I'll throw my hat in the ring on this. Long time iPad/iphone/itunes/apple user. Start it off by saying I'm keeping my ipad and will also be getting ipad2 if it is a worthwhile upgrade over the ipad 1 (ie. some significant improvement beyond cameras). Not going to discuss price - that's a very personal issue. $800 is a lot of money even for those of us who have it to spend, and justification on cost is ultimately up to you.
Ok, comments on the Xoom - I didn't plan on getting one, but I sort of got an urge and there's a 14 day return policy at VZW, so why not?
- I had to pay for activation and one month service; however, I learned that they changed this policy during the day and a VZW CSR issued me a full refund.
- This thing has wifi hotspot ability (no surcharge) and when I get the 4g LTE upgrade, I'll be signing up for that for sure, even on 3g for the little while I had it enabled, it was silly fast.
- The physical buttons suck, especially as there's no quick way of telling if you're upside down or not. If this were an Apple product, when you were holding the tablet in different orientations, they'd probably have found a way to make sure the volume buttons were always top>vol up bottom>vol down. The power button is also a pain in the ass.
- Speakers - I sort of like how it sounds on the back, call me crazy. You won't have a problem with your hands covering the speakers like on i*.
- Intro screen - Those flying hexagons...Smooth speed, grainy as hell - not a pleasant start. Looks like a low-rez video file on an hd screen.
- Screen performance - On par with iPad for text/browsing. Contrast and saturation seems a little washed out, color fidelity is pretty good.
- Speed - This thing SCREEEEEEEEAMS. No two ways about it. Notification pops up that you have an email, press it, there's a link in the mail, click it, and you've got the page loaded up without any hesitation moving between three screens/programs. Very impressive. Very very impressive.
- Notifications - Terrific implementation except some apps use black text on black boxes for their notifications. I suspect these are not Honeycomb optimized apps and this will be rectified in short order. The light is also terrific (only works when screen is off, btw).
- Market - Certainly lacking, but it's implementation is better than the App Store. I can browse the Market on my desktop, click a button and it's installed on my Xoom without picking it up. I can turn on Auto-Updates, and you can download/purchase multiple apps without being kicked out of the store after each action. Annoyance is that it automatically puts shortcuts on the home screen.
- Voice Integration - There's no comparison anywhere else. Voice integration is so deeply baked into the system it's a pleasure. Because apps can get deep access to the OS, there are so many things it can do. Ex. Installed Pandora, hit the mic and say, "Play Artist Name" and a box pops up asking if I want to do this in Youtube or Pandora. Launch apps, visit webpages, do a search, whatever. Nice.
- Multi-tasking - This is how it should be done. Incredibly slick, very fast. Limited to only five tasks when in landscape, about 8 vertical, however.
- Browser - Best mobile browser I've used. No reloading of tabs, fast fast fast, text renders very well. Enable labs and you don't need a task bar, you handle it all with your thumb. Can't easily enable desktop-mode. Really, really annoying that there's no quick way to scroll to the top of the screen like when you hit the top of the ipad bar. Double-tap to zoom is not as polished as iOS (rescaling and reflowing doesn't always do what you think it is going to do).
- Camera - Rear cam quality is ****, don't know what I'd use it for anyway. Haven't tried video chat, not a priority, so can't comment.
- Keyboard - Easier to type than on iPad because of proportions, but I'm waiting for Swiftkey to be available. Saw a demo and that looks like it will really make things sing. I prefer Apple keyboard for now - looks/feels more *done*.
- Glitches - Wifi is weak - was dropping out/difficulty connecting to my home network last night for no real reason. I haven't had any Force Closes yet. Youtube is fast, but sometimes it coughs and sputters - but when it runs, it runs. Doesn't mount in OS X like other Android devices - this means no Double Twist or isyncr (that I can tell). There's a program Android File Transfer that makes moving files effortless when connected, but that doesn't help those of us with deep itunes dependence. Widgets can be wonky, even with optimized apps (see: Accuweather).
Big props - It ain't locked down. It was rooted within two hours of its release. For those out there who have a need, you can get it - I don't know what you need root for right now, however.
Main things I miss from iPad - 1) Air Video/Stream2Me. I've got a folder of videos I use with Boxee on my Apple TV. Loose files, home vids, etc. There's no comparable app that I know of that can do this. Plex works (and it is really pretty), but due to funky naming convention requirements, Plex won't show all of my videos. 2) I've got thousands of epub files that I sync with itunes to Ibooks. There's no ebook reader at the moment that can handle this on Honeycomb. For the moment I'm using the Nook reader and sideloading epubs (not optimal, but it works for the moment). 3) Clicking links (say, threads on a forum), is a bit unpredictable for some reason. Something is just off, need to get used to that. 4) Clicking/holding to move the cursor with the magnifying glass is so much better than the Android implementation for me - your finger isn't blocking placement.
Analysis: This is a toy for techies. It's taking some getting used to the form factor. It's small and solid. I'm very used to the proportions of the iPad, even if I use that in landscape mode almost exclusively (except for books). Needs more optimized apps/tablet apps. There's a learning curve which can be frustrating for those of us dumbed down/spoiled by iOS (no judgment, I'm one of those people). But, I find myself moving around much quicker today than yesterday. I'll definitely keep it for the two week eval period given by VZW ($35 restocking fee on returns). If I like it (and I'm liking it better the more comfortable I get), I'll keep both and then see what the iPad 2 has to offer to see if I'll upgrade the iPad 1. For me, it's not an either/or proposition, so that's up to you.
I hope this was moderately useful to someone out there. Oh, and this may be telling, I'll be in Buenos Aires this week and India 10 days later. I'm taking the iPad, not the Xoom. It's not a replacement for me at this time.
TL;DR It's fast, it's not completely intuitive, it's a helluva first effort - final judgment withheld for the moment pending a two week eval period.
