Android tablet
• AndroidHoneycomb
• AndroidTablet
• dual-core
• Honeycomb
• ips
• motorola active stylus
• motorola xoom 2
• motorola xoom 2 review
• motorola xyboard
• MotorolaActiveStylus
• MotorolaXoom2
• MotorolaXoom2Review
• MotorolaXyboard
• review
• tablet
• video
• xoom 2
• xoom 2 review
• Xoom2
• Xoom2Review
• xyboard

[TheReptorr]

Looks exactly the same as the first xoom?

[tasske720]

well i have one and i can say it works fine with and up to now ive had no problems!

[shdxc]

at Carphonewarehouse by the way

[shdxc]

@ragingsilver I bought a XOOM 32gb wifi for just £250

[MFizzle777]

Hold down the shutter button to focus when taking a pic.

[ragingsilver]

I remember when Xoom 1 came out and it was around £600-800. Way to compete with the iPad with prices there lol. At least this one is more reasonably priced.

[e4300]

No expandable memory, What..



[TheyCallMeShinobi]

IS THIS TEGRA 3 CHIP 

[andemadsmit]

icecreem sandwich lol

[cardude1992]

gewgle music lol