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My Quick Xoom Review
- Thread starter dgree03
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Thanks for the review. The Xoom is seriously holding my attention. Of course I will wait for next week to see what Apple has, but short of something spectacular I think I've already made my mind up to migrate to Android, I'm just not sure which tablet yet or to wait and see what HTC releases.
Does anyone know if the Xoom has that hardware layer of security like the Atrix? I'd definitely want to root the Xoom, has there been much luck with rooting it, or is it too early?
Except the difference isn't 1 or 2 seconds. The Xoom is around 12x faster when loading anandtech.com. And around 5x faster when loading popular sites like Engadget.
So again...faster is better, the more demanding computing tasks gets, the faster processing requirements get. If your product can't keep up then it will be abandoned.
And again, when PowerPC couldn't keep up with the x86 architecture roadmap...guess what Apple did.
And yet if all this doesn't make sense to you, you will finally understand when Apple themselves use a faster processor in their iPads. Then you can stand here shout about how glorious Apple was in thinking about using faster ARM chips because FASTER IS AMAZING!
Indeed.
On my PC, as the web experience is so instant, I may have browsed away from the page I was originally looking at by say 3 or 4 pages. I just use the extra mouse button, go click, click, click, click and navigate back those 4 pages, in a couple of seconds, and I'm back to where I am.
Trying to press the back button 4 times on the iPad is a dire experience.
Above all else, this is the weakest part of using the iPad right now, and I hope Apple have put a LOT of work into speeding up web page rendering.
Admittedly the iPad is quick compared to the old days of dial up etc, but when running on a fast Mac or PC with say Google Chrome and a fast cable connection, you get used to web pages rendering in the blink of an eye, and once used to that, the iPad seems to crawl.
I never said faster was not better, I said it was relative, and with the exception of a few sites the difference is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. People will pick on the tiniest things to justify their purchase. If all you are bothered about is how fast a few web pages load, your priorities are all wrong.
The thing I immediately noticed about the Xoom is that they put the speakers in the wrong place. They are on the back of the thing. Facing away from you as you watch the screen. So when you try to watch a movie or other video content, the sound seems strangely muted and muffled.
For a device that (with its widescreen display) seems designed for watching movies, that seems like a pretty serious design flaw.
And - its $800. And without much in the way of Honeycomb-optimized apps out there, I think its going to be a tough sell to a lot of people. Maybe there will be 10,000 great Apps for it in the Android store six months from now. But then again - maybe there won't.
For a device that (with its widescreen display) seems designed for watching movies, that seems like a pretty serious design flaw.
And - its $800. And without much in the way of Honeycomb-optimized apps out there, I think its going to be a tough sell to a lot of people. Maybe there will be 10,000 great Apps for it in the Android store six months from now. But then again - maybe there won't.
What about uploading and downloading from the browser? Can you say, upload an attachment to a forum post, for example, and download files from a webpage?
This, along with non-reloading pages with proper tabs, are what iPad Safari needs badly.
This, along with non-reloading pages with proper tabs, are what iPad Safari needs badly.
I am looking for something to do Office in the field which it would do with a single App purchase.
I have not purchased the Xoom yet and am still waiting for Apple's offering which will STILL be tied to iTunes. I know the risks of the Xoom but it will do what I want now with out any updates.
I am simply pointing out that there are other players in the filed and the Xoom is one one of them.
Sorry greezer but you are in the minority! You need to lift the sheets and tell me that is not Steve Jobs under your covers! LOL! No matter how hard Apple tries to brainwash it's users, Flash is here to stay and is actually getting more and more popular on the net. The average Apple user wants it, the fan boys deny it having purpose!
You are right that flash was not delivered with the Xoom but it will be before Apple breaks down and puts it on the iPad. Yes Apple will, sooner or later when it competition forces it to do so!
Maybe he cares? What do you know? It must be tough carrying that chip on your shoulder. You need some behavior modification. Have you tried therapy?
First off, glad to see you're in timeout. Rarely do we get a poster who acts so rude and self-centered. You could be banned forever and no one would miss you in the slightest.
As for picking on tiny things, yes people do that all the time. Think of all the posts we've seen where someone complains about a scrolling list that lags. Even though there can be good reasons, it doesn't matter to the user.
Surprise. Everybody has their own priorities.
If you are interested in the xoom, you can now get it for 599 without a contract. Hurry up thought its on slickdeals now. wont last long
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2700867
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2700867
I played with one at Best Buy tonight and I feel that there is still work to be done. I noticed that quite often it wouldn't change orientation from tablet to landscape, would get stuck in the wrong direction or even upside down. Personally I found it to be annoying. I think Motorola did a good job with the hardware but the OS needs more refinement. And I still think that the average Joe or Jane is going to find the iPad much easier to use.
I do like the tabbed browsing and I consider that a plus over the iPad. I thought that the touch interface also worked well. But I can't see people running to this over the iPad. I am a nOOb to Android and not proficient in it's use, but there is a learning curve there that doesn't exist with iOS. This is fine for techies, but I still think the masses will prefer the Apple product.
I do like the tabbed browsing and I consider that a plus over the iPad. I thought that the touch interface also worked well. But I can't see people running to this over the iPad. I am a nOOb to Android and not proficient in it's use, but there is a learning curve there that doesn't exist with iOS. This is fine for techies, but I still think the masses will prefer the Apple product.
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No one here is truly objective. The OP is siked, but pre-maturely. His Xoom has nothing on it basically. It should be fast. His hardware is basically empty. Playing with something new can be fun. It will get old real quick, since there are many apps to play with and do. Plus, he is exagerating. He only had it for one day.
Plus, you cannot believe every post you read. Who knows, OP could be lying. He may never had an iPad in the first place. He could be an android troll.
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One word... iCab
I'll wait for some more reviews on the Xoom, first impressions don't wow me though. It looks like the crappy old Onda I used to have before I bought an iPod touch and never looked back.
What flaws did you notice on your iPad? I've had one since the release day last April, and haven't noticed any flaws.
BTW, how's Android with foreign language input? I know it's not such a widely requested feature, but personally, I use Japanese input a lot on my iPad, and whether a tablet offered Japanese input and how well it worked would be a key factor in any tablet purchase I make.
i also tried out the Xoom earlier at Best Buy. I liked the tabbed browsing and that it was very fast to switch between web pages, mcuh like a computer. overall though i wasn't that impressed. despite the hd graphics, the brightness of the screen wasn't so good to look at. i think the ipad screen owns it and the software does seem a little glitchy, though it is new.
only advantage i saw from my short amount of time using it over iPad is a great maps program, tabbed/fast switching browsing and the camera - but iPad 2 will also have a camera and facetime.
Overall I wasn't sold on it as something that could beat the iPad. Definetely looking towards the iPad 2 at the moment personally.
I don't think it will beat the iPad either, let alone the iPad 2. Honeycomb has some nice features but the refinement is lacking compared to iOs. IMHO, they should have waited a bit longer before releasing it in order to work the kinks out of the OS. I'd like to learn more about Honeycomb so I can do more of a one on one comparison to the iPad or hopefully the iPad 2 in a few weeks.