Unboxing the Motorola Xoom

Last week I received a Motorola Xoom review unit from the friendly people at Verizon. It's the first device on the market to run Android 3.0 (aka. Honeycomb), a new version of Google's mobile OS suited for both phones and tablets. Frankly, it's been a mixed bag so far -- a work in progress -- as noted in other reviews...

Motorola's hardware is expensive -- $800 for a 10″ tablet with 3G (including an upcoming free 4G upgrade that requires the device to be sent in for service for a few days). Build quality, while not poor, feels inadequate for the price. The screen is dimmer, lower contrast, and more reflective than I expected for a flagship product. The power connector looks fragile and there's no way to charge the Xoom over USB.

Google's software is buggy -- it shows a lot of promise but there's a definite lack of polish overall. Few apps take advantage of Honeycomb at the moment, and most legacy Android apps just look & feel awkward on the large display. The web browser is lovely, but there's no Flash support for the time being (it's been announced).

Ultimately, the Apple iPad 2 is thinner, lighter, faster, and cheaper than the Xoom. The focus is now squarely on user experience and ecosystem, rather than specs and features. Whereas with phones Android faced an uphill battle vs. iOS two years ago, with tablets it's facing a mile-high cliff. It's a different game -- the Xoom is no halo device, especially with the iPad 2 also available to Verizon customers.

Stay tuned for some unboxing pictures and camera tests (the Xoom camera is better than the iPad 2′s). In the meantime, check out my unboxing video!

Note: the screen clearly IS capacitive, contrary to what I said at one point in the video :)

FOr more information, visit http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/unboxing-the-motorola-xoom-part-1/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• tnkgrl
• DSC-W55
• Motorola
• Xoom
• Google
• Android
• Honeycomb
• Verizon
• unboxing

[violajack80]

Great video, thanks for taking the time to really go around everything. It looks pretty thin, does it get heavy to hold after a while, or is it fairly light?

[qrpkgrl]

@violajack80 it's about the same size and weight as the original iPad - a bit heavier and thicker than I'd like.

[Trong2]

that is one smooth screen if your phone is sliding off of it lol

[qrpkgrl]

@Trong2 same with the iPad, just FYI.

[fibreoptik]

Awesome video as usual, thanks Tankgirl! :)

[NewGadgetsDE]

Cool, I want an Xoom too :) Thanks for the Unboxing!

[TheTony2313]

The screen is still really clear despite all of the glare. (1st!)